KCALSI has issued RFPs for General Research Development Grants and for Animal Health and Nutrition
Attention animal health/nutrition companies: The Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute has issued a RFP for Animal Health and Nutrition Research Development Grants. Eligible parties may submit a formal letter of intent 30 days prior to full application for requests of up to $50,000 for one year. Applications will be accepted throughout the year. Funding is available through June 30, 2009. All animal health/nutrition companies within the Animal Health Corridor and/or companies currently being recruited to the Animal Health Corridor are eligible to submit proposals.
The RFP serves to stimulate greater collaboration between animal health/nutrition companies and academic researchers. Animal Health and Nutrition represent significant industry segments within the region and enhancing public/private research partnerships will expand opportunities in the sector.
For full listing of application rules and eligibility, visit www.kclifesciences.org and click “research”.
Second Annual CVC Symposium
One Medicine: One Health
Capitalizing on the animal health practitioners visiting Kansas City for the Central Veterinary Conference (CVC) in August, KCALSI will again join forces with the veterinary schools of the University of Missouri-Columbia and Kansas State University to offer a free research symposium for members of the medical, veterinary and public health community.
One Medicine: One Health, moderated by Larry R. Anderson, DVM, MD, will feature national and regional experts who will discuss the relationship between animal and human health. National speakers include Dr. Lisa Conti, Director, Division of Environmental Health Florida State Health Department and luncheon keynote by Dr. David E. Swayne, of the USDA’s Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory. Regional speakers include: Drs. David G. Renter, and Ludek Zurek, from K-State and Drs. John R. Middleton and Jeff W.Tyler, from MU.
The term “one medicine” was coined in 1960 by Calvin Schwabe, a University of California veterinary scientist and epidemiologist. The concept of One Medicine: One Health is for veterinarians and their colleagues in human medicine to collaborate in addressing dangerous zoonotic diseases, keeping both humans and animals healthy.
Authorization has been submitted for 3.00 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB’s RACE approval.
Additional details and speakers for the August 25 One Medicine: One Health symposium will be available online.
MU Researchers develop non-toxic treatment
that has broad anti-cancer potential
Often, tumors have more than one way of surviving, and attacking the tumor alone is not enough. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers have developed a non-toxic treatment that effectively reduces breast cancer cells, by combining a small molecular drug that targets tumor cells with an antibody that causes selective shutdown of tumor blood vessels. In 50 percent of breast cancer cases, a mutated protein, known as p53, is present. Previous research has indicated that when p53 is functionally abnormal, tumor cells are prolific and develop quickly. PRIMA-1, a small molecular drug, targets and returns normal function to the mutated p53, but PRIMA-1 alone is not enough to stop tumor growth. Proliferating blood vessels supply oxygen and other nutrients that the tumor needs to grow. However, a specific antibody, 2aG4, has the ability to destroy these blood vessels and prevent future growth. According to the MU research team, no one has previously tried to attack tumor cells by targeting mutated p53 and the tumor-associated blood vessels with this combination of PRIMA-1 and 2aG4.
The study, “Targeting Mutant p53 Protein and Tumor Vasculture: an Effective Combination Therapy for Advanced Breast Tumors,” was presented at the 98th Annual American Association of Cancer Research Meeting.
For more information, contact Kelsey Jackson at 573- 882-8353.
Stowers’ Shilatifard lab identifies new role for factor critical to transcription
The Stowers Institute’s Shilatifard Lab has identified a new role for the elongation factor ELL in gene transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) — the enzyme that synthesizes messenger RNA to carry genetic information from DNA to the protein-synthesizing machinery of the cell.
Precise control of the timing and location of transcript elongation by Pol II is essential for development. In a paper published online in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), the team found that ELL plays a fundamental role in the regulation of gene expression by causing temporary interruptions of the action of Pol II in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster).
“Biological mechanisms such as the ‘pausing’ of Pol II at nearby promoters have been found at many regulated genes,” explained Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., Investigator. “In this study, we wanted to determine whether the elongation factor ELL is required for the regulation of the temporary interruptions of Pol II transcription in a living organism.”
The Shilatifard Lab will continue to work with the reagents developed in this study to learn more about the molecular properties of ELL in the fruit fly in the hope of elucidating the role of ELL in human disease. For more information, contacts Marie Jennings at 816-926-4015. Learn more about Dr. Shilatifard’s work.
