Dr. Adrian R. Krainer, pioneer in neuromuscular disease treatment to be honored at June 8 symposium in New York City

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research has selected Adrian R. Krainer, PhD, St. Giles Foundation Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, as the eighth awardee of the Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine. The prize is awarded annually through the Feinstein Institutes peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Molecular Medicine, and includes a $50,000 award that will be presented to Dr. Krainer on June 8 at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) in Manhattan.

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Dr. Adrian R. Krainer (Credit: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

The Ross Prize is made possible by the generosity of Feinstein Institutes board members Robin and Jack Ross. It is awarded to scientists who have made a demonstrable impact in the understanding of human disease pathogenesis and/or treatment and who hold significant promise for making even greater contributions to the general field of molecular medicine. Dr. Krainer is being recognized for his pioneering work in introducing antisense therapy in clinical use, and for its successful application to spinal muscular atrophy.

Dr. Krainer studies the mechanisms of RNA splicing, ways in which they go awry in disease, and the means by which faulty splicing can be corrected. Dr. Krainers research is focused in part on genes associated with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neuromuscular disease that has been the leading genetic cause of death in infants. He worked on antisense approaches to correct mis-splicing, and in collaboration with Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Biogen, developed the first treatment for pediatric and adult SMA.

"I am very grateful and honored to receive this years Ross Prize," said Dr. Krainer. "My trainees and I feel privileged that our research has helped SMA patients. In keeping with the intent of this generous award, we will redouble our efforts to explore new ways to address unmet medical needs."

After a brief award presentation, a symposium will be held during which Dr. Krainer will discuss his research along with Michelle Hastings, PhD, director at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Edward Kaye, MD, CEO of Stoke Therapeutics, and Timothy Yu, MD, PhD, attending physician and assistant professor at Boston Childrens Hospital, who will discuss their latest research.

"Dr. Krainers remarkable discoveries have revolutionized the treatment of a devastating, crippling pediatric illness. His inventions are already giving children the ability to crawl, walk, and live their lives," said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes and editor emeritus of Molecular Medicine.

Dr. Krainer and his lab have also worked to shed light on the role of splicing proteins in cancer, particularly breast cancer, and on fundamental mechanisms of splicing and its regulation.

Past recipients of the Ross Prize are: Daniel Kastner, MD, PhD, the National Institutes of Healths (NIH) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) scientific director; Huda Y. Zoghbi, MD, professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, Neurology and Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine; Jeffrey V. Ravetch, MD, PhD, the Theresa and Eugene M. Lang Professor and head of the Leonard Wagner Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology at The Rockefeller University; Charles N. Serhan, PhD, DSc, director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury at Brigham and Womens Hospital, the Simon Gelman Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine; Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital; John J. OShea, MD, scientific director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS); and Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology in the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University School of Medicine.

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To learn more about the Ross Prize celebration and symposium, and to register for the event, please visit http://www.nyas.org/RossPrize2020. If you would like to nominate a candidate for the 2021 Ross Prize, please make a submission here.

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Home to 50 research labs, 2,500 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health innovations and outcomes, and molecular medicine. We make breakthroughs in genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit feinstein.northwell.edu.

About Molecular Medicine

Molecular Medicine sits at the forefront of its field, rapidly disseminating discovery in the genetic, molecular, and cellular basis of physiology and disease across a broad range of specialties. With over two decades of experience publishing to a multidisciplinary audience, and continually celebrating innovation through the Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine and Anthony Cerami Award in Translational Medicine, the journal strives towards the design of better molecular tools for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Molecular Medicine is published by BMC, part of Springer/Nature, in partnership with The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

About the New York Academy of Sciences

The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. With more than 20,000 members in 100 countries around the world, the Academy is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. The Academy's core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large. Please visit us online at http://www.nyas.org.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. CSHL has been a National Cancer Institute designated Cancer Center since 1987. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,100 people, including 600 scientists, students and technicians. The Meetings & Courses Program annually hosts more than 12,000 scientists. The Laboratorys education arm also includes an academic publishing house, a graduate school and the DNA Learning Center with programs for middle and high school students and teachers. For more information, visit http://www.cshl.edu

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Matthew Libassi516-465-8325mlibassi@northwell.edu

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Clinical teams ready; research for vaccines, drugs underway

Postdoctoral researchers Brett Case, PhD, (left) and Adam Bailey, MD, PhD, wear full personal protective equipment to study the COVID-19 virus. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis physicians and researchers are preparing for COVID-19 cases and working on drugs and vaccines to fight the disease.

