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Stem Cells, Abortion, Baby Parts, & the Ukraine – Physicians for Life

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:28 am

June 2007 http://www.hli.org/sr_june_07.pdfUkrainian trafficking in baby partsReported by Brian Clowes, March 2007:

The trafficking of baby parts in the Ukraine & the Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Barbados. This follow-up report exposes the horrific industry that connects these distant locales. The March 2006 HLI Special Report described how John Fusto and I visited Barbados in 2005 and exposed the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or IRM.

The doctors at this facility claim on the IRM Website that they can completely cure or ameliorate every disease or injury known to man including spinal cord trauma, Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and diseases of the liver, nervous system, blood, heart, and bowel.

The IRM has gone a long way towards fulfilling its promise to make Barbados the Embryonic Stem Cell Capital of the World. It imports aborted baby parts from Ukraine, liquefies them into a kind of preborn pure, then injects them directly into the arms or body organs of customers. According to the IRM, these cells use a kind of radar to seek out diseased or damaged cells in the patients body and repair them. The IRM claims an astonishing 96% improvement rate in curing virtually every disease ever recorded.

Rich English and American women find their way to this remote complex (at their own expense, of course), and are injected with fetal stem cells at $25,000 per session. Barnett Suskind, CEO of the IRM, says that Its the most natural form of healing there is. You think better, sleep better, look better. Your quality of life improves and your libido certainly improves.

Only the BeginningWhen John and I were investigating the IRM in Barbados, we had no clue that we were taking the first steps towards uncovering an international conspiracy involving corruption at the highest levels of several governments, mad scientists by the score, a Nazi-style eugenics breeding program, mass murder, and Russian Mafia executions of witnesses.

When youve spent a few years in the pro-life movement, nothing tends to surprise you. But I have to tell you, this sure comes close. Upon arriving back at Human Life International, I was curious to see if the Institute for Regenerative Medicine was just a fluke a unique facility unlike any other in the world. It turns out that the IRM is anything but unique. It is just a small part of a worldwide network of trafficking in human stem cells and organs not only from embryos and fetuses, but from late-term aborted babies and even newborn babies.

In fact, I found websites and newspaper articles on more than 50 clinics that specialize in the alleged treatment of various diseases using fetal materials. All of these clinics possess features that should scare off the naive and desperate. Every single one of them is located in tourist destinations. Not one of them is regulated by any local or national government body. Not one of them has any form of medical supervision, except from those who are closely associated with the operations themselves. And all of them have refused to become members of the only recognized board regulating ethical stem cell research The International Stem Cell Forum.

Oh, and one other thing their cures dont work.

At these institutes and clinics, unqualified doctors practice untested treatments under unregulated conditions on uninformed patients, a perfect atmosphere for ruthless exploitation. In fact, the only requirement that is strictly observed by these centers is the pre-operative palpitation of the prospective clients wallet. If it is thick enough, then they are qualified for treatment.These clinics require only six things in order to set up shop and rake in millions of dollars: A little space, a poor government hungry for cash, someone with M.D. after their name, a website, a source of fetal material, and desperate patients.

Let's begin with Malibu psychiatrist William C. Rader's anti-aging Medra clinic in the Bahamas, which he co-founded with Yuliy Baltaytis, who now runs the Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Rader's previous specialty was eating disorders, but he raked in more than $30 million in just three years before being kicked off the island. Rader says that he has not published anything in the medical literature because it would leave him vulnerable to attacks from a "conspiracy of scientists, government authorities, and pro-lifers" as convenient an excuse as any. Medra's website [www.medra.com] claims to cure every known disease, including physical brain damage.

Biomark International was founded in a condominium by a former model with no medical training whatsoever. She "treated" at least 220 patients at a cost of up to $21,000 each by injecting them with fetal stem cells, regardless of the disease they were suffering. The co-founders of Biomark fled the USA after their operation was shut down by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and they promptly set up a Swiss bank account and began operations in London, contracting with Mexican doctors to do fetal stem-cell injections.

Kiev's Embryonic Tissues Center (EmCell) is operated by Alexander Smikodub and Alexey Karpenko, who have treated more than 2,000 patients at a total cost of more than $30 million. Both have worked with William Rader in the past. EmCell's website [www.emcell.com] makes the usual bombastic claims about dramatic improvements in treating a stunning range of infirmities and diseases. When the ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) Therapy Development Foundation investigated EmCell, all of its employees refused to answer any of its questions on procurement, procedure, or follow-up. Doctors from the ALS Foundation found that EmCell personnel did not understand even the most basic principles of stem-cell physiology.

China's Hongyun Huang drills holes in the skulls of people with ALS and injects fetal stem cells directly into their brains. He presented his findings to a team of Harvard University doctors but admitted having no scientific data, and he essentially confessed to the assembly that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Clinical testing of such injections for Parkinson's disease ended in tragedy: More than half of the patients developed irreversible and uncontrollable movements of their limbs. Researchers reported that patients began to c

hew constantly and writhe and twist, jerk their heads, and fling their arms about. One doctor said that the results are absolutely devastating It was tragic, catastrophic. Its a real nightmare. And we cant selectively turn it off.

There are dozens of other "institutes" offering miracle cures from the injection of fetal or embryonic stem cells and the transplantation of fetal tissue. These include EmbryoTech [www.embryotech.com]; The Kharkov Clinic "Dr. Alex" [doctor-alex-ua/e/clinica.html]; Stem Cell Therapy International (SCTI) [www.scticorp.com]; StemCure, co-founded by disgraced cloner Panayiotis Zavos [www.stemcure.com]; and Donetsk's VitaCell [www.vitacell.com.ua].Dr. LazaryevResearch Digs Up Horror

The more I researched the international fetal stem cell industry, the deeper the rabbit hole turned out to be. The only problem was that this rabbit hole didnt lead to a Wonderland, but instead to a continent-wide chamber of biological horrors.

In late 2006, I heard about Vadym Lazaryev and Vladymyr Ischenko, two Ukrainian medical doctors who set up a small pro-life group that finally pierced the shroud of secrecy around the ghastly activities in Eastern Europe for the first time in the mid-1990s. After numerous death threats and then an actual attempt to murder them, the two doctors flew to Shannon, Ireland,and requested asylum.

Father Tom Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, sent me to Ireland to interview Drs. Lazaryev and Ischenko. Dr. Ischenko was reluctant to testify because he feared retaliation against his family in Ukraine

While practicing medical oncology in Donetsk, Dr. Lazaryev began to wonder why doctors tell almost all pregnant women in Ukraine that there is a very high probability that their preborn children have serious birth defects. His own wife Elena was advised to have an abortion on the grounds that her preborn son would have severe birth defects which, of course, he did not. Dr. Lazaryevs own mother had thirteen pregnancies, eleven of which ended in abortion between his older brother and him.

He found that all Ukrainian women are advised to abort because preborn children are excellent sources of organs and stem cells.

Dr. Lazaryev found that the abortion rate in Ukraine is much, much higher than the official figures would suggest in fact, about 1.2 million annually in a nation with a population of about 46 million, or more than six times higher than the abortion rate in the United States.

As Dr. Lazaryev says, The only thing which protects unborn life in Ukraine is the courage of pregnant women.

Continuing his investigations, Dr. Lazaryev found that women were paid $200 to $300 three months salary to carry their pregnancies to a very late stage and to deliver the babies alive in a kind of forced premature birth. This procedure allows the living babys organs to be harvested while they are still as fresh as possible.

