Category: News

Thursday, August 9th, 2018

On Thursday, August 9^th, 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

Tuesday, June 5^th, 2018

Tuesday, June 5^th marked the third year of the BRI Summer Internship Program. Mark W. Feinberg, M.D. presented at this annual introductory lunch, serving as the program emcee as well as a host to one of the students, himself. The lab representatives and PIs hosting the students were also present at this event. The mission and vision, as well as a brief history of the hospital, was presented to the group in order to provide them with a strong background on the Brigham and the contributions it has made to society, both locally and globally.  Dr. Feinberg described just a few of the many historic achievements in research that Brigham and Women’s Hospital has accomplished over the years, such as performing the first successful heart valve surgery in 1923 and saving a polio victim for the first time with the Drinker Respirator that still resides on the hospital’s campus today.

The mission of the Brigham Research Institute was also explicitly stated, as the undergraduate interns will be sponsored by two of the disease-focused research centers that the institute supports: The Cardiovascular, Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders (CVDM) Research Center and the Musculoskeletal Research Center.

The BRI is excited to host these interns for the summer and help them to experience all that Brigham and Women’s Hospital and its affiliated research facilities have to offer.

Interns in the featured image from left to right:

David Zhao, University of Chicago, Tavakkoli & Sheu Lab

Simran Sahni, Smith College, Costenbader Lab

Kenneth Han, Williams College, Giatsidis Lab

Hammad Sadiq, WPI, Neppl Lab

Elena Silverstein, Tufts University, Sinha Lab

Susana Patterson, University of Florida, Ozaki Lab

Andrew Bolze, Harvard University, Ozaki Lab

Amelia Joyce, Emory University, Feinberg Lab

Not Pictured: Patrick Nian, Princeton University, Glowacki Lab

Thursday, May 24th, 8:30am – 2pm, Bornstein Amphitheatre, Cabot Atrium, and Zinner Boardroom

The Brigham Research Institute’s Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Research Center in collaboration with the Division of Renal Medicine hosted its first Cardio-Renal Research Symposium featuring the 2018 Helen Randall Dunham Lecturer for Research in Renal and Cardiovascular Medicine, Andrew Levey, MD, Professor of Medicine at Tufts University. With such a vast depth of knowledge, science, innovation, and research present in one place at a single point in time, there was a feeling of anticipation and excitement among the over 100 attendees that were at the symposium.

The morning commenced with a Renal-centered keynote lecture from Dr. Levey who spoke about the usefulness of estimating Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) in clinical practice, research and public health. Dr. Levey further laid out the physiological principles that the equations for estimating GFR are based on and highlighted ongoing trials in representative populations to identify new filtration markers and improve GFR estimates.

Following Dr. Levey’s renal keynote was a series of short oral presentations selected from submitted abstracts. This group of talented young investigators included: Muthiah Vaduganathan, MD, MPH, Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Serum and Urine Renal Biomarkers and Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Recent Acute Coronary Syndromes from the EXAMINE Trial; Sanjay Ranjit, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Aminopeptidase 1 in Salt-Sensitive Blood Pressure; Yiming Zhou, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Renal Medicine, A small molecule inhibitor of TRPC5 ion channels suppresses progressive kidney disease in animal models; Amrendra Ajay, PhD, Instructor, Division of Renal Medicine, CRISPR mediated activation of STAT3 upregulates profibrotic response in pericytes.  In addition to having the opportunity to showcase their research, each of these presenters also received a cash prize as a reward for being selected.

After the morning presentations there was a poster session in Cabot Atrium that drew in a lively crowd, promoting interactions and collaborations among investigators who were able to showcase their research to the diverse community of investigators. While it was a difficult task to choose from such an impressive collection of posters, three researchers rose to the top and received a distinguished award and cash prize: Li Li, MD, Instructor, Division of Renal Medicine, Orphan nuclear receptor COUP-TFII regulates pericyte activation and contributes to kidney fibrosis; Yutaro Mori, MD, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Renal Medicine, Proximal tubular uptake of free fatty acid (FFA) by Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1) mediates tubulointerstitial disease in diabetic nephropathy (DN); Maria Beatriz Monteiro, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, HITS, A High-Throughput Screen Identifies Novel Targets for Kidney Tubular Regeneration. 

After lunch, Dr. Levey once again presented to a large audience in the Zinner Breakout Room where he delivered his Cardio-centered keynote address focusing on the importance of using estimated GFR and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) in clinical practice and research to detect chronic kidney disease and predict cardiovascular disease. Dr. Levey further highlighted the challenges associated with improving clinical practice and testing new strategies for the prevention and treatment of kidney and cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Marc Pfeffer introduced Dr. Levey to the crowd, describing him as undoubtedly being the focal point of understanding the heart and the kidney. However, Dr. Levey’s contributions to kidney health have extended beyond his outstanding scientific contributions to the field: in 2009 he was also a kidney donor through the New England Program for Kidney Exchange.

Overall, this event was a huge success, with over 107 people in attendance throughout the course of the day. The goal of this symposium was to bring together clinicians and researchers working in various fields from cardiovascular to nephrology to encourage cross-collaborative research efforts and stimulate new ideas for further investigation. With the staggering amount of information and data presented during the symposium, as well as the positive attendance at each session, it is imperative that events such as this one continue to be held to promote the impressive depth and breadth of research and resources available at the Brigham.