MU’s technique used in human ankle injuries
modified to treat dogs’ knees
A common sports injury in human knees is even more common in dogs. Each year, more than one million dogs suffer from cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) deficiency, which is comparable to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in humans. The common method of treatment by many veterinary surgeons involves cutting the tibia bone to stabilize the CCL-deficient knee in these dogs. Now, a new minimally invasive technique with less severe complications than previous methods has been developed by a University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine researcher.
Unlike humans, CCL injuries in dogs typically do not occur because of a single trauma to the knee but are the result of a degenerative process that leads to early and progressive arthritis. For this reason, and the unique biomechanics of the canine knee, techniques used to repair the injury in humans do not work well for dogs. The new technique, known as Tightrope CCL, is modified from a technique used in human ankles and allows placement of a device that stabilizes the CCL-deficient knee through bone tunnels drilled using very small incisions. MU veterinarian James Cook worked with Arthrex Inc. from Naples, Fla., to develop and test the Tightrope device for dogs.
Cruciate ligament tears are five times more common in dogs than humans and cost U.S. pet-owners more than $1.3 billion each year. The new technique is not for every dog. Because surgeons must be able to drill tunnels in the bone, dogs must weigh at least 40 pounds for the Tightrope CCL method to be feasible.
For more information, contact Kelsey Jackson at 573-882-8353.
Complex changes in the brain’s vascular system occur after menopause
MU researchers advise extreme caution in prescribing estrogen-based hormone therapy
In a new study, researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered significant changes in the brain’s vascular system when the ovaries stop producing estrogen. MU scientists predict that currently used estrogen-based hormone therapies may complicate this process and may do more harm than good in postmenopausal women.
"Before menopause, women are much more protected from certain conditions such as heart disease and stroke, but these vascular changes might explain why women lose this protection after menopause," said Olga Glinskii, research assistant professor of medical pharmacology and physiology in MU’s School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “Because the body eventually will naturally adapt to the loss of estrogen, we advise extreme caution when using estrogen-based therapy in postmenopausal women.”
In their study, MU researchers removed the ovaries of pigs, which have a reproductive cycle similar to humans, to create postmenopausal conditions. Two months after the ovaries were removed; they observed dramatic differences in the brain’s vascular system. When the body decreases its estrogen production, the body is unable to regulate blood vessels like it did before. After a period of deterioration, the body learns to adapt to the estrogen loss and eventually maintains the system in a different way.
“The vascular system is like a roadmap that is always changing,” said Virginia Huxley, director of the National Center for Gender Physiology, professor of medical pharmacology and physiology in MU’s School of Medicine, and co-senior author of the study. “The blood vessels are the highways that transport oxygen and other nutrients in our body. After menopause, women are more likely to develop vascular diseases in the ‘side streets’ or the tiny vessels. In these vessels, the symptoms are more subtle and harder to identify.”
The study “PDGF/VEGF System Activation and Angiogenesis Following Initial Post Ovariectomy Meningeal Microvessel Loss,” was recently published in Cell Cycle. For more information, contact Kelsey Jackson at 573-882-8353.
Stower’s Rong Li Lab identifies new role of protein
in PKD, treatment
The Stowers Institute’s Rong Li Lab has discovered that a protein previously shown to have a role in inflammation may also have a role in the formation of cysts in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) — one of the most common life-threatening genetic diseases — and has shown that a drug inhibiting the protein can slow the disease in mice.
The discovery was published in the advance online publication of Nature Medicine. The team showed that a pro-inflammatory cytokine protein — tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) — disrupts the localization of polycystin 2 (the product of a gene mutated in ADPKD) to the plasma membrane and primary cilia in kidney epithelial cells, thus promoting the formation of cysts.
“This discovery is especially exciting because it not only provides insight about the origins of ADPKD, but it also points us toward a drug that we believe shows promise in preventing the development of cysts,” said Rong Li, Ph.D., Investigator and senior author on the publication. “Of course, additional research will be required to test these preliminary results in animal models, but the potential is interesting.”
Xiaogang Li received a grant from the PKD Foundation earlier this year. The award of $150,000 over two years supports his efforts to understand the origins of PKD. For more information about PKD or the PKD Foundation, visit www.PKDCure.org or for information about the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, contact Marie Jennings at 816- 926-4015.
