March 24, 2008 --
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the appointments to the NIH Council of Councils. The Council is made up of 27 members selected from the NIH Institute and Center (IC) advisory councils and advisory committees to the NIH Office of the Director. The Council will advise the NIH Director on cutting-edge trans-NIH priorities and matters related to the policies and activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, established by the NIH Reform Act 2006, and the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI). The Council also will act as an external advisory panel to the IC Directors during the concept approval stage of the review process for trans-NIH initiatives. For the full NIH press release, visit
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2008/od-24.htm. Dr. Hendrix will serve as liaison to the National Cancer Institute.
August 2, 2007-- Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, President and Scientific Director of Children's Memorial Research Center, announced today two important changes to the research center:
Ram Yogev, MD, has assumed the position of Deputy Director for Research – Clinical Sciences.
The Program in Experimental Therapeutics has been renamed to the Program in Clinical and Translational Research, under the leadership of Ram Yogev, MD.
Xin Liu, MD, PhD joined the Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program at Children’s Memorial Research Center, and the Department of Pediatrics of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine as a tenure track assistant professor in January 2007. Read more.
Michael Klüppel, PhD, joined the
Human Molecular Genetics Program at Children’s Memorial Research Center from the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada, where he worked as a postdoctoral fellow and research associate in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Wrana.
Read more.
Vasil Galat, PhD, an expert in laboratory research on human embryonic stem cells, has been named director of Children’s Memorial’s Research Center’s Stem Cell Core Facility and appointed assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Galat was the former director of the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Laboratory in Torrance, California where he focused on assisted reproductive technologies including chromosome analysis, human embryo culture, somatic cell nuclear transfer and medical genetics.
Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, President and Scientific Director of Children’s Memorial Research Center (CMRC), and Tadanori Tomita, MD, Director, Falk Brain Tumor Center at Children’s Memorial Hospital, are pleased to announce the appointment of M. Bento Soares, PhD, as Scientific Director of the Falk Brain Tumor Research Program at Children’s. Drs. Stewart Goldman and Bento Soares will collaborate with Dr. Tadanori Tomita, to continue making scientific and medical advancements for the benefit of children. Dr. Soares will concurrently serve as the director of the
Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program of CMRC.
Philip V. Spina, CRA, Chief Administrative Officer and Deputy Director for Administration at Children's Memorial Research Center, has been elected as President,
Society of Research Administrators International (SRA International). This nonprofit association is "dedicated to the education and the professional development of research administrators, as well as the enhancement of public understanding of the importance of research and its administration." Spina began his term in October 2005 as President-Elect and became President in October 2006.
Read more.
The Children’s Memorial Research Center senior leadership is pleased to announce the selection of Vasil Galat, PhD (2007-2008) and Luigi Strizzi, MD, PhD (2008-2009) as Eisenberg Scholars. Dr. Galat is a Research Assistant Professor of Pathology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, and serves as director of the research center's Stem Core Facility. Dr. Strizzi is a Research Assistant Professor in the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, and a member of the Cancer Biology & Epigenomics Program of the research center. The research interests of Dr. Galat include: Human embryonic stem cells; experimental embryology; medical genetics; and nuclear reprogramming. Dr. Strizzi’s research focuses on: Breast cancer stem cells; mammary gland development; tumor cell plasticity; and prognostic cancer biomarkers.
We are most grateful for the generosity of Marshall and JoAnn Eisenberg in supporting the promising careers of junior research faculty. Since 2004, seven faculty have benefited from the Eisenberg Scholars Fund: Zhila Ellis, PhD; Dawn Kirschmann, PhD; Joon Won Yoon, PhD; Tamas Virag, PhD; Zoe Demou, PhD; Vasil Galat, PhD; and Luigi Strizzi, MD, PhD.
Hans-Georg Simon, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and a laboratory director in the Developmental Biology Program at Children’s Memorial Research Center, organized and chaired a platform session on limb development for the 2008 American Association of Anatomists (AAA) annual meeting April 5-9 in San Diego. The title of the session was "How to Make a Limb: Developmental Paradigms." Simon invited scholars, particularly graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty members to present their work. For more information, please go to the AAA web site at http://www.anatomy.org
Magdalena Suszko, PhD, post-doctoral scientist in the
Human Molecular Genetics Program (Harris group) has been awarded a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation post-doctoral fellowship, for 2 years from May 1 2007. Her project is entitled "The Role of Intron 1 in the Regulation of CFTR Gene Expression."
Charlottesville, VA, Jan. 23, 2007 -- A group of 10 scientists will help increase public awareness and understanding of environmental health science as part of a new program that aims to publish and promote new research findings to a general audience. Each will receive a $5,000 stipend for their yearlong appointment to the Science Communication Fellows Program.
