Category Archives: Molecular Genetics

MORRISVILLE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Q2 Solutions, a leading global clinical trial laboratory services organization, resulting from an IQVIA and Quest Diagnostics joint venture, today announced a partnership with Adaptive Biotechnologies, a pioneer and leader in immune-driven medicine. Q2 Solutions will offer its customers the immunoSEQ Assay, Adaptives next-generation sequencing (NGS) based immunosequencing solution, which is used to quantify adaptive immune receptors at high-throughput, leveraging the companys new immunosequencing kit. Q2 Solutions will also offer immunoSEQ T-MAP COVID, a proprietary research product and data analysis service to accurately and reproducibly assess the T cell immune response to COVID-19 vaccines in development and track the persistence of that response over time. The specific terms of the partnership are confidential.

We are delighted to be the first large global laboratory services organization to enter into a partnership with Adaptive Biotechnologies to provide clinical trial services with both immunoSEQ and immunoSEQ T-MAP COVID, the first molecular T cell monitoring tool for SARS-CoV-2, said Kellie Yarnell, VP, Genomic Laboratories, Q2 Solutions. These new genomics services will further expand our global Immuno-Oncology and COVID-19 comprehensive testing portfolio solutions offered to our pharma clients, emphasized Dr. Patrice Hugo, Chief Scientific Officer at Q2 Solutions.

The immunoSEQ Assay allows pharmaceutical companies to understand adaptive immune responses, which adds valuable insight throughout the drug development lifecycle including efficacy, dosing, optimal drug combinations, mechanisms of action, safety and adverse event monitoring. It also provides drug developers with a way to identify key biomarkers of drug response and/or diagnostic targets. The technology enables accurate and quantitative assessment of the T cell characteristics and dynamics, including the unparalleled power to understand immune responses to COVID-19 in never-before-possible ways through the immunoSEQ T-MAP COVID platform.

We are excited to partner with Q2 Solutions, one of the worlds premier clinical R&D service providers, to offer immunoSEQ and immunoSEQ T-MAP COVID to their pharmaceutical customers, said Julie Rubinstein, President, Adaptive Biotechnologies. By translating the genetics of the adaptive immune system at massive scale with a clinically robust assay, Q2 Solutions can help advance their customers clinical programs to address SARS-CoV-2, as well as in immune-mediated disease areas.

Q2 Solutions will run studies directly for its pharma and biotech clients, utilizing both blood and tumor tissue sample matrices. Q2 Solutions will use Adaptives proprietary bioinformatics pipeline to perform analytical testing and data analysis before releasing to pharma customers. For more information on immunoSEQ, visit http://www.immunoseq.com.

About Q2 Solutions

Q2 Solutions is a leading global clinical trial laboratory services organization providing comprehensive testing, project management, supply chain, biorepository, biospecimen and consent tracking solutions. Leveraging our next generation technologies, we deliver agile and precise services designed to meet the diverse needs of our clients. We provide scientific expertise and innovative solutions for ADME, bioanalytical, genomics, vaccines and central laboratory services, including flow cytometry, anatomic pathology, immunoassay, molecular and companion diagnostics, with meticulous regional and global clinical trial implementation support and high-quality data delivery. At Q2 Solutions, our work is rooted in research, grounded in collaboration, and guided by our passion to turn the hope of patients and caregivers around the world into the help they need. To learn more, visit http://www.q2labsolutions.com.

About Adaptive Biotechnologies

Adaptive Biotechnologies is a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on harnessing the inherent biology of the adaptive immune system to transform the diagnosis and treatment of disease. We believe the adaptive immune system is natures most finely tuned diagnostic and therapeutic for most diseases, but the inability to decode it has prevented the medical community from fully leveraging its capabilities. Our proprietary immune medicine platform reveals and translates the massive genetics of the adaptive immune system with scale, precision and speed to develop products in life sciences research, clinical diagnostics, and drug discovery. We have two commercial products, and a robust clinical pipeline to diagnose, monitor and enable the treatment of diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions and infectious diseases. Our goal is to develop and commercialize immune-driven clinical products tailored to each individual patient. For more information, please visit adaptivebiotech.com and follow us on http://www.twitter.com/adaptivebiotech.

Continue reading here:
Q2 Solutions, an IQVIA and Quest Diagnostics Joint Venture, Teams With Adaptive Biotechnologies to Market immunoSEQ Assay, the Leading Quantitative...

This article was originally published here

mBio. 2020 Oct 30;11(6):e02707-20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02707-20.

ABSTRACT

We sequenced the genomes of 5,085 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains causing two coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease waves in metropolitan Houston, TX, an ethnically diverse region with 7 million residents. The genomes were from viruses recovered in the earliest recognized phase of the pandemic in Houston and from viruses recovered in an ongoing massive second wave of infections. The virus was originally introduced into Houston many times independently. Virtually all strains in the second wave have a Gly614 amino acid replacement in the spike protein, a polymorphism that has been linked to increased transmission and infectivity. Patients infected with the Gly614 variant strains had significantly higher virus loads in the nasopharynx on initial diagnosis. We found little evidence of a significant relationship between virus genotype and altered virulence, stressing the linkage between disease severity, underlying medical conditions, and host genetics. Some regions of the spike protein-the primary target of global vaccine efforts-are replete with amino acid replacements, perhaps indicating the action of selection. We exploited the genomic data to generate defined single amino acid replacements in the receptor binding domain of spike protein that, importantly, produced decreased recognition by the neutralizing monoclonal antibody CR3022. Our report represents the first analysis of the molecular architecture of SARS-CoV-2 in two infection waves in a major metropolitan region. The findings will help us to understand the origin, composition, and trajectory of future infection waves and the potential effect of the host immune response and therapeutic maneuvers on SARS-CoV-2 evolution.IMPORTANCE There is concern about second and subsequent waves of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus occurring in communities globally that had an initial disease wave. Metropolitan Houston, TX, with a population of 7 million, is experiencing a massive second disease wave that began in late May 2020. To understand SARS-CoV-2 molecular population genomic architecture and evolution and the relationship between virus genotypes and patient features, we sequenced the genomes of 5,085 SARS-CoV-2 strains from these two waves. Our report provides the first molecular characterization of SARS-CoV-2 strains causing two distinct COVID-19 disease waves.