Project by K-State researchers could help make algae from the ocean a sustainable energy source
Research by two K-State University scientists could help with the large-scale cultivation and manufacturing of oil-rich algae in oceans for biofuel. Zhijian "Z.J." Pei, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, and Wenqiao "Wayne" Yuan, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, have received a $98,560 Small Grant for Exploratory Research from the National Science Foundation to study solid carriers for manufacturing algae biofuels in the ocean.
Certain algal species are high in oil content that could be converted into such fuels as biodiesel. Algae also have several environmentally-friendly advantages over corn or other plants used for biofuels, including not needing soil or fresh water to grow.
KU research on aging receives $7.5 million grant extension
The National Institutes of Health has given KU $7.5 million for a five-year period. This is the second NIH extension of the project titled “Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Aging.” Oxidation of tissue cells occurs naturally as people age: KU researchers are hoping to discover how to slow or even reverse the aging process by studying how proteins found in cells become oxidized and how the oxidation affects the proteins. The study could isolate a mechanism that causes oxidation of proteins in tissues and ultimately lead to a treatment for aging based on reducing the rate of oxidation in muscles and the brain. A large interdisciplinary research project, the extension of funding through year 15 is very significant. More info
K-State researcher investigates use of sorghum
as source of ethanol
Donghai Wang, K-State associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering, is researching sorghum as a viable renewable resource for biofuels. Part of the work of the K-State Center for Sustainable Energy, which focuses on providing sustainable, renewable energy while maintaining the environment and providing an adequate food supply, Wang's research focuses on understanding such key factors as composition, chemical structure and physical properties that impact the bioprocessing of sorghum for biofuels. Sorghum requires 40 percent less
water than corn to grow and can be produced in the semiarid regions of the nation and the world. The major barrier limiting industrial use of sorghum is limited information is available on performance of sorghum varieties for ethanol production.
MU finds: Tomatoes could be key to prostate
cancer prevention
New cancer research from the University of Missouri suggests that eating a certain form of tomato product could be the key to unlocking the prostate cancer-fighting potential of the tomato. The positive effect of tomato products has been suggested in many studies, but, until now, researchers did not know exactly what caused this effect. Valeri Mossine, research assistant professor of biochemistry in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and his colleagues found that FruHis – an organic carbohydrate present in dehydrated tomato products – exerts a strong protective effect against prostate cancer.
Before this study, researchers attributed the protective effect of tomatoes to ascorbic acid, carotenoids or phenolic compounds. The study was published in the June issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The research was funded by The Prostate Cancer Foundation and the MU Agriculture Experiment Station Chemistry Lab. For more information, contact Jennifer Faddis at 573-882-6217.
Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute study links race to increased likelihood of abnormal ECGs in athletes
Black, highly trained American football players may be significantly more likely than their white counterparts to need further cardiac testing, or worse, to be disqualified from competitive sports if results are based only on electrocardiographic (ECG) findings, according to a new study led by Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute cardiologist Anthony Magalski, M.D.
The research, published in the June 10 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, revealed that ECG abnormalities were present in 25 percent of all football players screened. Those abnormalities were two-fold more common in black than white, highly trained American football players, with race an independent determinant of ECG pattern.
Significant associations between player position and abnormal ECGs also were identified in the research. Abnormal ECGs were most common in wide receivers, defensive backs, and running backs, and least common in quarterbacks and place kickers. Research was conducted in a group of 1,959 male collegiate football players participating in the National Football League (NFL) Invitational Camp from 2000 to 2005. The average age of the subjects was 23 years, 9 months. For more information, contact Kerry O’Connor at 816-932-8646.
UMKC researchers awarded NIH funding
Three UMKC researchers are the recipients of National Institutes of Health grants:
Ashim K. Mitra, Ph.D., received a NIH grant of $1,341,000 for “Transscleral Transport & Polymeric Delivery of Antibody & Steroids for Macular Edema.” Repeated intravitreal injections of steroids and anti-VEGF agents may pose post-surgical problems for patients suffering from macular edema. Risk of drug precipitation due to poor solubility and a short vitreal half-life upon injection are two major reasons that the intravitreal delivery method is not sustainable for the desired length of treatment. To increase the absorption of such medicines, Dr. Mitra’s research will implement a novel polymeric drug delivery strategy by incorporating prodrugs into biodegradable surface-modified copolymer nanoparticles and into thermosensitive copolymer gel. This delivery system may provide added stability to steroids and a method for six-month sustained delivery from a single episcleral administration.
