Category Archives: Stem Cell Medical Center

Promising new sickle cell therapy trialed at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and VCU Medical Center – VCU Health

By Kate Marino

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved two gene therapies to treat sickle cell disease in people ages 12 and older a gigantic step toward curing this often-debilitating disease. Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU and VCU Medical Center were involved in the clinical trial that led to the approval of these products.

India Sisler, M.D., is interim division chief and clinical director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology and medical director of the pediatric comprehensive sickle cell center at CHoR. She explains how the new therapy works and why its approval is monumental.

Using a process called peripheral blood stem cell collection, we isolate and pull out the patients stem cells. We then send those cells to a company that specializes in gene modification so they can change the way those cells produce hemoglobin. We work to knock the patients bone marrow out completely and give them their own stem cells back with the modified hemoglobin gene.

This is a multi-step process that involves meticulous planning and special care for the patient along the way.

While treatment is only currently available to this certain subset of patients, our hope is that it will become more widely available in the near future. Clinical trials in children under 12 are still in process.

As we see in many patients, as Walter got older he was having a lot of complications and pain, which made daily life difficult. What made him a great candidate was his motivation to improve his health in order to be the social, active young man he wanted to be. He was all-in and hes doing so well now. Every time we see him, hes almost in tears telling us the things hes able to do and the new lease on life he feels like he has.

At this point Walter is done with treatment and cured of sickle cell. He will follow up with our transplant team so we can monitor him for any side effects every couple months for now, then well space out to a year. We dont really know what to expect 20 years from now since this a new treatment, but its so promising and were thrilled to see Walter thriving.

Beth Krieger, M.D, a pediatric hematology and oncology specialist at CHoR, conducted advanced fellowship training with leading experts in the field of bone marrow transplant and cellular therapies at University of Minnesota, where she did a significant amount of transplant work for non-cancerous conditions. Her knowledge and expertise have been instrumental in Walters care during this study and in bringing curative therapy to CHoR.

Our sickle cell teams work hand-in-hand on a daily basis to help patients transition seamlessly from pediatric to adult care, so were accustomed to collaborating and know it is beneficial for everyone.

Two different sickle cell gene therapy products were actually FDA approved the one we trialed and another one and we are working to begin offering both of them here. Our hope is also that many more patients will qualify in the near future and that we can begin curing people of sickle cell disease without them having to experience the extreme pain and other side effects of vaso-occlusive crises.

Similar gene therapy has also been FDA approved for beta thalassemia, another red blood cell disease. Its much less common than sickle cell, but we have patients undergoing this clinical treatment and it has the potential to be equally life changing.

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Promising new sickle cell therapy trialed at Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU and VCU Medical Center - VCU Health

F.D.A. Approves 2 Sickle Cell Treatments, One Using CRISPR Gene Editing – The New York Times

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene editing therapy ever to be used in humans, for sickle cell disease, a debilitating blood disorder caused by a single mutated gene.

The agency also approved a second treatment using conventional gene therapy for sickle cell that does not use gene editing.

For the 100,000 Americans with the disease, most of them Black, the approvals offer hope for finally living without an affliction that causes excruciating pain, organ damage and strokes.

While patients, their families and their doctors welcome the F.D.A.s approvals, getting either therapy will be difficult, and expensive.

It is practically a miracle that this is even possible, said Dr. Stephan Grupp, chief of the cellular therapy and transplant section at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Grupp, who consults for Vertex, said his medical center was hoping to begin treating sickle cell patients next year.

But, he added, I am very realistic about how hard this is.

The obstacles to treatment are myriad: an extremely limited number of medical centers authorized to provide it; the requirement that each patients cells be edited or have a gene added individually; procedures that are so onerous that not everyone can tolerate them; and a multimillion-dollar price tag and potential insurance obstacles.

As a result, sickle cell experts said, only a small fraction of patients in the United States are expected to receive the new treatment (to say nothing of the millions of sickle cell patients overseas, particularly in Africa, for whom it may be completely out of reach for now). The F.DA. estimates that about 20,000 patients who are 12 and older and have had episodes of debilitating pain will be eligible for the therapies.

