Upal Ghosh, chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, received an award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineering and Sciences (AAEES) last week. The AAEES awards recognize individuals and organizations who have made contributions to environmental engineering, environmental science, and public health/environmental protection.
Ghosh received an Honor Award in the category of University Research for his work with developing in-situ remediation technology using activated carbon amendment to sediment. CBEE graduate students Hilda Fadaei Khoei and Eli Patmont were also recognized for their contributions to the project. Ghosh has used the technology, named SediMite in his work with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources to remediate Mirror Lake. The Mirror Lake project was also recognized by the AAEES, receving an Honor Award in the Small Projects category.
Click here to read more about Ghosh’s work in remediation technology and here to learn more about the Mirror Lake project.
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[Story originally posted here.] Upal Ghosh, chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, received an award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineering and Sciences (AAEES)...https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/51603/guest@my.umbc.edu/6142f96a983a5c7013329d6b7a3bb911/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/603/ecb3f65d596a82057ea3bc5e5ad267ce/xxlarge.jpg?1430273397https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/603/ecb3f65d596a82057ea3bc5e5ad267ce/xlarge.jpg?1430273397https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/603/ecb3f65d596a82057ea3bc5e5ad267ce/large.jpg?1430273397https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/603/ecb3f65d596a82057ea3bc5e5ad267ce/medium.jpg?1430273397https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/603/ecb3f65d596a82057ea3bc5e5ad267ce/small.jpg?1430273397https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/603/ecb3f65d596a82057ea3bc5e5ad267ce/xsmall.jpg?1430273397https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/603/ecb3f65d596a82057ea3bc5e5ad267ce/xxsmall.jpg?143027339700trueTue, 28 Apr 2015 22:07:34 -0400Wed, 29 Apr 2015 16:53:10 -0400“A Look Ahead” symposiumsparks optimism for the future of cancer treatment
by Sarah Hansen
The 18th annual “A Look Ahead” Symposium happened Wednesday, April 15, 2015 in UMBC’s University Center Ballroom. The symposium brought together UMBC faculty, students, and alumni, as well as regional leaders in industry and research. The theme of this year’s event was “Explorations in Transformative Research,” with a focus on novel cancer treatments. Two dynamic and decorated speakers headlined the program: UMBC Professor of Biological Sciences Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg and Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Director Louis Weiner. Poster sessions highlighting faculty and graduate student research at UMBC bookended the talks and offered networking opportunities.
The UMBC College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences hosted the symposium. Dean Bill LaCourse emphasized that “the success of UMBC really centers from the talent and dedication of its faculty,” as he introduced Ostrand-Rosenberg. Her accolade collection includes the American Association of Immunologists Excellence in Mentoring Award, and “many alums attribute their success to her,” said LaCourse.
“In order to appreciate where we are today with immunotherapy, we’ve got to go back in time,” said Ostrand-Rosenberg, who started her talk by describing “magic bullets” suggested by scientist Paul Ehrlich in 1906. He was the first to suggest targeted therapies for disease. In Ehrlich’s time the concept was popular, but one experiment in the 1950s seemed to debunk his ideas. “It took the whole field out of the picture,” said Ostrand-Rosenberg. Fortunately, immunotherapy was revived in the 1990s, and “there’s now a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for mobilizing the immune system against cancer,” she said. Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, Professor of Biological Sciences at UMBC
Ostrand-Rosenberg described two avenues researchers are exploring for destroying cancer. Antibodies are a class of proteins that can be engineered to specifically bind cancer cells. They can deliver a drug or mark cancer cells for destruction. T-cells are immune cells that “can go from one tumor cell to another and just zap them,” said Ostrand-Rosenberg. There are 17 FDA-approved antibody treatments currently available. No T-cell treatments are approved yet, but several clinical trials have shown impressive responses to these novel therapies—often in cancer types that were previously untreatable.
Most cancerous cells are destroyed by the immune system before becoming dangerous, but “cancer cells are clever cells,” Ostrand-Rosenberg said. They can repress the immune system or even coopt it to promote their own growth. Sometimes, “All the good-guy cells are suppressed,” she said. Researchers, including Ostrand-Rosenberg, are tackling the challenge of preventing immune repression by cancer cells, and they’re making good progress.
Weiner comes at cancer from a different perspective. As a clinical oncologist, he knows how it feels to tell a patient there’s nothing he can do: heart-breaking. He also knows how cancer prognoses are made. “We’re gamblers in white coats when we see patients,” he said, because there are still no tests that can reliably determine when a cancer will be cured by surgery, for example, or when it will require additional treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation are standard practice, but they are not specific to cancer cells and produce debilitating side effects.