PMID:33127862 | DOI:10.1128/mBio.02707-20

Originally posted here:
Molecular Architecture of Early Dissemination and Massive Second Wave of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus in a Major Metropolitan Area - DocWire News

Mixed results: Cheek swabs and blood samples from people with fragile X show that key protein levels can vary from cell to cell and influence trait severity.

Lawrence Lawry / Science Photo Library

People with particularly low levels of FMRP, the protein lacking in those with fragile X syndrome, are more likely to also have autism and severe intellectual disability, according to a new study1. The lower the level of FMRP, the more severe a persons traits.

The findings could help researchers identify who would benefit most from certain treatments, says co-investigator Dejan Budimirovic, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. They could also be used to design better outcome measures for pharmaceutical trials for the condition.

This really helped us to work on closing a gap in the field between a persons traits and those traits molecular origins, Budimirovic says. You really need to pair that with the clinical outcomes that can be translated to the bedside that the clinicians and patients and families can see, What does it mean to me?

Fragile X syndrome occurs when a section of the FMR1 gene, which codes for FMRP, contains more DNA letter repeats than usual. The repeats silence the gene by driving DNA methylation: Molecules called methyl groups attach to a region of the gene where it can be switched on, blocking production of FMRP, a protein necessary for communication among neurons. Most people with the syndrome have intellectual disability (ID), and many also have autism.

The extent to which the methyl groups attach to the gene can vary among people with fragile X and from cell to cell, leading to different levels of FMRP in people with the same underlying genetics2. The new work confirms the relationship between the number of repeats and an individuals traits with greater precision than before: More repeats lead to more methylation, causing lower protein levels and more severe traits.

The findings confirm the chain of events that connect expanded repeats to the severity of traits seen in fragile X,and future treatments could potentially intervene anywhere along the chain, says David Amor, professor of clinical genetics at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Victoria, Australia, who was not involved in the work. Amor worked on a separate October study that found that boys with fragile X with higher levels of methylation have lower cognitive abilities and more severe autism traits3.

The new work also demonstrates the complexity of fragile X syndrome, Amor says: Each affected individual probably has a unique molecular variant of the condition.

The researchers analyzed blood samples and cheek swabs from 42 people with FMR1 mutations, nine of them female. Two male and three female participants have 55 to 200 DNA letter repeats, something known as a premutation.

They were able to analyze FMRP levels in 31 individuals who have full mutations more than 200 repeats. The boys and men have lower FMRP levels than the girls and women. Because FMR1 is located on the X chromosome, girls and women who have two X chromosomes are less likely to be severely affected.

Among the 26 boys and men with full mutations, those who show mosaicism, or different levels of methylation or gene expression in different cells, have twice as much FMRP overall as those without mosaicism. (There were too few girls and women in the study for this analysis.) Individuals with full mutations have higher methylation levels and lower FMRP levels than do those with premutations.

The researchers evaluated the participants with full mutations for autism, anxiety, practical life skills, difficult behaviors and ID, as measured by intelligence quotient (IQ). Nearly all have some level of ID, and almost half also have autism.

Those with fragile X and autism have half as much FMRP as those without autism, the team found. Among boys and men with fragile X, those with severe ID have even lower levels of the protein than boys and men with mild or moderate disability, regardless of whether they are autistic.

The findings were published in Brain Science in September.

The FMRP results are remarkable, says Randi Hagerman, medical director of the University of California, Davis MIND Institute, who was not involved in the work. It shows the importance of really drilling down in the molecular variables.

Not all people in the study fit the trend: Three male participants with low FMRP levels and some mosaicism have only mild or moderate ID. Another has high FMRP and moderate disability, but no detectable mosaicism.

These exceptions suggest that interactions between genetics, epigenetics and proteins provide a more complete picture of the condition than any single measure, says co-investigator Gary Latham, senior vice president of research and development at the molecular diagnostic company Asuragen in Austin, Texas.

Its not any one shot, he says. Its a whole shooting match.

The findings could be important for identifying who can benefit from drugs that increase FMRP levels, Hagerman says. The epilepsy and bipolar disorder drug divalproex sodium (marketed as Depakote), for example, may be able to boost FMRP levels but hasnt yet been shown to be effective in people with fragile X, she says4.

Amors study, which analyzed methylation markers in dried blood spots collected at birth, demonstrates that methylation levels could potentially be used to screen for fragile X in newborns and predict the type or severity of traits an individual might show. But much more work would be needed for that to be realistic, Latham says.