The gene editing treatment, called Exa-cel and using the brand name Casgevy, was jointly developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston and CRISPR Therapeutics of Switzerland. It uses CRISPR, the Nobel Prize-winning gene editing tool, to snip patients DNA. For a small number of subjects in clinical trials, it corrected the effects of the mutation, which results in red blood cells that are shaped like sickles or crescents that become caught in blood vessels, blocking them.

Casgevy is the first treatment to be approved that uses CRISPR. Patients will also need expensive, intensive medical care and a long hospitalization.

The other treatment, called Lyfgenia and made by Bluebird Bio of Somerville, Mass., uses a common gene therapy method to add a good hemoglobin gene to patients DNA.

Vertex says its price to edit a patients genes will be $2.2 million; for, Bluebird it will be $3.1 million.

But living with the disease is also extremely costly: On average, $1.7 million for those with commercial insurance over a patients lifetime. Patients themselves may pay about $44,000 out of pocket on average over the course of their lives.

For patients and the doctors who treat them, it is tantalizing to think of being free from the complications of sickle cell. So despite the many unknowns, medical centers say they are compiling lists of interested patients who are ready to pursue treatment when it becomes available.

We are talking for the first time about survivorship, said Dr. Sharl Azar, medical director of the comprehensive sickle cell disease treatment center at Massachusetts General Hospital. Patients, said Dr. Azar, who previously consulted for Vertex, are starting to hope they can live into their 70s and 80s rather than dying young.

Treatment will start with hospital visits to collect patients bone marrow stem cells the precursors of red blood cells that are treated to enable the production of healthy blood cells. Stem cells must be released from the marrow into the blood so they can be collected. To release them, doctors inject patients with a drug, plerixafor.

It can take months to get enough stem cells to send to a central facility for treatment. And Vertex has only one gene editing facility in the United States, in Tennessee, and one in Europe, in Scotland. Bluebirds facility is in New Jersey.

After editing a patients cells with CRISPR, technicians do a sequence of quality checks. About 16 weeks after the process begins, the cells will be shipped back to the medical center to be infused into the patient, said Dr. Julie Kanter, director of the adult sickle cell center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

At that point, doctors must clear the patients marrow with intensive chemotherapy to make way for the new cells. Patients remain in the hospital for a month or more while their edited stem cells repopulate their marrows, during which time they have no functioning immune system.

That is if they can find a medical center that offers the new therapy. Most hospitals will not be able to offer Casgevy even if they want to. So far, Vertex has authorized only nine centers to provide its treatment. The company says it will eventually authorize about 50.

Bluebird has 27 authorized centers and also plans to add more.

The gene editing treatment is so challenging and requires so many resources that leading medical centers say that even if they are authorized to provide it they would probably only be able to treat a small number of patients a year.

We cant do more than 10 a year, said Dr. Kanter, who has in the past consulted for Vertex and Bluebird Bio.

And, Dr. Kanter said, were really good at it, adding that her medical center had extensive experience treating sickle cell patients and participating in the Bluebird clinical trials.

Others said the same. Five to 10 a year, said Dr. Jean-Antoine Ribeil, clinical director of the Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease at Boston Medical Center, which says it is the largest sickle cell center in New England and is one approved by Vertex to offer its therapy.

Vertex has not revealed how many patients cells it will be able to edit each year, saying only that it is confident it can meet the demand at the time the treatment is introduced.

Nor has Bluebird. But, Dr. Grupp said, Bluebirds gene therapy for thalassemia a genetic disorder in which the body does not make enough hemoglobin gives a hint. Bluebird, he said, has only been able to treat the cells of 50 patients a year since the drug was approved in August 2022. And that is for the entire country, Dr. Grupp said.

Insurance payments pose another obstacle. Before treatment starts, a patients insurer has to agree to pay. That can take months, said Dr. David Jacobsohn, chief of the division of blood and marrow transplantation at Childrens National Hospital in Washington. His medical center is among those authorized to provide the Vertex and the Bluebird treatments.

Most sickle cell patients are insured through Medicaid, noted Dr. John DiPersio, director of the Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. DiPersio consults for Vertex and Bluebird.

If every sickle cell patient in Missouri gets treated, the state couldnt afford it, he said.

