Campus News
Second UM Innovation Technology Showcase Wows Investors with Breadth of UM Discoveries
11/20/2009
Standing by the poster that represented research from their team at the Diabetes Research Institute, Miller School researchers Margarita Nieto, M.D., and Samuel Rosero, M.D., proudly repeated the same information to potential investors and visitors at the UM Innovation Technology Showcase.
And for good reason. Led by principal investigator Ricardo Pastori, Ph.D., "Molecular Biology Studies of the Endocrine Pancreas" explores the manipulation of microRNA to improve insulin production – research with enormous potential to help millions of diabetics.
"This research could have such high impact in the lives of so many people in our society," said Nieto, a post-doctoral associate. "Through UM Innovation we are meeting directly with people who understand the importance of this level of research and are looking for ways they can take the best research to the marketplace."
The DRI research was among nearly 100 posters on display November 18 and 19 at the second annual Technology Showcase at the Four Seasons Miami. The brainchild of Bart Chernow, M.D., MACP, vice provost of technology advancement and professor of medicine, the showcase is designed to match researchers with investors, accelerating the process of moving groundbreaking discoveries from University labs to the marketplace. University-wide, the technologies range from aerodynamics and power generation to allergies and immunology and have more than doubled since Chernow's arrival in 2007.
"I am thrilled with the quality of the science and the enthusiasm of the investor community," Dr. Chernow said.
Day One of this year's event kicked off with a welcome reception and the first viewing of the posters. Among the attendees was Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., who spoke with researchers about their progress and the remarkable potential their discoveries hold.
The second day featured oral presentations by a number of the University's and the Miller School's most prolific inventors as well as a keynote address by Bert Sakmann, M.D., Ph.D., the 1991 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and the new scientific director of the Max Planck Florida Institute. Sakmann's luncheon talk centered on "3D imaging of cortical circuits."
This year's wide assortment of posters reflected the ingenuity and collaboration that UM Innovation has championed across the University. The diversity was represented, for example, by "U-Coach: New Generation e-Sports Simulation," an online game featuring complex sports simulation based on real data on real sports teams. In the version of the game available in Germany, players are expected to make use of their knowledge of a real-life team, said Ubbo Visser, Ph.D., visiting associate professor in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Visser and his student collaborators said there seemed to be high interest from investors with whom they discussed the potential for U.S. editions based on football and baseball.
Mostly, however, the posters and oral presentations centered on research that could make life better for chronically ill patients or improve the human environment. Among the presentations: Eduardo de Marchena, M.D., "A Heart Rate Acquisition Analysis and Database Device;" Glen Barber, Ph.D., "Innate Immunity and the Treatment of Viral and Malignant Disease;" Jochen Reiser, M.D., Ph.D., "Towards the Development of Novel Kidney Protective Drugs;" GeCheng Zha, Ph.D., "Toward Zero Sonic-Boom and High Efficiency Supersonic Flight: A Novel Concept of Supersonic Bi-Directional Flying Wing;" Joshua Hare, M.D., "Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Ischemic Heart Disease;" Joseph Rosenblatt, M.D., "Antibody-Fusion Proteins for Solid Tumor Therapy,'' and many others.
Steven T. Downey, president and CEO of ApoImmune, Inc., a Louisville, Kentucky-based biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapies, said he was impressed by the high quality of research on display and, because the technology showcase is University-based, the potential for investor discussions at such an early stage of development.
"The early time allows for a better matching of interests," Downey said, adding that UM Innovation was the first technology development and investment event he attended that is sponsored by an academic institution, rather than the technology industry.
According to Reiser, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, the weight of a prominent academic institution, coupled with industry and investment community buy-in, is a unique mix that makes UM Innovation attractive.
"We're aligning knowledge and resources under one roof and patients are the potential beneficiaries," Reiser said. "The Innovation Showcase is a great event where all these important segments come together."
HIV-Infected Children on Multiple Antiretroviral Drugs Could Suffer Heart Damage
11/20/2009
One of the big questions surrounding the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for patients, especially children, with HIV has been the risk of long-term complications. New findings from research headed by Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., professor and chairman of pediatrics and associate executive dean for child health at the Miller School, show the hearts of HIV-positive children treated with this multi-drug antiretroviral therapy had less muscle and smaller heart chambers but had increased heart function, which may be a compensation for their smaller hearts. However, there was progressive deterioration in heart function such that the HAART-associated effect was lost by 10 years of therapy.