Louis Weiner, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Director
Weiner agreed with Ostrand-Rosenberg that patients’ own immune systems could be our best weapon against cancer. A cancer cell’s biggest fear isn’t chemotherapy or radiation treatment, but rather, “There’s a T-cell that that wants to kill me,” he said. He and his collaborators are running experiments to identify genes that, when activated, can promote or hinder a cancer cell’s survival. Some of these genes code for molecules on a cell’s surface that tell immune cells there’s “nothin’ to see here, folks.” Learning more about how cancer cells evade destruction by the immune system will help researchers develop targeted treatments. Tests that detect these “you don’t see me” molecules would also help clinicians select appropriate treatment regimes.
Weiner is optimistic about the future of immunotherapy. “We can win this war on cancer, and I think we now have the tools for the first time,” he said. Ostrand-Rosenberg and Weiner are making strides toward replacing archaic, non-specific treatments for cancer with more effective and less traumatic techniques.
Dean LaCourse lauded the speakers for their work. “Cancer is a scourge, and it’s researchers like the people we have on stage today that are making progress in that fight,” he said. Audience members at “A Look Ahead” walked away with inspiration and enthusiasm for joining the fight themselves.
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by Sarah Hansen The 18th annual “A Look Ahead” Symposium happened Wednesday, April 15, 2015 in UMBC’s University Center Ballroom. The symposium brought together UMBC faculty, students, and...Imagehttps://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/47d7acbb238738250247213c263761fe/69ec0ae8/news/000/051/449/9dd28afc29684433c16b3855ae3cb9b6/rosenberg look ahead.jpeg?1429653027https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/51449/guest@my.umbc.edu/b2fcf7eca360df3953b70f3739d1cecb/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/449/9af50c5396fd1267fd85c034ecaa1429/xxlarge.jpg?1429652970https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/449/9af50c5396fd1267fd85c034ecaa1429/xlarge.jpg?1429652970https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/449/9af50c5396fd1267fd85c034ecaa1429/large.jpg?1429652970https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/449/9af50c5396fd1267fd85c034ecaa1429/medium.jpg?1429652970https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/449/9af50c5396fd1267fd85c034ecaa1429/small.jpg?1429652970https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/449/9af50c5396fd1267fd85c034ecaa1429/xsmall.jpg?1429652970https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/449/9af50c5396fd1267fd85c034ecaa1429/xxsmall.jpg?142965297000trueTue, 21 Apr 2015 17:55:53 -0400UMBC CHMPR and Northrop Grumman partner on health analytics
Northrop Grumman Corporation announced an expansion of its cybersecurity work with UMBC to include research on health data analytics in partnership with the UMBC Center for Hybrid Multicore Productivity Research (CHMPR). CHMPR is an NSF-sponsored industry/university cooperative research center and consortium focused on addressing the productivity, performance and scalability issues in meeting the computational demands of its sponsors' applications through the continuous evolution of multi-core architectures and open source tools.
The UMBC-Northrop Grumman collaboration began with a cybersecurity initiative and is now leveraging the big data analytics used in cyber and applying the tools and technologies to health. This has enabled Northrop Grumman to dive into expansive health data on a variety of subjects, such as the impacts of cardiovascular disease as it relates to smoking, obesity and pharmaceutical drug use.
"CHMPR has provided greater clinical access to information, analytic techniques and natural language processing," said Amy Caro, vice president and general manager, health division, Northrop Grumman Information Systems. "Our efforts have yielded real-time results and are driving programs and practices that are helping to improve the health of large populations. As we move forward, our security capabilities and work with CHMPR will allow for continued large scale data mining to help inform breakthrough research and drive better health outcomes."
Northrop Grumman has been a member and supporter of CHMPR, since its inception and chairs the CHMPR Industry Advisory Board. Northrop Grumman and UMBC started their participation with CHMPR focusing on cyber to demonstrate a commitment to that mission and have since expanded that focus to include high performance computing and big data analytics in the health arena. Most recently, Northrop Grumman has provided initial funds to CHMPR's new North Carolina State University planning site.
"Our partnership with Northrop Grumman and our work in cyber and now health are huge steps forward in advancing critical research and driving better business and health results. We couldn't be prouder of these accomplishments and we look forward to continuing this great work," said Yelena Yesha, professor of computer science and CHMPR director, UMBC.
"Working with industry to advance research is a great model and Northrop Grumman and UMBC have been a key leaders and partners in building this industry, government and university consortium to advance issues like cyber security and health analytics," said Rita Rodrigues, program director, National Science Foundation.
