UAB CCTS
UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science 1st Annual Scientific Symposium
The CCTS 1st Annual Scientific Symposium began with Katherine Klinger, PhD, Senior Vice President & Presidential Fellow in Genetics and Genomics at Genzyme Corporation, who presented Translational Medicine: How do we Walk the Walk? Dr. Klinger emphasized the importance of accelerating the pace of moving fundamental discoveries into practical applications that enhance health. The typical length of time to move a small molecule drug or protein from bench to beside is 10-15 years – very costly and very risky. Even though it takes so long to go through the process, there is a less than 5% success rate that small molecule drugs and proteins will actually be approved. Most compounds fail due to lack of efficacy (46%); other reasons for failure include animal or human toxicity, adverse events, or pharmacokinetics. Dr. Klinger proposed an opportunity to improve the odds by optimizing disease models and developing valid markers to accelerate trials in man.
Two speakers were funded in the inaugural round of the Translational Research Intramural Grant Program (CCTS Pilot Program) in 2008 and presented their work.
Hyunki Kim, PhD presented his research on Physiologic MRI for Early Therapy Assessment in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) or dynamic-contrast enhancement MR imaging (DCE-MRI) were used to measure early physiologic changes in orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts following chemotherapies and/or targeted therapies in SCID mice. DWI was used to evaluate a novel anti-DR5 antibody TRA-8 with and without gemcitabine. DCE-MRI was used to evaluate an anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab with and without irinotecan. Both studies showed a decrease in tumor size with the most dramatic changes in the antibody and drug combinations.
Raegan Durant, MD presented PUSSH: The Pilot for Understanding Social Support and Hospital Use for Heart Failure. Dr. Durant compared the psychometric properties of three existing social support scales to examine their reliability and validity in a population of heart failure patients. The three scales were the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS), the Personal Resource Questionnaire 85 (PRQ-85), and the Multidimensional Survey of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Surveys were given in person at the hospital and 2 weeks later by telephone. MOS-SSS had the highest internal validity and test-retest reliability, was informative regarding emotional and tangible support, and assessed distinct aspects of social support. Future plans include studies to examine relationships among social support, self-management and heart failure outcomes.
Two speakers funded by the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance (ADDA) and the CCTS Drug Discovery Component also presented their work.
Andrew West, PhD presented his project Discovery of LRRK2 Kinase Inhibitors. His research focuses on mutations in LRRK2, which are the most common known cause of Parkinson’s Disease and account for 1-5% of cases in many Western populations and up to 35% in certain ethnicities. Through in vitro assays, it has been demonstrated that mutations increase LRRK2 kinase activity, which is required to block neurotoxicity. Factors that mitigate kinase activity may represent novel therapeutics to block neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s. More research is being done on a three part screening for identification of small molecule inhibitors of LRRK2 with therapeutic potential.
Krister Wennerberg, PhD presented his research on Discovery and Development of Ect2 Inhibitors as Anti-cancer Drugs. During the phases in cell division, the molecular events during cytokinesis have not been actively pursued as anti-cancer targets. The Ect2 stands out as a particularly interesting anti-cancer target due to its essential role in cytokinesis; because it is commonly overexpressed in cancers such as gliomas, ovarian, and lung cancers; and because the overexpression is correlated with metastatic behavior and poor clinical outcome. The next steps will include high throughput screening and follow-up assays to identify specific inhibitors that will establish whether small molecule inhibitors of Ect2 can act as potent anti-cancer agents.
An afternoon poster session followed with thirteen posters. Presenters and their research included the following:
- Jessica Alvarez, MS, RD – Dietary Vitamin D and Calcium Are Differentially Associated with Insulin Sensitivity among African American and European American Premenopausal Women
- Elizabeth Brown, PhD, MPH – Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology (iMAGE) Study of Myeloma
- Nikki Bush, MS, RD – Maternal gestational glucose and offspring indices of insulin resistance and secretion
- David D. Chaplin, MD, PhD – Myeloid-Derived Regulatory Cells in the Airways of Patients with Asthma and COPD
- Nefertiti Durant, MD, MPH – Exercise in Young African American Women: Advancing Methods of Promotion of Physical Activity: WEBWALK
- W. Timothy Garvey, MD – Identifying Agonists of NR4A3 Orphan Nuclear Receptor for the Treatment of Insulin Resistance
- Kenneth Hoyt, PhD – On the potential of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for monitoring breast cancer response to antiangiogenic therapy
- Rajesh K. Kana, PhD – Structural integrity of White Matter in Autism: a diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study
- Michal Mrug, MD – Timing of the development switch regulating cystogenesis in humans
- Lisa M. Schwiebert, PhD – The effect of aerobic exercise on asthma-related responses in adults
- Adrie JC Steyn, PhD – Role of Nitric Oxide and Carbon Monoxide in Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis
- David E. Vance, PhD– Speed of Processing Training in Adults with HIV: A Pilot Study
- Sadanandan E. Velu, PhD – Synthesis and Anti-Breast Cancer Activity of Novel Makaluvamine Analogs
Introducing Jean Lambert
Congratulations to Laurel Hitchcock on finishing her doctorate degree and pursuing her dream! We wish her the very best in her career. Laurel has left me with some large shoes to fill.