Some of the abnormalities were sustained, and researchers found a decrease in heart muscle from normal to inadequate during the first 10 years of exposure to antiretroviral therapy.
The findings from the NIH multicenter study were presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association on November 18 in Orlando.In the prospective study, researchers examined periodic heart ultrasounds and compared left ventricular structure and function in HIV-positive children receiving multi-drug antiretroviral HIV therapy to HIV-positive children who were not receiving multi-drug therapy.
"The study group representing nine different institutions strongly supports the use of multi-drug antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive children, but the group feels such patients should have regular cardiac evaluations to identify potential problems and that they should be followed for life to identify any long-term cardiac risk," said Lipshultz, principal investigator of the study. "The clinical significance of the reduced amount of heart muscle as well as the reduced ability of the heart to pump properly over time in the HAART-exposed children is unclear and requires long-term follow-up and ongoing evaluation."
The study, "Anti-Retroviral Therapy Cardiac Effects in HIV-Infected Children: The Multicenter NHLBI Cardiac Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (CHAART-II) Study," was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Lipshultz made a second presentation at the conference from the NIH Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study, which had similar findings of significantly more dilated hearts that had lower heart function in children receiving HAART long-term. They study also showed that the aortic valve in these children was dilated, and that this problem related to children who had more HIV virus and worse HIV disease.
"Sadly, before the HAART era, HIV-infected children were commonly ill or died from heart disease," Lipshultz said. "HAART has dramatically improved survival and quality of life for these children. It does so in ways that interfere with the ability of HIV to replicate and that is beneficial to HIV-infected children because HAART reduces the HIV viral load in their bodies.
"Many HIV care providers have felt that in the HAART era, heart problems like congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy would no longer remain concerns since there was much less virus within these children," Lipshultz said. "However, before we did these studies we were concerned that if these same beneficial effects that reduced HIV in children occurred within heart muscle, there could be less growth of heart muscle and less healthy remaining heart muscle. In fact, before conducting these studies, components of HAART were known to affect the mitochondria and other elements of heart muscle cells in animals. The results of these two studies indicate that HAART use during childhood may be affecting the heart muscle cells’ ability to grow and function normally."
UHealth and Jackson Announce Plans to be Smoke Free Campus in 2010
11/19/2009
The Miller School of Medicine, UHealth – University of Miami Health System and Jackson Health System came together to take a bold step during the 34th annual Great American Smokeout. During this year's event marking the national program, Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean, stood side-by-side with Eneida Roldan, M.D., president and CEO of Jackson Health System, to announce that the University of Miami/Jackson medical campus will become smoke free March 1, 2010.
The Smokeout, started by the American Cancer Society, is aimed at encouraging people to stop smoking for one day with the hope that they will kick the habit for good. Dean Goldschmidt, a renowned cardiologist and CEO of UHealth, told the scores of people gathered Thursday morning in Alamo Park that he has seen the damage smoking can cause. Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. While he acknowledged that quitting smoking can be difficult, the Dean declared that the goal is "to promote health and to promote wellness for everyone."
That goal was echoed by Dr. Roldan, who said that going smoke free was a "great vision to make this a true wellness campus." The Jackson chief pointed out the various booths set up with information about cessation programs, the dangers of smoking, nutrition, stress reduction and exercise. Pamphlets, flyers and banners contained facts about the physical benefits of quitting smoking. Twenty minutes after cessation, a person’s blood pressure drops to normal. Eight hours later the oxygen level in the blood increases, and 48 hours later nerve endings start to regrow and the sense of smell and taste are enhanced.
The smoking ban will apply to all property owned or leased by the Miller School and Jackson Health System on the medical campus. In addition to the smoke free buildings, smoking will also be prohibited in any outdoor areas on campus, including parking garages or in vehicles parked on campus. The Jackson North and South facilities will also fall under the smoke free banner. The campus effort, which is sponsored by the University of Miami Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program, is focused on education and encouragement. The goal, explained Dean Goldschmidt, is to make people understand the health benefits of quitting and steer them toward the wide variety of programs available to help them achieve that goal. University of Miami/Jackson residents Damien Hansra, M.D., and Deepika Aneja, M.D., organized the Smokeout event themed "Healthy Living."