Northop Gumman is collaborating with UMBC on several initiatives supporting cybersecurity education, training and technology. These include partnering with the bwtech@UMBC Cyber Incubator to form Cync, a program that nurtures innovative cybersecurity startups and helping UMBC launch its Cyber Scholars Program.
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[This news was also shared in a Washington Post article.] Northrop Grumman Corporation announced an expansion of its cybersecurity work with UMBC to include research on health data analytics in...https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/51243/guest@my.umbc.edu/bdd110bc5e7d2c764a7cb461be82b10d/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/243/670cda9f09caaf51f630367fa403f7eb/xxlarge.jpg?1429109763https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/243/670cda9f09caaf51f630367fa403f7eb/xlarge.jpg?1429109763https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/243/670cda9f09caaf51f630367fa403f7eb/large.jpg?1429109763https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/243/670cda9f09caaf51f630367fa403f7eb/medium.jpg?1429109763https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/243/670cda9f09caaf51f630367fa403f7eb/small.jpg?1429109763https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/243/670cda9f09caaf51f630367fa403f7eb/xsmall.jpg?1429109763https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/243/670cda9f09caaf51f630367fa403f7eb/xxsmall.jpg?142910976310trueWed, 15 Apr 2015 10:56:23 -0400Wed, 15 Apr 2015 21:35:18 -0400CSEE Professor Curtis Menyuk wins Humboldt Research AwardCoveted international prize a win for UMBC, too
By Sarah Hansen
UMBC Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Curtis Menyuk recently won the prestigious Humboldt Research Award. Academics from any discipline are eligible for the €60,000 award, which comes with the opportunity to conduct research with a collaborator in Germany for up to a year. Awardees are selected based on accomplishments from their entire careers, as well as their potential to continue producing cutting-edge research.
“If you look at the previous winners, anybody in my field who’s won a Nobel Prize is on the list,” Menyuk said, underscoring the award’s prestige and potential to propel a researcher’s career to new heights.
Menyuk has already made quite an impact in nonlinear optics. In the 1980s, he developed the equations that govern the propagation of light through fiber optic cables—the same cables that deliver internet, cable television, and phone services to households and businesses around the world. The equations are particularly relevant for light travel over long distances, because they take into account physical effects that aren’t as important for short-distance travel. After their initial publication, the equations quickly began appearing in textbooks.
Menyuk’s favorite research project, however, is predicting and modeling the existence of a property called “self-similarity” in light propagation. “Self-similarity is really important in nature,” Menyuk said. Fractals are the epitome of self-similar structures, and the ever-repeating patterns in snowflakes, lightning, and Queen Anne’s Lace flowers are examples. For people in Menyuk’s field, self-similarity became important because it “was destroying the ability of people to send laser beams through the atmosphere,” he said.
A Queen Anne's Lace flower is an example of a fractal---a repeating pattern that shrinks infinitely in scale. Image found here.
Menyuk’s expertise is in theoretical work, but part of his success derives from abundant collaborations with experimental scientists all over the world. “If there’s something I’m good at, it’s looking at a physical system and figuring out how to turn that physical system into equations,” he said. When Philip Russell, Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, Germany, and his collaborators figured out how to do experiments to verify Menyuk’s theoretical work on self-similarity, their collaboration was born. Russell eventually nominated Menyuk for the Humboldt.
“This was the piece of work that I’ve always liked the best, because it was a mathematical problem that I wrestled to the ground,” Menyuk said of the self-similarity work. “I like it even better now, because it led to this wonderful collaboration.” Last summer Menyuk spent a month in Germany working with Russell’s research group and outlining projects they would like to pursue together in the future. The award will make furthering their collaboration much easier.
Menyuk is about much more than research, though. He loves to teach, both in undergraduate classrooms and as a mentor to his graduate students and younger colleagues. He’s especially proud of an electromagnetism course he developed—a topic that is famously the bane of many an undergrad electrical engineer’s existence. The course consistently receives positive student reviews and incorporates team-based learning projects. Menyuk also considers it his duty to help his graduate students find their way into career paths, and he maintains collaborations with a few of his alumni. Many of his protégés have gone on to prestigious positions in academia.
While the Humboldt will have huge impacts on his own research, Menyuk sees the award as just one more way he can support his students. “The main thing that I want to get out of it is new visibility for my research program and UMBC globally,” he said. “One of my goals throughout my entire career here has been to help create a vibrant intellectual atmosphere, a sense of excitement, which benefits everyone.” Gaining international exposure for UMBC buoys the university’s research reputation, which can only help faculty and graduate students applying for grants, fellowships, and postdoctoral positions.