Another concern involves unknowns about the new therapy. While a panel of F.D.A. experts concluded that the benefits outweighed the risks, doctors remain mindful of unexpected outcomes.

We dont know yet what the long-term effects will be, Dr. DiPersio said. We havent followed patients long enough just a couple of years. And stem cells, he added, will live forever, so if CRISPR or the Bluebird gene therapy does genetic damage, it will remain.

Haja Sandi, a 19-year-old student at Rowan University in New Jersey, hopes to be at the top of the list at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.

She has frequent hospitalizations for pain so intense she has to take morphine. Her symptoms have forced her into remote schooling. There is no way I could do it in person, she said.

Hearing about the Vertex therapy, she contacted the hospital in Philadelphia asking if she could get it.

God willing, I will go forward with it, she said.

The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, among others, is hoping to get on Vertexs list of approved centers and is planning to take eligible patients on a first-come-first-served basis.

Still others, like Childrens National Hospital in Washington, will give priority to the sickest patients.

Dr. Azar intends to take a different approach if Massachusetts General is approved. He said he wanted to proceed with extreme caution, starting with just one patient and going through the entire process before accepting more.

He worries that a misstep could sully the treatment for those who could be helped.

Going forward, the therapies will be provided without the extensive support that the companies gave to clinical trial participants. And it will be a test case for using CRISPR gene editing to treat other diseases. CRISPR Therapeutics is now studying gene editing to treat cancer, diabetes, and A.L.S., among others.

It is a blessing and curse that we are going first, Dr. Azar said. Sickle cell disease has never been first for anything.

The people seeking the therapy mostly Black patients often mistrust the health care system, he added.

We want to do this right, Dr. Azar said. We dont want patients to feel like they are guinea pigs.

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F.D.A. Approves 2 Sickle Cell Treatments, One Using CRISPR Gene Editing - The New York Times

Impact of disease burden on clinical outcomes of AML patients … – Nature.com

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Impact of disease burden on clinical outcomes of AML patients ... - Nature.com

CancerVAX CEO Ryan Davies Discusses Cancer Research with Leading Pediatric Hematologic Oncologist – Yahoo Finance

Dr. Satiro De Oliveira, a principal investigator in the Companys cancer research program at UCLA, comments about the importance of cancer immunotherapy

LEHI, Utah, April 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CancerVAX, Inc., developer of a breakthrough universal cancer vaccine that will use the bodys immune system to fight cancer, reported that CEO Ryan Davies spoke about the importance of cancer immunotherapy with Dr. Satiro De Oliveira, a principal investigator in the Companys cancer research program at UCLA.

Dr. De Oliveira is a board-certified pediatrician and board-certified pediatric hematology/oncologist. He received his medical degree in Brazil and completed his pediatric residency at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in New York and his pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at the Childrens Hospital Lost Angeles. His clinical focus is on pediatric oncology and gene therapies and his research focus is on cancer immunotherapy and biology of stem cell transplantation.

In addition to his impressive educational background, Dr. De Oliveira has received numerous awards, including the Certificate of Congressional Recognition, the STOP CANCER Research Career Development Award, and the American Society of Hematology Scholar Award. Outside of clinical practice, Dr. De Oliveira conducts clinical research on gene therapies in the fields of adoptive immunotherapy, pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and pediatric red blood cell hematology, to name a few.

As a pediatric oncology specialist, Dr. De Oliveiras work impacts patients lives in real time. During the conversation, Dr. De Oliveira emphasized the impact of recent clinical research strides on his patients, As I meet the families, I say, Listen, 10 years ago, this disease wouldve killed this child. And now, this patient is a miracle, Were really building the history of medicine.

CancerVax CEO Ryan Davies commented, It was a pleasure speaking with Dr. De Oliveira. His thought about creating the history of medicine is a beautiful thing.

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This Podcast can be viewed athttps://youtu.be/DcFor_Vo4MU

For more information about CancerVax, please visithttp://www.cancervax.com/.