Dr. Lazaryev also found that every region of Ukraine has twin institutions. One does the late-term artificial deliveries, and the other dismembers the live-born baby and passes the parts on to other buyers, who screen the material and then sell it at a huge markup to the worldwide network of clinics like the Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Abortion clinics located in the poorest parts of Donetsk and Kharkov sell aborted babies to middlemen, who ship the sad little bodies to cities like Moscow, where there are more than 50 beauty parlors using fetal injections.

One of these is the Cellulite Clinic, where rich Russian and Western women go to have fetal injections that supposedly eliminate cellulite from their buttocks, thighs, and arms. The costs of these treatments range up to $20,000.

Dr. Lazaryev also found several Ukrainian websites that advertised prices for the parts of late-term preborn children. One of these is Cell Transplantation, which features practically every part of early- and late-term fetuses liver, neuronal cells, thymus and thyroid, ovaries and testicles, eyes, and suspensions of liquefied fetal liver, brain, and spine.

The [Stem Cell] Empire Strikes BackOne of the many contradictions of all of the anti-life movements is that they are all absolutely convinced that what they are doing is moral and acceptable but they savagely attack those who make their activities public.

Dr. Lazaryev discovered this principle firsthand.

First, his supervisor called him a traitor and fired him. Then a government investigator became a constant and unwanted part of his life, visiting him at home on a weekly basis and grilling him on his activities.

Dr. Lazaryev refused to quit, so the stem-cell empire increased the pressure. He lost his medical benefits, which almost cost him his life when he became gravely ill in 2004. One doctor told him that your politics are your death. A government official called him and informed him that he was coming over with a gang of thugs to break his head off. Then the Tax Police suddenly began a long and exhaustive examination of his business, which shut it down. An SBU (Ukrainian Security Service) official visited him and told him that he had better get rid of all the evidence he had or his life would be in danger.

Finally, while Dr. Lazaryev was driving to a meeting in Slavyansk on a dark and deserted country road with his colleague Dr. Vladymyr Ischenko, a bus rammed their car at high speed and then drove off into the night. A police investigator said that the incident had been carried out by professionals, because the bus had aimed for the cars fuel tank and had expertly run the car off the road.

In September 2004, Drs. Lazaryev and Ischenko finally concluded that their position was hopeless, and they fled the country of their birth, leaving their families behind. Dr. Lazaryev was finally reunited with his wife and children in 2006. Dr. Ischenkos wife and twin infant sons are still in Ukraine [see http://www.savethedoctors.org].

There is no doubt in Dr. Lazaryevs mind that if he returns to Ukraine, I will be killed because investors lost money. I will be killed as a

lesson for people who one day decide to raise their voice against this evil.

Yet, after all of this, Drs. Ischenko and Lazaryev have still not been granted asylum in Ireland, despite the obvious threat to their lives. Speaking of their cases, Irish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Kathy Sinnott said that Their situation is very straightforward in terms of being genuine asylum seekers, and went on to explain that they are being denied permanent asylum because Ireland wants to become a leader in the pharmaceutical field. Ireland would place no limitations on the activities of drug firms and would like the Irish people to get over our ethical problems and get on with the real business of making money and attracting pharmaceutical companies and frontline research.

In other words, the case of the Ukrainian doctors is embarrassing to Ireland. If the nation grants them asylum, it will implicitly be condemning the very activities it would like to attract to the shores of the Emerald Isle.

Even Worse AtrocitiesIn an environment of total corruption, the organ harvesters have no reason to stop carving up late-term babies delivered alive.

In 2005, Council of Europe investigators found that hundreds of newborn babies had been stolen from their mothers in the Ukrainian cities of Kiev and Kharkov. In each case, the mothers were poor and powerless and were told that their babies had simply died or were gone.

The investigators exhumed many of the missing babies. Their arms and legs had been severed, their chest cavities were empty, and their brains were missing. As investigator Tatyana Zakharova said, They were like gutted rabbits.

These newborn babies are dismembered without the benefit of expensive anesthesia. As Zakharova testified upon seeing one of the babys bodies, Look, here is the grimace of a human crying, it is hurt It has the grimace of a shouting person. So this is the proof. Im saying that he was alive when he was being cut.

The poor Ukrainians are jaded to tales of biological horrors, corruption, genocide, and lawbreaking on a massive scale. But, as one reporter poignantly lamented, They used to say we were selling Ukraine. Now we are selling Ukrainians; moreover, in parts.

Perhaps it is not at all surprising that the atrocities that have happened in Ukraine are now being committed in Barbados, home of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine. After all, why bother to import babies from 5,000 miles away when you can get them locally?

Barbados news sources are now reporting that women are having their newborn babies stolen atQueen Elizabeth Hospital. They are told their babies are gone or have died, and they never see them again. Perhaps not coincidentally, one of the members of the Board of Directors of Queen Elizabeth Hospital is George Griffith, who is director of the Barbados Family Planning Association, the islands largest abortion provider and an affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation [www.bfpa.net].

Fetal AttractionWhat drives the fetal and newborn tissue machinery is a huge and increasing demand for stem cells and organs.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson has estimated that tons of fetal organs and stem cells will be required annually as the basic material that fuels this gigantic conspiracy against life.

The vast amount of money involved in such transactions is staggering. The international pharmaceutical corporations, laboratories, and all of the fake rejuvenation clinics demand a reliable and constant supply of human embryonic and fetal tissue. This fact alone ensures that unethical and inhumane practices will continue, regardless of what legal restrictions are put in place.

The organs from a single disease-free late-term aborted baby in Ukraine can fetch about $17,000. The body of a newborn baby is worth even more.

Given the 1.2 million annual abortions in Ukraine, we find that the fetal and embryonic stem cell and organ trade in this one country is worth multiple hundreds of millions perhaps even billions of dollars annually, even if only a small percentage of the aborted babies are used for research and harvesting. This money goes a long, long way in a nation where the average yearly salary of a highly-trained doctor is only about $2,500.

No End to the AtrocitiesEvil is virtually impossible to contain once it is released. For some people, there is only one rule: Do it if it is profitable, if you can find enough helpless victims, and if you can get away with it. Once all limitations and ethics have been cast aside, literally anything goes and has, indeed, already gone

Brothel owners bid openly outside the Gatwick Airport Starbuck's for enslaved Slavic and Asian women, who are lured to England with promises of legitimate jobs. Right after they clear immigration, they are seized and sold.

The Albanian and Russian Mafias run "baby factories" in Athens and other cities, where young Bulgarian and Romanian Gypsy women are selected for health and appearance and impregnated by male Mafia members. The women give birth in a secret location, and the Mafia then sells their babies to rich Westerners under the guise of a legitimate adoption service.

Once they have borne their babies, the women are either forced into prostitution or simply murdered.

This systematic rebirth of the German Nazi Lebensborn program is not confined to Eastern Europe.

The San Antonio, Texas-based Abraham Center of Life is now advertising custommade embryos to order. For a fee of $10,000, prospective parents can buy an embryo that has the preferred hair and eye color, skin color, hair color, intelligence, and other many other characteristics [www.theabrahamcenteroflife.com].

Romania's flourishing human egg trade ruthlessly exploits poor female factory workers.

They are paid more than a month's salary to submit to an allegedly "safe, easy, and painless" medical procedure. Their ovaries are hyperstimulated to produce dozens of eggs at a time, which are then harvested. This proced

ure is forced on the women repeatedly, and they are never told that they can opt out. They are prohibited from seeking independent medical or legal advice. Hearings found that some of these women were so ruthlessly harvested that their personalities were destroyed and they became physically paralyzed.