With his research achievements, deep interest in student success, and now, Humboldt Research Award, Menyuk is a powerful, positive force at UMBC. That’s true even if he can’t list “Nobel Prize” as one of his accolades—yet.
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By Sarah Hansen UMBC Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Curtis Menyuk recently won the prestigious Humboldt Research Award. Academics from any discipline are eligible for...Imagehttps://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/12f9df0ea16be644eb5598e2785af3ef/69ec0ae8/news/000/051/173/8694959cf2d53e57681d8fdc472468d6/queen anne's lace.jpg?1428960143https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/51173/guest@my.umbc.edu/83a61a442e70e3c4debef8ef3ed20725/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/173/2ad771452253e66cf896b96ac6ead6af/xxlarge.jpg?1428959822https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/173/2ad771452253e66cf896b96ac6ead6af/xlarge.jpg?1428959822https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/173/2ad771452253e66cf896b96ac6ead6af/large.jpg?1428959822https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/173/2ad771452253e66cf896b96ac6ead6af/medium.jpg?1428959822https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/173/2ad771452253e66cf896b96ac6ead6af/small.jpg?1428959822https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/173/2ad771452253e66cf896b96ac6ead6af/xsmall.jpg?1428959822https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/051/173/2ad771452253e66cf896b96ac6ead6af/xxsmall.jpg?142895982220trueMon, 13 Apr 2015 17:38:45 -0400President Hrabowski speaks at Maryland Biotech ForumMeeting fosters growth across academia, industry, government
The Maryland Regional Biotech Forum was held at the MedImmune campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland on March 30 and 31. The event brought together representatives from government, industry, and academia to discuss how we can better coordinate our region's strengths to create more jobs, increase economic strength, and generate life-saving innovations in the biotech industry.
President Hrabowski spoke on the panel, “How Academia Can Help Drive our Region’s Biotech Cluster,” alongside Johns Hopkins President Ron Daniels, University of Maryland, Baltimore President Jay Perman, and Virginia Commonwealth University President Michael Rao. Pascal Soriot, CEO of MedImmune’s parent company, AstraZeneca, gave a keynote speech addressing the importance of our region to growing companies.
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The Maryland Regional Biotech Forum was held at the MedImmune campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland on March 30 and 31. The event brought together representatives from government, industry, and...https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/50812/guest@my.umbc.edu/394a78e53a74b33afcd4c51927ecf93d/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/812/7a737701149111e508f97116bf21f116/xxlarge.jpg?1427816304https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/812/7a737701149111e508f97116bf21f116/xlarge.jpg?1427816304https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/812/7a737701149111e508f97116bf21f116/large.jpg?1427816304https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/812/7a737701149111e508f97116bf21f116/medium.jpg?1427816304https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/812/7a737701149111e508f97116bf21f116/small.jpg?1427816304https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/812/7a737701149111e508f97116bf21f116/xsmall.jpg?1427816304https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/812/7a737701149111e508f97116bf21f116/xxsmall.jpg?142781630400trueTue, 31 Mar 2015 11:47:11 -0400Tue, 31 Mar 2015 14:17:11 -0400Gas flowing from black hole could stunt galaxy growth
UMBC Professor of Physics Dr. Tracey Jane Turner was co-author of the study discussed in this Baltimore Sun article.
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UMBC Professor of Physics Dr. Tracey Jane Turner was co-author of the study discussed in this Baltimore Sun article. http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-black-hole-growth-20150327-story.htmlhttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/50796/guest@my.umbc.edu/41e9d4a2d2d75a0a37bdfc8bc3851ca6/api/pixelblackgalaxyholejaneovpr-news-2015physicssciencespaceturnerArchived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/796/a5b33f0c94a30c8304c0142b8d495ffe/xxlarge.jpg?1427728535https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/796/a5b33f0c94a30c8304c0142b8d495ffe/xlarge.jpg?1427728535https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/796/a5b33f0c94a30c8304c0142b8d495ffe/large.jpg?1427728535https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/796/a5b33f0c94a30c8304c0142b8d495ffe/medium.jpg?1427728535https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/796/a5b33f0c94a30c8304c0142b8d495ffe/small.jpg?1427728535https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/796/a5b33f0c94a30c8304c0142b8d495ffe/xsmall.jpg?1427728535https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/796/a5b33f0c94a30c8304c0142b8d495ffe/xxsmall.jpg?142772853511trueMon, 30 Mar 2015 11:19:00 -0400Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:45:14 -0400Technology Catalyst Fund jumpstarts inventions on campus(At right: A still from an informational video about a distracted driving detection system project, available here.)