Budimirovic and Latham say they hope to see their technique used in larger cohorts to better assess the nuances of the relationships between protein levels and individuals traits.

Read more from the original source:
Autism, intellectual disability linked to levels of fragile X protein - Spectrum

The naked eye can barely spot the transparent nematodes at the center of PhD student Gurrein Madans neuroscience research. While C. elegans worms may initially seem an unassuming test subject for a graduate student who investigates the intricacies of gut-brain signaling, many of the genes found in C. elegans have counterparts in the human brain. Gurreins research could yield new insights into the gut-brain relationship, which may have practical health implications for humans.

Gurrein works in the lab of Steven Flavell, the Lister Brothers Career Development Assistant Professor in the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. There, researchers address some of neurosciences most essential questions, using C. elegans as a model. The lab centers around understanding how neuromodulatory systems such as those cellular systems that release, and are stimulated by, serotonin affect animal behavior. The millimeter-long C. elegans are an ideal model for this work because their nervous system, with just 302 neurons, has been well-characterized: It is the only animal on the planet where there is a full blueprint of how all of its brain cells are wired together, says Flavell. Combined with cutting-edge genetic and neural imaging technologies, the nematode model affords mechanistic studies of behavior from the scale of molecules to the whole brain.

Gurrein was recently named one of this years School of Science MathWorks Fellows. The fellowship is a one-year renewable opportunity for graduate students in the School of Science who use the software MATLAB to make impressive strides in their research. Funding for the fellowship is provided with support from MathWorks, founded by its president, John N. Little 78. MATLAB is used extensively by faculty, students, and researchers across the world and MITs campus to develop algorithms, computations, and simulations.

Gurreins project specifically looks at the neurons that line the C. elegans gut. These enteric neurons detect food and respond to changes in the animals nutritional state while receiving feedback from other parts of the brain. Gurrein studies the class of neurons that release serotonin, which has a profound influence on the animals feeding behavior.

Currently, we are investigating what receptors expressed in these enteric neurons regulate the neurons response to food, as well as to feedback from the rest of the nervous system, Gurrein says. By using genetics and neural imaging techniques, we attempt to uncover new molecular players involved in gut-brain signaling.

Dysregulation of gut-brain signaling has been linked to psychiatric disorders, such as depression and autism spectrum disorder, in humans. Diverse molecules, including neurotransmitters and inflammatory molecules, mediate the two-way communication between the gut and the brain. However, the specific pathways behind this relationship are not well understood. Gurrein hopes to uncover more about the signaling mechanisms driving the connection.

Much of our understanding of the fundamental pathways that control animal development and function comes from studies that originated in C. elegans, where basic genetic pathways were rapidly discovered, says Flavell. Lo and behold, in humans, the same pathways control the same cellular processes. Many of these pathways have then become targets for drug development to treat human disease.

Using MATLAB at nearly every step of her research from data collection and processing to analysis Gurrein was an excellent candidate for the MathWorks fellowship. I was excited to apply for two reasons. First, the fellowship was open to international students. Typically, international students are ineligible to apply to most fellowships out there. Second, MATLAB serves as the critical platform for comprehensively handling my data, Gurrein says.

Gurrein grew up in Amritsar in northwest India. Early in high school, Gurrein was placed in the sciences track, and upon graduation traveled to the United States for her undergraduate degree. During her sophomore year at Swarthmore College, she began research in a neurobiology lab and quickly realized how much she enjoyed the process of conducting scientific research. Moreover, she found the interdisciplinary nature of the neuroscience field exciting. After graduating with a BA in neuroscience in 2017, she immediately began her PhD at MIT.

I really like the innovative aspect of a PhD, Gurrein says. We are trained to expand the limits of what is known in our fields by being persistent, constantly troubleshooting, and coming up with new approaches to probe a question. I was initially considering medical school, but my research experiences led me to think that a PhD was probably a better fit for me.

Gurreins colleagues noticed her enthusiasm for scientific discovery immediately. Flavell says she impressed him right out of the gate. Within her first six months in the lab, Gurrein was instrumental in designing new experiments, conducting behavioral assays, and making notable discoveries that made their way into publications.

Gurrein has an enormous amount of drive and energy, always trying her best to make impactful discoveries, says Flavell. We have meetings once a week, and she always brings a critical eye to her own work, thinking about her datasets, what they mean, and how they give rise to new research directions. She wants to make sure the data she gets is really convincing and setting her on a path to making a true discovery.

The general topic of how the gut is influencing the brain is a relatively new field, Gurrein says. I think there is a lot of space for novel, exciting contributions.

Read this article:
How a worm may yield insights into the gut-brain relationship - MIT News

At their Oct. 30 meeting, the Michigan State Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Jabbar Bennett as the university's inaugural vice president and chief diversity officer, as well as addressing the concerns for public safety as football continues this weekend, at their.

Bennettwas selected to fill the role Oct. 6, after meetings with finalists and a national search. He will begin on Dec. 1.

"The search committee, which included faculty, staff and students, worked incredibly hard to make every step of the search process as open and inclusive as possible, and I want to give special thanks to Dean Chris Long of the College of Arts and Letters and Dr. Melissa Woo the executive vice president for administration and chief information officer for leading the search," MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. said. "I am certain Dr. Bennet will help us transform diversity, equity and inclusion across our university."

Additionally, the board approved tenure appointments of including Professor for the College of Nursing Susan Buchholz and Professor in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in the College of Human Medicine Thomas OHalloran.

