NYU Langone Comprehensive Program on Obesity, Regulating Stem Cell Pluripotency, Perceiving Sound, and Heat-Induced Heart Arrhythmias
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Dear Colleagues,
Collaborations – so crucial for solving complex problems in biomedical research. Whether within the lab, across the hallway, at a different department or institution, they are the engine of discoveries and innovations.
The current issue of “Spotlight” reflects on this concept through some recent accomplishments of our faculty. The progress we are making is truly astounding!
Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD
Vice Dean for Science and Chief Scientific Officer
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THE NYU LANGONE COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM ON OBESITY
We are pleased to announce to launch of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Program on Obesity – a multidisciplinary effort that combines cutting-edge work in the population health, clinical, and basic science research domains to make meaningful strides towards understanding and ending this disease. At the October 27 Chairs’ Meeting, Brian Elbel, PhD, MPH, discussed his vision for this pioneering initiative, which includes collaborative research projects, the development of a computational resource to integrate and analyze large-scale datasets from across these three disciplines, and educational and clinical components. Please visit the website to learn more about the program, including current research projects and how to get involved. Preventing and curing obesity is an ambitious goal that will require the participation of investigators and staff from just about every corner of the medical center. |
TO DIFFERENTIATE OR NOT TO DIFFERENTIATE: THAT IS THE QUESTION
In their recent paper, Iannis Aifantis, PhD, and colleagues described a previously unknown role for the protein Phf5a in maintaining the ability of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to self-renew ( Nat Cell Biol., Nov 2016). The team observed that depletion of Phf5a in ESCs resulted in differentiation. Mechanistically, they discovered that this protein helps to stabilize a key component of the molecular machinery involved in the transcription of self-renewal genes. Phf5a was found to have influence on adult muscle stem cells, as well, suggesting broader regulatory roles for this protein in both embryonic and adult stem cells.
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THE PERCEPTION OF SOUND
Robert Froemke, PhD, and collaborators discovered that our perception of sound is shaped by context ( Nat Neurosci., Oct 31, 2016). By using in vivo two-photon imaging in mice, they observed that the majority of excitatory neurons in the auditory cortex were suppressed when a reward was expected and received, while a set of remaining excitatory neurons became more active. Specific inhibitory interneurons were found to act as modulators by balancing inhibition and disinhibition within the neural networks. These findings are inspiring the team to consider the future possibility of targeting precise neurological pathways to rebalance situation-specific behaviors, such as sudden post-traumatic stress brought on by environmental cues.
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MOLECULAR LINK TO TEMPERATURE-INDUCED HEART ARRHYTHMIAS DISCOVERED
Glenn Fishman, MD, and colleagues discovered that fibroblast growth factor homologous factor 2 (FHF2) safeguards against heart arrh ythmias induced by elevated body temperature. The team observed that mice lacking the FHF2 gene experienced significant conduction defects in their hearts when their core temperatures were elevated by only 3°C ( Nat Commun., Oct. 4, 2016). Cardiac sodium currents, which drive the generation of electrical impulses in heart muscle cells, were severely decreased under conditions of elevated temperatures in the absence of FHF2. These findings may inform the mechanisms behind heart conditions, such as fever-induced Brugada syndrome and febrile arrhythmias and seizures.
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György Buzsáki, MD, PhD, was awarded a $3 million grant (U01) from the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to support his research on the NeuroGrid, a scalable system for large-scale recording of action potentials from the brain surface.
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Leon Axel, MD, PhD, was recently named a recipient of the 2016 American Heart Association (AHA) Distinguished Scientist Award, an honor bestowed upon a select group scientists and clinicians who have made extraordinary contributions to cardiovascular and stroke research. This marks the third year in a row that NYU School of Medicine faculty members were honored at the opening session of the annual AHA Scientific Sessions.
Jeffrey Weber, MD, PhD, has been named a 2016 recipient of the Giants of Cancer Care Award in the melanoma category. These awards are sponsored annually by Oncology Live Magazine.
The NYU School of Medicine was selected in 2015 as one of 10 U.S. medical schools to administer the highly competitive Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists. Our program, led by Judith Hochman, MD, seeks to support outstanding junior physician scientists for a 2-year period to minimize the likelihood that they will alter their career paths due to extra professional caregiving obligations. Congratulations to the second cohort of awardees:
- Anli Liu, MD, Department of Neurology, when aims to enhance memory function in epilepsy patients by entraining sleep rhythms critical to memory consolidations via acoustic stimulation.
- Cynthia Portal Celhay, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine, who is investigating how Mycobacterium tuberculosis prevents efficient recognition by T cells to ultimately enable the development of novel TB treatments.
- Kelly Doran, MD, MHS, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Population Health, who is developing homelessness prevention interventions for emergency department patients.
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