By Sarah Hansen
The Office of Technology Development (OTD) at UMBC granted its first Technology Catalyst Fund (TCF) awards of up to $25,000 in December 2014. The money went to four projects spanning computer science to biology. The awards were made possible by new funding from the state of Maryland designated to support the transfer of academic research into marketable products. “The state is supporting anything that involves entrepreneurial activity,” said Wendy Martin, OTD Director.
Funding incipient projects with the TCF puts them in a better position to earn larger grants down the road. Specifically, entrepreneurs from UMBC and four other Maryland universities are eligible to apply for funding from the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII), sponsored by the Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). Some UMBC inventors have already earned MII awards. “We’re now seeing a lot of investors, venture folks, coming in and asking us, ‘Hey, we understand you had this project funded by the MII, can we talk to the people involved?’” Martin said.
Distracted Driving Detection
A three-person team from Computer Science and Electrical Engineering won one of the awards for their distracted driving detection system. Competitor systems track head motion, “but we’re offering to make more precise measurements of the head as well as monitor other parts of the body,” said Ryan Robucci, Assistant Professor in CSEE. “All of it is proximity-based. Nothing needs to be on the body of the driver—it’s all embedded in the cabin,” added Nilanjan Banerjee, Assistant Professor of CSEE and Robucci’s teammate.
They’ll be using the funds primarily to purchase a simulator system, because “we can’t actually induce dangerous driving behavior,” said Robucci. The team has already shown that the sensors function properly, but the big question now is whether the information the sensors collect can reliably indicate various types of driving behavior, such as “whether you have your hands on the steering wheel, whether you are drinking coffee, or whether you are drowsing off,” said Banerjee. Analyzing boatloads of data from a simulator will help them answer that question. They also hope to build a complete prototype that could be retro-fitted into almost any vehicle.
This still from a video generated by the CSEE team shows Professor Patel testing the system, with the data output on the right. The full video is available here.
The team, which also includes Professor of CSEE Chintan Patel, is already forming relationships with companies who are interested in the product. “Statistics show that most accidents actually occur due to fleet vehicles, not personal vehicles,” said Banerjee, “so having a system like this that can capture distracted driving, and even more importantly, capture driving behavior, will help fleet managers choose which drivers they should recruit in the future.” Robucci points out that driving behavior data collected by the system could also be shared with drivers and incorporated into safety training programs. After the simulations, the team plans to apply for the MII and federal funds to undertake tests in real fleet vehicles.
Taking a BiTE out of cancer
Professor of Biological SciencesSuzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg and three graduate students are developing a cancer treatment called BiTES, or “bispecific T-cell engagers,” with support from a TCF grant. Cancer cells have the ability to shut down the attack ability of immune cells called T-cells, but BiTES may be able to prevent that shutdown. The team is developing two BiTES that would be administered together. One BiTE blocks two deactivating molecules, one on T-cells and one on cancerous tumor cells. The second BiTE neutralizes one of these same molecules and also “super-activates” the T-cells. In addition to stopping immune suppression, BiTES “can actually pull T-cells into close proximity with the tumor cells,” said Lucas Horn, a PhD student on the team. T-cells are naturally good at seeking out cancer cells, but “this sort of helps stack the deck a little bit,” said Horn.
Members of the Rosenberg Lab. Rosenberg and Horn are in the back row (Horn: brightest blue shirt, Rosenberg: white cardigan).
BiTES are not new. “Other people have made BITES,” said Ostrand-Rosenberg, “but they’ve never made BITES using these molecules, and they’ve never made a BITE that tried to block the immune suppression.” BiTES have huge advantages over traditional treatments. “The side effects are nothing compared to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and there’s none of the patient pain associated with chemo or radiation,” said Ostrand-Rosenberg.
Without the TCF funds, this project wouldn’t have gotten off the ground. The money buys supplies for two Applied Molecular Biology master’s students, Kathryn Cronise and Munanchu Poudel, to work on the project. Cronise points out, “That’s something I was never aware of as an undergraduate researcher—just how much everything costs.”
But with the grant, the team has made a series of “quantum leaps,” according to Ostrand-Rosenberg. And this team, too, has its eye on additional funding to advance the project. “If we can get any kind of data that show that these things work, we’ll put in for a TEDCO,” she said.
The other two winners include Professor of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering Mark Marten and Yordan Kostov, Assistant Director at the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology. Wendy Martin is thrilled to see these projects taking off. “We saw a need to provide pre-MII awards to folks who didn’t quite have enough to submit a proposal for the MII award, which is bigger,” she said. “We are really, really, really excited. It’s been really great to start it and give out the first awards.”