ConclusionWe in the United States can learn a stern lesson from Eastern Europe. We are heading in the same direction as the Ukrainians and the Romanians we are just getting there at a more leisurely pace. We already have clinics offering babies to order through preimplantation genetic diagnosis. We have late-term abortions for mild depression. We allow handicapped newborn babies to die of starvation and thirst. And we also starve to death those adults who have become inconvenient (remember Terri Schaivo?).[June 2007, Special Report, HLI, hli.org, http://www.hli.org/sr_june_07.pdf%5D

December 2006

REPORTER FURTHER EXPOSES ABORTION-STEM CELL-BEAUTY TREATMENT SCANDAL British reporter Matthew Hill has uncovered a grisly practice where babies from Ukraine are killed via infanticide or become victims of abortions for their stem cells for dubious beauty treatments. The practice involves ravaging the babies' bodies for organs and stem cells.

As LifeNews.com previously reported, Hill produced a documentary for the BBC showing how a hospital is snatching newborns and aborted babies and giving their parts and cells to stem cell firms around the world for controversial beauty injections.

Hill writes in a Monday article in the London Daily Mail newspaper about how he uncovered the scandal, including a videotape of post-mortem examinations.

He says a charity worker at a hospital in the eastern Ukrainian city Kharkiv showed him the videotape.

"Officially, the cells are taken from aborted fetuses with the mothers' consent," Hill writes, but "there could also be hundreds of babies stolen to order, to feed demand for stem cells from around the world."

Hill says the first hint he found of the bizarre trade came from stem cell researcher Stephen Minger, from Kings College.

Minger told Hill that a Barbados clinic called the Institute For Regenerative Medicine, had contacted him to get his endorsement of the IRM beauty treatments involving the injection of stem cells from the dead babies.

Minger said he refused, saying there were no studies backing up IRM's claims the injections would have the desired effect. He also was upset at how the babies were harvested for their stem cells, saying some of the babies could have been "liquidized" to obtain the cells.

"I find it very distasteful that they are used for beauty treatments," Minger told Hill. "As far as I can tell from what's been published, a lot of people go to this clinic in Barbados feeling a bit run down, or that their skin has just lost some elasticity, and they are getting 'smoothies' or perk-me-ups."

The Daily Mail report says IRM buys the stem cells from the Ukraine hospital.

Hill went to Barbados to get more information and he eventually met with one of IRM's senior doctors, Shami Ramesh.

Ramesh said he would show Hill proof of how the beauty injections work or how they help patients with various diseases.

"This 'proof' turned out to be one study of a single patient with motor neurone disease and another of eight cardiac patients. The numbers were too small for proper analysis and the data had not been published in any reputable peer-reviewed journal," Hill wrote.

Ramesh said the best proof was in how many patients kept coming back for more injections.

Hill said Ramesh denied allegations that the stem cells his firm uses come from newborn babies snatched form their mothers and killed for their cells and body parts.

"He said he had faith in the Institute of Cryobiology in Kharkiv, the source of the stem cells used by the Barbados clinic, but added that 'maybe in the future we will go and check it out,'" Hill wrote in the newspaper report.

Hill then traveled to Ukraine and said Dr. Valentin Greshenko, head of the Institute of Cryobiology refused to be interviewed.

Searching for details, he went to the Maternity Hospital Number Six, located in a high-crime section of Kharkiv.

There, he interviewed a 26 year-old woman, Svetlana Plusikova, who had a normal pregnancy but was told after birth that her baby was stillborn. Doctors refused to let her see the baby.

"I think she was stolen. If she was dead I should have been allowed to see her. I think a lot of young mothers like me lost their children, but right now nobody turns to the police," she told HIll.

Dimitry and Olena Stulnev shared with Hill their own story of how their baby was shown to them and then doctors claimed the baby died the next day. Hospital officials refused to provide them more information or allow them to see their baby.

Hill said he eventually obtained videotaped evidence of the infanticides and abortions from Tatyana Zhakarova, from the Federation Of Families With Many Children.

"Tatyana discovered many more infants had died at the hospital in similarly odd circumstances. And after intensive lobbying, the authorities eventually agreed to have the tiny bodies of around 30 babies exhumed and examined," Hill wrote in the Daily Mail.

"Tatyana showed me the video she had been allowed to record of the post-mortem examinations that followed. The gruesome film shows the carcasses of babies, some of whom were full-term, with their organs and brains missing," Hill added.

In an attempt to prevent exposing the truth, officials have apparently apprehended Tatyana's 20 year-o

ld son. He has been missing since October and she fears he's been killed.

Ultimately, Hill was granted five minutes to talk with Maternity Hospital Number Six's chief doctor Larysa Nazarenko.

"The children are not lost," she told Hill. "They are not stolen that's just somebody else's illusion."

"There is no such therapy," she said, according to the London newspaper. "No work in this hospital is connected with the use of cells. This is the wrong address. I deny everything."

Hill reports that the Council Of Europe has started its own investigation of the barbaric stem cell trade and it's first report talks of a "culture of trafficking of children snatched at birth and a wall of silence from hospital staff upwards over their fate."Related news stories:Clinics Use Tissue From Babies Killed in Abortions for Cosmetic Injectionshttp://www.lifenews.com/nat2486.htmlAbortion, Infanticide of Ukraine Babies Fuels Stem Cell Research Industryhttp://www.lifenews.com/bio1910.html[18Dec06, Ertelt, LifeNews.com London, England]

2006

UKRAINE ABORTIONS.You may have seen the BBC story in December on Ukraine maternity hospital suspected of killing babies for stem cells http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6171083.stm. There was an additional story in the UK Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/17/wbaby17.xml

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INVECTYS, MD ANDERSON AND CTMC ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC COLLABORATION FOR CAR T CELL THERAPY DEVELOPMENT – BioSpace

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:28 am

HOUSTON, June 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Invectys, Inc. (Invectys), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Cell Therapy Manufacturing Center (CTMC), a joint venture between MDAnderson and National Resilience, Inc., today announced a strategic collaboration to jointly develop a reliable, compliant and scalable process for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for solid tumors.

The collaboration will build upon the HLA-G platform pioneered by Invectys to advance novel CAR T cell therapies through preclinical development with CTMC into early-phase clinical studies at MDAnderson. The collaboration brings Invectys technology together with the cell therapy development and manufacturing expertise of CTMC and the clinical trials expertise of MDAnderson.

Uniting the complementary capabilities of Resilience and MD Anderson, CTMC was launched to accelerate the development and manufacturing of innovative cell therapies for patients with cancer.

This agreement is truly about joining the strengths of each collaborator for the benefit of cancer patients, said Praveen Tyle, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Invectys. Invectys is a cancer immunotherapy company developing novel approaches to target HLA-G. With our combined expertise and sharedgoals, we can act quickly to advance impactful new cell therapies.

The HLA-G molecule is a powerful modulator of the human immune system that is normally found during pregnancy, when it acts to protect the fetus from rejection by the mothers immune system. However, HLA-G is aberrantly expressed in cancer, making it an attractive tumor-specific antigen because the HLA-G tumor cells suppress a patients own innate immune responses. Invectys technology is designed to target and remove tumor cells that express HLA-G, thus reducing theseimmunosuppressive effects and thereby reactivating the patients own immune system.