Starting in February, the first ever Science Communication Fellows, sponsored by the non-profit organization Environmental Health Sciences (EHS), will assist in identifying important new research findings about environment and health that are just published or about to be published in peer-reviewed journals. The Fellows will help translate the findings so they are more accessible to working reporters and to a broader public audience.
Sara Ahlgren, PhD, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University, and director of a laboratory in the
Developmental Biology Program, is one of the ten Science Communication Fellows. Ahlgren studies the interaction between genes and environment, especially how toxic substances alter genetic pathways leading to birth defects.
The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children has received the 2006 Silver award for Healthcare Web Site of the Year from Medical Marketing & Media. Medical Marketing & Media is a monthly business publication that has been serving healthcare marketers since 1966.
Dr. Mary Hendrix has been selected as the recipient of the 2006 Henry Gray Award by the
American Association of Anatomists (AAA). The Henry Gray Award is the highest honor of the AAA, and it recognizes a lifetime of achievement, including unique and meritorious contributions to the field of anatomical science. Mary will receive her award on April 4, 2006 during the annual meeting of the AAA as part of the Experimental Biology Meeting in San Diego.
Paul T. Schumacker, PhD, head of the Neonatology Research Laboratory at Children’s Memorial Research Center, received the
American Thoracic Society Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishment for 2006. This prestigious award is given to individuals for outstanding scientific contributions to the understanding, prevention and treatment of lung disease. Schumacker’s research focuses on regulation mechanisms of oxygen sensors in the newborns’ lungs.
Read about Research Scholars Day 2007 and its award winners.
have been approved for Continuing Medical Education credits by Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine's CME Review Committee. Each participant will receive a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ per lecture.
The Seminar series is scheduled for Thursdays at 4 pm in Wolfson Lecture Hall at 2430 N. Halsted St.
The Research Progress Reports series is scheduled for Fridays at noon in Wolfson Lecture Hall.
To view scheduled seminars, refer to the "Upcoming Events" bar on the right of the main page.
Please contact Yolanda Palmer at ypalmer@childrensmemorial.org or 773 755-6384 if you have questions about the CME program.
Children’s Memorial Research Center was recently awarded two grants from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust. The grants will support Dr. Xiaobin Wang’s study, “Application of Genomics and Proteomics Approach in Understanding Biological Mechanisms of Food Allergy,” and Dr. Hans-Georg Simon’s study, “Rebuilding a Heart.” Read more.
Do mammals have the potential to re-grow arms and legs? A Children’s Memorial Research Center scientist is part of a national study seeking to answer that question. The partial or complete loss of digits or limbs and deforming disabilities resulting from serious illness can profoundly affect a person’s life. This presents a challenge for the medical community charged with their care.
Recognizing the need for novel approaches that can restore, even partially, the structure and function of lost or damaged tissues, the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a $3.7 million grant to a consortium of six universities and research centers to unlock the regenerative potential in humans.
Read more.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich commits $10 million to stem cell research
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Children's Memorial Research Center recently received nearly $2 million in a two-year grant from the state of Illinois for research on reversal of disease progression by stem cells. The research center was awarded the largest single grant out of 10 local institutions receiving funds from Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute (IRMI), which was created by Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s executive order last July to provide $10 million in state-funded grants for stem cell research. Children’s Memorial was the only pediatric institution to receive IRMI funding. The research center’s president and scientific director, Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, will be the principal investigator. Read more.
The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience has committed $1.5 million over three years to investigate the root causes of neurological and psychiatric disorders.
The 2006 Neuroscience of Brain Disorders Awards will support U.S. scientists for research aimed at diagnosing, preventing, and treating injuries or diseases of the brain or spinal cord. The five projects selected this year are studying mechanisms involved in stroke, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, autism, and sleep disorders. Each will receive $300,000 over the three-year period.
Read more.
An innovative gene therapy approach pioneered by Pennsylvania-based RheoGene Inc. will be further refined and tested in preliminary clinical trials within four years, thanks to a $4.2 million grant from the
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF).
A wholly owned affiliate of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), RheoGene Inc. has developed technology to manage gene expression, a key component of gene-based therapies. RheoGene's therapeutic system uses a patented small-molecule mediator that can turn genes "on" or "off" as well as adjust the level of gene activity similar to the way a rheostat regulates electric current.
Read more.
Deborah L. Shelton, Chicago Tribune reporter
April 28, 2008 -- In a
Chicago Tribune article about violence and its effects on children in Chicago, Karen Sheehan, MD, MPH, attending physician at Children's Memorial Hospital, Medical Director of the hospital's
Injury Prevention and Research Center and
Injury Free Coalition for Kids, said that some of the children she sees confide that they have difficulty falling asleep because they feel afraid. She said, "Lack of sleep leads to obesity, attention-deficit disorders and other things that feed into a cycle of poor health."
