We have some exciting news!
Do you have questions or concerns, but don’t know who to reach out to? Send them to our new BWH Research Helpline.
We heard what you’ve had to say and are excited to roll out this new email in order to have one central place where the BWH research community can send any and all of their research related questions.
We look forward to answering your questions!
On April 18th, the BRI co-hosted a Science Slam with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and other institutions that comprise the Harvard Health Innovation Network (HHIN). The event was held at Daedalus Restaurant and Bar and was part of the Cambridge Science Festival.
HHIN members, colleagues, friends and family gathered to hear several brave “slammers” test their skills as science and/or health care communicators by pitching their research and innovations to the crowd. A range of original and inventive topics from impassioned researchers populated the restaurant. Each presenter had just three minutes to grab the audience’s attention and engage them with their focus area. Yielding to the “no PowerPoint policy,” slammers were left to battle it out with just their brains, presentation skills and props, if they so desired.
Laura Kiesel, a freelance writer from the Harvard Health news blog, impressed the crowd with her thoughts on chronic pain, and won the Science Slam, receiving a fun prize pack from the hosts. Her work has made appearances in publications such as The Guardian, Salon and The Atlantic, and she is truly passionate about chronic pain and related health conditions. Her innovative ideas on the topic helped bring her to the top of the lighthearted competition, yet every slammer must be commended for the courage they had in pitching their ideas in such an unusual environment.
The BRI and HHIN hope to continue bringing researchers and their fascinating ideas forward to the public who may not hear them otherwise. Our goal is to raise awareness to the amazing research that takes place within our institutions and opening people’s eyes to all that goes on behind the scenes in the vast world of health care.
Wednesday, March 13, 10:00am – 12:30pm, Zinner Breakout Room
Over 40 registrants attended this second affinity group meeting for machine learning applied to radiological imaging. Made possible by the BRI NextGen awards, this event will occur quarterly to focus on machine learning methods as applied to research. The meeting began with formal talks from Tina Kapur, PhD, Kirti Magufa, MD, Irfanullah Haider, MD, and Jeff Duryea, PhD. The speakers offered their expertise from their diverse scientific backgrounds on subject matter such as image-based deep learning, datasets, and predicting disease states. Attendees and speakers talked freely of shared challenges and how they could collectively overcome them.
During the lunch and open discussion that followed, there was a strong desire for a common platform that would allow researchers currently applying machine learning to their work or those who are interested in doing so to better connect and collaborate with each other. Several audience members spoke positively of collaborations that came about because of the first affinity group meeting and wanted this trend to continue. Plans for future meetings are already in the works. If you were unable to attend this session, keep an eye out for the next quarterly gathering!
NOTE: If you are interested in becoming involved with this group, please contact Jeff Duryea, PhD, Dept. of Radiology (jduryea@bwh.harvard.edu) or Jamie Collins, PhD, Dept. of Orthopedics (jcollins13@bwh.harvard.edu)
Stat Madness Voting Opens March 4
Two Brigham teams are among the 64 contenders that will compete in Stat Madness 2019 — a bracketed competition from Stat News to find the most innovative research in the country. The first of six rounds of popular voting in the single-elimination contest begins Monday March 4 at 12:01 a.m. Sign up now: https://bit.ly/2GM10BE
Friday, January 25th, 1:30 – 5:00PM, Zinner Breakout Room and Zinner Lobby
The Brigham Research Institute’s (BRI) Cardiovascular, Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders (CVDM) research center hosted its first Hypoxia Research Symposium to bring together clinicians and scientists working on various topics related to this dangerous condition that can have damaging effects on many different organs and tissues. The event consisted of four short talks from selected abstracts, a keynote presentation from professor William Kaelin, MD of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and a poster session. An engaged and enthusiastic crowd of over 35 people attended the symposium where research from four departments and seven divisions was presented, highlighting the cross-collaborative nature of the topic.
Presenting on “The von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein: Insights into Oxygen Sensing,” William Kaelin, MD, showcased several lines of research his lab has engaged in to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of cellular oxygen sensing. Spanning the divide from bench to bedside, his lab has made remarkable contributions to the field, including the identification of a druggable target to treat anemia: an inhibitor of EglN1, a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase, is currently being evaluated in clinical trials. The BRI and CVDM research center were honored to have such a highly regarded researcher serve as the keynote speaker.