A Ph.D. student in the pharmacology program, Yousuf Ali took the opportunity to speak with a smoking cessation counselor at the Smokeout. He’s had a tough time giving up those last few cigarettes he smokes each day. He said it was a matter of self-control but embraced the idea and said he was hopeful that the ban will be strictly enforced. The initiative will employ ambassadors to inform people about the policy and about the variety of cessation programs.
A dedicated Web page with information on cessation programs, health benefits and other resources has already been launched under a "Be Smoke Free" button. Richard Thurer, M.D., professor of surgery and chairman of the Smoke Free Campus Initiative, has been working on this project for several months and said going smoke free is "another program that demonstrates to all of South Florida that UHealth and the Jackson Health System are the leaders in health care."
Cancer Survivor Meets Researcher Who Helped Save His Life
11/18/2009
The thank you meeting between 21-year-old cancer survivor Steven Guarin and veteran Miller School cancer researcher Eckhard Podack, M.D., Ph.D., lasted only 30 minutes, but was nearly two decades in the making.
In the early ‘90s, Podack, Sylvester distinguished professor and chairman of microbiology and immunology, created the antibody that is a key component of SGN-35, a potential new drug that vanquished Steven’s anaplastic large cell lymphoma, bringing him back from the brink of death in June.
So when Steven, a UM communications student, returned to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Tuesday for another dose of SGN-35 he’s receiving under the auspices of a Phase II clinical trial, he was delighted Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., introduced him to the man he calls his hero.
“Thank you very much,’’ Steven told Podack, shaking his hand. “I’m thankful you dedicated your life to research. There are many to thank, but you are the first. It feels good to not be sick.’’
Diagnosed with the rare lymphoma at age 18, Steven said the June night he received his first infusion of SGN-35 he had accepted he “was going to die.” After two crippling relapses, he knew he was out of options.
Peter Hosein, M.D., a fellow in hematology-oncology at University of Miami/Jackson, already had guided Steven through a round of standard chemotherapy known as CHOP. He did well for a while, then relapsed. Next, he underwent an autologous stem cell transplant, but the result was the same – a short remission followed by another relapse.
Fortunately for Steven, he was undergoing treatment at an academic medical center, where physicians and scientists work together to develop and test new therapies. What academics call “translational research,’’ Steven calls a “miracle.’’
Hosein knew that Joseph Rosenblatt, M.D., professor of medicine and associate director for clinical and translational research at Sylvester, was principal investigator of a multi-center trial just getting underway for a monoclonal antibody for rare lymphomas like Steven’s. But the Kendall resident was too sick to qualify. He had raging fevers. His kidneys were failing. His blood count was terrible.
Knowing Steven didn’t have long to live, Rosenblatt convinced the trial sponsors, Seattle Genetics Inc., to accept him anyway, making him the first patient in the trial. The gambit worked. Within 36 hours, Steven’s tumors had disappeared. He never would suffer the debilitating side effects of other chemotherapies.
"I went from fevers and pain and lymph nodes everywhere to walking,’’ Steven said. “For me, it's a miracle drug.''
After leaving the hospital, Steven learned SGN-35 had started as a monoclonal antibody in Podack’s lab, not far from where he once lay near death. He read that Podack had created the antibody to seek out and attach to CD-30, a receptor on lymphoma cells, then sold the technology to Seattle Genetics in the early 1990s.
Seattle Genetics would later add the chemotherapy drug mono-auristatin to the antibody, creating a novel therapy that targets only cancer cells, leaving healthy tissue alone.
Steven sent Podack an e-mail, calling him his “hero” and thanking him for saving his life. Podack was touched. He rarely heard about, much less met, patients whom his work had helped. Dean Goldschmidt set out to change that, introducing them Tuesday.
“Dr. Podack was the inventor of the antibody that helped you,’’ Dean Goldschmidt said as Steven and Podack shook hands. “It’s rare that people discover a treatment for any cancer … so I wanted to get the two of you together.’’
The 21-year-old cancer survivor and the veteran researcher shook hands, and beamed.
