One might think those three phrases could be excerpts from an introduction honoring a world class scientist at an international event, not a 27-year-old doctoral candidate about to complete her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Since arriving in Seattle in 2017, Samantha Schuster has demonstrated those professional characteristics – and more – in her graduate work at Fred Hutchinson…
In an article published in Nature Communications, researchers from Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) and Yale University confirm that COVID-19 immunization does not drive the development of new autoantibodies. While safe overall, mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are associated with rare vaccine-related adverse events. These events coupled with observations that acute SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased autoantibodies brought into question whether COVID-19 vaccination…
ISB researchers have constructed biological body mass index (BMI) measures that offer a more accurate representation of metabolic health and are more varied, informative and actionable than the traditional, long-used BMI equation. The work was published in the journal Nature Medicine. For decades, clinicians have relied on BMI as a crude tool to classify individuals as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.…
Seattle-area biotech experts are eying the past warily in the wake of this week’s news that Pfizer plans to acquire Bothell, Wash.-based Seagen for a whopping $43 billion. Most previous acquisitions in the Seattle region have ultimately gutted biotech companies and their workforces, including at Immunex, Icos, Corixa and Zymogenetics. That history has some on edge about Seagen’s future. “Historically, acquisition has…
B cell-activating factor (BAFF) contributes to the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Although several anti-BAFF Abs and derivatives have been developed for the treatment of SLE, the specific sources of BAFF that sustain autoantibody (auto-Ab) producing cells have not been definitively identified. Using BAFF-RFP reporter mice, we identified major changes in BAFF-producing cells in two mouse…
Seven teams involving UW BioE students were among 22 teams to compete in 2023 Holloman Health Innovation Challenge (HIC), held March 2nd. Of these teams, three BioE-related teams won awards – LegUp Prosthetics, piezopulse and Endozene, which won the Grand Prize. The HIC, held by the UW Foster School of Business Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, recognizes student entrepreneurs who seek…
Arzeda, the industry-leading Protein Design Company™, has successfully developed and scaled its ProSweet Enzymes™ that will allow sweetener companies to efficiently – and cost effectively – make Reb D and Reb M from stevia leaf extract. The development and scale of these high-performance enzymes broadens the company’s portfolio of enzymatic stevia solutions – and builds on Arzeda’s work in 2022 and…
Cliff Slaughterbeck, Ph.D., is showing off some of his babies. “Nobody sells this whole thing off the shelf,” he said, gesturing at a microscope housed in a large black box, one of eight identical rigs set up in the Allen Institute’s electrophysiology lab, where neuroscientists use impossibly thin electrodes to listen in on neurons’ electrical chatter. The rigs combine commercial…
Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are being developed as gene therapy vectors due to their low pathogenicity and tissue tropism properties. However, the efficacy of these vectors is impeded by interactions with the host immune system. One potential immune barrier to vector transduction is innate immune host defense peptides, such as alpha-defensins, which are potent antiviral agents against other nonenveloped viruses. To…
Growing up, the assistant professor of bioengineering loved playing cards with his family and named his UW research laboratory — the Cardiac Systems Simulation (CardSS) Lab — in part to honor the pastime. But a more surprising connection between family and research was still to come. “I don’t know how many people in my line of work have the opportunity for their research to…