About Us

CancerVAX, Inc. is a pre-clinical biotechnology company developing a breakthrough universal cancer vaccine that will use the bodys immune system to fight cancer. Working with a team of experienced cancer researchers and physicians at UCLA, we intend to create a Universal Cancer Vaccine that will detect, mark, and destroy only the diseased cells with an incredibly high level of precision. Much like the COVID-19 vaccines that train the body to recognize and destroy the coronavirus, our cancer vaccine will leverage the bodys own immune system to destroy cancer cells. As we develop our universal cancer vaccine, we are also working with UCLA to develop single-disease cancer treatments targeting Ewing sarcoma, a rare but deadly bone and soft tissue cancer that primarily affects children and young adults. We look forward to the day when treating cancer will be as simple as getting a flu shot.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.df

Press Contact:CancerVAX, Inc.Tel: (805) 356-1810communications@CancerVAX.com

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CancerVAX CEO Ryan Davies Discusses Cancer Research with Leading Pediatric Hematologic Oncologist - Yahoo Finance

EW GROUP SHINES AT 12TH A4M SYMPOSIUM 2023 & "ALL-ON … – PR Newswire

BANGKOK, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- European Wellness Biomedical Group (EW Group) made a successful showing at an exclusive event, the 12th A4M Symposium 2023, which was held in Centara, Bangkok, 16th-19th February 2023.

The two-day A4M Symposium, commenced with a welcome ceremony featuring Dr. Manus Potaporn (Deputy Director General of Medical Services Department, Thailand) as a Guest of Honour, hosted by Prof. Dr. Mike Chan (A4M Thailand President), Dr. Jakkriss Bumisawasdi (A4M Thailand Honorary President), and Dr. Robert Goldman (A4M Founder).

On February 19, European Wellness Academie (EWA), a non-profitable educational arm of EW Group, brought an exclusive workshop, "All-On Bioregen Optimization," to explore the world of anti-aging and regenerative medicine, featured some of the world's leading anti-aging experts.

Prof. Dr. Mike Chan, presented his two topics, "The Application of Regenerative Precursor Stem Cells, Peptides & Exosomes in Precision Medicine" and "Phyto-Myco-based Nano Organo Peptides: A New Trend in Precision Medicine."

"Precision Medicine in Age Reversal," which brought together the anti-aging and wellness industries on a single platform to achieve Precision Medicine's goals, which are patient-centred, may divide patients into subgroups based on their illness vulnerability, prognosis, or response to a specific treatment. It is devised and administered after comprehensive diagnostics utilizing Panomic Analysis and System Biology to analyse the patient's state at a molecular level and apply targeted therapies to address illness progression.

Anti-aging medicine aims to improve human ageing and maximize physical and mental well-being. Scientific data and medical journals supported the model's focus on Advanced Clinical Preventive and Regenerative Medicine.

The involvement of the healthcare and wellness industries will have a significant influence on the anti-aging sector for many years to come. Yet, by fact these sectors worked together to improve the quality of life for individuals and will contribute to defining the very future of modern medicine.

European Wellness Biomedical Group

An award-winning European group, most renowned for its pioneering development in organ-specific precursor (progenitor) stem cell therapeutics, biological and synthetic peptides, biological regenerative medicine, immunotherapies, and nutraceutical and cosmeceuticals.

EW Group's multinational business divisions include research and developments, bio-manufacturing, biomedical academies, hospital and wellness centres and nutraceutical product distribution across 80 countries worldwide. EW Group also owns and operates a growing network of internationally accredited Hospital and Medical Centres specializing in Regenerative Bio-Medicine and luxury Wellness Centres globally. EW Group is headquartered in Germany and Malaysia (Asia Pacific) with research vested in Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and United Kingdom.

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EW GROUP SHINES AT 12TH A4M SYMPOSIUM 2023 & "ALL-ON ... - PR Newswire

care team inspires hope for cancer patient | UT Health East Texas – UT Health East Texas

Jim Jordan returned from a golfing trip in August knowing something wasnt quite right with his health. After undergoing bloodwork, which had been perfect at a visit in March, he was told he needed to go to the emergency room immediately. He and his wife, Becky, arrived at UT Health Tyler, not knowing what exactly was wrong or what to expect.

Dr. Lance Mandell, who specializes in oncology and hematology at UT Health East Texas HOPE Cancer Center, soon told them that Jim, 64, had myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), which can transition to acute myeloid leukemia.