Soon after a novel coronavirus first appeared in China in late 2019, researchers, doctors and staff at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis began preparing for the possibility of an outbreak. Infectious disease physicians started planning how to respond if a person with suspected exposure to the virus arrived on campus, and researchers set to work finding drugs or vaccines to treat or prevent COVID-19, the name given to the illness caused by the virus.

New infectious diseases emerge every so often, and we have to be vigilant, said Steven J. Lawrence, MD, an associate professor of medicine. Over the last few decades weve had HIV, Ebola, SARS, Zika and now COVID-19. Such diseases usually arise when an animal virus manages to jump into people because of close contact between people and animals. The chance of preventing that happening anywhere in the world is probably zero. What we can do is be prepared to respond as rapidly as possible when it happens.

In December, China reported the first cases of a mysterious illness characterized by fever, a dry cough and difficulty breathing. Within weeks, Chinese scientists had identified the cause as a never-before-seen member of the coronavirus family. Coronaviruses typically cause mild infections such as the common cold. But in 2002, a newly emerged strain of coronavirus caused an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that killed nearly 1,000 people before it was contained.

It quickly became evident that the 2019 coronavirus strain, named SARS-CoV-2, was more like SARS than the common cold. By late January, tens of thousands of people in China were infected. At the time, the only cases in the U.S. were believed to be in people who had been infected while traveling in China.

In January and February, we had a brief moment of opportunity to contain this outbreak in the U.S. by knowing where people had traveled, Lawrence said. Thats why the efforts to identify and isolate people with the virus were so robust, even though we had such few cases. Once the virus started spreading from person to person in the U.S., it became much, much more complicated.

Washington University infectious disease physicians (from left) Stephen Y. Liang, MD, Steven J. Lawrence, MD, Hilary M. Babcock, MD, and David K. Warren, MD, are preparing for the possibility of COVID-19 cases in St. Louis. Pictured is the team, in 2014, discussing emerging infectious diseases.

Hilary M. Babcock, MD, a professor of medicine and medical director of the Infection Prevention and Epidemiology Consortium for BJC HealthCare, and David K. Warren, MD, a professor of medicine and the medical director for infection prevention at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, did not wait for the virus to start spreading in the U.S. In January, they established a virtual incident command center at BJCHealthCare and called twice-weekly meetings to develop a coronavirus outbreak response plan for all BJC hospitals, including hospitals and clinics staffed by Washington University physicians. The team started by dusting off a plan developed in 2002 for SARS and adapting it to COVID-19 as more information emerged.

The data on mortality for COVID-19 remains a moving target and continues to be assessed. So far, people who are older and those with underlying health conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease or with compromised immune systems, have a higher risk of death. Early data suggests that the illness is more deadly than seasonal flu. Like SARS and the flu, COVID-19 spreads easily through droplets released when infected people cough or sneeze. The viruss contagiousness means that proper use of personal protective equipment is crucial to protect health professionals caring for coronavirus patients.

Communication is one of the most important tools at a time like this, Babcock said. We needed to make sure that our front-line clinicians can very quickly recognize that someone might be infected, and that they know what to do if a potentially infected person presents at their clinic. We also developed guidance regarding which personal protective equipment to wear when working with a patient suspected of having COVID-19 mask, gloves, eye shield, respiratory equipment, and gown how to put it on so it is most effective, and, most importantly, how to take it off without contaminating yourself.

Babcock and Warren also are keeping a close watch on outbreaks in other countries and implemented new travel screening recommendations across the university as the virus has spread to other countries, notably South Korea, Italy and Iran.

We are ready, Babcock said. Weve been ready for weeks. Its only a matter of time before we get our first case.