Immunotherapies have revolutionized the treatment landscape for cancer, but currently approved treatments are able to overcome immune suppression only in limited groups of patients, said Aung Naing, M.D., professor of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MDAnderson. This novel HLA-G technology can revitalize immune cells by identifying and killing solid tumor cancer cells, thereby offering the potential to improve treatment outcomes for a wider group of cancer patients.

Together with researchers at Invectys, the CTMC team will work to develop a clinical-grade HLA-G targeted CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors that can be produced at scale. The collaboration will facilitate therapeutic development toward a Phase I clinical trial to be co-led by Naing and Samer Srour, M.D., assistant professor of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at MD Anderson.

CTMC was established to accelerate patient impact by addressing the hurdles associated with the development and manufacturing of cell therapies, said Jason Bock, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of CTMC. We are excited to work with the Invectys team and their unique technology to enable the anti-HLA-G CAR T cell therapy to reach its full potential, hopefully bringing an effective new treatment option to patients in need.

___

Disclosure

MD Anderson has an institutional conflict of interest with National Resilience, Inc., and the Cell Therapy Manufacturing Center due to MD Andersons ownership interest in CTMC. These relationships will be managed according to an MD Anderson Institutional Conflict of Interest Management and Monitoring Plan.

About CTMC

The Cell Therapy Manufacturing Center (CTMC), a joint venture between MD Anderson Cancer Center and Resilience, was launched to accelerate the development and manufacturing of innovative cell therapies for patients with cancer. Uniting the strengths of Resilience and MDAnderson, CTMC advances its work within a culture of academic innovation alongside industrial expertise. CTMC operates a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Texas Medical Center with a team focused on process and analytical development as well as clinical-stage manufacturing. Learn more at http://www.ctmc.com.

CTMC Contact:press@ctmc.com

About Invectys

Invectys, transforming innovative immunotherapies to eradicate cancer, is a clinical stage immuno-oncology company spun-out of the world-renowned Pasteur Institute in Paris. Invectys has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Invectys, S.A. (Paris) which is focused on scientific research and innovation and Invectys USA, Inc. (Houston), whose lead product is the development of a first-in-human HLA-G /CAR T initiative. Since 2010, Invectys has raised over $63 million in private funds to develop two innovative platforms of immunotherapy products that target universal tumor antigens. Invectys has also received a grant of $14.2 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (Grant ID DP200034) to help fund its HLA-G CAR T program.

Invectys, Inc. Contact:Rosie Williamscontactus@invectys.com

About MD Anderson

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institutions sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 52 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is No. 1 for cancer in U.S. News & World Reports Best Hospitals rankings. It has been named one of the nations top two hospitals for cancer since the rankings began in 1990. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).

MD Anderson Contact:Clayton Boldt, Ph.D.crboldt@mdanderson.org

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Opinion | Pro-Life Representatives may be the reason thousands of students cant afford Pitt – The Pitt News

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:26 am

After an initial draft majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked, millions of Americans experienced stages of grief and fear. While the implications of overruling Roe v. Wade are frightening, the anti-abortion movements initiatives are not just limited to the control of peoples bodies. Anti-abortion sentiment has become an active way to disenfranchise communities with less money. This political method has even reached the University of Pittsburgh. Pro-life sentiment among PA state House representatives has the potential to end in-state tuition discounts for thousands of students at Pitt.

Representatives advocating for voucher programs have scrutinized the University of Pittsburghs funding for years, but concerns are mounting as Pittsburghs multi-million dollar appropriation from the state is under attack from House Republicans. One of the main factors driving GOP hostility is the concern that Pitt researchers are using fetal tissue for scientific research. This discourse has the potential to end tuition breaks for in-state students, excluding many students from achieving a secondary education.

As the attack on Roe v. Wade has become the forefront of the GOPs party ticket, the University has received criticism locally and nationwide from Republican representatives. Many anti-abortion acitivsts accused Pitt of participating in illegal activities regarding the use of fetal tissue in medical research.

The use of fetal tissue in medical research dates back to the 1930s. Fetal tissue is essential for medical research because as of now, there are no alternatives that provide the same accuracy in research. By law, all fetal tissue donations are voluntary. Informed consent is required for fetal tissue to be collected and provided to researchers. Pitt is not the only school that uses fetal tissue many of the nations leading medical universities use fetal tissue for research. Despite these facts, the University received heavy backlash from GOP representatives and pro-life advocates.

In 2021, Republican state representative Kathy Rapp requested an auditorial general review of the Universitys state and federal funding. This request was a way for representatives to monitor Pitts research practices through a series of public hearings featuring university staff members and professors.

If these allegations are true that scientists at the University of Pittsburgh were harvesting kidneys of unborn babies while their hearts were still beating, they should not only have their taxpayer funding immediately suspended, everyone involved should face criminal charges, tweeted Sean Parnell, another Pennsylvanian Republican representative.

Despite these claims, an outside investigation found that the school was fully compliant with federal and state regulatory requirements regarding its use of fetal tissue.

As we have stated in the past: Fetal tissue research plays a critical role in advancing life-saving discoveries. We remain committed to maintaining robust internal controls and to extending our record of compliance at the state and federal levels, and we take these responsibilities seriously, a Pitt spokesperson told the University Times.

Despite these statements, right-wing media became fixated on the University. David Daleidan, an anti-abortion journalist, likened the National Institute of Healths funding of Pitt programs as an episode of American Horror Story. Fox News covered a 2020 study where scientists altered rodents immune systems with fetal tissue and stem cells to further study skin infections in people. The right-wing media outlet described it as an experiment involving grafting fetal scalps, containing full-thickness human skin, onto rodents. There was even a blog post claiming that Pitt had an illegal Quid-Pro-Quo arrangement with Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania clinics to obtain specimens.

These accusations may seem comical, but they have real-world implications on all Pitt students. On June 30, Pennsylvania lawmakers will determine the 2022-23 budget and ultimately their support for the University of Pittsburghs state funding. Republican lawmakers are adamant that the state shouldnt fund Pitt due to fetal tissue research.

As of June 3, Republican congressmen once again have requested an audit into Pitts fetal tissue research. This time, representatives have directed their attack on UPMCs role in Pitts research, as they believe the prior assessment stopped short. These audits could potentially sway representatives support for Pitts appropriation bill.

If Pitts general appropriation bill is not passed, numerous students will no longer be able to afford the Universitys tuition. In the fiscal year 2020-21, Pitt provided Pennsylvanian students $284 million in tuition discounts. The states appropriation accounted for around 60 percent of that discount.

This funding supports a significant tuition discount for Pennsylvanians that saves each Pitt student about $60,000 over the course of their undergraduate career, said David Brown, Pitts new vice chancellor for government relations and advocacy, to the University Times. Unfortunately, this year more than ever, Pennsylvanias students and families are facing a very real risk of losing their tuition discount.

This tuition discount is a life-changing benefit for many Pennsylvanian families and students. In many cases, it is the only factor that makes Pitt affordable. The fact the bill is at risk due to anti-abortion sentiment among state representatives is an indication of how backward the pro-life movement has become.

When the draft opinion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization was leaked, there was an immediate outcry that the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would affect poor women the most. As the debate around Pitts funding grows, we are witnessing how the anti-abortion movement not only disenfranchises the bodies of low-income women but also disenfranchises all low-income Americans. By cutting Pitts funding under the cover of the pro-life argument, state representatives exclude thousands of students with low-income backgrounds from higher education and ensure that college no longer functions as the great equalizer.