We didnt know anybody, thank God he was on call. We were blessed to get Dr. Mandell, Becky said. From the time he sat down with us that first night, we were scared. He talked to us 20 or 30 minutes, sitting on the end of the bed. Hes been the best.

Despite their shock, the Jordans said Dr. Mandell provided them comfort and hope that first night.

From Day 1 he said, Weve got this, Jim said of that first meeting with Dr. Mandell. He said, Not only are we going to get this, were going to cure this.

Jim started outpatient chemotherapy at HOPE Cancer Center, but his MDS did turn into leukemia and he eventually was admitted to UT Health Tyler to help him fight off infection while he underwent additional treatments.

That feeling of hope and comfort the Jordans felt the first night of Jims diagnosis continued with hospital staff for the six weeks he spent in the hospital.

This is the best group of nurses weve ever been around, and weve been around, Becky said. Every single one of them. Ive never seen anything like it, its totally remarkable.

Becky stayed with Jim almost every night he was in the hospital, heading to their Henderson home only to do laundry and check on their two Shih Tzus.

The nurses just took such good care of him. I didnt worry a minute. And thats not me, I worry all the time about him, she said. I have never seen anything like this group here. They are on the ball, and they explain and tell us in detail what theyre doing and why with a smile on their face. They are so on the ball here, they are heaven.

Alex McComas, RN, said the entire nursing staff formed a bond with Jim, playfully fighting over who got to care for him each day.

There were days when he was really sick, and you could tell he didnt feel good but wanted to have a good attitude, she said. It makes you appreciative of all the things you can do to take care of him and to encourage him to keep going.

In turn, Alex said, Jim often encouraged those who were caring for him.

Hes been so encouraging to us despite the position hes in. He doesnt have to encourage the nursing, staff but he does, she said. Thats been the biggest gift to see and be a part of. Its been the biggest honor to take care of him and learn from him.

Dr. Mandell said that attitude can make a difference. Hes been the perfect patient. Attitude makes a huge, huge difference and hes had the most positive attitude I think Ive ever seen, he said.

Because of that attitude and the bond he developed with all of his caregivers, the staff decided to present Jim with a blanket crocheted by the mother-in-law of David Warren, a cancer survivor who works at UT Health East Texas in the facilities department.

She wanted someone that really was deserving of it, someone that was going through a hard time, Warren said.

His mother-in-law, Connie French, said she made the blanket as a remembrance to her husband, who she lost to cancer in 2007.

Cancer took my husband. Ive got to fight it somehow, so Im doing what I can, French said. Its from the heart. Ive got to do something. I cant do it any other way, so thats what I do, I crochet.

Jim teared up as he accepted the blanket, presented by his team of caregivers the day he was discharged.

Its been scary and something you never want to go through, but theyve just been so good, he said. Theres not one thing I would change. Every day they were my motivation. They saved my life.

Now in remission, Jim will face a stem cell transplant at UT Health Southwestern in hopes of keeping the cancer from ever returning. He plans to keep in touch with his UT Health East Texas care team, who became such a part of his life, and throw them a party when he returns.

All the people here have been nothing but good, they helped me every day through it, Jim said. The whole floor has been unbelievable and helpful, they got us through it.

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care team inspires hope for cancer patient | UT Health East Texas - UT Health East Texas

Immunology Center of Georgia recruits reflect expertise from … – Jagwire Augusta

Immune cells that can smell the metabolites of a high-fat Western diet and may produce inflammation and ultimately heart disease as a result, just what our longer RNAs are doing in our bodies and the role of immune cells called neutrophils in both cancer and heart disease are some areas of pursuit of the first five scientists recruited to the new Immunology Center of Georgia at the Medical College of Georgiaat Augusta University.

The new IMMCG, codirected by Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars Catherine Lynn Hedrick, PhD, and Klaus Ley, MD, who joined the MCG at Augusta University faculty late last summer, focuses on better understanding the immune systems seemingly diametric roles in enabling good health and in contributing to major killers like cancer and heart disease.

The first recruits bring to MCG more immunological strength in major areas of research and clinical expertise of the medical school, says Hedrick.