As Saturday's football game against the University of Michigan approaches, Stanley addressed the recent outdoor gathering regulations that the city made.

"We're looking forward to resumption of our football rivalry with the University of Michigan tomorrow, and of course it's also Halloween, so we're making special efforts to urge people to avoid large gatherings," Stanley said.

Certain parts of East Lansing are now limited to 10 people in outside gatherings.

"We expect that Michigan State University students will comply with these very important public health protocols," he said.

Last weekend there were eight large parties in East Lansing resulting in $500 penalties. There have been 38 large gathering violations issued to MSU students, all of which have been submitted to the dean of students disciplinary system.

"For people, particularly off campus and particularly the temptations that come as we have Halloween and we have the game really have to exert that willpower, really have to avoid large groups and even groups of 10 or more, constitute a violation in East Lansing and really have to stick to doing the right thing to prevent transmission of disease," Stanley said in a press conference after the meeting.

According to university deputy spokesperson Dan Olsen, 73 cases have been referred to the Dean of Students Office, and, of those 73, 23 interim suspensions have been issued. The suspensions are made when students' conduct presents a clear or present danger to a person or property.

They remain in place until a student successfully petitions for reinstatement or the student conduct process has been resolved.

Stanley said if multiple suspensions are brought forward, they are considering the possibility of expulsions.

"I want to thank all of those students, faculty and staff at Michigan State who are following the safety guidelines by wearing masks, limiting gatherings and following other precautions, and I encourage everyone in Michigan State University, East Lansing and in Ann Arbor this weekend to follow the same precautions," Stanley said.

The meeting also included the adoption of the State of Michigan Fiscal Year 2022 Five-Year Capital Outlay Plan, which aims to cut unnecessary expenses and add the funding for amulticultural center and renovations for the new African American and African Studies Department.

"Due to the challenges we are facing due to the pandemic, the state is not accepting major project requests for fiscal year 2022," Chair of the Committee on Budget and Finance Melanie Foster said. "Therefore, this year's capital outline process only includes the collection of five-year plans."

The project list can be seen attached to the memorandum, which clarified that the university provides a more significant potential list of priority projects, which is why the list is longer than the number of projects that would move forward in the five-year timeframe.

Foster said that the university is facing a $147 million deficit. Stanley clarified that while it is where the university currently stands, it doesn't completely take into account some of the mitigation strategies and some of the use of reserves that may be used to recover.

"So, it doesn't mean necessarily that we have a new $147 million worth of cuts to make, it rather expresses what the difference is between revenues and expenditures that we need to deal with," Stanley said.

Discussion

Share and discuss Michigan State BOT approves appointments, addresses gathering regulations on social media.

Read the original here:
Michigan State BOT approves appointments, addresses gathering regulations - The State News

The Michigan State University Board of Trustees will be meeting virtually at 8 a.m. on Oct. 30. The Zoom link and agenda for the meeting can be found on the board's website.

The board will be looking to approve the appointment of Jabbar Bennett as the vice president and chief diversity officer during the meeting. Bennett was selected Oct. 6 and will begin his position Dec. 1. He was one of four final candidates who met with MSU after a national search.

Additionally, the board will vote on two appointments of tenure, including Professor for the College of Nursing Susan Buchholz and Professor in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in the College of Human Medicine Thomas OHalloran.

The Committee on Budget and Finances will also be providing an update on the State of Michigan Fiscal Year 2022 budget. The budget will be a continuation of the previous year's submission but will cut unnecessary expenses and add the funding for a multicultural center.

The board will also vote on whether or not funding for the College of Veterinary Medicine will be necessary. If approved, the budget to replace the HVAC systems, as well as provide program-related renovations, would be $10.6 million.

Discussion

Share and discuss MSU Board of Trustees to vote on 3 appointments at Oct. 30 meeting on social media.

Read more here:
MSU Board of Trustees to vote on 3 appointments at Oct. 30 meeting - The State News

Scientists in Vienna have developed a new human tissue screening technique that has identified previously unknown genes involved in causing microcephaly, a rare genetic disorder, and that could one day be used to identify unknown genes tied to other conditions.

In a study published Thursday in Science, researchers screened lab-grown human brain tissues for 172 genes thought to be associated with microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with smaller-than-normal brains and have severe mental impairments. The search revealed 25 new genes linked to this rare neurological condition, adding to the 27 already known genes tied to microcephaly. The researchers also uncovered the involvement of certain pathways that were previously unknown to be connected to the disease.

This is a proof of concept, said Jrgen Knoblich, a molecular biologist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences Institute of Molecular Biotechnology and co-author of the study. With our ability to query many diseased genes at the same time and ask which ones are relevant in a human tissue, we can now study other diseases and other organs.

advertisement

For decades scientists have relied on small animals as models to make sense of how a human brain develops. But it turns out that our brains are not blown-up versions of a rodent brain. Mice and rat brain surfaces, for instance, are smooth, unlike the shrivelled walnut look of a human brain, with its countless folds. Also, these rodents are born with a somewhat complete brain, in which most neurons are in place, although they continue to form new connections after birth. In a human child, on the other hand, there are a massive number of neurons that form and populate the cortex after birth.