The issue of Pitts funding shows the disconnect between the life-embracing rhetoric surrounding anti abortion and the cold indifference toward the fate of thousands of students. What were left facing is a group of conservative representatives ready to cut university funding in the name of protecting the unborn, even if that means altering the lives of the living, breathing, students who depend on that money for their futures.

Ebonee Rice-Nguyen writes primarily about political, social and cultural issues. Write to her at [emailprotected].

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New textbook addresses the timely topic of molecular immunology – EurekAlert

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:24 am

The recent experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing vaccine development have drawn our attention to the system that keeps us alive: immunity. However, our immune system does more than fight against microbes. The new textbook Molecular Immunology: How Science Works by Professor Carsten Carlberg and Dr Eunike Velleuer provides an essential background in molecular immunology. This includes the basic principles and underlying processes of immunity against bacteria and viruses, immune responses to cell and organ transplants, the overboarding immune activation in allergies and autoimmune reactions, as well as the way how a properly functioning immune system protects us against cancer.

Understanding these mechanisms will highlight that a fight against viruses uses the same mechanisms as the battle against thousands of transformed cancer cells arising every day in each of us, the authors remark.

Our immune system is composed of biological structures like the lymphatic system and bone marrow, as well as cellular immunity mediated by cell types such as leukocytes and humoral immunity mediated by proteins such as antibodies and complement proteins. The perfect balance of these components protects us against infectious diseases and cancer. Molecular immunology aims to understand the collective and coordinated response of these cells and proteins to substances that are foreign to our body. The main purpose of this immune response is the fight against microbes, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. However, the example of allergic reactions, which nowadays are getting continuously more common, demonstrates that also non-microbial molecules can induce a strong reaction of our immune system. Moreover, incorrect reactions of the immune system can lead to autoimmune diseases, such as type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Immune responses can cause tissue injuries that are more harmful than the effects of pathogenic microbes. These collateral damages may be even fatal, such as in the case of bacterial sepsis or strong responses to SARS-CoV-2 infections.

The different chapters of the book explain the cellular basis of immunology, the key molecules mediating the effector functions of B and T cells, and how molecular immunology is associated with infections caused by bacteria and viruses, organ transplantation, allergy and autoimmunity as well as different types of cancers.

We hope that readers will enjoy this rather visual book and get as enthusiastic as the authors about life and its protection reflected in the fine-tuned molecular immunology.

Molecular Immunology: How Science Works is the fifth textbook in the series How Science Works co-authored by Professor Carlberg. The earlier books in the undergraduate book series are Cancer Biology: How Science Works, Mechanisms of Gene Regulation: How Science Works, Human Epigenetics: How Science Works and Nutrigenomics: How Science Works. They are linked to the lecture courses in Molecular Immunology, Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Cancer Biology and Nutrigenomics given by Professor Carlberg at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. The book series now covers each lecture course.

Carsten Carlberg graduated in 1989 with a PhD in biochemistry at the Free University Berlin. After positions as postdoc at Roche in Basel, group leader at the University of Geneva and docent at the University of Dsseldorf, he is since 2000 full professor of biochemistry at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. His work focuses on the mechanisms of gene regulation by nuclear hormones, in particular on vitamin D. At present, Professor Carlbergs projects focus on the epigenome-wide effects of vitamin D on the human immune system in the context of cancer.

Eunike Velleuer graduated in 2006 as MD at the University of Dsseldorf and specialized in 2016 in pediatric hemato-oncology. At present, she serves as senior physician at the Helios Childrens Clinic Krefeld as well as a research associate at the University of Dsseldorf. Her special clinical focus is the cancer predisposition syndrome Fanconi anemia. Herein, her research interest is early detection and prevention of oral squamous cell carcinoma and identifying patients with Fanconi anemia at risk. Furthermore, Dr. Velleuer is interested in increasing patients resilience and finding alternative ways for long-lasting empowerment.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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It’s All in the Family for Father-Son Doctors Outlook Valley Sun – outlookvalleysun.outlooknewspapers.com

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:24 am

First published in the June 16 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.

Every day for work, Dr. Matthew Lew returns to where it all began.His office, the rare private family practice, is based on the campus of Adventist Health Glendale, where he and his siblings were all born. That practice, Lew Medical, was founded by his father, Dr. Edmund Lew, with whom Matthew Lew has partnered to lead and eventually take over the business.By his own admission, father did not influence son, at least not deliberately, in picking family medicine as a specialty. However, its clear that the La Caada Flintridge men were cut from the same cloth.It seems like an overused term, treating the whole person, but in fact, my orientation to dealing with a problem really kind of takes into account all of the different issues that people would have, how they relate to it psychologically, all the different systems as they relate to one another, Edmund Lew said in an interview this week. It just seemed to make sense to me that if I was going to be a healer of some sort that I would have to take into account how the body works together but separately in its own system. Treating the whole person seemed to be the best way to help people and resolve their issues.

Plus, he added, I like everything, so it was difficult to actually choose a specialty.Similarly, Matthew Lew found value in seeking a broad, holistic treatment of people. As an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University, he took two years off to embark on a proselyting mission in Guatemala for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Matthew Lew said based on his enjoyment of helping others find spiritual awakenings, he felt he would equally relish healing of the body as well.Family medicine it was, then.I love talking to people. I love meeting new people, and its a great way to just meet a whole different bunch of people, Matthew Lew explained. My patients have great and very interesting backgrounds, which is really cool, and I just love interacting with them. In medical school, I kind of liked everything except for delivering babies, he admitted so family medicine is one way to do everything. It was nice not to be restricted, like if I was in a specialty.Matthew Lew, a graduate of La Caada High School, ultimately earned his bachelors degree in molecular biology from BYU and then earned his medical degree from American University in the Caribbean. He was chief resident of the family medicine program while completing his residency at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage.Edmund Lew, who was raised in Silver Lake, graduated from Loyola High School and later earned his bachelors degree in psychology from the University of San Francisco. He then earned his medical degree from Chicago Medical School and did his three-year residency at then-Glendale Adventist Medical Center during which his son was born at the hospital.After he finished medical school, Matthew Lew joined his father at Lew Medical in August 2019.I feel like everyones always asking me, like, How is working with dad? trying to get some inside scoop or good stories, he said. We get along really well. We see each other on the weekends, with our families. Its kind of a boring relationship a good relationship.His father chimed in, with a light chuckle: We dont close the doors, put on the gloves and duke it out.The Lews are both determined to keep alive their unique practice, which in spite of being located at the Adventist Health campus remains independent of the hospital and, to hear them say it, is among the few such private family practices around anymore.Either theyre being bought out by big groups or by hospitals, so its a very different dynamic, Matthew Lew explained. I feel like its rural medicine in the suburbs, because we kind of do everything. We see our patients in the hospital. We see them in the office. We see them in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, et cetera.We make house calls as well, Edmund Lew added. Most people think, who makes house calls anymore?