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(At right: A still from an informational video about a distracted driving detection system project, available here.) By Sarah Hansen The Office of Technology Development (OTD) at UMBC granted...Imagehttps://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/7693a3fb7ecdb2be33518c42e97e1686/69ec0ae8/news/000/050/783/143f1e6c0c94814481445e0352cd626c/distracted driving example.PNG?1427716074https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/50783/guest@my.umbc.edu/a5e896f62558ba15e1c8861bd80d7633/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/783/07f7b0f164f1efeceb8663f443baebef/xxlarge.jpg?1427716204https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/783/07f7b0f164f1efeceb8663f443baebef/xlarge.jpg?1427716204https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/783/07f7b0f164f1efeceb8663f443baebef/large.jpg?1427716204https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/783/07f7b0f164f1efeceb8663f443baebef/medium.jpg?1427716204https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/783/07f7b0f164f1efeceb8663f443baebef/small.jpg?1427716204https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/783/07f7b0f164f1efeceb8663f443baebef/xsmall.jpg?1427716204https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/783/07f7b0f164f1efeceb8663f443baebef/xxsmall.jpg?142771620420trueMon, 30 Mar 2015 08:04:43 -0400Mon, 30 Mar 2015 08:07:33 -0400IMET–UMBC collaborative grant program takes off
by Sarah Hansen
Last spring, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) initiated the IMET–Partner Institutions Seed Grant Program. The program stipulates that proposals include team members from IMET and at least one of its partner institutions, which include UMBC, University of Maryland–Baltimore (UMB), and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES). “Our seed grant program is an excellent example of the way that IMET can serve as a catalyst for collaboration among our partner institutions,” said IMET Director Russell Hill. The selection committee chose four projects in the first cycle to fund $100,000 each.
Algae project works toward commercially competitive biofuels
Steve Miller, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at UMBC, and Yantao Li, Assistant Professor affiliated with IMET and UMCES, submitted one of the winning proposals. Li’s and Miller’s work focuses on producing algal biofuels. Biofuel production “can kill three birds with one stone,” said Miller. First, algal biofuel production is carbon neutral, because algae produce fuel by drawing carbon dioxide out of the air during photosynthesis. Second, if successfully optimized, algal biofuels could provide an alternative fuel source as global fossil fuel deposits dwindle. Third, algae can be used to treat waste water, because they thrive in environments with an excess of water pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus.
Miller’s lab works on a commonly-studied alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. There are lots of genetic tools for manipulating it in the lab, but it’s not that great at producing oils (fuel) and it doesn’t do well in the harsh conditions inside scaled-up bioreactors. Li has been working with a different species, Nannochloropsis oceanica, for which there are fewer tools. However, it’s hardier and produces more oil. “We’re trying to complement each other’s strengths,” said Miller. “Our goal has been to try to learn something about algal biology, with the hope of improving algal growth rates, and then translate that information to algae that make more oil and are better commercial producers.”
Transferring technical methods from Chlamy to Nanno (as they’re affectionately known) is a real challenge, though. Even though they are both algae, “Nanno is as different from Chlamy as we are from Chlamy,” said Miller. Plus, the same sturdiness that makes Nanno great for industrial production makes it much less amenable to manipulation by researchers, explained Rudy Park, a PhD student in Miller’s lab.
Rudy Park, who is funded by an IMET seed grant, works on the algal biofuels project in Professor Steve Miller's lab at UMBC. (Sarah Hansen)
The seed grant has been critical to progress on this project. Although Li and Miller met several years ago, “The seed grant was the catalyst for getting a collaboration going between us,” Miller said. He’s been able to fund Park and and buy supplies for two master’s students to work on the project. Plus, “Collaboration always makes science more fun,” he said, “It’s more fun to bounce ideas off other people who have the same stake in the process that I do.”
One goal of the grant program is to stimulate submission of grants for external funding. Miller, Li, and Ian Thorpe, UMBC Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, are submitting a grant to the National Science Foundation. Their proposed project hopes to elucidate the oil-producing pathway in Nanno.
Understanding a methane-producing microbe's adaptable metabolism
Kevin Sowers, Associate Director of IMET and UMBC Professor, and C.S. Raman, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UMB, submitted another of the winning proposals. Sowers and Raman are investigating the ability of a microbe called Methanosarcina barkeri to use oxygen. It belongs to a large and diverse group of single-celled organisms called Archaea. It’s also a methanogen—an organism that releases methane as a byproduct of its metabolism. According to Sowers, “It’s responsible for 70 percent of the methane that’s out there.”