Building the toolkit to fight COVID-19

Across campus, a team led by Sean Whelan, PhD, the Marvin A. Brennecke Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Molecular Microbiology, and Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine, is looking for ways to treat COVID-19 or reduce its spread.

We had a discussion in early January and decided then to work on advancing therapeutics and vaccines for coronavirus, because it had the potential to be a significant problem, said Whelan, who took over as head of the molecular microbiology department on Jan. 1. It is our responsibility as part of the biomedical research community to do this. The consequences of this virus in places where there isnt a good health-care system could be dire.

Whelan called weekly meetings to coordinate the School of Medicine coronavirus research effort. He and Diamond have special expertise in emerging viral infections. Diamond led the School of Medicine response to Zika virus, during which he and others developed a mouse model of Zika infection and identified an antibody that is now used as part of a diagnostic test. While on the faculty at Harvard, Whelan studied Ebola and identified a critical protein that the virus exploits to cause deadly infections.

Whelan and Diamond built a research team including influenza experts Jacco Boon, PhD, an associate professor of medicine, and Ali Ellebedy, PhD, an assistant professor of pathology and immunology, who provided advice and scientific tools for studying respiratory viruses; structural immunologist Daved Fremont, PhD, a professor of pathology and immunology, who has begun studying the interactions of coronavirus proteins with antibodies and other human proteins to facilitate vaccine design and improved diagnostics; David T. Curiel, MD, PhD, the Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology,who began designing a potential vaccine; and Siyuan Ding, PhD, an assistant professor of molecular microbiology, who is investigating whether the virus also can be transmitted through the fecal-oral route.

The team is analyzing the structure of the viruss proteins to find possible targets for drugs or vaccines, looking for antibodies that might protect against disease, creating potential vaccines using multiple strategies, and developing a mouse model that can be used to test potential drugs and vaccines.

In addition, geneticist Ting Wang, PhD, the Sanford and Karen Loewentheil Distinguished Professor of Medicine, and members of his lab built a genome browser to help researchers study the genetics of the COVID-19 virus and compare different strains. Greg Bowman, PhD, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics whose work focuses on how proteins take their shape, has mobilized his crowdsourced Folding@home Consortium to find the shape of coronavirus proteins to inform drug and vaccine development.

The speed of research on coronavirus has been extraordinary, Diamond said. Chinese scientists identified the virus, sequenced its genome, identified the probable animal source, and released the genomic sequence to the public in a matter of weeks. Groups around the world have been creating and sharing the tools we need to interrogate this virus. But even so, these things take time. Every day, the U.S. is seeing new cases. We are racing against the clock.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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School of Medicine physicians, researchers tackle coronavirus Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington University School of...

During 2019, the University School of Medicine met multiple milestones. The Federal Drug Association approved an artificial pancreas for Type I diabetics developed over the past decade at the University. Another team of researchers discovered the protein that allows the bacteria species Geobacter sulfurreducens to conduct electricity, which could have implications for biomedical device development.

While commonalities between these projects may not be immediately apparent, they all are similar in that they have the same major source of funding the National Institutes of Health, a federal agency that conducts and supports medical research. In the past year, NIH awarded the University a record amount of funding $146.3 million, a $25.4 million increase from fiscal year 2018.

David S. Wilkes, dean of the School of Medicine, attributed the Universitys growing number of approved grant proposals from NIH, as well as the more than $400 million the School of Medicine received overall this year, to a targeted approach to research that focuses on specific areas of study. Emphasizing depth over sheer breadth, Wilkes claimed, served the School of Medicine well in terms of finances and achievements.

We put plans in place to reinvigorate the research enterprise at the medical school, Wilkes said. That was in part through finding specific areas of research to invest in, investing in current faculty and also making strategic hires of additional faculty.

Faculty and staff implemented these new strategies at the School of Medicine nearly five years ago when they committed to promoting seven core biological and medical fields cancer, cardiovascular medicine, metabolic disorders, neurosciences, organ transplant, precision medicine and regenerative medicine. In each of these key disciplines, researchers conduct basic, clinical and translational studies to learn how the body functions and develop novel treatments and therapies.

