Medical & Health Sciences
Dr Matthew Boisen – Understanding Lassa Virus
For many years, Dr Matthew Boisen, Director of Diagnostics Development at Zalgen Labs, has focussed on trying to understand Lassa fever. Part of the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium, his group’s objectives are threefold: first, to develop fast and accurate diagnostics for Lassa fever; second, to design new therapeutic approaches; and third, to create an effective vaccine providing long-term protection against this condition.
Professor Jeansok Kim – Understanding Fear in Animals
Research into animal fear typically utilises laboratory techniques based on Pavlovian fear conditioning, but these approaches are limited. Professor Jeansok Kim, from the Department of Psychology, University of Washington (USA) has developed a much more realistic way to study fear that closely mimics risky conditions in the wild. New discoveries by Professor Kim and his team are challenging existing paradigms and providing exciting insights into the underlying brain mechanisms of fear in both animals and humans.
Professor Mark D’Esposito – Everyday Miracles: Unravelling the Mysteries of Working Memory
To accomplish even a simple goal, our brain must coordinate thousands of pieces of information, remember which parts are relevant, and ignore anything that is extraneous. Dr Mark D’Esposito of the University of California, Berkeley, studies how different parts of the brain work together to create working memory, the cognitive system that temporarily and actively holds information in mind allowing us to complete complex tasks.
Professor Mark D’Esposito – Leveraging New Technologies to Treat Brain Injury
The brain is the most mysterious organ in the human body – despite decades of research, we have just begun to scratch the surface in understanding how the brain works and how we can help it to heal following an injury. Professor Mark D’Esposito of the University of California, Berkeley, uses advanced imaging technology to illuminate how the connections in our brain function in order to find new ways to aid brain healing after injury.
Dr Baowei Fei – A New Technique for Targeted Prostate Cancer Biopsies
Two-dimensional transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsy is the standard method for prostate cancer diagnosis. However, the technique is limited in one respect – it can be prone to sampling error. Cancers can be missed, or their severity grossly underestimated. To address this, Dr Baowei Fei, from the University of Texas (UT) at Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center, is pioneering a technique that merges positron emission tomography (PET) with TRUS to detect prostate cancer more accurately than before.
Dr Mary Logan | Dr Sean Speese – Protecting the Brain
Our nervous system has such an important function in our body that neurons have their own bodyguards. Known as glial cells, they protect brain cells against injury and prevent damage. Dr Mary Logan and Dr Sean Speese, both based at the Jungers Center for Neuroscience...
PPM: Tailoring Cannabis to Create Medicine for the Masses
Cannabis is a plant that remains largely stigmatised, along with people who consume or condone it. However, Dr Andrea Holmes and her colleagues at Precision Plant Molecules are revealing the numerous hidden benefits of cannabis, when processed with precision....
Professor Wolf Singer – The Coordination of Neuronal Communication
More than a century of research in neuroscience has demonstrated that neurons and specific areas of the cerebral cortex are specialised in their function. For example, separate aspects of a visual stimulus (such as its colour, shape, and motion) are processed by...
Dr Gábor Balázsi – Rewiring DNA: Gene Circuits in Synthetic Biology
The futuristic field of synthetic biology has the potential to deliver exciting, innovative technologies – improved chemicals, materials, medicines, environmental solutions, and even smart biological devices – converging Mother Nature with human ingenuity. Dr Gábor...
Dr Jae Ho Kim | Dr Stephen Brown – Can Tissue Damage Caused by Radiation Treatment Be Reduced?
Radiation therapy is a common treatment for cancerous tumours. However, radiation-induced tissue injury can be a serious side effect of treatment. Dr Jae Ho Kim and Dr Stephen Brown of Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, USA, have identified molecular processes associated...
Dr Björn Schönnagel – Foetal Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Defects: A New Approach
Foetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly used for the imaging of many types of medical conditions and research continues into its use. However, MRI of the foetal cardiovascular system has encountered significant difficulties due to the constant movement...
Dr Douglas McNeel – Enhancing the Efficacy of Immunotherapeutic Drugs for Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of male cancer deaths worldwide, with one man in every seven likely to contract the disease during his lifetime. As late-stage prostate cancer remains a fatal disease resistant to conventional treatment, the need for effective new...
Dr Lei Cao – The Impact of Our Environment on Our Well-being
The human body is a bewildering set of interacting systems, a complex web of signals and pathways which are constantly adjusting to the conditions which we find ourselves in. Ground-breaking research by Dr Lei Cao, of Ohio State University, USA, is providing new...
Cancer Care Ontario – Addressing Disparities in Access to Cancer Screening Experienced by Indigenous Peoples in Ontario
Persistent health inequities, rooted in colonialism, continue to impact Indigenous1 peoples in Canada. The trend is no different for cancer, which has emerged as a leading cause of death among Indigenous peoples. Although cancer screening is widely recognised as an...