Already onboard is Kunzhe Dong, PhD, a vascular immunologist with expertise in long noncoding RNA, literally long RNAs which regulate gene activity both up and down. He was first author on a 2022 study showing that a long noncoding RNA called CARMN is found in abundance in the healthy smooth muscle cells that give our blood vessels strength and flexibility and is significantly decreased in atherosclerosis. The finding provided more insight into how blood vessel disease happens as it pointed toward new ways to treat it. He also has studied autophagy, a fundamental the immune system uses to eliminate invading microorganisms and cell debris by ingesting them, and novel methods for protecting against destructive inflammation prompted by infection and by vascular disease.

Dong earned his PhD in animal genetics, breeding and reproduction from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, came to MCG in 2017 as a postdoctoral fellow studying with Vascular Biologist Jiliang Zhou, PhD, in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and was promoted to senior postdoctoral fellow in 2021. He received an American Heart Association Career Development Award in 2022, which runs through 2025, as well as an AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship during his training. Dong also received a 2022 travel grant for early career investigators from the AHA journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Marco Orecchioni, PhD, an immunologist and cellular biologist, who studied with Ley at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California, will be joining the IMMCG faculty May 1. The Italy native earned his PhD from the University of Sassari, before moving to La Jolla as a postdoctoral fellow in 2017. He was promoted to instructor in 2022.

Orecchionis work includes elucidating the role of olfactory (smell) receptors on macrophages, immune cells that can turn inflammation both up and down and can also consume cellular debris. He is working to better understand how these receptors, which seem to be more common in disease states like arteriosclerosis, affect immune cells, including driving inflammation, and whether they provide an unexplored connection between diet and the progression of heart disease and other metabolic problems. His research in collaboration with Ley and Hedrick has been published in top-tier journals including Science. A focus has been the simple chemical octanal which is detected by the olfactory receptors, and their connection prompts production of proinflammatory factors. The scientists have found levels of octanal in human and mouse blood sufficient to activate the respective receptors. When they boost octanal levels, they have found it increases characteristic plaque in blood vessels, and when they genetically delete the receptor it reduces disease, findings that point toward the smell receptor as both a sound prevention and treatment target. They also are exploring the possibility that octanal has effects in other diseases like cancer. Hedrick notes that despite the common ground of inflammation in the major killers of cancer and cardiovascular disease, they have two different environments with different inflammation types.

Orecchioni received an AHA Career Development Award in 2022 that continues today and received the Conrad Prebys Foundation Award in 2021. The foundation supports arts, medical research, health care and youth success in the San Diego community. He also received an AHA postdoctoral fellowship in 2018 and is associate editor of Frontiers in Immunology.

Also starting May 1 is Yanfang Peipei Zhu, PhD, a cancer immunologist coming to MCG and the IMMCG from the University of California San Diego. Zhu completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology with Hedrick and was named an instructor at the institution before moving to the UCSD in 2020. Her research focus is neutrophils, short-lived immune cells that are early arrivers when we get a bacterial or viral infection. Their levels can shrink in response to problems like stress, as well as congenital or later problems that affect their production in the bone marrow. Zhus lab identified a progenitor cell called NeP that just makes neutrophils and a similar one called hNeP, in both mouse and human bone marrow. They also found that when cancer is present, these progenitor cells go right to the site of the tumor to support its growth. Now they are looking to better categorize which neutrophils and NePs support a healthy immune response versus cancer with the goal of identifying new biomarkers and treatment targets. Zhu also is exploring the cells potential role in atherosclerosis. Additionally, she is an expert in next-generation sequencing technologies that enable high throughput examination of the fine details of the genome.

Zhu earned her PhD from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky before going to the Hedrick lab for her postdoc work, where she received a National Cancer Institute scholarship. She is academic editor for the Journal of Cellular Immunology and an editor for The Journal of Immunology and Microbiology.