Were hoping for discoveries that enhance the care of patients, the way healthcare is delivered or novel techniques for diagnosing disease and testing how medicines work, Wilkes said. Were hoping for a better understanding of biology as it relates to human conditions.

One of the beneficiaries of numerous NIH grants is Boris Kovatchev director of the University Center for Diabetes Technology and a pioneer on the artificial pancreas, a device thousands already rely on for life-sustaining insulin. When explaining why he has stayed at the University for 28 years, Kovatchev noted that the Universitys Center for Diabetes Technology is well-respected when it comes to diabetes technology development. He also expressed gratitude for several colleagues at the University including Marc Breton, Sue Brown, Mark DeBoer and Stacy Anderson for their expertise on Type I diabetes treatments and the funding from NIH they contribute to the program.

When I came to U.Va. a long time ago, U.Va. already had a very strong endocrinology and diabetes program, Kovatchev said. Now, the U.Va. Center for Diabetes Technology is probably number one in the world.

Initial funding for Type I diabetes research for Kovatchev started over 20 years ago, and for almost 12 years, NIH has continuously awarded Kovatchev and his team grants. In 2016, they received over $12 million for clinical trials of the artificial pancreas. Not only did this sum significantly surpass the average amount of NIH research project grants in fiscal year 2018 $535,239 but it is also the largest given by NIH for research on Type I diabetes.

NIH has special diabetes funding, and that has been a reliable source of funding for specific areas of research related to Type I diabetes, Kovatchev said. They have been our major source.

Similarly, contributions from NIH subsidize the work of Edward H. Egelman, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics. Along with other scientists from Yale University and the University of California, Irvine, in 2019, Egelman discovered the structure that enables certain bacteria species to conduct electricity.

While it was commonly accepted that bacteria transported electrons via filamentous appendages that can cause infections, or pili, researchers found that distinct filaments encase molecules with metal and compose a nanowire to facilitate electron transfer. Egelman cited recent and past NIH grants as essential for this type of research, as well as for exploring novel topics that led him to unexpected conclusions.

I am very fortunate to have had sustained funding from the NIH for almost all of my career, and this has allowed my research to go off in unanticipated directions, Egelman said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. The point is that with fundamental or basic research we never quite know what the consequences will be but my NIH funding allowed me to pursue these studies that may have direct implications for everything from nanoelectronics to biomedical engineering.

NIH continues to support a variety of ongoing endeavors at the University. For example, researchers at the University and Virginia Tech recently accepted $3.4 million to develop a miniature model of a lymph node they hope will aid future studies of the organ. The integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia, an initiative throughout the state to connect clinical researchers, disbursed $200,000 from NIH to four multi-institutional research projects several of which involve University faculty in its initial effort to sponsor combined biomedical and data-driven projects, such as the use of ultrasounds to help treat depression.

At the start of a new decade, the challenge for the School of Medicine, Wilkes said, is not necessarily if there will be adequate monetary resources for research, but rather if there will be adequate laboratory space. With a record year behind them, University researchers are looking forward now, as research expansion is likely on the horizon.

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University School of Medicine surpassed funding record with grants from NIH - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --On March 5, U.S. House and Senate lawmakers introduced the VALID Act, which would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new, expansive powers to regulate laboratory developed teststests that are already regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and are subject to stringent personnel, quality control, and proficiency testing requirements. This bill promotes duplicative, costly federal regulations for clinical laboratories that will result in decreased patient access to essential medical tests. AACC urges Congress not to act on this bill until its impact on healthcare can be thoroughly evaluated.

When the coronavirus was declared a public health emergency, all coronavirus tests had to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA. This meant that CMS-certified labs, which are not typically subject to FDA oversight, now had to get prior approval from the FDA before introducing their coronavirus test. This administrative requirement created new, burdensome regulatory barriers that delayed laboratories from developing their COVID-19 test. If it had not been corrected, many of the labs that are responding today to the urgent need for testing would remain stymied by insurmountable regulatory hurdles.