Karen S. Mark, Ph.D., received a NIH grant of $219,090 for “Acute Phase Protein Effects in Cellular Mechanisms of Microvascular Endothelial Cells.” Studies conducted in the last decade indicate that dysregulation of the immune system is related to several serious diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic inflammation. The imbalance of the immune/inflammatory responses in these diseases ultimately leads to cellular damage and pathophysiologic dysfunction such as neuropathy and ischemia. The release of Acute Phase Proteins (APPs) occurs in many of these diseases, yet the underlying cellular impact of these inflammatory biomarkers is not well understood. Dr. Mark’s research will examine the ways in which inflammatory mediators, especially APPs, act on the endothelial cells of the microvasculature.
Gerald J. Wyckoff, Ph.D., received a NIH grant of $221,050 for “Role of ZIC and GLI Protein-protein Interactions in Human Brain Disorders.” Multiple human congenital brain disorders have been linked to mutations involving the Zinc-Finger in the Cerebellum (ZIC) genes. However, the precise mutations that confer the phenotypes of the disorders have remained elusive, probably due to an incomplete understanding of the nature of ZIC gene and protein functionality. Recent work has shown that ZIC proteins likely act not as canonical zinc-finger proteins, where separate zinc fingers within a protein do not interact, but likely are members of a newly identified class of Cys2His2 proteins called “two-finger” proteins, where interactions between fingers within a protein are prevalent. Dr. Wyckoff will conduct experiments to determine if these interactions exist between ZIC proteins genetically in an in vivo system and to determine if known mutations associated with disease disrupt interactions between GLI-ZIC proteins.
For more information, contact John R. Baumann, PhD, at 816-235-1303.
FEMA awards KCUMB Grant
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, principal investigator, Sara A. Pyle, Ph.D., research epidemiologist in preventive medicine, at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB) was awarded a $1million grant to study cardiovascular disease among fire service personnel. The research “A prospective evaluation of health behavior risk for injury among firefighters” will investigate and evaluate their risk factors as key determinants of a lack of fitness for duty in the fire service. Serving as co-investigators from KCUMB are Dr. Richard R. Suminski, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology; Dr. Alan G. Glaros, associate dean for basic medical sciences and Dr. V. James Guillory, associate professor and chair of preventive medicine and vice president for research.
K-State receives national USDA award
for bioenergy initiatives
One of the USDA's goals is to develop technology and plans that could help provide 25 percent of the country's energy from renewable resources by the year 2025. To help increase awareness and knowledge related to the sustainable production of agriculture-based and natural resource-based renewable energy and the efficient use and conservation of energy for the benefit of rural communities and the nation, USDA hosted a Bio Energy Awareness Days in Washington, D.C., June 19-22. As a participant, K-State was one of 16 universities nationwide recognized for bioenergy initiatives and won a Grand Challenge award for a vision paper, "Food, Feed, Energy and Ecosystem Services: A Role for American Agriculture." Co-authors are agronomy professors Charles W. Rice and Scott Staggenborg, and Richard Nelson, associate professor and head of the Kansas Industrial Extension Service. The Grand Challenge is the major award made during the event, and promotes the development of a vision that the winning universities will contribute in the emerging bio economy.
Rice served on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC -- to author a report on Climate Change and was among scientists recognized when that work won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
MU professor receives highest honor
from American Chemical Society
MU’s M. Frederick Hawthorne’s life work has made him one of the giants in the nano and molecular medicine field. Hawthorne, director of the University of Missouri International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine and pioneer in boron chemistry, will receive the 2009 Priestly Medal for his achievements in the field of chemistry. The award is the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) highest honor and recognizes distinguished service in the field of chemistry. For more information, contact Kelsey Jackson at 573-882-8353.
