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3i Initiative Weekly Updates
Welcome to the 3i Weekly Update, your source for 3i relevant news and events. Please send all items of interest to Nicole.Frank@hsc.utah.edu by the end of the day on Thursdays.
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3/19- 3/26- MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2021, 4 – 5PM - Biological Sciences Seminar - Dr. Daniel Zuckerman - Tools for unlocking secrets of molecular machines
- TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2021, 5:30 – 6:30PM - Global Health Grand Rounds - “Model development using community-based participatory research: describing parental leadership concepts”
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021, 2 – 3PM - Biomedical Engineering Colloquium: Colleen Farmer - Dr. Colleen Farmer - "Unanswered Questions in Organismal Biology That Need Engineering Approaches"
- MONDAY, MARCH 29 - 4 - 5PM, -Pharmaceutics & Pharmaceutical Chemistry Seminars - Dr. Anjali - “Drug Discovery & Development Journey; Successes, Failures and Lesson Learned”
- THURSDAY, MARCH 26 - FRIDAY, MARCH 27 - Global Surgery Student Alliance is hosting the National Symposium
- MONDAY, MARCH 29 - 4 - 5PM, -Pharmaceutics & Pharmaceutical Chemistry Seminars - Dr. Heather Gustafson - “Macrophage Plasticity: Roles in Immunotherapeutic Success and Failure”
- MARCH 30-31 - Keith Marmer (PIVOT Center) - Oncology Therapy Development Workshop: Pivotal Steps and Avoiding Pitfalls for Start-ups
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- Open Postdoctoral Research Position - Tumor Immunology - The Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to study novel immunotherapy approaches for gastrointestinal cancers. Experience with mouse work, flow cytometry, and immune cell assays is preferable. Applicants must have obtained a PhD in cancer biology, immunology, or a related field within the past three years. Strong oral and written English skills are required. The successful candidate should have independent research skills and a track record of success in the laboratory.
Interested applicants please submit a CV and contact information for 3 references to ellen.beswick@hsc.utah.edu - Open Postdoctoral Research Position - The Puri Lab at the University of Utah seeks to hire a postdoctoral research associate to work on a funded project studying the biosynthesis of natural products made by underexplored bacteria. The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Microbiology, or a related field, and experience with protein expression, purification, and enzymology. Interested applicants should contact Aaron Puri directly (a.puri@utah.edu) with a cover letter, CV, and contact information for 3 references.
- SEAL (Science Excelerator and Leadership) Program Position Open - With this change in mind, the Gregg lab at the University of Utah is transitioning to a new model of science and discovery that caters to professional scientists by launching the SEAL (Science Excelerator and Leadership) Program. We are investigating new ways to take on higher impact scientific problems and make major advances in a shorter period of time. To help with this, the lab will transition to a new name – the Precision Brain Genetics Lab. This name change reflects the focus of the science and important roles of senior investigators in the lab and their capability to obtain independent grants if they wish. Right now, we are seeking to recruit a new SEAL program scientist to the lab at the level of a career track assistant professor, staff scientist or postdoctoral fellow.
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- 3i Initiative Spring 2021 Symposium - FRIDAY, ARPIL 30, 2021, 8:00 AM -5:00 PM
- 2021 COVID-19 Symposium - FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021, 8:00 AM -5:00 PM
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- 2021 James W. Prahl Memorial Award for the Outstanding Graduate Student in Biological or Biomedical Sciences - We are pleased to announce that we are accepting applications from graduate students for the 2021 James W. Prahl Memorial Award for the Outstanding Graduate Student in Biological or Biomedical Sciences. The James W. Prahl Memorial Award was established by his family, friends, and colleagues in 1979 after a climbing accident took his life. For those that may be interested, the deadline for the application process is Friday, March 19, 2021. The applicants must have defended their thesis during the period March 13, 2020 – March 19, 2021 to be eligible for consideration.