Back to Matthew Lew: Its a dying practice, that old school medicine.There just is much to be gained with treating patients where they are and where theyre at, with whatever condition they have, Edmund Lew elaborated. Were going to continue that concept because it really is the best for the patient. That approach allows us to keep patients out of emergency rooms and out of hospitals. Theyre able to contact us at home early on so we can prevent them from having complications of whatever condition they have.Matthew Lew, now married and himself a father of three, still lives in LCF, his youngest now at La Caada Elementary School. They live five minutes from his parents Five minutes including strapping them in the car, Edmund Lew quipped and its an arrangement all are pleased with. Their proximity and work arrangement allowed Edmund Lew to take a recent two-week trip to Africa, and he plans on returning the favor when Matthew Lew and his family vacation in Hawaii soon.Its funny. You grow up in an area and you always want to get out and go somewhere else, right? Well, you go somewhere else, and you look back and start getting in the next phase of your life, like Hey, I want to raise a family, wheres a good place to raise a family? Matthew Lew recalled. A lot of people reminisce about their hometown and thats what I did. I always had a plan of coming back and working here anyway, so it kind of worked out.Edmund Lew, only 68 and not retiring anytime soon, said he is nonetheless preparing his son to fully inherit the practice. He said he is influenced by his own father, who owned a dry cleaner and employed 30, when it comes to running the business and managing his employees like an extension of his own family.Still, Matthew Lew may have to wait a while.With Gods help and with treating myself well working out five days a week, trying to eat well, keeping myself in decent shape I dont know anything else that I would do in retirement that would be as rewarding as what Im doing now, Edmund Lew said. Gardening, I can only do for a little while. Traveling, you can only do for a little while.Soon, their family medicine practice will add even greater emphasis on family. Matthews younger brother is currently studying to be a registered nurse and will embark on family nurse practitioner school this fall.When hes done there, he has a job waiting for him.

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The U.S. needs to revitalize research on the health effects of low-dose radiation – STAT

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:24 am

People are exposed to low-dose radiation in many ways: having a CT scan, working as a medical technician or in a nuclear power plant, or living in an area contaminated by radiation. The health effects of these low-dose exposures are not well understood but a revitalized research program could change that.

Decades of research have revealed a number of adverse health effects that have occurred in individuals exposed to high doses of radiation, with most of this work focused on cancer. Much less is understood about the effects of low doses experienced by millions of Americans, although there is increasing evidence of its links to cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, immune dysfunction, and cataracts, as well as cancer. These possible connections raise questions as to whether the public and workers are adequately protected by current radiation standards and regulations.

We and a group of colleagues working in radiation biology, dosimetry, epidemiology, biotechnology, economics, biostatistics, environmental health, and other disciplines released a report in early June detailing the limitations in whats known about the health effects of exposure to low-dose radiation. This group, assembled by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine at the request of Congress, presented a plan to revitalize low-dose radiation research in the U.S., which has stalled in recent years, including how this research could be coordinated, its essential elements, and high-priority areas needed to fill in some of the knowledge gaps.

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The first step we recommend is to ensure adequate funding for this important work. The $5 million appropriated for the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) low-dose radiation program in 2021 and 2022 is not sufficient even to get a research program off the ground, let alone fund the research itself. But with adequate funding, we estimate the DOE could implement a revitalized, strategic research program within just two years.

Significant investments over a sustained period spanning more than a decade will be required, with an estimated cost of about $100 million a year for the next 15 years. This funding would help establish a structure for research, fund competitive proposals in epidemiological and biological research, support engagement with affected communities, and train and retain a new generation of radiation scientists across a range of disciplines.

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One critical finding of the report is that a revitalized low-dose research program would be able to leverage recent development in other fields, such as increased understanding of the cellular and molecular processes that enable development of human adverse health effects; new epidemiological methods and databases; and powerful new biological, measurement, and computational tools that previous researchers did not have at their disposal.

Epidemiological research can take advantage of increasingly accessible electronic databases and information on disease presence and severity from the internet of medical things, as well as more precise molecular classification of human diseases, and improved estimates of radiation doses, among other advances. These approaches could also aid in identifying factors such as inherited genetic variants or lifestyles that can modify the risks of low-dose radiation exposure.

Biological research can exploit new abilities to manipulate cells, tissues, and animals to understand how biological responses change with the level of exposure; to directly measure cellular and molecular changes resulting from exposure to low dose radiation; and to establish causal links to radiation exposure. The use of advanced measurement tools could help reveal the mechanisms that control biological responses to low-dose radiation.

Join Mohana Ravindranath, STAT's health tech correspondent, on June 29 at 1:00 p.m. ET to examine how technologies like telemedicine and big data may help doctors reach patients who currently dont get high-quality care.

We believe this research requires a long-term federal commitment, because the effects of low-dose radiation may take years or decades to manifest themselves. It will also take time to build and sustain a community of radiation effects experts who will be available to assist in the management and mitigation of the health effects of radiation exposures.

To be successful, any federal office leading the program will need to be dedicated to scientific independence, transparency, and stakeholder participation. This is especially important as science seeks to provide answers to concerned individuals and to communities that have been involuntarily exposed to radiation: indigenous communities, veterans exposed to radiation during military operations, nuclear workers, and others affected by the legacy of U.S. nuclear weapons testing and production. These communities had a strong voice in our report, and we learned how essential trust and meaningful involvement in research is to them.

Our committee also acknowledged concerns from communities affected by low-dose radiation regarding the Department of Energys leadership of low-dose radiation research, such as its conflicts of interest due to its work with the nuclear weapons program and promoting nuclear energy. While our committee was specifically asked to develop a research program led by DOE, our report notes that both it and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have historically supported radiation research. While the DOEs Office of Science has de-prioritized this research in recent years, the NIHs health research capabilities are well established, and the NIH is widely trusted by the scientific community and has no perceived conflicts of interest regarding radiation research from the public.

Our report is clear: If a revitalized low-dose research program moves forward under DOE leadership, its performance should be independently evaluated. If the agencys management of the program falls short, other agencies, including the NIH, should be considered to lead the program instead.

An opportunity exists to greatly expand the understanding of how low-dose radiation exposure affects health. A federally-coordinated program will provide valuable information, and reveal whether current regulations and protections are adequate to keep Americans safe from the effects of low-dose radiation. Now is the time to revitalize this research.

Joe Gray is a professor emeritus at the Oregon Health and Science University and University of California, San Francisco, and chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicines Committee on Developing a Long-Term Strategy for the Low-Dose Radiation Research in the United States. Lindsay Morton is a senior investigator and deputy chief of the Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute, and a member of the committee. Gayle Woloschak is a professor of radiation oncology at Northwestern University in Chicago, adjunct professor of religion and science at Lutheran School of Theology Chicago and at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a member of the committee.

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Monkeypox and COVID show the need for global health efforts: Experts weigh in – Brighter World

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:24 am

The threat of infectious diseases is a reminder about the importance of the global community and global health care, say McMaster researchers Zain Chagla and Karen Mossman.

The threat of infectious diseases is a reminder about the importance of the global community and global health care, says infectious disease specialist Zain Chagla.

Chagla, an associate professor of medicine, was interviewed on TVOs The Agenda about monkeypox.

It is not a new virus, but transmission had previously been focused primarily in West and Central Africa. In the last month and a half, however, there have been a slew of new cases where people acquired it without the epidemiologic and travel links to that part of the world.

There is probably one set of events that occurred either within West and Central Africa or with people from that region in another area of the world that then transmitted to a different network of individuals which is now transmitting in other networks of individuals all over the world, Chagla explained.

Most of the transmission is from short-range and intimate close contact. That includes skin-to-skin contact and contact with open sores, especially when people are going through the pox phase, as the virus is incredibly present within those lesions, he said.

Most people develop symptoms within a week or two, with one to five days of feeling unwell, Chagla said.

Then theres the appearance of the characteristic rash, which often starts out as flat, red areas that start getting raised and then fill with fluid. These can be anywhere on the body.

That said, some newer cases do not fit the typical pattern of symptoms and may be misdiagnosed. This is why testing and understanding where cases are spreading is key, he told CBC News.