In response to concerns from AACC and the clinical laboratory community, FDA amended its EUA requirements last week to allow all qualified labs to develop and perform coronavirus tests prior to obtaining an EUA, as long as they submit an EUA request to FDA within 15 days of the tests' launch. The lawmakers behind the VALID Act have stated that this bill would benefit patients by making permanent this decision by the FDA. However, the rest of the bill introduces new and redundant regulatory hurdles for labs to overcome when developing tests for numerous conditions that are not public health emergencies but are nonetheless critical in everyday patient care.

If this bill were to pass, it would mean new, duplicative regulation and cost-prohibitive user fees for labs developing non-public health emergency tests. It would prevent labs from performing these tests, and it would limit patients' access to testing. The single provision on public health emergencies touted by the bills' supporters does nothing to reverse the crippling effect the legislation would have on hospitals and smaller labs in day-to-day healthcare situations.

FDA's involvement in the regulation of laboratory-developed coronavirus tests caused significant, potentially harmful delays in containing this epidemic. It would have the same result across the healthcare system should the VALID Act become law.

"FDA's EUA requirements clearly deterred many AACC member laboratories from developing tests for coronavirus," said AACC President Dr. Carmen L. Wiley. "We support FDA's decision to ease the EUA requirements for coronavirus, as well as efforts to expand access to diagnostic testing during this and future public health emergencies. However, we are very concerned that the VALID Act would have the same prohibitive effect on all laboratory developed tests that EUA requirements had on coronavirus tests. We therefore urge Congress to resist the impulse to prematurely take up this bill during the current crisis, and to wait to address this legislation until its impact on patient care can be thoroughly assessed."

About AACCDedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, AACC brings together more than 50,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, AACC has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit http://www.aacc.org.

Christine DeLongAACCSenior Manager, Communications & PR(p) 202.835.8722[emailprotected]

Molly PolenAACCSenior Director, Communications & PR(p) 202.420.7612(c) 703.598.0472[emailprotected]

SOURCE AACC

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New Legislation Would Jeopardize Patient Access to Medical Tests Across the Board by Restricting Policy that Removed Barriers to Coronavirus Testing -...

Transcendental meditation (TM) involves sitting with eyes shut for 1520 minutes twice a day while saying a mantra. The practice has several advantages for mental health but, until now, it was unclear how those effects came about.

TM differs from other meditation practices in that it does not require concentration or visualization.

Instead, TM practitioners come up with a mantra, which is a word or phrase that has no real meaning.

The practitioners silently think this mantra, allowing the mind to naturally transcend, while both the mind and body remain awake, yet relaxed.

Most people can learn TM in a few months, and benefits from regular practice may include reduced feelings of stress and anxiety in a persons everyday life.

Research has found some evidence of this. A 2013 study, appearing in Military Medicine, listed TM as a feasible treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in active-duty military personnel.

Similarly, a study appearing in The Permanente Journal in 2014, concluded that a TM program was effective in reducing psychological distress in teachers.

A 2016 study from the same journal found significant reductions in symptoms of trauma, anxiety, and depression in prison inmates who practiced TM.

With benefits seen in a relatively short period, one field of study has dived deeper into TM to find out exactly how it helps.

Now, new findings published in Brain and Cognition point to measurable functional effects in the brain of TM practitioners.

The study took place in the Molecular Mind Laboratory of Italys IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca and involved 34 participants.

Of the volunteers, 19 had to complete two 20-minute TM sessions a day for 3 months one session in the morning and one in the evening.

The remaining 15 participants continued with their usual daily routines.

At the beginning of the study, the researchers used psychometric questionnaires to measure how well each participant could handle stressful situations.

All participants also underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging test (fMRI) to assess brain activity and functional connectivity between various areas of the brain.

At the end of the 3 months, each participant underwent another fMRI test and filled in the questionnaires again.

After 3 months, the participants who practiced daily TM perceived feeling markedly less stress and anxiety.

Specifically, following TM practice, the group of meditators reported a reduction in psychometric scores reflecting perceived depression, anxiety and stress in opposition to resilience and social skills, the authors write in the paper.

Results from the fMRI scans also showed that the reduction of anxiety levels is associated with specific changes in the connectivity between different cerebral areas, such as precuneus, left parietal lobe, and insula, which all have an important role in the modulation of emotions and inner states, says first author Giulia Avvenuti.