- Call for applications: 3i Training Grant - We are pleased to announce that we are accepting applications from graduate students for the Immunology, Infectious Disease and Inflammation (3i) Training Grant (3iTG). The Training Grant will provide support for one year, with the potential to renew for a second year of support. We will be appointing 2 graduate student trainees this year. Some of the features of the training program include support for mentored research, a clinical immunology rotation at ARUP (pandemic permitting), training in data analysis and publishing, grant writing and career planning, mentored preparation and submission of F award proposal or equivalent, yearly presentation of data to the immunology community and partial support for travel to scientific meetings to present research findings. See application instructions here.
- CCTS Peer Grant Review Program - Now Accepting Research Proposals for Pre-Submission Peer Review - The Utah Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) is now accepting research proposals for pre-submission peer review. The program accepts proposals from investigators conducting research at any point along the translational science spectrum aiming to improve the health of individuals and the public. Please limit one proposal submission per investigator to the PGR. NIH review criteria will be used to score each submission. Formal reviews will be returned to the investigator by May 3, 2021. Submission Requirements Investigators are required, via email, to submit a) the completed CCTS Peer Grant Review Face Page form (see below or fillable version); b) their NIH Biographical Sketch, Specific Aims, Research Strategy, and Bibliography & References Cited as word documents; and c) any other appropriate ancillary documents as a single PDF (see Guidance Checklists) to Breanne Johnson (Breanne.Johnson@hsc.utah.edu) no later than 4:00 pm on Thursday, April 1st, 2021.
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3i Funding Opportunities
Current Federal and Private FOAs applicable to the 3is can be found on the U's pivot page. New FOAs announced this week:
- Multiple Sclerosis Research Program (MSRP)
- Lupus Research Program (LRP)
- Centers for Disease Control - CGH - Capacity Building for Global, Regional, and National Immunization Programs Synopsis 4
- RFA-AI-21-005, Tropical Medicine Research Centers Coordinating Center (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- RFA-AI-21-004, Tropical Medicine Research Centers (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- RFA-AI-21-035, Exploratory Data Science Methods and Algorithm Development in Infectious and Immune-Mediated Diseases (R21, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- RFA-DK-21-004, The Autoantigens and Neoantigens Function in the Etiology and Pathophysiology of Type 1 Diabetes (R01, Clinical Trial Optional)
- RFA-AI-21-020, Early-Stage Development of Data Science Technologies for Infectious and Immune-Mediated Diseases (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- RFA-AI-21-021, Enhancement or Sustainment of Data Science Tools for Infectious and Immune-Mediated Diseases (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP)
A monthly funding newsletter from PIVOT is sent to 3i investigators on the 2nd Monday of the month. If you have not been receiving the newsletter and would like to be added, please email Nicole.Frank@hsc.utah.edu.
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3i Investigator PublicationsCongratulations to the teams who published this week. If you have a publication that you would like included, please email us.
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To date, three fluorine-18 labelled tracers have been approved for assessing cerebral amyloid plaques pathology to assist in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Although scanning protocols are relatively similar across tracers, FDA/EMA approved visual rating guidelines to render scans as positive or negative differ between the three tracers. The purpose of the present study was to assess the comparability of visual rating results when applying the three different FDA/EMA approved visual...
Sat, Mar 13, 2021
Venomous animals hunt using bioactive peptides, but relatively little is known about venom small molecules and the resulting complex hunting behaviors. Here, we explored the specialized metabolites from the venom of the worm-hunting cone snail, Conus imperialis Using the model polychaete worm Platynereis dumerilii, we demonstrate that C. imperialis venom contains small molecules that mimic natural polychaete mating pheromones, evoking the mating phenotype in worms. The specialized metabolites...
Sat, Mar 13, 2021
CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding and its duration are associated with lower odds of low IQ score at age 5 years.
Thu, Mar 11, 2021
Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the most abundant antibody at mucosal surfaces and has been the subject of many investigations involving microbiota research in the last decade. Although the classic functions of IgA include neutralization of harmful toxins, more recent investigations have highlighted an important role for IgA in regulating the composition and function of the commensal microbiota. Multiple reviews have comprehensively covered the literature that describes recent, novel mechanisms of...