There are some processes that happen in our brain and not in mice brains that are responsible for human brains becoming so big and powerful, Knoblich said. This generates a very big medical problem, which is how do we study processes that are only happening in humans.

advertisement

To address this problem, several scientists including Knoblich developed human brain organoids that are no bigger than a lentil, created from stem cells, and function just like a working human brain. With an interest in studying neurodevelopmental disorders like microcephaly, Knoblichs team used these miniature substitute brains to look for clues about the genes that may hamper brain development.

Typically, scientists conduct genetic screening by inactivating select genes one by one to understand their contribution to bodily functions. But screens of human genes are restricted to cells grown in petri dishes in two dimensions, in which cells dont interact very much.

Microcephaly is a tissue disease and we couldnt really study it in 2D, said Christopher Esk, a molecular biologist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences Institute of Molecular Biotechnology and co-lead author of the study.

So, the researchers developed a technique called CRISPR-Lineage Tracing at Cellular resolution in Heterogeneous Tissue, which uses the gene-editing technology to make cuts in DNA and knockout genes in combination with a barcoding technology that tracks parent stems and their progeny cells as the 3D brain organoid develops.

Using an organoid developed from cells of a microcephalus patient, they kept an eye out for mutations that gave rise to fewer cells and thus a small brain in comparison with a healthy one.

The researchers used CRISPR-LICHT to simultaneously screen 172 potential microcephaly causing gene candidates and found 25 to be involved.

Among them was a gene called Immediate Early Response 3 Interacting Protein 1 in the endoplasmic reticulum, which is the protein processing station within a cell. This protein processing is required to properly process other proteins, among them extracellular matrix proteins, which are in turn important for tissue integrity, and thus brain size, Esk said.

Kristen Brennand, a stem cell biologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, who wasnt involved in the study, said she appreciated how the research captured this causal link. Clinical genetics can identify mutations in patients, but fall short of identifying causal mutations that definitively underlie disease risk, she said.

Going forward, Knoblich and his colleagues hope to use CRISPR-LICHT to screen many more genes that may be associated with other brain development disorders. Weve done it for microcephaly, and were already doing it for autism, he said. But the method can be applied to any type of organoid or any type of disease and any cell type.

Read the original post:
New screening tool could turn up genes tied to developmental disorders - STAT

Thirty years ago, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) mismanaged the Atlantic cod fishery into near oblivion ignoring the scientists who foresaw the collapse.

Instead, DFO rigged the science to support an unsustainable commercial fishery. Politicians vowed never again, and enshrined the precautionary principle into law always err on the side of caution but did nothing to reform the institution responsible for one of the worlds greatest self-inflicted ecological disasters.

Today, DFO does whatever is necessary to support Atlantic salmon farming along B.C.s coast to the significant threat of wild Pacific salmon. Only Canada allows the farming of Atlantic salmon on the migration routes of wild Pacific salmon. And, just like 30 years ago, DFO continues to rig science so it can skirt its primary duty to protect B.C.s iconic keystone species.

In 2009, after conducting a three-year federal inquiry into declining salmon runs, Justice Bruce Cohen saw the essential problem: DFO might ignore fish farmings risks to promote the industry. Along with 74 other recommendations, he recommended that DFO not be required to both promote and regulate fish farming. But DFOs conflicted mandate persists.

In 2015, the Federal Court found DFO had not adhered to the precautionary principle the law of our land when regulating the foreign Piscine orthoreovirus, saying DFOs arguments with respect to the precautionary principle are inconsistent, contradictory and, in any event, fail in light of the evidence. Four months later, DFO reinstated the same policy, adopting a risk threshold that prohibited only risks that could sterilize entire populations, species, or ecosystems.

The Federal Court again struck down the policy, which DFO reinstated and is before the Federal Court for a third time.

In 2018, the auditor general found DFO was woefully behind in its risk assessments, was not enforcing aquaculture regulations, and was vulnerable to claims that it prioritized the aquaculture industry over the protection of wild fish. The same year, Canadas chief scientist recommended DFO have unbiased advice from an external advisory committee. Still, no external oversight exists.

In December 2019, our prime minister mandated DFOs minister to transition B.C.s in ocean salmon farms onto land by 2025. Welcome words. But, almost a year later, British Columbians and the 102 B.C. First Nations who support this transition have seen no action by DFO.

Cohen also recommended fish farming in the Discovery Islands (a bottleneck for migrating salmon) be prohibited by Sept. 30, 2020, unless DFO could confidently say the farms there posed less than minimal harm to wild Pacific salmon.

On Sept. 28, with the Fraser River experiencing the worst sockeye returns in history, and with the minister absent, DFO officials proclaimed that the Discovery Island fish farms posed less than a one per cent risk to Fraser River sockeye. They did not explain how they calculated this risk, nor how their conclusion factored into the prime ministers mandate to transition the open-net pens by 2025. They did admit, in response to a question, that they had not included sea lice from fish farms in their assessment. Well-established science shows that sea lice from fish farms kill out-migrating juvenile salmon.

Just four days earlier, John Reynolds, an aquatic ecologist at Simon Fraser University, and chair of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada which is responsible for designating endangered species said: We have an overwhelming weight of evidence from research coming at this from all different directions. The current open-net-pen fish-farm model that we have is not compatible with protecting wild fish.

We can be thankful that one of DFOs top scientists is speaking out. Kristi Miller-Saunders, head of DFOs molecular genetics laboratory in Nanaimo, B.C., and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, described how DFOs dual role as regulator and industry advocate, coupled with its reliance on industry funding for research, skews risk assessments in favour of the fish-farm industry.