Poster Winners:

Li Li, MD: Orphan nuclear receptor COUP-TFII regulates pericyte activation and contributes to kidney fibrosis

Yutaro Mori, MD, PhD: Proximal tubular uptake of free fatty acid (FFA) by Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1) mediates tubulointerstitial disease in diabetic nephropathy (DN)

Maria Beatriz Monteiro, PhD: A High-Throughput Screen Identifies Novel Targets for Kidney Tubular Regeneration

Monday, May 21^st, 12 – 1PM, Carrie Hall

The Live Lunch that took place this May featured Paul Anderson, M.D., Ph.D. and Lynn Simpson, who introduced and facilitated a discussion with an expert panel of LabArchives super users. These early adopters included Eva Plovie Buys, Ph.D., Michal Nowicki, Ph.D., and Deepack Bhere, Ph.D, who talked about their personal experiences with the electronic lab notebook and offered helpful tips and tricks to the large crowd of attendees.

There was standing room only in Carrie Hall as Paul Anderson began the panel portion of the lunch by emphasizing the hospital-wide expectation that LabArchives will be able to solve problems that have resulted from the use of paper notebooks within the research environment.  It is crucial that investigators take advantage of the system, and the ultimate goal of this event was to encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the technology as it is implemented over the next year. The panel made it clear that there were many helpful links and resources to help the community in getting started, including ERIS support, weekly webinars, and an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) discussion group through the Partner’s system.  Among the many positive features of the ELN, the super users noted several benefits, such as; the user-friendly search tool, universal accessibility, and the capacity to store all data so that progress is preserved and the loss of important notes is prevented. Although not without its challenges, this web-based application is a tool that will be able to create a stronger foundation of communication among scientists, as well as provide a secure way to store content based on each specific researcher’s wants and needs.

This is a hospital-wide research community effort, in which all are encouraged to begin using as soon as possible. For this reason, the panel discussion regarding ELN was recorded and the link can be found here: https://bwhedtech.media.partners.org/programs/bri/bri20180521anderson/

Tuesday, May 15th, 12 – 1PM, Zinner Boardroom

The BRI hosted a group of Associate Professors and research leadership for an open discussion on the many opportunities and resources available at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. As a grassroots initiative, the BRI strives to foster a responsive and collaborative environment to support the innovative and groundbreaking research from all of our investigators.

This particular rank of faculty wanted to discover how they, together with the members of the BRI Executive Committee, could move their ideas and research forward in a challenging funding environment. They acknowledged that the BRI has been able to facilitate this ongoing pursuit and that every small contribution has truly made a difference. Several grant and funding opportunities were discussed, such as the next Shark Tank awards, potential collaborations with the Development Office, and the career-advancing experiences attendees have had with the Translational Accelerator (TA). One associate professor described his own personal experience with the TA, how it positively affected his own career, as well as how it was able to help one of his colleagues form a successful company. The BRI hopes that these lunches can continue to serve as a helpful outlet for the various ranks of faculty here at the Brigham, so that attendees can ask questions, be heard, and connect with fellow researchers in the community.

Friday, May 4th, 12 – 1PM, Zinner Boardroom

The Brigham Research Institute (BRI) hosted a group of instructors and research leadership for an open discussion of the various opportunities and resources that are available at the hospital. Paul Anderson, MD, PhD, Chief Academic Officer began the event by acknowledging his appreciation for the instructors’ attendance, noting the importance of taking advantage of these types of opportunities. The purpose of the lunch was to learn more about the needs and concerns of researchers at this specific rank, while offering a chance for them to provide feedback directly to the BRI.

Following introductions, a dialogue among the group began concerning funding opportunities, advancement, support, core activities, and work-life balance. Researchers were encouraged to speak their minds and offer suggestions for what the BRI can do to make their professional lives better. Many asked to hear more about funding and were given an in-depth description of the many opportunities currently available to them. Another point of interest was family related matters and how leadership and researchers could work together to create a better overall work-life balance. Instructors also expressed interest in seminars and workshops on time management, asked questions about drop-in space, and were curious as to how they could navigate innovation and commercialization through the iHub. Overall, this forum served its purpose in allowing instructors to be heard and make connections with each other, as well as with the Executive Committee. Events such as these are an important component of a strong support system at BWH that researchers can rely on when facing challenges.

Thursday, May 10th, 3 – 4:30PM, Zinner Breakout Room

In a joint production from the Brigham Research Institute (BRI) and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio), a panel of three experts came together on Thursday in a lively discussion moderated by Frank S. David, MD, PhD, Innovation Strategist at the BRI. Panelists included Rakhshita Dhar, MD, Ashis Saha, PhD, and Vinit Nijhawan, B.A.Sc. This event was a great opportunity for attendees to learn more about how to turn their idea into a viable product or service, as well as network with experts with a wide range of knowledge in the legal, business, pharmaceutical and life sciences fields.

Dr. David held a dialogue with the panelists, asking questions about entrepreneurship, including how to determine the feasibility of a technology and what goes into the commercialization of a product. The panelists, with diverse backgrounds, offered advice and suggestions from their own unique perspectives. Vinit Nijhawan mentioned the differentiation between ‘explorers’ versus ‘exploiters’. The world needs both types of people; those who have a great idea (explorers) and those who understand where the demand is and who is going to pay for that product or service (exploiters). Much like any scientific endeavor, collaboration and relationship building is of the utmost importance. He then asked the crowd to shout out major problems in the world; responses ranged from Alzheimer’s and hunger to obesity and loneliness. He pointed out that explorers seek to identify the absolute root causes of a problem and figure out how to address it. Each speaker emphasized the need to actively seek resources, such as those available at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

As the event concluded, the speakers reiterated that more than just a good idea is required in any entrepreneurial endeavor; there needs to be undying passion for the product and a constantly motivated mindset. This engaging forum helped spread awareness of the mission of MassBio and its collaboration with BWH, as well as informing how innovative ideas can be turned into viable products or services.