Children’s Mercy nationally ranked
by US News magazine
In its first ranking of children’s hospital specialties, US News and World Report has placed Children’s Mercy among the top programs in the country. US News, in its Best Children’s Hospital issue online ranked Children’s Mercy number 17 for pediatric digestive disorders and number 26 for neonatal care. The magazine used a detailed statistical survey offered to every member of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (and a few others) and chose to rank hospitals by seven specialties. In all, 113 hospitals responded to the survey. For more information, contact Jessica Salazar at 816-346-1346.
MU announces new appointments
Vice Chancellor for Research
University of Missouri Provost Brian Foster announced that Robert Duncan has been appointed as vice chancellor for research at MU, effective Sept. 1. Currently, Duncan is the chief operating officer of the New Mexico Consortium, an organization that uses the strengths of New Mexico's research universities to build scientific connections around the world; and founding director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Los Alamos National Lab.
Duncan received his bachelor's degree in physics from MIT in 1982 and his doctorate in physics from the University of California-Santa Barbara in 1988. He has served as an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Mexico (UNM), visiting associate professor of physics at Caltech, joint associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at UNM, professor of physics and astronomy at UNM, and associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNM. As an expert in low temperature physics, Duncan has conducted research that will provide critical information for future NASA missions. To date, he has received more than $8 million in funding from various sources, including NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Science Foundation.
Duncan replaces Jim Coleman, who left last year to become vice provost for research at Rice University in Houston.
Dean - School of Nursing
University of Missouri Provost Brian Foster has announced that Judith Fitzgerald Miller, associate dean for graduate programs and research at the Marquette University College of Nursing, has been named dean of the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, effective Aug. 1. She has received funding for her research from several organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Nurses’ Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Dr. Patrick Clay named to FDA Committee
KCUMB’s Dr. Patrick Clay was named as a consultant to the Food and Drug Administration’s Antiviral Advisory Committee for a period of five years. Dr. Clay is also in the process of being appointed to officially serve on the committee, which provides the FDA with independent opinions and recommendations from outside experts on applications to market new drugs and on FDA policies.
Proteon Therapeutics’ Franano appointed
by Governor to MTC Board
The Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC) announced that F. Nicholas Franano, M.D., has been appointed by Governor Matt Blunt to serve on its Board of Directors. The MTC is a private, not-for-profit corporation chartered by an act of the General Assembly in 1994 and led by a 15 member Board of Directors. The Board is comprised of leaders in the fields of science and technology and representatives of universities, businesses, and the public. The MTC is charged by law with being a focal point for creating better ways for Missouri businesses to work with universities in order to solve key technical and productivity issues; for bringing more research funding and emphasis to Missouri universities, especially involving the life sciences, information technology and advanced manufacturing; and for creating and managing a system to transfer new discoveries into the marketplace in order to create companies and jobs. More recently, MTC has been directed to oversee the investment of $15 million appropriated by the General Assembly under Governor Blunt’s Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative for high impact economic development projects in Missouri’s rapidly growing technology sector. For more information, contact Steve Walker at 816-512-2270.
AVMA launches animal welfare information web site
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) announced the launch of its first web section devoted entirely to animal welfare information. The new web section offers links to brochures, policy statements, commentary on regulatory and legislative proposals, backgrounders, the AVMA Guidelines on euthanasia, press releases and journal articles, information about the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee, a meeting calendar and contact information for staff in the Animal Welfare Division. More info
MWI Veterinary Supply announce intent
to purchase AAHA
MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc. announced that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to purchase substantially all of the assets of AAHA Services Corporation, operating as AAHA MARKETLink, for a cash purchase price of $10 million, and to simultaneously enter into a long-term sponsorship and licensing agreement between MWI and American Animal Hospital Association ("AAHA"). The Company currently expects to commence logistics on behalf of AAHA MARKETLink on July 1, 2008 and to enter into a definitive agreement and close the transaction by July 15, 2008.
ProPharma Group, Inc. and Pharmaceutical Alliance, LLC announce acquisition
ProPharma Group, Inc. formally announces the acquisition of Pharmaceutical Alliance, LLC. The acquisition will provide ProPharma Group’s clients with expanded, streamlined access to a broad array of validation services.
ProPharma Group was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in the Kansas City area with offices in San Francisco, California, Bozeman, Montana, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Frederick, Maryland. ProPharma Group provides compliance and validation consulting services to Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies throughout the world. Pharmaceutical Alliance, LLC. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Fayetteville, Ohio. More info
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