Lets watch what happens to Miller-Saunders now.

In the 10 years DFO has regulated fish farming in B.C., a former B.C. Supreme Court judge, two Federal Court judges, the auditor generals office, Canadas chief scientist, DFOs own scientists, B.C. First Nations, and numerous NGOs have all sounded the alarm. But so far, the politicians have done nothing to reform the institution mismanaging wild Pacific salmon to extinction. Our leaders must act now and not wait to say, never again, again.

Tony Allard is the chairman of Wild Salmon Forever.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the authors alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.

More from iPolitics

Go here to see the original:
The biggest threat to wild Pacific salmon is Fisheries and Oceans Canada - iPolitics.ca

TheCanadian Partnership for Tomorrows Health (CanPath), hosted by the University of Torontos Dalla Lana School of Public Health, has received a $1.9 million investment from CanadasCOVID-19 Immunity Task Forceto fund a study of COVID-19 seroprevalence across Canada.

Thestudy aims toidentifyindividuals who have antibodies for COVID-19 infection butmay not have been tested or experienced symptoms. Itfocuses on specific communities and individuals that are at higher risk of infection.

The information will be used to identify factors that make some more susceptible to the virus than others.

CanPaths large number of participants, pan-Canadian reach, and population coverage enable us to detect differences in exposure and immunity among Canadians, saysPhilipAwadalla, CanPathsnational scientific director and a professor in the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. We can capture how age, sex, socio-demographic factors, geography, genetics and health history impact varying immune responses to COVID-19 in Canada.

With data captured by the CanPath COVID-19 survey we rapidly implemented earlier this year, we are able to identify participants who may have been exposed as well as infected. We can also identify how pre-existing conditions, captured through health Information routinely collected over the past decade, impact COVID-19 disease severity.

The pan-Canadian study will test 20,000participants for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, an indication of past infection with the novel coronavirus. Itwill focus on adults ages 30 and older in populations that are traditionally under-represented in research studies or are among the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19, including residents of long-term care homes and people living in under-served communities with higher numbers of COVID-19 cases in both urban and rural settings.

CanPath is a national population health research platform that follows the health of 330,000 Canadians, or one per cent of the population. It is led by Awadalla and John McLaughlin,executive director of CanPath and a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

CanPath is an excellent example of a pan-Canadian collaborative effort that has engaged partners from many organizations and provinces for well over a decade. As a result, these critical questions on immunity in the Canadian population can be addressed in an efficient and coordinated manner, says Vivek Goela member of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force and a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Healths Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

Goel is alsoa special adviser to U of Ts president and provost who is helping to guide the universitys pandemic response.

Over the years, CanPath has contributed data and developed partnerships with numerous researchers and organizations across Canada, says McLaughlin. These partnerships enable our provincial and regional teams to work with communities that are at greatest risk. CanPath will work in support of Indigenous leaders and scholars to study the seroprevalence of COVID-19 antibodies among Indigenous communities. We are honoured to be selected to support the national COVID-19 control efforts by being able to rapidly provide actionable insights to federal and provincial decision-makers.

The COVID-19 serology study builds upon a previous grant of more than $2.5 million awarded to CanPath by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Itwill be implemented in collaboration with CanPaths regional cohorts: the BC Generations Project, Albertas Tomorrow Project, the Manitoba Tomorrow Project, Ontario Health Study, CARTaGENE (Quebec) and the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrows Health.

See the original post:
Researchers at U of T to study presence of COVID-19 antibodies in high- risk populations - News@UofT

An Award-Winning DeanTracy Johnson

Tracy Johnson, Ph.D., UCLA professor, molecular, cell, and developmental biology, and holder of the Keith and Cecilia Terasaki Presidential Endowed Chair, was named dean of the division of life sciences in the UCLA College, effective Sept. 1. An award-winning scientist whose research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of gene regulation, particularly RNA splicing, chromatin modification, and the intersection between these reactions, Dr. Johnson has been a member of the faculty since 2013 and has served as associate dean for inclusive excellence in the division of life sciences since January 2015.

Prior to her appointment at UCLA, Dr. Johnson was a member of the University of California, San Diego biological sciences faculty from 2003 to 2013, and a Jane Coffin Childs postdoctoral research fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Recognized for her scientific leadership and contributions to educational innovation, and as a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Johnson serves as a member of the UCLA Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research oversight committee; chair and director of the biomedical research minor; co-director and steering committee member for the Bruins in Genomics summer program; and co-director/co-principal investigator for the National Institutes of Health-funded UPLIFT/IRACDA program, which supports postdoctoral researchers preparing for academic careers.

Dr. Johnson also started the UCLA-HHMI Pathways to Success program, which is funded through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, to support the success of students from diverse backgrounds in STEM fields. She is also the principal investigator for a second HHMI grant aimed at promoting greater access and success for students studying life sciences who transfer from community colleges.

Beyond UCLA, Dr. Johnson has served as chair of an NIH Molecular Genetics study section, the National Cancer Institute board of scientific counselors, the executive committee for the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, and the executive board of the Society of Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professors.

She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award; the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; the UCLA Academic Senate Award for Career Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and the UCLA Life Sciences Award for Inclusive Excellence through teaching, mentorship, service, and research.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) recognized three women for outstanding contributions to engineering education, materials science and engineering, and environmental chemical engineering, respectively.

Stephanie Farrell, Ph.D., professor and founding chair of experiential engineering education, and interim dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at Rowan University, received the Award for Service to Chemical Engineering Education.