Rafael S. Czepielewski, PhD, joins IMMCG July 1 from Washington University Medical School in Saint Louis, Missouri, one of the nations top immunology programs. The mucosal immunologists research focus is better understanding inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, and changes to the lymphatic system during the course of the disease. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system defined as the tissues and organs that produce, store and carry white blood cells throughout the body where they patrol for infections and other invaders. IBD, which includes Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis, are both risk factors for colon cancer. Last year, Czepielewski received a Career Development Award from the Crohns & Colitis Foundation for his work on how crosstalk between the lymphatic vessels, microvessels throughout the body that carry lymph (fluid) away from tissues, and immune cells control IBD. His discoveries include little nests of immune cells along the lymphatic system in IBD, and now he and his new colleagues want to answer questions like how they got there and what they are doing.

Czepielewski received a Young Investigator Award from the 2021 Lymphatic Forum , a biennial event where researchers worldwide present and discuss studies of lymphatics in health and disease. Additionally, he is a fantastic microscopist, Hedrick says, in his case, that includes expertise in intravital microscopy, where you can look at more than one biological process at a time in living research animals, like transparent roundworms called C. elegans.

He earned his PhD from Brazils Pontificia Universidade Catlica do Rio Grande do Sul and joined the faculty as an instructor in 2021. During his PhD work he completed an international PhD fellowship at the Immunology Institute of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Adil Rasheed, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow completing his studies in vascular immunology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Ontario, will start at IMMCG Sept. 11. At the Heart Institute, Rasheed has been honored for his leadership in postdoctoral studies and as the Ottawa Regions Cardiovascular Trainee of the Year. He is a member of the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Early Career Editorial Board. He was a founding member of the online community Trainees in Metabolism, which hosted seminars and workshops on a range of relevant topics like effective mentorship and scientific communication.

Rasheed will bring with him studies of the protein MLKL, a protein known to play a key role in programmed cell death and which at high levels is associated with inflammatory bowel disease in children. He is finding MLKLs role in cell death appears to be a factor in accumulation of lipid and other substances inside blood vessels in atherosclerosis, and the protein has a significant role as an immune regulator in blood vessel and possibly other metabolic diseases. Rasheed also has an interest in the development of immune cells in the bone marrow, called hematopoiesis. He is the 2022 recipient of the Young Investigator Award from the journal STEM CELLS Translational Medicine for his pioneering research in heart disease while still working on his PhD at the University of Toronto.

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Immunology Center of Georgia recruits reflect expertise from ... - Jagwire Augusta

Available Therapies for US Patients With R/R B-Cell Lymphoma – Targeted Oncology

Tycel Phillips, MD, associate professor, Division of Lymphoma, Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, discusses treatment options for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in the Unites States [US].

0:08 | At the current moment, if we look at patients with relapsed refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma, which is the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the US in that setting, we had several approved agents in the last several years. So, there was an oral medication lenalidomide [Revlimid] given together with an antibody called tafasitamab, and that is approved for patients [in] second-line or beyond, especially those in second-line who are unable to tolerate more traditional treatments. In that second-line space, we have historically had salvage chemotherapy, and the complications that we know come with that, followed by autologous stem cell transplantation. For a large number of patients, salvage chemo and autologous transplant was not a great option because these patients had intrinsic resistance to chemotherapy.

1:00 | More recently, we had the approval of 2 chimeric antigen receptor therapy treatments, or CAR T treatment. CAR T, as much as we advocate for it, is also available in the third-line is underutilized here in the US with only about a third of patients who are eligible for CAR T, or making it to CAR T. So, there's a large number of patients who cannot get to this treatment either because they do not live near a CAR T center or they don't want to travel to a CAR T center, or they can't keep their disease under control enough to get to CAR T.

1:29 | As of right now, CAR T is probably the only treatment that has durable responses in this patient population. So, with those other treatments that I didn't mention, there's probably a minority of those patients who will have a durable response. But the vast majority of those patients will likely relapse and die from the cancer, and if they can't get the CAR Tt that does leave a large number of patients who are at need, which prompts the need for more treatments in his patient population. Because even with CAR T, as much as I have advocated for have in this you know earlier in this conversation, about half of those patients, if not a little bit more, will fail to respond to CAR T or relapse after treatment with CAR T, and those patients have very poor outcomes as well.

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Available Therapies for US Patients With R/R B-Cell Lymphoma - Targeted Oncology