My name is Jean Lynch Lambert and I have been in and out of the UAB system for years. While in high school and during the summer, I helped my mother, Murrill Lynch, in the Departments of Cardiology and OB/GYN. I received a BS in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Biology and Earth Science from UAB School of Education. While getting my degree, I taught labs in the Departments of Geology and Biology. After teaching 8th graders science and math, I returned to student life at UAB and received a MA in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Biology. While in school and tutoring on the side, I worked in the Department of Biology researching invertebrates from the Gulf of Mexico under James McClintock, PhD and worked some with Stephen Watts, PhD. After finishing my MA, I worked in the Department of Pathology researching osteoporosis under Harry C. Blair, MD. I have also worked with Steven Carroll, MD, PhD in that department running GeneChips and researching nerve sheath tumors. Outside of UAB, I worked at the Birmingham VA in the Department of Pathology with Harry C. Blair, MD, the Department of Rheumatology with Warren Blackburn, MD and Radiation Safety with Kathy Boyd. Antarctic Support Associates hired me to work in Antarctica to assist researchers with their projects and making sure they had what they needed in the field. I have worked with Veterinarians in their personal practices in Alabama and Mississippi doing everything from lab tests and assisting in exams to assisting in surgery. Also, I worked for TransMoleculer, Inc., a company started by Harold W. Sontheimer, PhD, researching the drug TM-601 for glioblastomas. Most recently, I was with Southern Medical Association working meetings for doctors receiving CME credits. Some may call me a jack of many trades, and a master of a few, but it has been an experience that I would not change. Every position has given me insight into the wonderful world of science and medicine, and for a science junkie like me, it’s been great!
I look forward to working at the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS). Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the CCTS. I may not know the answers right away, but I promise to find the answer and help you in any way possible.
The Society for Clinical and Translational Science (SCTS)
It has been three years since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded the first round of twelve Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) grants in 2006. Since that time, twenty-seven more CTSAs have been established throughout the nation. Now the leaders in the field of Clinical and Translational have established The Society for Clinical and Translational Science. The Society’s mission is to advance research and education in clinical and translational science so as to improve human health. The founding of the SCTS is a milestone in forging a cultural identity for clinical and translational science, advancing research and education in the discipline, and encouraging students and trainees to choose careers in clinical and translational science. To learn more about this new endeavor, visit the Society’s web site at: http://scts01.dev.web.sba.com/Default.aspx.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the SCTS, first consider becoming a member of the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science by visiting our web site at: http://www.ccts.uab.edu/pages/join/joinccts.aspx.
Getting to know the UAB CCTS – One Great Community
One Great Community is the formal venue for developing and enhancing community partnerships within the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Its goals are to:
1) Translate scientific knowledge generated at UAB into direct community benefit;
2) Engage the community in the generation of questions and ideas that will be pursued by CCTS researchers through hypothesis-driven research in partnership with the community, and;
3) Support and facilitate collaboration and trust between the community and the biomedical research enterprise.
One Great Community uses the methodology of community-based participatory research to meet these goals, and build on extensive and long-standing partnerships that join UAB researchers with communities in the impoverished, rural Deep South and with the region’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Community-based participatory research has grown significantly in popularity and practice in the US and is a major emphasis of the CTSA initiative.
To learn more about community-academic research partnerships, please read the following article:
ABSTRACT: Responding to both the proliferation of higher-education-community partnerships and the paucity of studies that report the perspective of the community partners in such relationships, we interviewed community leaders to learn about their motivations for and experiences of participating in higher-education-community research partnerships. The article reports community leaders’ assessments of the benefits and challenges of engaging in such partnerships, shares their advice for both community and university-based actors considering involvement in such partnerships, and explores the larger institutional and structural issues that bedevil higher-education-community partnerships.