Instead of using oxygen to produce cellular energy (as animals do), M. barkeri uses a variety of molecules including hydrogen, acetate, and methylamines. While some Archaeans are dependent primarily on hydrogen, M. barkeri is “a jack of all trades,” said Sowers. “When there isn’t much hydrogen, these are the ones that take off.”
Previously, scientists believed that oxygen was toxic to methanogens. However, genetic analyses revealed that M. barkeri may be able to use oxygen after all. Turns out it expresses a type of gene used for oxygen-driven energy production called a cytochrome. Raman and Sowers believe the Archaean essentially “stole” the gene from a bacterial cell. Through their project, they hope to solidify evidence that M. barkeri can transition from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism at certain concentrations of oxygen, and elucidate the chemical pathways that regulate that transition.
This investigation has implications for many research fields. M. barkeri and other anaerobic methanogens are critical for nutrient cycling on Earth, because they can break down organic material in anaerobic soils and sediments, returning carbon to the environment. Also, the lateral transfer of genes from a bacterium to an Archaean has implications for evolutionary biology.
Ethel Apolinario, research assistant and lab manager in Professor Kevin Sowers' lab, works with methanogens in an anaerobic glove box. (Kevin Sowers)
Since they received the grant money in Summer 2014, the two have been hard at work. “We’re pushing the oxygen limits,” Sowers said. M. barkeri can hunker down in a dormant state to survive conditions with higher oxygen levels, but they want to find the highest level of oxygen at which it can still grow. So far, they’re up to two percent oxygen and the microbes are still thriving. They’re also analyzing what genes are expressed when oxygen is present, and wondering if the “stolen” cytochrome gene will be active.
The collaboration between Sowers and Raman “is a perfect complementation,” said Sowers. “He’s not an anaerobic microbiologist, and I don’t work with cytochromes.” The two scientists have known each other for many years. “We’d always talked about doing this,” Sowers said, “but we never could quite get something together.” The seed grant “was the catalyst that got it rolling.” Leveraging the preliminary data they’ve collected with funds from the seed grant, Sowers and Raman have submitted grants to NASA and DOE, and they’re looking for other opportunities.
It’s clear that the nascent seed grant program is already making an impact. The winners, who also include Michael Gonsior (UMCES) and Feng Chen (IMET-UMCES), have to report their progress a month after their year of funding runs out, but Hill points out, “We’ll know the true value of the program only a year or two after the end-date, when we see whether these seed grants have led to competitive, large federal awards.”
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by Sarah Hansen Last spring, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) initiated the IMET–Partner Institutions Seed Grant Program. The program stipulates that proposals include...Imagehttps://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/093f5f8554aa2c968b58c47297d3361d/69ec0ae8/news/000/050/570/53ac2d01e41ff949c11c916309ae17b7/sowers lab.jpg?1426277869https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/50570/guest@my.umbc.edu/f270da35baec1b0a15bc69241ddc9bc9/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/570/98e46bff636d21be0c89ad8c2dd45473/xxlarge.jpg?1426278314https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/570/98e46bff636d21be0c89ad8c2dd45473/xlarge.jpg?1426278314https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/570/98e46bff636d21be0c89ad8c2dd45473/large.jpg?1426278314https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/570/98e46bff636d21be0c89ad8c2dd45473/medium.jpg?1426278314https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/570/98e46bff636d21be0c89ad8c2dd45473/small.jpg?1426278314https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/570/98e46bff636d21be0c89ad8c2dd45473/xsmall.jpg?1426278314https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/570/98e46bff636d21be0c89ad8c2dd45473/xxsmall.jpg?142627831410trueFri, 13 Mar 2015 16:32:37 -0400Mon, 16 Mar 2015 19:57:27 -0400UMBC-UMB Collaboration Seeks Mechanisms Behind Migraines
For scientists, finding the cause of migraine headaches has turned into a real brain teaser. Years of research on this debilitating condition has yet to uncover a definitive cause. While some migraine treatments have been developed, they are not effective for everyone. A University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) researcher has his mind set on exploring a new potential cause of migraine headaches.
Radi Masri, DDS, PhD, MS, associate professor in the Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry, has launched a collaborative project with Raimi Quiton, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), titled “The role of the superior colliculus in migraine pathophysiology.” The pair recently received a $75,000 UMB-UMBC Research and Innovation Partnership Grant to fund their study.
The research is critical, Masri says, because migraines are far more than just a minor nuisance. The World Health Organization reports that migraine is the seventh most common cause of disability in patients. The severe headaches can last for up to 24 hours and some patients experience two or three migraines each week.
In an effort to better understand this condition, Masri and his collaborators will focus on the superior colliculus, an area in the middle of the brain that receives information related to vision, hearing and sensation. “Patients who suffer from migraine headaches are often very sensitive to light, sound and touch,” explains Masri. “If there is a problem in the superior colliculus, it could explain that hyper-sensitivity.”