Dr. Farrell has contributed to engineering education through her work in inductive pedagogy, spatial skills, and inclusion and diversity. She has been honored by the American Society of Engineering Education with several teaching awards, including the 2004 National Outstanding Teaching Medal and the 2005 Quinn Award for experiential learning. She was a 2014-15 Fulbright Scholar in Engineering Education at the Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland).

The Braskem Award for Excellence in Materials Engineering and Science was given to Karen Winey, Ph.D., professor and Towerbrook Foundation Faculty Fellow, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wineys current interests include both polymer nanocomposites and ion-containing polymers. In nanocomposites, she designs and fabricates polymer nanocomposites containing carbon nanotubes and metal nanowires with the aim of understanding how to improve their mechanical, thermal, and especially electrical conductivity and resistive switching properties. In ion-containing polymers, including block copolymers and polymers with ionic liquids, Dr. Winey combines imaging and scattering methods to provide unprecedented insights into their morphologies. Current efforts focus on correlating nanoscale structures with ion transport properties.

Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz, Ph.D., assistant professor, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, received the Environmental Division Early Career Award. She focuses her research on atmospheric chemistry and the effects of physical and chemical processing of pollutants on human exposure in indoor and outdoor environments. Much of her work is conducted through UT Austins Center for Energy and Environmental Resources.

Dr. Hildebrandt Ruiz is an expert in the use of state-of-the-science mass spectrometric instrumentation to conduct policy-relevant and fundamental chemical research. She has led several measurement campaigns in indoor and outdoor environments and projects focused on laboratory chamber experiments. Most recently, she led an NSF-funded study to determine which disinfectants work best with face masks to minimize exposure to chemical byproducts created during cleaning processes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Laura E. Champion, P.E., an architecture, engineering, construction industry consultant and an association management specialist, was named a fellow by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) board of direction. For the past five years, Champion has been one of the professions technical leaders with ASCEs Structural Engineering Institute (SEI). In line with the institute, her mission is to advance and serve the structural engineering profession through every stage of her career. In her current position, she is responsible for SEIs overall operations, including staffing; overseeing a $2 million operating budget; and planning and marketing programs, events, and conferences for more than 30,000 global members.

She also supports initiatives and programs approved by the board of governors to bolster the Vision for the Future of Structural Engineering and Structural Engineers: A Case for Change. Champion collaborates with the membership, marketing, communication, publications, continuing education, government relations, and conferences and events departments within ASCE in managing SEIs programs.

Delaware State University announced the appointment of Saundra F. DeLauder, Ph.D., as the institutions new provost and chief academic officer. She becomes the first woman to be appointed as the universitys permanent provost and chief academic officer and is the sixth permanent provost since the university created the executive academic leadership position in the late 1990s.

She assumes the permanent position after serving as interim provost since the beginning of 2020 and as vice provost from August 2017 through 2019. She was dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research from her 2013 arrival at the university until 2017. During her tenures as vice provost and interim provost, Dr. DeLauder provided leadership in the areas of faculty affairs, academic standards and requirements, new degree programs, strategic planning, key performance indicators monitoring, the Delaware Institute for Science and Technology, the offices of Institutional Research and Sponsored Programs, and other areas.

As Dr. DeLauder takes over as university provost and vice president of academic affairs, she noted four key themes that cover the academic philosophy that guides her leadership: the university must build upon its existing strengths in ways that fully support the creativity and professionalism of the faculty and academic staff; the university must continue to increase its commitment to being student centered by fully embracing the ongoing conceptual change from the way we teach to the way our students learn; the university must keep expanding its research base and innovative outreach; and the university must continue to fight for resources to enable it to invest in game-changing programs and initiatives.

Dr. DeLauders 26-year career in higher education began in 1994 as an assistant professor of chemistry at Morgan State University. She then joined the faculty of North Carolina Central University, where by 2013 she reached the rank of full professor of chemistry. During those NCCU professorship years, she also served as chemistry department interim chair, associate and interim dean of the College of Science and Technology, and interim dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

At NCCU, she was the first tenured female chemistry professor and the first to become a full professor. She also was the lead scientist in a study titled Environmental Risk and Impact in Economically Disadvantaged Communities of Color, as well as the campus principal investigator of the NC Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation.

The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) announced that Jenny L. Grote, P.E., was selected to receive the Burton W. Marsh Award for Distinguished Service. Established in 1970, the award recognizes an individual who has contributed to the advancement of ITE over a period of years in an outstanding fashion.

A longtime member, Grote has served ITE with distinction over an extended period of time. She has held all offices of the Arizona Section and the Western District. She was elected to two terms on the international board of direction and in 2002 became international president.

She has continued active ITE involvement as the Western District administrator for eight years, and today is the district administrator of the newly formed Mountain District. Grote remains on several technical councils and committees, continues to contribute to industry publications, and is a mentor for many younger members. In 2016, the Arizona Section established the Jenny L. Grote Student Leadership Award in her honor, as she has dedicated countless hours over many years promoting ITE involvement to students.

Elected to serve a four-year term as home secretary for the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), Carol K. Hall, Ph.D., Camille Dreyfus Distinguished University Professor, department of chemical and biomolecular engineering, North Carolina State University, will oversee the academys membership activities. She was elected to the NAE in 2005.

