Kidneys-on-a-chip that rocketed to the International Space Station in May returned via a Pacific Ocean splashdown June 3 in the same Dragon capsule. The devices, part of Tissue Chips in Space, are now back in Seattle. Researchers with the UW School of Medicine and UW School of Pharmacy undertook this project to understand the effects of microgravity on kidney function. This information may help in protecting…
We have used RNA-seq in Caenorhabditis elegans to produce transcription profiles for seven specific embryonic cell populations from gastrulation to the onset of terminal differentiation. The expression data for these seven cell populations, covering major cell lineages and tissues in the worm, reveal the complex and dynamic changes in gene expression, both spatially and temporally. Also, within genes, start sites and exon usage…
Dr. Beverly Torok-Storb, affiliate professor (Medical Oncology) is this year’s recipient of the 2019 Minority Faculty Mentoring Award, sponsored by the University of Washington School of Medicine Committee on Minority Faculty Advancement and the Center for Health Equity Diversity and Inclusion. This award recognizes the achievements of senior faculty in mentoring underrepresented faculty and trainees. Dr. Torok-Storb has an extensive…
The use of monoclonal antibodies in cancer therapy is limited by their cross-reactivity to healthy tissue. Tumor targeting has been improved by generating masked antibodies that are selectively activated in the tumor microenvironment, but each such antibody necessitates a custom design. Here, we present a generalizable approach for masking the binding domains of antibodies with a heterodimeric coiled-coil domain that…
A first-of-its kind rapid autopsy program is helping reveal the molecular characteristics of advanced bladder cancers — and point the way toward better treatment strategies for these deadly, understudied tumors. In a new study, researchers described molecular differences in two different types of bladder cancer that had spread, or metastasized, through the body. The team’s analysis revealed potential therapeutic vulnerabilities in…
Intervening aggressively to roll back the onset of type 2 diabetes does works in adults, but once the medication and treatment ends, the disease always returns, according to a study published today in the journal Diabetes Care. UW Medicine’s Dr. Steven Kahn, the study chair of the NIH multicenter Restoring Insulin Secretion (RISE) Study, said researchers were hoping that early, aggressive treatment of adults with prediabetes or…
Presented on June 9 at the 2019 American Diabetes Association’s 79th Scientific Sessions and published in the New England Journal of Medicine (nejm.org), findings from TrialNet’s Teplizumab (anti-CD3) Prevention Study show a drug that targets the immune system can delay type 1 diabetes a median of 2 years in children and adults at high risk. “This is great news for millions of people worldwide impacted…
A groundbreaking system that would use artificial intelligence to diagnose several diseases from a single blood test may not be far off. The project, a collaboration between Microsoft and Seattle-based Adaptive Biotechnologies, could start diagnosing conditions “within a small number of years,” said Peter Lee, corporate vice president of Microsoft Healthcare, speaking at a conference for healthcare developers at Microsoft…
For reasons that date back to the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic, HIV-positive people with cancer have often been excluded from cancer clinical trials. Now, that may be changing. On Sunday, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the nation’s top cancer doctors learned the results of a new study led by physicians at Fred Hutchinson…
Drug companies are under fire right now, accused of not doing enough to curb the opioid epidemic. Now, some drug makers hope to be part of the solution, developing pain medication that isn’t addictive. A small Seattle biotech called Kineta is in the race to get a new pain relief drug on the market. “We need to have innovation,” said…