In a preliminary study, in collaboration with David Seminowicz, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, the researchers found that patients who suffer from migraine headaches have an increase in blood oxygen levels in their superior colliculus. This increase signifies an abnormal activity in this region of the brain. They also discovered that the superior colliculus receives significant input from the dura, which is the super-sensitive tissue that surrounds the brain. Previous research has shown that sensitized nerves in the dura contribute to migraine headaches.
For the next phase of the study, Masri and his collaborators plan to study the brains of patients while they are actually experiencing a migraine, to evaluate changes in blood oxygen levels and see if a clearer picture emerges. In the long run, Masri is hopeful they can identify receptors and mediators that cause this abnormal activity, so they can develop treatments to more effectively block migraine headaches.
“The first step in finding a treatment for migraine is understanding what is actually happening in the brain,” Masri says. “The condition likely involves more structures in the brain than the superior colliculus, but the only way to gain a full understanding is to identify those structures one at a time.”
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This story covers a UMBC-UMB research collaboration and is cross-posted from the UMB news site. For scientists, finding the cause of migraine headaches has turned into a real brain teaser....Imagehttps://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/ad52da35222fb5e4b33c8edee34e5d0c/69ec0ae8/news/000/050/535/7f5a17b792b687fc4c227a5c5e569dd8/masri-inside.jpg?1426252099https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/50535/guest@my.umbc.edu/b041053ddfb0ad71209b71a8d20e6e46/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/535/5ca4c0b3cb46e529003490a1c796be50/xxlarge.jpg?1426252190https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/535/5ca4c0b3cb46e529003490a1c796be50/xlarge.jpg?1426252190https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/535/5ca4c0b3cb46e529003490a1c796be50/large.jpg?1426252190https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/535/5ca4c0b3cb46e529003490a1c796be50/medium.jpg?1426252190https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/535/5ca4c0b3cb46e529003490a1c796be50/small.jpg?1426252190https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/535/5ca4c0b3cb46e529003490a1c796be50/xsmall.jpg?1426252190https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/535/5ca4c0b3cb46e529003490a1c796be50/xxsmall.jpg?142625219010trueFri, 13 Mar 2015 09:07:42 -0400Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:34:33 -0400MIPAR Researchers Receive International Award
The International Center of Mental Health Policy and Economics has awarded UMBC researchers David Salkever (Public Policy) and Brent Gibbons (Ph.D., ’13, Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research), along with co-authors Robert E. Drake, William D. Frey, Thomas W. Hale, and Mustafa Karakus, an Excellence in Mental Health Policy and Economics Research Award – 2015 for the article “Increasing Earnings of Social Security Disability Income Beneficiaries with Serious Mental Disorder.”
The article, which was published in the Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics 2014; 17 (2): 75-90, reports the results of MIPAR research conducted in collaboration with Westat for the Social Security Administration. The award will be presented on March 27 in Venice, Italy at the Twelfth Workshop on Costs and Assessment.
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The International Center of Mental Health Policy and Economics has awarded UMBC researchers David Salkever (Public Policy) and Brent Gibbons (Ph.D., ’13, Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and...https://umbcinsights.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/mipar-researchers-receive-international-award/https://beta.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/50366/guest@my.umbc.edu/40b1434a0b3f37ec4373339b1588887d/api/pixelovpr-news-2015Archived RCA Newshttps://beta.my.umbc.edu/groups/researchhttps://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/original.jpg?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxlarge.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xlarge.png?1743706368https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/large.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/medium.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/small.png?1743706368https://assets4-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xsmall.png?1743706368https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/794/4bca2aa331eb7e472d63d97e0798b600/xxsmall.png?1743706368Office of the Vice President for Researchhttps://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/366/2d9e81648ddfb6a43f25f987713a9763/xxlarge.jpg?1426016285https://assets2-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/366/2d9e81648ddfb6a43f25f987713a9763/xlarge.jpg?1426016285https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/366/2d9e81648ddfb6a43f25f987713a9763/large.jpg?1426016285https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/366/2d9e81648ddfb6a43f25f987713a9763/medium.jpg?1426016285https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/366/2d9e81648ddfb6a43f25f987713a9763/small.jpg?1426016285https://assets1-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/366/2d9e81648ddfb6a43f25f987713a9763/xsmall.jpg?1426016285https://assets3-beta.my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/050/366/2d9e81648ddfb6a43f25f987713a9763/xxsmall.jpg?142601628510trueTue, 10 Mar 2015 15:40:07 -0400