During the poster session that followed the talks, two outstanding posters were awarded with a prize of $250. Each selected speaker was awarded with $500. Congratulations to the winners!
Gregory Ekchian, PhD, MRI-Readable In Vivo Quantitative Oxygen Sensors
Paul Wrighton, PhD, Novel pH-sensitive biosensor zebrafish enable the in vivo visualization and enterrogation of mitophagy during development and metabolic stress
Brian Cade, PhD, Associations of Variants in the Hexokinase 1 and Interleukin 18 Receptor Regions with Oxyhemoglobin Saturation During Sleep
Huamei He, PhD, MD, L-2-Hydroxyglutarate Protects Against Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
Indranil Sinha, MD, Aging-Associated Loss of Hypoxia Signaling Limits Skeletal Muscle Regeneration
AKM Wara, PhD, CD4+ T Cell Deficiency of KLF10 Impairs Blood Flow and Neovascularization in Response to Tissue Hypoxia
Thursday, January 24th, 3:00 – 5:00pm, Zinner Breakout Room
This is the third session in a series of panels co-hosted by the Brigham Research Institute and MassBio, during which panelists from renowned drug and device companies shared their knowledge on ways in which BWH investigators can obtain funding and in-kind support for their research. Frank S. David, MD, PhD, Innovation Strategist at the BRI, Founder and Managing Director of Pharmagellan moderated the event. The three expert panelists included Michal Preminger, PhD, MBA, Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Chandra Ramanathan, PhD, MBA, BP & Head, East Coast Innovation Bayer, and Jeffrey Warmke, Senior VP of Global Business Development, Daiichi Sankyo Group.
After a brief introduction of the panelists, as well as those in the audience, Dr. David kick-started the discussion by asking the panelists to give a brief overview of the academic collaboration models in place at their respective companies and how they are different from their peers in the industry. The collaboration strategies described by the companies ran the gamut from the focus on niche areas with no-strings-attached grants at Bayer to a wide range of therapeutic domains and a focus on disease prevention across the early discovery to late stage development continuum at J&J. Irrespective of the approach used, the panelists all agreed that their ultimate goal is to find “good medicine” and help to move it forward through mutually productive collaborations with academia.
They offered a few pro tips to the audience of investigators before the networking session commenced. First, if you would like to collaborate, anytime is the right time in terms of reaching out to prospective drug and device companies. Even if someone brings an idea forward that is too early or too incomplete, industry experts can still offer direction, suggestions, and valuable feedback. Second, you must keep knocking on the door. If you don’t push forward seemingly crazy ideas, then you are limiting yourself as well as the world of healthcare. Lastly, they opined that the makings of a good academic collaborator include strong communication skills, openness to sharing ideas and information, and the willingness to sustain long-term relationships. Events like these are an invaluable resource to our investigators across the hospital and we hope that you continue to attend!
Featured image from left to right:
Frank S. David, MD, PhD (Moderator), Michal Preminger, PhD, MBA (Panelist, J&J), Chandra Ramanathan, PhD, MBA (Panelist, Bayer), Jeffrey Warmke, PhD (Panelist, Daiichi Sankyo
Tuesday, December 11th, 10:30am – 12:30pm, Zinner Breakout Room
Over 40 people convened for the initial meeting of the Brigham Research Institute’s (BRI) new Affinity Group for Machine Learning Applied to Radiological Imaging. Led by Jeffrey Duryea and Jamie Collins, the group will hold interactive lunch meetings each quarter to bring together investigators from diverse departments interested in applying machine learning methods to radiological imaging.
This first meeting began with several speakers who shared their expertise and enthusiasm for this exciting area of research that has powerful implications for the future. In between the talks, participants broke for lunch where they had the opportunity to network with each other, as well as with the speakers, asking questions, sharing ideas and creating valuable connections. The goal for future meetings is for participants to break into smaller subgroups to delve further into specific research areas to discuss ideas and explore potential collaborations.