Dr Elizabeth Ryan – Efficacy of Wholefoods for Health and Cancer Prevention
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. With up to 70% of new cases predicted to occur in the developing world, finding affordable and effective cancer preventive agents for global use is critical. Dr Elizabeth Ryan, from the Department of Environmental...
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation promotes academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany. To this end, it grants more than 700 research fellowships and research awards annually. These allow researchers from all over...
Dr Johanna Gostner – Something in the Air Tonight
The air around us contains a complex mixture of volatile compounds, to which we are inevitably exposed with largely unknown effects on our health. Leading the way in identifying the molecular consequences of such exposures is Dr Johanna Gostner of the Medical...
Worldwide Cancer Research
Worldwide Cancer Research is a UK-based charity, founded in 1979. It funds research into all types of cancer across the globe, specifically focusing on early-stage basic laboratory science aiming to provide the seeds of discovery which may ultimately lead to...
Dr Yi Li – Health Starts in the Cell: Approaching Obesity from the Inside Out
Over the last few decades, obesity has become substantial public health concern. Obesity is associated with a myriad of other ailments and is on the rise in most developed countries. As with many chronic diseases, the development of an obese body type is often more...
The Clinical Trial Service at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine
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Professor Michael O’Donnell – The Incredible Ways of DNA Replication
For over 30 years, Professor Michael O’Donnell, based at the Rockefeller University in New York, has focused on the mechanisms involved in the duplication of genetic material in cells, a process known as DNA replication. Professor O’Donnell’s work spans from the early...
Dr Jerry Silver – Spinal Cord Damage and Emerging Treatments
Injuries to the spinal cord can cause permanent paralysis and even lead to death, with little to no hope of regaining lost functions once the trauma has occurred. Dr Jerry Silver and his team at Case Western Reserve University Medical School, USA, have been working to...
Professor Yubin Zhou – Let There Be Light!
Professor Yubin Zhou, from the Center for Translational Cancer Research at the Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences & Technology, USA, is developing ways to use light to control cellular function. The researcher and his team are responsible for a...
Professor Jeffrey C. Hoch – A Box in the Clouds
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is without doubt one of the most exciting analytic methods available in biomolecular medicine. Applications include structural biology, metabolic studies, disease diagnosis, and drug discovery. However, the use of NMR can be daunting...
Project VALOR – Exploring PTSD Risk Factors and Outcomes in Combat-exposed Veterans
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent and often debilitating condition that follows exposure to a traumatic experience and can result in depression and increased suicide risk in vulnerable individuals. Researchers at the National Center for PTSD at the...
Dr Brian Peerce – Fighting Chronic Kidney Disease with 2FP
According to the National Kidney Foundation, ten per cent of the world’s population is affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD), and millions die each year from the condition. In response, Dr Brian Peerce, a biochemist, and Dr Slomowitz, a nephrologist, co-founded...
Calder Biosciences: Engineering Solutions for Improved Vaccines
Designing better vaccines is the end goal for Calder Biosciences Inc., a company that has found a new way to engineer vaccines, ensuring greater stability, prolonging their duration in the body and thereby enhancing protection. Using a natural chemical reaction known...
Dr Charles Wray – Teaching the Genome Generation
Since the release of the first human genome, our understanding of genetics has grown significantly. However, keeping up with developments in the field can be overwhelming for students, and even teachers. Dr Charles Wray of The Jackson Laboratory has created a unique...
Professor Alexander-Friedrich | Dr Avci-Adali – Stem Cell-powered Implants to Revolutionise Maxillofacial Surgery
Bone tissue engineering expert Professor Alexander-Friedrich and cardiovascular tissue engineering expert Dr Avci-Adali at the University Hospital Tübingen, Germany, are working to harness the regenerative power of stem cells to improve maxillofacial surgery. Their...
Professor Lloyd Kasper | Dr Javier Ochoa-Repáraz | Dr Nader Yaghoubi – Unlocking the Sweet Secrets of the Microbiota
The pioneering research of Professor Lloyd Kasper while at Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, and Javier Ochoa-Repáraz at Eastern Washington University, has revealed that microbes living within our gut contain and release compounds such as a specific...
Professor Charles Carter – The Evolution of Genetic Coding
The research of Professor Charles Carter, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, unravels some of the biggest mysteries of molecular evolution. His research is dedicated to investigating how information flows from genes to proteins found in living organisms...
Dr Hernan Garcia-Ruiz – When Viruses Infect Plants
Just as human beings can catch a cold, plants can also get viral infections. Understanding the mechanisms regulating the interactions between plants and viruses is the first step towards developing better management strategies and using biotechnology methods to...