Category Archives: Molecular Medicine

The mission of the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM) is to undertake internationally competitive research into the processes underlying normal cell and molecular biology and to determine the mechanisms by which these processes are perturbed in inherited and acquired human diseases. It is also our mission to translate this research to improve human health. The WIMM is uniquely placed among biomedical institutes throughout the world in its pioneering vision of combining outstanding clinical research with excellent basic science. The WIMM Faculty currently includes an equal mixture of scientists and clinicians working together and in collaboration with the National Institute of Health Research, the NHS and commercial companies with the aim of improving the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. The major topics of current research include haematology, immunology, stem cell biology, oncology and inherited human genetic diseases. The Institute benefits from strategic support from the MRC.

The Institute values communication with members of the broader scientific community and the general public and with the support of the Medical Research Council (MRC) we have commissioned three short videos to explain our mission.

This month, Dr Iztok Urbani joined Christian Eggeling's lab in the MRC Human Immunology Unit, supported by a prestigious Marie Skodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship. Iztok completed his studies in physics in 2009 at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and obtained his PhD in biophysics in 2013 from the University of Maribor, Slovenia. During his 2-year fellowship here at the MRC WIMM, he will work on further improving super-resolution ...

The Lister Institute was founded in 1891 as a research institute researching vaccines and antitoxins, and over its impressive 125-year history has developed into one of the most prestigious funders of scientific research in the UK. Scientists supported by the Lister Institute have been involved in some of the most pivotal scientific and medical discoveries over the past century, including development of the UKs first diphtheria vaccine, ...

News Archive

We are seeking to appoint a Junior Group Leader in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics within the Human Immunology Unit (HIU), Investigative Medicine at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford (www.imm.ox.ac.uk/mrc-human-immunology-unit). Reporting to the Director of the HIU you will be required to add value to the ongoing programmes within the Unit as well as establish your own programme as Junior ...

Other Vacancies

Seeing is believing: what does your DNA look like in3D?

Clue: its a bit more complicated than a bendy ladder. Over the past year, scientists working in the Computational Biology Research Group and the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at the MRC WIMM have been collaborating with Goldsmiths University in London to produce CSynth: new interactive software which allows users to visualize DNA structures in three dimensions. The team took the technology to New Scientist Live in September this year, and wowed hundreds of people with this incredible new tool. In this blog post, Bryony Graham describes the science behind the technology, and how the team managed to explain some pretty complex genomics to thousands of people using some pieces of string, a few fluffy blood cells and a couple of touchscreens, all whilst working under a giant inflatable E. coli suspended from the ceiling. Of course.

WIMM Blog Archive

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Home - Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Molecular medicine is a broad field, where physical, chemical, biological and medical techniques are used to describe molecular structures and mechanisms, identify fundamental molecular and genetic errors of disease, and to develop molecular interventions to correct them. The molecular medicine perspective emphasizes cellular and molecular phenomena and interventions rather than the previous conceptual and observational focus on patients and their organs.[1]

In November 1949, with the seminal paper, "Sickle Cell Anemia, a Molecular Disease",[2] in Science magazine, Linus Pauling, Harvey Itano and their collaborators laid the groundwork for establishing the field of molecular medicine.[3] In 1956, Roger J. Williams wrote Biochemical Individuality,[4] a prescient book about genetics, prevention and treatment of disease on a molecular basis, and nutrition which is now variously referred to as individualized medicine[5] and orthomolecular medicine.[6] Another paper in Science by Pauling in 1968,[7] introduced and defined this view of molecular medicine that focuses on natural and nutritional substances used for treatment and prevention.

Published research and progress was slow until the 1970s' "biological revolution" that introduced many new techniques and commercial applications.[8]

Molecular medicine is a new scientific discipline in European universities. Combining contemporary medical studies with the field of biochemistry, it offers a bridge between the two subjects. At present only a handful of universities offer the course to undergraduates. With a degree in this discipline the graduate is able to pursue a career in medical sciences, scientific research, laboratory work and postgraduate medical degrees.

Core subjects are similar to biochemistry courses and typically include gene expression, research methods, proteins, cancer research, immunology, biotechnology and many more besides. In some universities molecular medicine is combined with another discipline such as chemistry, functioning as an additional study to enrich the undergraduate program.

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Molecular medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How signals are transmitted from receptors to biological effectors

How does the cell maintain a redox environment in the ER appropriate for oxidative protein folding

We study the excitatory glutamate activated receptor-channels in the vertebrate central nervous system

How Ras-related GTPases regulate basic cellular processes

To understand the biology and enzymology of protein palmitoylation

How bacterial signaling is controlling biofilm formation and pathogenicity

To understand the molecular and cellular events that direct the formation of vertebrate organs

We study the structure and function of nicotinic acetylcholine and glutamate receptors in signal transduction

To reveal the architecture and molecular mechanisms of membrane proteins that mediate extracellular signaling

The mission of the Department of Molecular Medicine is to make fundamental discoveries in basic research that will be relevant to and impact the biomedical community; educate and train graduate students, postdoctoral (Ph.D.) and DVM fellows, and educate veterinary students in the basic biological concepts that underlie the development of treatment strategies.