Thu, Mar 11, 2021
BACKGROUND: A rapidly increasing number of serological surveys for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 have been reported worldwide. We aimed to synthesise, combine, and assess this large corpus of data.
Thu, Mar 11, 2021
CONCLUSIONS: The rs267738 SNP leads to a partial loss-of-function of CERS2, which worsened metabolic parameters in knock-in mice. However, rs267738 was insufficient to effect changes in serum sphingolipid profiles in subjects from the Utah Coronary Artery Disease Study.
Thu, Mar 11, 2021
Periods of inactivity experienced by older adults induce nutrient anabolic resistance creating a cascade of skeletal muscle transcriptional and translational aberrations contributing to muscle dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to identify how inactivity alters leucine-stimulated translation of molecules and pathways within the skeletal muscle of older adults. We performed ribosomal profiling alongside RNA sequencing from skeletal muscle biopsies taken from older adults (n=8; ~72y;...
Thu, Mar 11, 2021
Cells losing the ability to self-regulate in response to damage are a hallmark of cancer. When a cell encounters damage, regulatory pathways estimate the severity of damage and promote repair, cell cycle arrest, or apoptosis. This decision-making process would be remarkable if it were based on the total amount of damage in the cell, but because damage detection pathways vary in the rate and intensity with which they promote pro-apoptotic factors, the cell's real challenge is to reconcile...
Thu, Mar 11, 2021
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CONCLUSIONS: Vessel wall enhancement is associated with both acute and future stroke in patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
Fri, Mar 19, 2021
The impact of COVID-19 public health interventions on pediatric illnesses nationwide is unknown. We performed a multicenter, cross-sectional study of encounters at 44 children's hospitals in the United States to assess changes in healthcare utilization during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with substantial reductions in encounters for respiratory diseases; these large reductions were consistent across illness subgroups. Although encounters for nonrespiratory diseases...
Thu, Mar 18, 2021
CONCLUSION: IVIG appears to be an effective treatment for AVWS-MGUS bleeding, conferring a high clinical success rate with measurable laboratory outcomes; albeit temporary. DDAVP and factor replacement therapy may be partially successful in controlling minor bleeds, but not major bleeds. Other less commonly used agents may be effective in certain cases, although data are limited.
Thu, Mar 18, 2021
Arteries play a critical role in carrying essential nutrients and oxygen throughout the brain; however, vessels can become damaged in traumatic brain injury (TBI), putting neural tissue at risk. Even in the absence of hemorrhage, large deformations can disrupt both the physiological and mechanical behavior of the cerebral vessels. Our group recently reported the effect of vessel overstretch on axial mechanics; however, that work did not address possible changes in circumferential mechanics that...
Tue, Mar 16, 2021
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; caused by SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has affected the healthcare system on a global scale, and we utilized the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) 2020 annual meeting to examine how COVID-19 might affect patients with psoriatic disease (PsD) and the clinicians who care for them. Pressing issues and concerns identified included whether having psoriasis increased the risk of acquiring COVID-19, vaccine safety, and the...
Tue, Mar 16, 2021
Pustular psoriasis (PsO) is an uncommon variant of PsO that may present in a generalized or localized fashion with or without musculoskeletal or systemic inflammatory involvement. Generalized pustular PsO (GPP) presents as a widespread acute or subacute pustular eruption that may be familial and is often associated with severe flares and systemic inflammation. The palmoplantar pustulosis variant is localized to palms and soles, whereas acrodermatitis continua of Hallopeau is localized to the...
Tue, Mar 16, 2021
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study of adults in VA hospitals, transmissibility of MRSA was found to be reduced by approximately 50% among patients with contact precautions. These results provide an explanation for decreasing acquisition rates in VA hospitals since the MRSA Prevention Initiative.
Mon, Mar 15, 2021
Conclusions The majority of patients who discontinued DMF due to lymphopenia experienced ALC reconstitution within 2–4 months following DMF discontinuation. This may help guide clinicians in managing patients who develop lymphopenia during DMF treatment. Prolonged lymphopenia on DMF treatment is associated with slow lymphocyte recovery after DMF discontinuation.
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