Elected to a second term as councillor is Katharine G. Frase, Ph.D., retired vice president of education business development at IBM, for her engineering contributions, including the use of lead-free materials, to the development of electronic packaging materials and processes.

Newly elected councillor Brenda J. Dietrich, Ph.D., Arthur and Helen Geoffrion Professor of Practice at Cornell University and retired vice president of IBM, was elected for her contributions to engineering algorithms, frameworks, and tools to solve complex business problems.

Tammy Reeve, CEO, Patmos Engineering Services and Airworthiness Certification Services, received the prestigious SAE International 2020 J. Cordell Breed Award for Women Leaders for the extraordinary success she has achieved while running two certified women-owned companies and maintaining a well-defined and structured work/life balance with her family and community.

The award is designed to recognize women active in all sectors of the mobility industry who have achieved the best balance of life both professionally and personally. The recipients are selected based primarily on outstanding performance or significant contributions in two or more of the following areas: exhibits outstanding service to her company and community; demonstrates excellent leadership as a supervisor, manager, or in team environments; displays innovation and uniqueness in achieving corporate and personal goals; displays excellence in creatively dealing with the challenges professional women face; provides important engineering or technical contributions to the mobility industry; overcomes adversity; or participates in and is involved with SAE activities.

Reeves software-management-related activities and experience include software project management, Federal Aviation Administration coordination for parts manufacturer approval, and technical-standard-order-related aspects of certification, as well as consulting in the area of software and programmable logic devices/aviation security identification card standards and policies.

An FAA designated engineering representative (DER), Reeve has worked in the aviation field for more than 16 years. Prior to becoming a DER, she worked as an embedded software design engineer for GE Aerospace and AvTech Corp. She has worked on aviation equipment ranging from engine controls for the C17 to audio control systems for the Boeing 777.

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) honored recipients of the 2020 Professional of the Year Awards. The awards program celebrates the contributions of Indigenous innovators and professionals in six award categories: Executive Excellence, Technical Excellence, Most Promising Engineer or Scientist, Blazing Flame, Indigenous Excellence, and the Professional of the Year. Five of this years six recipients were women.

The Professional of the Year Award was presented to Kathleen Jolivette (Rosebud Sioux), vice president of Attack Helicopter Programs and senior site executive for The Boeing Company in Mesa, Arizona. She leads more than 4,600 Boeing employees who support numerous businesses and functions, including the design, production, and delivery of the AH-64 Apache and AH-6 Little Bird helicopters for the U.S. Army and allied defense forces around the globe. She holds a bachelors degree in finance/accounting and an executive MBA from Washington University. Jolivette volunteers for and supports the Native American Heritage Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, AISES, and the Boeing Native American Network.

The Most Promising Engineer or Scientist Award was presented to Serra Hoagland, Ph.D. (Laguna Pueblo). She serves as the liaison officer/biologist for the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) Fire Sciences Lab to Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana. Previously, she was a biological scientist and the Tribal Relations co-point of contact for the USDA Southern Research Station in Asheville, North Carolina. As the first Native American to graduate from Northern Arizona University with a Ph.D. in forestry, Dr. Serra studied Mexican spotted owl habitat on tribal and nontribal lands in south central New Mexico. She holds a masters in environmental science and management from UC Santa Barbara and a B.S. in ecology and systematic biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She has published 10 peer-reviewed scientific publications, contributed to eight books, and provided numerous podcasts, guest lectures, newspaper interviews, plenary speeches, magazine articles, and scientific presentations.

The Technical Excellence Award was presented to Laura Smith-Velazquez (Cherokee Nation). Smith-Velazquez served as a human factors and systems engineer at Collins Aerospace in the advanced avionics technology department developing supersonic flight technology. Her work at Collins Aerospace focused on intelligent automation design in both flight deck and unmanned systems to include human autonomy teaming. She served as principal investigator on the NASA Sonic Boom Display program to enable commercial supersonic transport over land. She holds five patents on supersonic flight deck technology as well as vehicle systems safety intelligent flight deck technology. She received a B.S. in aeronautical science, an M.S. in human factors and systems engineering, and a minor in meteorology and flight safety from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She holds commercial pilot, sUAS, and aircraft dispatcher certificates.

The Blazing Flame Award recipient is Master Sergeant Frances Dupris (Lakota/Northern Arapaho), operations superintendent for Space Delta 7; during the award period, she was noncommissioned officer in charge of cryptologic engagement for the Cryptologic Services Group in the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command at Peterson-Schriever Garrison, Colorado. As an intelligence analyst, she was part of a binational joint military and civilian team that provides specialized intelligence support to the commands. She also served as co-chair of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service American Indian and Alaska Native employee resource group for hundreds of joint military and civilian personnel. She holds an M.S. in organizational leadership from Argosy University.

The Indigenous Excellence Award was presented to Sandra Begay (Navajo Nation). She has worked at Sandia National Laboratories for more than 27 years, where she is a research and development engineer. From 2002-2018, Begay mentored American Indian interns through the Sandia Department of Indian Energy Program, which she created. She inspires new generations of Native students and professionals to not only consider pursuing engineering studies, but also to explore research and work in the energy sector. Many of her interns have become highly regarded technical professionals, staff members, and leaders within tribal organizations, industry, academia, and nonprofit groups. Begay earned an Associate of Science degree in pre-engineering, a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of New Mexico, and an M.S. from Stanford University in structural engineering with an emphasis in earthquake engineering.

More:
PEOPLE - All Together - Society of Women Engineers