The over-arching theme of the research being conducted in Molecular Medicine is to obtain basic understandings of protein structure and function, protein-protein, and protein-membrane interactions as they pertain to fundamental processes in cell and developmental biology. The research efforts of the department faculty encompass cancer cell signaling and metabolism, structural determinations of membrane proteins and signaling systems, the molecular basis by which cells and their organelles respond to extracellular stimuli and stress, and signaling events that underlie neuronal transmission and function.

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Department of Molecular Medicine - College of Veterinary ...

The Department of Molecular Medicine in the Institute of Biotechnology (IBT) was established in 1994 to administer a program to train graduate students at the interface of basic and clinical sciences with an emphasis on biomedical research focused on discovering the molecular mechanisms underlying human disease and to serve as a platform for the development of novel treatment or prevention approaches. To date, our program has awarded over 80 doctoral degrees. Our graduates are placed in top-tier research universities and pharmaceutical companies across the United States and Europe. Our faculty have been successful in securing tens of millions of dollars from private and federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense.

Now also located in the South Texas Research Facility (STRF), we offer a research-oriented, interdisciplinary program of study in the areas of cancer and aging and their prevention. Specific areas of study include: cell (and hormone) signaling, gene expression, epigenetics, cell cycle and checkpoint controls, DNA damage repair and associated stress responses, and regulated protein turnover. Under new leadership, Dr. Tim Huang is expanding our research to include a Systems approach to molecular medicine that offers students an integrated training program spanning molecular and cellular biology, quantitative biology, computational biology, and genomics.

Our goal is to educate and train the next generation of graduate students who will change the face of biomedical research and invent new ways to treat and prevent human diseases.

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Molecular Medicine - Graduate School of Biomedical ...

Recent Molecular Medicine Publications

Bowman NM, Juliano JJ, Snider CJ, Kharabora O, Meshnick SR, Vulule J, John CC, Moormann AM. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016 Aug 1. pii: 15-0710. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 27481054. (Paper)

Shin J, Salameh JS, Richter JD. Sci Rep. 2016 Jul 6;6:29395. doi: 10.1038/srep29395. PMID: 27381259. (Paper)

Tanriverdi K, Kucukural A, Mikhalev E, Tanriverdi SE, Lee R, Ambros VR, Freedman JE. Anal Biochem. 2016 May 15;501:66-74. doi: 10.1016/j.ab.2016.02.019. Epub 2016 Mar 10. PMID:26969789 [PubMed - in process]. (Paper)

Smulan LJ, Ding W, Freinkman E, Gujja S, Edwards Y J.K., Walker, AK. Cell Rep. 2016 May 16. doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.05.086. In press. (Paper)

Lee PL, Tang Y, Li H, Guertin DA. Mol Metab. 2016 Apr 11;5(6):422-32. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2016.04.001. eCollection 2016 Jun. PMID: 27257602. (Paper)

Vertii A, Ivshina M, Zimmerman W, Hehnly H, Kant S, Doxsey S. Dev Cell. 2016 May 23;37(4):377-86. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2016.04.023. PMID: 27219065. (Paper)

Roth Flach RJ, Danai LV, DiStefano MT, Kelly M, Garcia Menendez L, Jurczyk A, Sharma RB, Jung DY, Kim JH, Kim JK, Bortell R, Alonso LC, Czech MP. J Biol Chem. 2016 May 20. pii: jbc.M116.718932. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 2722. (Paper)

Watanabe S,Tan D,Lakshminarasimhan M,Washburn MP,Hong EJ,Walz T,Peterson CL. Nat Commun.2015 May 12;6:7108. doi: 10.1038/ncomms8108. PMID: 25964121 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID:PMC4431590. (Paper)

McManus M, Mick E, Hudson R, Mofenson LM, Sullivan JL, Somasundaran M, Luzuriaga K; PACTG 356 Investigators. PLoS One. 2016 Apr 22;11(4):e0154391. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154391. eCollection 2016. PMID: 27104621 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]. (Paper)

Tang Y, Wallace M, Sanchez-Gurmaches J, Hsiao WY, Li H, Lee PL, Vernia S, Metallo CM, Guertin DA. Nat Commun. 2016 Apr 21;7:11365. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11365.PMID: 27098609 [PubMed - in process]. (Paper)

