As the two-year anniversary of the pandemic approaches, a new commentary provides insights into reforming the “labyrinth of conflicting and uncoordinated actions among state and federal regulators” that in early 2020 hampered Seattle researchers from community testing for COVID-19. The commentary, written by members of the Brotman Baty Institute (BBI), the research collaboration among UW Medicine, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,…
We previously described the Phase I-II evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant protein candidate vaccine, CoV2-PreS-dTM, with AF03- or AS03-adjuvant systems. Here, we further characterize the cellular immunogenicity profile of this vaccine candidate using a whole-blood secretion assay in parallel to intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) of cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). A randomly allocated subset of 90 healthy, SARS-CoV-2-seronegative adults aged…
People who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant were more likely to have poor birth outcomes including preterm birth, small for gestational age, low birth weight, and stillbirth. The poor outcomes of preterm birth and stillbirth were observed primarily with those infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the first or second trimester, whereas increased rates of small for gestational age were driven largely by…
President Joe Biden’s administration last week ordered federal agencies to draft uniform policies describing the outside sources of funding that scientists must disclose when they apply for federal grants, and the penalties for failing to do so. Research groups welcome the directive, but wish it had also specified what kinds of foreign collaborations might get a scientist in trouble. The…
Each year, the Brotman Baty Institute (BBI) awards grants to encourage engaging and impactful research among investigators across the three founding institutions (UW, FHCRC, Seattle Children’s) with clear relevance to precision medicine. Since the program was launched in 2018, these “catalytic collaborations” have led to inspired discoveries, numerous papers published in peer-reviewed journals, and have been leveraged to acquire additional…
A new cell therapy company is on the block, propelled by powerhouse scientific co-founders from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center with years of experience investigating how to harness the immune system to treat cancer. Affini-T Therapeutics, which emerged Wednesday in a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference, is headquartered in Boston and has a research lab in Seattle. The company’s…
Many researchers who are funded from public sources are required to participate in national evaluations of their work. Such assessments are popular with governments because they help to ensure a degree of accountability for taxpayer cash. Funders like them, too, because they provide a useful benchmark for the standard of research being done. Universities also benefit financially when they write…
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a long-lasting form of lung disease affecting babies born prematurely. Their lungs are not fully formed and are sometimes damaged, and they need extra oxygen through a tube placed into their nose or more support to survive, grow and develop. BPD also is called chronic lung disease of prematurity. The number of newborns with BPD has risen…
Seattle-based Sana Biotechnology went all-in on improving CAR T therapies against B cell cancers in two separate deals announced today. First, Sana entered into a non-exclusive commercial rights deal with China-based IASO Bio and Innovent Biologics. Under the deal, Sana picks up non-exclusive commercial rights to a fully-human BCMA CAR construct from the two companies. This BCMA CAR can be used in specific in vivo gene therapies and…
Dr. Anna Kuchina has joined Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) as assistant professor, and is our newest faculty member. Kuchina comes to ISB after completing her postdoctoral training in the Seelig Lab at the University of Washington. Following is a Q&A with Kuchina that delves into her research career to date, her research areas of interest, and much more. ISB:…