However, none of these changes [were] observed in the group that did not practice TM, Avvenuti points out.

Pietro Pietrini, study coordinator and IMT Schools director, says these findings raise further questions about the link between the brain and the mind.

The fact that [TM] has measurable effects on the dialogue between brain structures involved in the modulation of affective states opens new perspectives for the understanding of brain-mind relationships, he says.

The results may also indicate just how quickly TM can have a tangible effect on the brain and the feelings of individuals.

Organizations such as the David Lynch Foundation which co-funded the study encourage people with trauma or individuals who experience high levels of stress in work and education environments to practice TM.

The organization will likely use the results to amplify their work across the globe.

This work adds to the growing body of evidence in support of this form of meditation. It also raises other questions.

As Pietrini explains, his teams findings extend the results of recent research suggesting that drug therapies and psychotherapy leverage on the same biological mechanism.

Future research may, therefore, look at different ways of targeting these biological pathways.

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How transcendental meditation alters the brain - Medical News Today

The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and the Center for the Study of Asia invite you to attend an upcoming seminar, Coronavirus and the Future of Infectious Disease, on Wednesday, April 1 from 12:00 1:30 pm at the Pardee Center, 67 Bay State Road. Lunch will be provided beginning at 11:30 am.

The seminar will feature a panel discussion including Nahid Bhadelia (Associate Professor, Medicine/Infectious Diseases, BU School of Medicine), Davidson Hamer (Professor, Global Health & Medicine, BU School of Public Health & BU School of Medicine), and Gerald T. Keusch (Professor, Medicine & International Health, BU School of Medicine & BU School of Public Health).

This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP below.

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia is an infectious diseases physician and the medical director of Special Pathogens Unit at Boston University School of Medicine, a medical unit designed to care for patients with highly communicable diseases. She is an Associate Professor in the Section of Infectious Diseases. She oversees the medical response program for Boston Universitys maximum containment biosafety level 4 program at National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories.

During the West African Ebola epidemic, she served as a clinician in several Ebola treatment units, working with World Health Organization and Partners in Health. She currently serves as the clinical lead for the Joint Mobile Emerging Disease Intervention Clinical Capability (JMEDICC) program which a joint US-Ugandan effort to create clinical research capacity to combat viral hemorrhagic fevers in Uganda at the border of Democratic Republic of Congo. She serves on national and interagency groups focused on medical countermeasures, the intersection between public health preparedness, research and clinical care for emerging pathogens. Her research focuses on identification of safe and effective clinical interventions and infection control measures related to viral hemorrhagic fevers.

She has served as a subject matter expert to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and World Bank.

Dr. Bhadelia is also an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Human Security at the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she teaches a course on human security and emerging infectious diseases. She received her Doctorate of Medicine from Tufts University and completed her internal medicine residency and chief residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Her Infectious Diseases Fellowship was completed at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Davidson Hamer, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FASTMH, FISTM is a Professor of Global Health and Medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health and School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Dr. Hamer, a board-certified specialist in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tropical infectious diseases, has extensive field experience in neonatal and child survival research including studies of micronutrient interventions, maternal and neonatal health, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. During the last 20+ years, he has supervised and provided technical support to more than 50 studies in developing countries that evaluated interventions for improving neonatal survival, improving access for pregnant women to emergency obstetrical care, treatment and prevention of malaria, HIV/AIDS, micronutrient deficiencies, diarrheal disease, and pneumonia. Dr. Hamer received a MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a BA in biology and French from Amherst College. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and the International Society of Travel Medicine. Dr. Hamer currently has active projects in Bangladesh, Zambia, South Africa, and the United States. Major current projects include neonatal sepsis prevention using prebiotics and probiotics in Bangladesh; using community health workers to improve early childhood development in rural South Africa, antiretroviral adherence among congenitally infected HIV-positive children in Lusaka, Zambia; and a scaled-up evaluation of community-based mothers groups for improving early child development in rural Zambia. In addition, Dr. Hamer is the PI for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, a global network of 70 sites in 31 countries that conducts surveillance of emerging infectious diseases using returning travelers, immigrants, and refugees as sentinels of infection (www.istm.org/geosentinel).

Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Keusch has been involved in clinical medicine, teaching, and research for his entire career, most recently as Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Senior Attending Physician and Chief of the Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the New England Medical Center in Boston. His research has ranged from the molecular pathogenesis of tropical infectious diseases to field research in nutrition, immunology, host susceptibility, and the treatment of tropical infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS. He was a Faculty Associate at Harvard Institute for International Development in the Health Office. Dr. Keusch was the Director of Training Programs in Infectious Disease, including HIV, with over 200 graduates of the program from the U.S. and developing countries who are serving presently in important positions in academic and government institutions.

Under his leadership, the programs of the Fogarty International Center were greatly expanded and focused on the creation of a global culture of science and to harness science for global health. Fogarty now supports research, capacity building, and science policy on the pressing global issues in infectious diseases, the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases, and critical crosscutting social science issues such as the ethical conduct of research, intellectual property rights and global public goods, stigma, the impact of improved health on economic development, and the effect of economic development on the environment and health.

Dr. Keusch is the recipient of all three of the major awards from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (the Squibb, Finland, and Bristol awards for research and training excellence) and has delivered numerous named lectures on topics of science and global health at leading institutions around the world. Dr. Keusch continues to be involved in international health training and policy with the NIH, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, the United Nations University, and the World Health Organization.

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Upcoming Seminar: Coronavirus and the Future of Infectious Disease | The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future - BU...

It is the National Party leaders job to oppose the government. But as a second case of Covid-19 in New Zealand is confirmed, he should tone down the anecdotal criticisms, and rein in MPs explicitly urging people to panic-buy, writes Siouxsie Wiles, an associate professor in molecular medicine and pathology.

Dear Simon

I do understand that you lead the Opposition. I get that its your job to hold the government to account, and that this is an election year. Of course you and your caucus are keen to score points against the government wherever you can. But the reality is, you dont actually have to oppose everything it does. Sometimes, such as in the case of a public health emergency, it might be worth putting the kneejerk response on hold.

I was really disappointed to hear you get stuck into the official response to the coronavirus outbreak and the testing regime in comments relying on anecdotal feedback.

And when I heard your colleague David Bennett, MP for Hamilton East, telling the listeners of Hamiltons local radio station FreeFM that the government had dropped the ball, big-time and put New Zealanders safety at risk, and that people should be out there panic-buying, well, then I started to see red.

I cant quite believe I need to tell you this, but during a serious outbreak of a new infectious disease, the last thing we need is for our elected representatives to be undermining the important messages coming from the government, scientists, and public health officials.

For example, themessageI have been sharing with the public is that we shouldnt be panic buying and hoarding. That leads to shortages. And shortages mean instead of everyone having what they need, some of the most vulnerable people in our communities will be left with nothing. Is that what the National Party wants? Surely not. Likewise, does Mr Bennett know more about this than I do? Im going to take a wild stab in the dark here and say that, with a degree in Commerce and Law, and previous portfolios in Veterans Affairs and Racing, he does not.

Now I know all our favourite disaster books, movies, and shows might tell us that the way to deal with a situation like this is to grab some weapons, batten down the hatches, and protect our resources from everyone around us. But, in fact, as most people recognise, in the real world the opposite is true. The communities that survive disasters the best are those that work together to share their resources and make sure no one is left out in the cold.

This is one of those times. Without the surest of evidence, it is downright irresponsible during an outbreak such as this to undermine public confidence in the official response. Because when people are scared and panic, they dont respond well to difficult situations. And this could get very difficult. Rest assured, the government is being advised by a team of infectious diseases and public health experts who know their shit, are monitoring whats happening around the around, and adjusting their advice as needed.

It was encouraging to hear signs that youre toning down your response this morning on RNZ in advising people, for example, not to panic. But as we all work to ensure calm, to avoid stoking fear, and to communicate clear scientific information, I would urge you and your colleagues to bite your tongues until we are through this global emergency.

Yours sincerely

Siouxsie

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Some advice for Simon Bridges on being responsible in a health emergency - The Spinoff