Roth Flach RJ, Guo CA, Danai LV, Yawe JC, Gujja S, Edwards YJ, Czech MP. Mol Cell Biol. 2016 Apr 4. pii: MCB.01121-15. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 27044870 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Paper)

Han MS, Barrett T, Brehm MA, Davis RJ. Cell Rep. 2016 Mar 24. pii: S2211-1247(16)30249-2. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.03.008. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 27052181 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]. (Paper)

San Agustin JT, Klena N, Granath K, Panigrahy A, Stewart E, Devine W, Strittmatter L, Jonassen JA, Liu X, Lo CW, Pazour GJ. Nat Commun. 2016 Mar 22;7:11103. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11103. PMID: 27002738. PMCID:PMC4804176 (Paper)

Hung HF, Hehnly H, Doxsey S. Curr Biol. 2016 Mar 2. pii: S0960-9822(16)00075-0. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.025. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 26948879 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Paper)

Vernia S, Cavanagh-Kyros J, Barrett T, Tournier C, Davis RJ. Cell Rep. 2016 Mar 2. pii: S2211-1247(16)30129-2. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.02.026. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 26947074 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]. (Paper)

Tang W, Tu S, Lee HC, Weng Z, Mello CC. Cell. 2016 Feb 25;164(5):974-84. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.008. PMID: 26919432 [PubMed - in process] (Paper)

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Program in Molecular Medicine - UMass Medical School ...

Stem Cells and the Future of Medicine - Larry Goldstein, Ph.D. at TEDxAmericasFinestCity
Dr. Goldstein is a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. He received his BA degree in biology and genetics at UCSD and his Ph.D. degree in genetics from the University of Washington, Seattle. He did his postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to moving to UCSD, he was Professor of Cellular and Developmental Biology at Harvard University.From:TEDxTalksViews:242 13ratingsTime:16:15More inScience Technology

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Stem Cells and the Future of Medicine - Larry Goldstein, Ph.D. at TEDxAmericasFinestCity - Video

22 Molecular Medicine mdash;Cloning and Stem Cells
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22 Molecular Medicine—Cloning and Stem Cells - Video

London, October 1 (ANI): Though the two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS have divergent roles, a common pathway links them.

This is according to a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

The discovery reveals a small set of target genes that could be used to measure the health of motor neurons, and provides a useful tool for development of new pharmaceuticals to treat the devastating disorder, which currently has no treatment or cure.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder characterized by premature degeneration of motor neurons, resulting in a progressive, fatal paralysis in patients.

The two proteins that contribute to the disease - FUS/TLS and TDP-43 - bind to ribonucleic acid (RNA), intermediate molecules that translate genetic information from DNA to proteins.

In normal cells, both TDP-43 and FUS/TLS are found in the nucleus where they help maintain proper levels of RNA. In the majority of ALS patients, however, these proteins instead accumulate in the cell's cytoplasm - the liquid that separates the nucleus from the outer membrane, and thus are excluded from the nucleus, which prevents them from performing their normal duties.

Since the proteins are in the wrong location in the cell, they are unable to perform their normal function, according to the study's lead authors, Kasey R. Hutt, Clotilde Lagier-Tourenne and Magdalini Polymenidou.

"In diseased motor neurons where TDP-43 is cleared from the nucleus and forms cytoplasmic aggregates," the researchers wrote, "we saw lower protein levels of three genes regulated by TDP-43 and FUS/TLS. We predicted that this, based on our mouse studies, and found the same results in neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells."

In 2011, this team of UC San Diego scientists discovered that more than one-third of the genes in the brains of mice are direct targets of TDP-43, affecting the functions of these genes. In the new study, they compared the impact of the FUS/TLS protein to that of TDP-43, hoping to find a large target overlap.

"Surprisingly, instead we saw a relatively small overlap, and the common RNA targets genes contained exceptionally long introns, or non-coding segments. The set is comprised of genes that are important for synapse function," said principal investigator Gene Yeo, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UC San Diego and a visiting professor at the Molecular Engineering Laboratory in Singapore.

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Culprits behind ALS and dementia share common pathway

Public release date: 30-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Debra Kain ddkain@ucsd.edu 619-543-6163 University of California - San Diego

Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, shows that a common pathway links them.

The discovery reveals a small set of target genes that could be used to measure the health of motor neurons, and provides a useful tool for development of new pharmaceuticals to treat the devastating disorder, which currently has no treatment or cure.

Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the study will be published in the advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience on September 30.

ALS is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder characterized by premature degeneration of motor neurons, resulting in a progressive, fatal paralysis in patients.