The Affinity Group for Machine Learning Applied to Radiological Imaging was formed as a result of a BRI NextGen Award that was granted to Jeffrey Duryea, PhD, Department of Radiology. The goal of these new BRI Affinity Groups is to provide funding and staffing support for a group of researchers to convene and explore ideas and identify synergies around a common research theme.
Have you been an attendee or a participant at ‘Discover Brigham’ (formerly BWH Research Day) in the past? Did you wish that your specific scientific domain or a research topic exciting to your community had been featured as part of the day? Is your department planning to host an educational or research event in the upcoming year? Do you have any ideas about how we could make Discover Brigham even better? If yes to any of the above, find out more below about how you can be an integral part of the Discover Brigham celebration next year.
In an effort to reach the broadest swath of the BWH community at Discover Brigham (DB) 2019, the BRI is opening a call for proposals. BWH researchers, clinicians and staff are invited to submit ideas for sessions focused on research and/or clinical innovation topics and/or demos at this annual research showcase or, if you have an idea about how we should celebrate and elevate research at BWH, submit that as well. Come up with your best idea(s) for session, demos or even the whole event and the BRI will provide the logistical support necessary to execute your vision for Discover Brigham!
Visit the link on our website here to learn more about eligibility, criteria, due dates, and more. We look forward to hearing your ideas!
Thursday, November 7th, 2018, 12PM – 5PM, Hospital-wide
More than 500 people attended Discover Brigham on November 7th to take part in a day of innovation, education, and, of course, discovery.
While it is impossible to squeeze the infinite amount of research that is currently being done at the Brigham into just six hours, this annual event showcases our researchers and highlights the amazing work they do on a daily basis.
Patients, employees, media personnel and the general public had the chance to attend their choice of 12 different sessions ranging from weight loss to sleep medicine to opioid treatment. The more interactive portion of the day included 15 demonstrations, at which attendees could participate in meditative chair yoga, practice tourniquet application and learn to identify non-melanoma skin cancer.
Researchers also had the opportunity to share their work by participating in the poster session, where electronic poster boards lined the hospital’s hallways and lobbies. The event culminated with the highly anticipated awards ceremony which honored all 2018 BRI award recipients, most notably, the BRI Director’s Transformative Award recipient and the BRIght Futures Prize winner. Events such as Discover Brigham help convey and celebrate the tireless dedication of our researchers, who are pivotal to the success and progress of the Brigham.
Thank you to all who attended, we hope you enjoyed it!
Thursday, August 9th, 2018
On Thursday, August 9th, the BRI summer 2018 undergraduate research interns presented their final projects in Carrie Hall to a large crowd of their peers, mentors, PIs, and other research staff. Julie Glowacki, PhD, served as the event’s emcee, as well as one of the host labs for the program. The interns described the research projects they worked on during the summer, highlighting the methods they used and the progress they made, as well as what they learned from their mentors and the undergraduate program as a whole. Dr. Glowacki sent them off with well wishes for all of their future endeavors, urging them to keep in mind the lasting connections and friendships they established throughout their time at the Brigham.
Final Presentations:
Andrew Bolze, Ozaki Lab; The Effects of Pre-Operative Protein Restriction on the Human Gut Microbiome
Kenneth Han, Giatsidis Lab; Biophysical Wound Therapies: Exploiting “Sensing” to Induce Repair
Amelia Joyce, Feinberg Lab; The Story of CARMN (a long non-coding RNA in CV disease
Patrick Nian, Glowacki Lab; Effects of Vitamin D on the Expression of Cathelicidin/LL-37 in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs)
Hammad Sadiq, Neppl Lab; Identification of a Novel Protein Complex Comprised of the Spliceosome and the PRC2 Complex
Simran Sahni, Costenbader Lab; Effects of Fish Oil Supplementation on Production of Specialized Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediators in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Elena Silverstein, Sinha Lab; Skeletal Muscle Specific Loss of ARNT Impairs Regeneration
David Zhao, Tavakkoli and Sheu Lab; Investigating the Effect of Sleeve Gastrectomy on Adipose Inflammation