Her colleague, Maryann Mason, PhD, associate director of the
Child Health Data Lab at Children's Memorial Research Center, is conducting research on the physical activity levels of children ages 5 to 10 who live in five primarily low-income black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Chicago. Her team has found that the parents most likely to keep their children indoors weren't always the ones living in areas with the most crime; they were the ones who thought the crime rate was highest. "The higher the parental perception of crime, the more sedentary the kids are after school," Mason said. "It's probably true that they are keeping them inside to play video games and watch TV."
Read the Chicago Tribune story.
The Spring 2008 issue of InTouch With Research at Children's Memorial Research Center is available. Click here for the PDF (1.6 mb). InTouch, published quarterly, is the newsletter for the research center.
Click here for the PDF (1 mb).
Click here for the PDF (1 mb).
The David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation has made a generous gift of important photographs from its collection to Children's Memorial Research Center. On behalf of the research center, Philip Iannaccone, MD, PhD, Deputy Director for Research-Basic Sciences, accepted the gift from Michal Raz-Russo, co-curator and administrator for the Ruttenberg Collection. The research center will be working with experts from Columbia College of Chicago to site the photographs.
February 16, 2007 -- Children's Memorial Research Center announced a public-private partnership that will result in therapy and prevention for Chicago-area adolescents with HIV and youth who are at risk for contracting the disease.
Ann Lurie, a Chicago native, contributed over $1 million to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) to fund the Adolescent Trials Network (ATN) for HIV/AIDS Interventions. The NIH's contribution brought the total funded amount to $1.9 million. In partnership with the Howard Brown Health Center, the Midwest’s premier lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health care organization, Children's Memorial Hospital will enroll HIV-positive youth in clinical trials of drugs, and at-risk youth in HIV prevention trials.
Ms. Lurie spoke of her passion for Children's Memorial Hospital's role in advocacy and the importance of funding an HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention program. Speaking at the press conference, Illinois State Senator John Cullerton characterized her as a "very generous and extraordinary person." Ms. Lurie was presented with a plaque by the research center in honor of her outstanding contribution.
April 15, 2008 — Rajesh Kumar, MD, and colleagues at Children's Memorial have identified a potential link between respiratory problems and premature birth.
Read More.
April 5, 2008 — Lauren M. Pachman, MD, and colleagues have published a study that shows a difference in absorption of a drug administered to juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) patients when given orally as opposed to intravenously. Read More.
Groundbreaking work by the Mary J.C. Hendrix laboratory and colleagues is elucidating how a protein that governs development of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) also inhibits the growth and spread of malignant melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer.
Developmental biologist David Walterhouse, MD, is featured in an article in Children’s Memorial Foundation’s quarterly e-newsletter, Online Update, spotlighting his research on how normal cells receive “signals” that cause them to turn into cancer cells.
CHICAGO --- Apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene associated with heightened risk for Alzheimer's disease in adults, can also increase the likelihood that brain-injured newborns will develop cerebral palsy, researchers at Children's Memorial Research Center have discovered.
This is the first identification of a gene that increases susceptibility to cerebral palsy. Results of the study, published in the February 2007 issue of the journal Pediatrics, may enable early identification of children who are at risk for poor neuro-developmental outcome after brain injury as newborns and thus target those children for early therapeutic intervention.
The lead scientist on the study was Mark S. Wainwright, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Pediatrics (Neurology) and Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and the Children's Memorial Research Center. Wainwright is also a researcher in the Center for Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology at Feinberg.
Wainwright's co-researchers on this study were Maxine M. Kuroda, PhD, Mary E. Weck, John F. Sarwark, MD, and Aaliyah Hamidullah. Read more.
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| Anne H. Rowley, MD |
In an important discovery in infectious disease research, a team of scientists from Children’s Memorial Research Center and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has identified a possible viral cause of Kawasaki disease, the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed nations.
Kawasaki disease is a serious pediatric illness that causes inflammation of the blood vessels and can cause damage to coronary arteries. Investigators have suspected an infectious cause, but, until now, none has been identified. Results of the new study suggest a single viral cause that enters through the respiratory system and infects the bronchi of children.
The research group was led by Anne H. Rowley, MD, attending physician in Children’s Memorial Hospital’s Division of Infectious Disease, and professor of pediatrics and of microbiology/immunology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
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| Troy Camarata |
The Greater Midwest Affiliate Research Committee of the American Heart Association (AHA) has awarded Troy Camarata with a Predoctoral Fellowship for his proposal entitled “Regulation of Tbx5 during cardiac formation by Lmp4”. The AHA Predoctoral Fellowship program is a competitive award and provides tuition support as well as funding for laboratory supplies for a period of two years. Troy is a Northwestern University graduate student in the Integrated Graduate Program and conducts his graduate thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Hans-Georg Simon at Children’s Memorial Research Center. Employing chicken and zebrafish models, the Simon lab is studying limb and heart development and genetic disorders as they relate to human birth defects.