The two proteins that contribute to the disease FUS/TLS and TDP-43 bind to ribonucleic acid (RNA), intermediate molecules that translate genetic information from DNA to proteins. In normal cells, both TDP-43 and FUS/TLS are found in the nucleus where they help maintain proper levels of RNA. In the majority of ALS patients, however, these proteins instead accumulate in the cell's cytoplasm the liquid that separates the nucleus from the outer membrane, and thus are excluded from the nucleus, which prevents them from performing their normal duties.

Since the proteins are in the wrong location in the cell, they are unable to perform their normal function, according to the study's lead authors, Kasey R. Hutt, Clotilde Lagier-Tourenne and Magdalini Polymenidou. "In diseased motor neurons where TDP-43 is cleared from the nucleus and forms cytoplasmic aggregates," the authors wrote, "we saw lower protein levels of three genes regulated by TDP-43 and FUS/TLS. We predicted that this, based on our mouse studies, and found the same results in neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells."

In 2011, this team of UC San Diego scientists discovered that more than one-third of the genes in the brains of mice are direct targets of TDP-43, affecting the functions of these genes. In the new study, they compared the impact of the FUS/TLS protein to that of TDP-43, hoping to find a large target overlap.

"Surprisingly, instead we saw a relatively small overlap, and the common RNA targets genes contained exceptionally long introns, or non-coding segments. The set is comprised of genes that are important for synapse function," said principal investigator Gene Yeo, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UC San Diego and a visiting professor at the Molecular Engineering Laboratory in Singapore. "Loss of this common overlapping set of genes is evidence of a common pathway that appears to contribute to motor neuron degeneration."

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Common RNA pathway found in ALS and dementia

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Science Translational Medicine, the newest journal from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Days of Molecular Medicine Global Foundation (DMM GF) announced today the launch of Days of Molecular Medicine 2012 "The Translational Science of Rare Diseases: From Rare to Care," a three-day meeting which will be held in Vienna, Austria from October 8 through October 10, 2012.

Taking place at the Palais de Lichtenstein, and featuring an international roster of academic, industrial and government scientists, headlined by Nobel Laureate Dr. Eric Kandel, the meeting will cover how new technologies are providing fresh insights into the causes of rare diseases and ways forward for developing new treatments.

Featured topics include a new targeted therapy for cystic fibrosis, exon skipping for treating muscular dystrophy, gene therapy for SCID and hemophilia, tailoring treatments with genomics, and embryonic stem cell therapy for treating retinal diseases. Joining Science Translational Medicine, AAAS and the DMM Global Foundation in launching Days of Molecular Medicine 2012 are the following co-organizers: the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, the Karolinska Institute, and Fondation Ipsen.

Days of Molecular Medicine 2012 is also made possible through the generous sponsorship of Boehringer Ingleheim, Inc.

"The Days of Molecular Medicine 2012 conference will discuss the many different causes of rare diseases," says Orla Smith, Managing Editor of Science Translational Medicine, "and the diverse roster of speakers will provide fresh insights into how we can develop effective new treatments."

"From cystic fibrosis to hemophilia, there are a number of diseases that, while classified as "rare", afflict a significant number of people worldwide," says Ken Chien, DMM Global Foundation Director. "With enough attention from the research community, and the application of cutting-edge technology, we can start to bring much needed relief to patients and their families. That's what DMM 2012 is all about."

"Rare diseases often come with unspeakable suffering where children are mainly affected. It is a matter of great importance to me to support every effort to share knowledge and develop new ideas, which will hopefully turn into added value for the patients, " says Dr. Josef Penninger of the IMBA. "Therefore, it is a special honor for me to host this year's Days of Molecular Medicine Meeting here in Vienna on this very topic."

For further information and to register for the meeting visit dmm.aaas.org.

About AAAS/Science Translational Medicine The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society, is the publisher of the journal Science (www.sciencemag.org) and the sister journals Science Translational Medicine (www.sciencetranslationalmedicine.org) and Science Signaling (www.sciencesignaling.org). The goal of Science Translational Medicine, launched in October 2009, is to promote human health by providing a forum for communicating the latest biomedical research findings from all established and emerging disciplines relevant to medicine. Despite 50 years of advances in our fundamental understanding of human biology and the emergence of powerful new technologies, the translation of this knowledge into effective new treatments and health measures has been slow. Science Translational Medicine seeks to publish articles that identify and fill the scientific knowledge gaps at the junction of basic research and medical application in order to accelerate the translation of this knowledge into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat human disease.

About DMM Global Foundation The DMM Global Foundation is dedicated to promoting the career pathways for physician scientists. Over the past decade, the members of the Foundation have worked to initiate and establish DMM as one of the leading scientific forums to champion the importance of translational science and medicine via partnerships with leading international institutions, foundations, and scientific publishing groups. The Foundation is proud to be a co organizer and sponsor of DMM 2012.

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Science Translational Medicine and the DMM Global Foundation Announce Days of Molecular Medicine 2012 "The ...