You do want to make sure that testing is very broad until were able to link contacts more and more, and that we know where cases are coming from more and more, because at this point it doesnt seem like it.

Most cases that have been described in the last month and a half have been very mild, with most people not requiring hospitalization to make the diagnosis or help with isolation, he said.

With monkeypox coming on the heels of more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chagla said there are important lessons to learn as we deal with this and other infectious diseases that are sure to come.

Part of our efforts moving forward from this pandemic is recognizing global health as a global community, he explained on TVO, adding partnerships between high- and low-income countries are vital for sharing research, knowledge and medicine.

We are a global community and health across both animal and human species is important and is going to be a very fundamental investment moving forward for the entirety of our world.

There are also lessons in terms of public health messaging, especially as the cases of monkeypox in Canada have been concentrated in men between 20 and 63-years-old. Most of them had sexual contact with other men.

I think this does start the discussion about really making sure that positive, non-stigmatizing, non-discriminatory efforts are put forward first and foremost and that we embrace communities in a positive public health approach, Chagla said.

We need the public as a stakeholder as we move forward in pandemics. We do have to think about the consequences of more punitive measures as they may lose public trust. We need the public back as to help deal with other emerging infectious disease threats.

Its a sentiment echoed by Karen Mossman, virologist and professor of pathology and molecular medicine.

I think there needs to be a balance between transparency and awareness, with reality based on the best available data and knowledge. The public has a right to be aware of what viruses are circulating, and could potentially form a new outbreak, Mossman told CBC News.

This is where it gets challenging, as we often dont know what we dont know, and as we gather more information, those messages change. We absolutely experienced this during COVID, explained Mossman, who is McMasters vice-president of Research.

By using the adage of Trust me, Im a doctor, we arent doing our job in really educating the public of why and how decisions/recommendations are made, which I think is critically important so that when the next pandemic happens, the public has a general awareness and can better understand what is happening, why, and should they be concerned or not.

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Genes Can Predict the Success of Arthritis Treatment – SciTechDaily

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:24 am

Scientists have discovered that themolecular profiling of diseased joint tissue may considerably influence whether certain drug treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients will work.

According to a new study from the Queen Mary University of London, molecular profiling of diseased joint tissue might greatly impact whether certain drug treatments will be effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine on May 19th, 2022. The researchers also found certain genes related to resistance to most present drug therapies, often known as refractory disease, which might give the key to finding new, effective medicines to assist these patients.

While there has been substantial improvement in treating arthritis over the last decades, a large proportion of individuals (about 40%) do not respond to particular drug treatments, and 5-20% of persons with the condition are resistant to all existing kinds of medicine.

The researchers conducted a biopsy-based clinical study with 164 arthritis patients, testing their reactions to rituximab or tocilizumab two medications routinely used to treat RA. The original trials findings, published in The Lancet in 2021, showed that in individuals with a low synovial B-cell molecular signature, just 12% reacted to a treatment that targets B cells (rituximab), whereas 50% responded to an alternate medication (tocilizumab). Both medications were equally effective when patients had high amounts of this genetic signature.

As part of the first-of-its-kind study, funded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme, an MRC and NIHR partnership, the Queen Mary team also looked at the cases where patients did not respond to treatment via any of the drugs and found that there were 1,277 genes that were unique to them specifically.

Building on this, the researchers applied a data analysis technique called machine learning models to develop computer algorithms that could predict drug responses in individual patients. The machine learning algorithms, which included gene profiling from biopsies, performed considerably better at predicting which treatment would work best compared to a model which used only tissue pathology or clinical factors.

The study strongly supports the case for performing gene profiling of biopsies from arthritic joints before prescribing expensive so-called biologic targeted therapies. This could save the NHS and society considerable time and money and help avoid potential unwanted side effects, joint damage, and worse outcomes that are common among patients. As well as influencing treatment prescription, such testing could also shed light on which people may not respond to any of the current drugs on the market, emphasizing the need for developing alternative medications.

Professor Costantino Pitzalis, Versus Arthritis Professor of Rheumatology at the Queen Mary University of London, said: Incorporating molecular information prior to prescribing arthritis treatments to patients could forever change the way we treat the condition. Patients would benefit from a personalized approach that has a far greater chance of success, rather than the trial-and-error drug prescription that is currently the norm.

These results are incredibly exciting in demonstrating the potential at our fingertips, however, the field is still in its infancy and additional confirmatory studies will be required to fully realize the promise of precision medicine in RA.

The results are also important in finding solutions for those people who unfortunately dont have a treatment that helps them presently. Knowing which specific molecular profiles impact this, and which pathways continue to drive disease activity in these patients, can help in developing new drugs to bring better results and much-needed relief from pain and suffering.

The incorporation of these signatures in future diagnostic tests will be a necessary step to translate these findings into routine clinical care.

Reference: Rituximab versus tocilizumab in rheumatoid arthritis: synovial biopsy-based biomarker analysis of the phase 4 R4RA randomized trial by Felice Rivellese, Anna E. A. Surace, Katriona Goldmann, Elisabetta Sciacca, Cankut ubuk, Giovanni Giorli, Christopher R. John, Alessandra Nerviani, Liliane Fossati-Jimack, Georgina Thorborn, Manzoor Ahmed, Edoardo Prediletto, Sarah E. Church, Briana M. Hudson, Sarah E. Warren, Paul M. McKeigue, Frances Humby, Michele Bombardieri, Michael R. Barnes, Myles J. Lewis, Costantino Pitzalis, and the R4RA collaborative group, 19 May 2022, Nature Medicine.DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-01789-0

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HiLIFE Tenure Track Assistant / Associate Professor Position job with UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI | 297858 – Times Higher Education

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:24 am

HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science is one of the leading life science research institutes in the Nordics. It fosters outstanding research and generation of innovations across the University of Helsinki campuses and Faculties to create an attractive international environment where todays grand challenges in health and environment are solved together. In HiLIFE, we believe that breakthroughs emerge by giving talented researchers sufficient resources and freedom to pursue their ambitions and expertise towards higher goals.

HiLIFE tenure track program aims to attract the most talented and motivated individuals. In the previous two calls HiLIFE has recruited 10 assistant/associate professors, who to date have been able to achieve 6 ERC grants during their years at the University of Helsinki.

We are now recruiting

three TENURE TRACK ASSISTANT / ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS

to join this excellent crowd. The HiLIFE tenure track positions start 2023 at the earliest and are initially for three to five years with a possibility for promotion and tenuring following successful evaluation. The aim is to recruit three scientists, but additional places may be available in collaboration with HiLIFE operational units.

The positions are shared between one of the HiLIFE units (Institute of Biotechnology, Neuroscience Center and Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM)) and one of the participating life science faculties in Viikki, Meilahti and Kumpula campuses. We encourage applicants from all fields of life science to apply. The faculties participate in the call and encourage applications especially from the following fields:

Position requirements

We seek talented candidates with a doctorate degree, post-doctoral experience, and recent demonstration of excellence in research in life sciences according to career stage. We build on scientific excellence; a suitable candidate has for example already produced early-career scientific track record, attracted funding, and is now ready to start working independently. The successful candidate shows potential to be a future research leader, and is expected to develop an independent externally funded line of research in current or emerging areas of life sciences. We are looking for individuals also capable of contributing to the development of life science infrastructures and/or higher education in evolving areas of life sciences. Early-stage independent researchers are especially encouraged to apply.

For formal qualifications, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/academic-careers/tenure-track. The degree requirement must be met by the end of the application deadline.

What we offer

Want to work in the worlds happiest country in a dynamic and international institute? Finland has been nominated as the happiest country in the world four times in a row. https://media.visitfinland.com/en/media-press-releases/five-ultimate-reasons-travel-finland-happiest-country/

The positions come with an attractive negotiable startup package, and are initially for three to five years with a possibility for extension or tenuring following successful evaluation. All positions are shared between HiLIFE units and one of the participating faculties. Contracts during the tenure track are with HiLIFE and following tenuring at the faculty. The salary is negotiable within the framework of the University of Helsinki regulations.

HiLIFE takes a proactive and transformative role in ensuring that our institute is the best place for everyone to conduct their work. Our Code of Conduct translates the University of Helsinki values and principles into practical guidelines that define how we behave and wish to be treated with zero tolerance against inappropriate behavior, bullying, harassment, or discrimination.

Application & recruitment process

Applications are submitted as a single pdf attachment via the link at the bottom of the page. On the separate attached pdf, the applicant includes the following:

Applications are submitted by August 25, 2022.

Evaluation of applications is carried out by an Appointment Committee and includes external referee statements and interviews of shortlisted applicants. Finalists must successfully complete an interview process that includes a research seminar and teaching demonstration. The interviews are expected to take place on January 9 11, 2023. The recruitment is expected to be completed in March 2023.

Further information

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/hilife-helsinki-institute-life-science/call-hilife-tenure-track-assistantassociate-professor-positions

HiLIFE director Olli Silvennoinen, tel:+358 50 359 5740 , e-mail: olli.j.silvennoinen@helsinki.fi

Human Resources Partner Anu Roine, tel: +358 50 556 0633, e-mail: anu.roine@helsinki.fi (out of office June 24 July 31)

Head of Administration Jonna Katajisto, tel: +358 50 415 1096, e-mail: jonna.katajisto@helsinki.fi (out of office July 11 - 22 and August 15 ->)

In case you need support with the recruitment portal, please contact recruitment@helsinki.fi

HiLIFE

Life Science research in at the University of Helsinki covers broad scope from structure, function and dynamics of molecules, microbes and cells to entire organisms and ecosystems. Multiple units at all four Universitys campuses, but mainly Viikki and Meilahti, host life science researchers. HiLIFE was established in 2017 to bridge over Universitys units and campuses and thus build even more vibrant life science community.

HiLIFE contains the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM, Institute of Biotechnology (BI) and Neuroscience Center (NC). These units play an important role in developing a strong international research environment in their focus areas and bring important expertise to HiLIFE in recruitment, training, core facilities, innovation, and international cooperation. HiLIFE also takes responsibility of cross-campus needs and the development in the Life Science area. This dual role makes HiLIFE a unique entity in the University.

HiLIFE employs more than 650 diverse scientists and support staff. With about 50% international staff the daily working language is English. HiLIFEs budget exceeds 60 M of which about 65% is external competed research funding. HiLIFE hosts about 80 principal investigators including multiple ERC grantees. Measured by CNCI (Category Normalized Citation Impact 2017-2020) HiLIFE is the top research unit at the University. It is also forerunner in the open publishing.

Whats life like as a HiLIFE assistant / associate professor?Watchthe story of one of our tenure track professors and hear what she has discovered during her years in Helsinki.

Curious to know more about HiLIFE or the assistant/associate professor positions? https://www.helsinki.fi/en/hilife-helsinki-institute-life-science

University of Helsinki & Finland

The University of Helsinki welcomes applicants from a variety of genders, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and minorities. HiLIFE employs more than 650 diverse scientists and support staff. With about 50 % of international staff the daily working language is English.

The University of Helsinki is a vibrant and international scientific community of 40 000 students and researchers. It is one of the leading multidisciplinary research universities in Europe and ranks among the top 100 international universities in the world. Through the power of science, the University has contributed to society, education, and welfare since 1640. The University of Helsinki is currently investing heavily in life sciences research. UH offers comprehensive services to its employees, including occupational health care and health insurance, sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development.

Our vision 2030 is to be one of the worlds leading universities that generates understanding through research and teaching for the benefit of the global community. Everyday activities and interaction are founded on the shared values of truth, Bildung, freedom and inclusivity. Our research and teaching draw inspiration from four themes that spur collaboration between fields and disciplines and renew research and learning: A meaningful life, human wellbeing and a healthy environment; A humane and fair world; A sustainable and viable future for our globe; and A universe of ideas and opportunities.

Finland is a member of the EU, has high quality free schooling (also in English), generous family benefits and healthcare, and was recently ranked as the best country in the world for expat families and in the worlds top ten most liveable cities. Finland and the Helsinki region possess top expertise in sciences in terms of a vibrant talent pool, leading research, strong support services and functioning collaboration networks. For more information about working at the University of Helsinki and living in Finland, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers.

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HiLIFE Tenure Track Assistant / Associate Professor Position job with UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI | 297858 - Times Higher Education

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SNMMI Announces President of the Technologist Section During 2022 Annual Meeting – Imaging Technology News

Posted: June 22, 2022 at 2:24 am

June 21, 2022 Krystle W. Glasgow, MIS, CNMT, NMTCB(CT), NMAA, FSNMMI-TS, instructor and clinical coordinator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, has been elected as the 2022-23 president for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section (SNMMI-TS). The new slate of officers was introduced during the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imagings 2022 Annual Meeting held June 11-14.

Retaining and increasing membership in SNMMI-TS is Glasgows top priority as Technologist Section president. We have had great momentum in the past year in bringing in more members to our great society, said Glasgow. As president, I will continue working to engage with technologists and build excitement for our field.

Glasgow also plans to strengthen the societys support for nuclear medicine technologists through enhanced communication and educational offerings. By making SNMMI-TS a one-stop shop for technologists, Glasgow hopes that more technologists will take advantage of all of the opportunities offered by the society.

Glasgow received her Bachelor of Sciencedegree in nuclear medicine technology with a concentration in computed tomography in 2010 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed her Masters of Imaging Science degree and was certified as a Nuclear Medicine Advanced Associate at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, Glasgow is pursuing her doctorate degree in health services administration with a concentration in health informatics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

An active member of the SNMMI-TS, Glasgow was president-elect for the Technologist Section from 2021-22. She serves on the SNMMI-TS Membership, Finance and Publications committees. She has been a member and chair of numerous task forces and working groups, including the SNMMI-TS Executive Board,UptakeNewsletter Editorial Board, Nuclear Medicine Week Working Group, Women in Nuclear Medicine Committee, Advocacy Committee and more. She is also an article reviewer for theJournal of Nuclear Medicine Technology.

Glasgow, an SNMMI-TS fellow, is an SNMMI-TS 2016 Leadership Academy graduate as well as a 2021 Advanced Leadership Academy graduate. She was the 2018 American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Kleiner Award winner and has been awarded several grants from SNMMI-TS. Glasgow has also contributed to several books and has published four journal articles.

The SNMMI Technologist Section president-elect for 2022-23 is Dmitry Beyder, CNMT, MPA, St. Louis, Missouri. Elected to leadership of SNMMI for 2022-23 were Munir Ghesani, MD, FACNM, FACR, New York, New York, as president; Helen Nadel, MD, FRCPC, Stanford, California, as president-elect; and Cathy Sue Cutler, PhD, FSNMMI, Upton, New York, as vice president-elect.

For more information:www.snmmi.org

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