Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Cryo-Em At Jefferson: Driving A New Era Of Scientific Discovery

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Scientific discovery is often the product of a delicate dance between intellectual insight and technological capabilities. It is a synergistic cycle of advancement where the desire to test a research hypothesis may motivate the creation of a new technology, and the new technical capacity yields unanticipated opportunities for wider discovery. And one of the most important drivers of new knowledge is the development of technologies for viewing biology’s fundamental building blocks: the atoms and molecules that comprise living cells.

Since late 2020, Jefferson researchers have been using one of the most powerful devices for “seeing” molecular structures at the atomic …

Convergent Thinking, Creative Application, Mark L. Tykocinski, Md

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Research 2021 offers a glimpse of how convergent thinking is manifest across our institution. You can see it, for example, in the multidisciplinary team testing the first brain implants designed to help stroke victims regain limb function; and in the novel solutions developed to address the challenges of caring for COVID-19 patients. Convergent thinking is evident in the ways that our faculty and student researchers are combining research from architecture, industrial design and occupational therapy to develop plans for smart, healthy cities. It is evident too in our hemp industry research and development program, in which faculty and graduate students …

Powering Research On Mitochondrial Disease

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Mitochondria are specialized structures that exist in all cells except red blood cells. Generally known as the cell’s energy factory, mitochondria play a much broader role: from helping in the processes of making hemoglobin, detoxifying ammonia in the liver, metabolizing cholesterol and neurotransmitters and synthesizing estrogen and testosterone. Each year, thousands of children (and, increasingly, adults) are diagnosed with genetic mitochondrial conditions that range from skeletal muscle weakness and exercise intolerance to neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease and liver failure. In addition, mitochondria are increasingly recognized as playing a role in the pathology of diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

MitoCare …

Reducing Implantable Device Infections

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Even as Jefferson researchers help advance medical care by developing wholly new treatments, methods and tools, they are also working hard to reduce complications associated with procedures performed by tertiary care centers across the country. Post-procedure infections, in particular, can be a pernicious and costly problem. Clinician-scientists throughout the Jefferson system are pursuing clinical trials that aim to address the problem.

For example, Arnold J. Greenspon, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Jefferson Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory, is working to address the problem of infections associated with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverterdefibrillators and cardiac …

Exploring The Epigenetics Of Lung Disease

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

A recent study by Jesse Roman, MD, Ludwig Kind Professor of Medicine, found that a mother’s diet can prompt changes in how her offspring’s cells function. It offers clear and specific evidence that maternal experience can affect the health of following generations: in this case, that insufficient maternal nutrition during pregnancy can change the functioning of genes that affect lung health.

The Joan & Joel Rosenbloom Center For Fibrotic Diseases

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Like cancer, fibrotic diseases are the result of complex biological processes that are similar in their final outcome, but diverse in the molecular mechanisms underlying those processes. Thus, identifying treatment targets and developing effective therapies is extremely difficult. It requires a continuous dialogue between basic scientists, translational researchers and clinical investigators across a range of disciplines.

The Joan & Joel Rosenbloom Center for Fibrotic Diseases, established in 2013, is an interdepartmental research program focusing on diagnosis, disease mechanisms, prevention and treatment of fibrotic diseases. It acts as a bridge: both to translate basic findings into drug therapies and to bring …

Solving The Puzzle Of Fibrotic Diseases

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Up to 40 percent of disease mortality in developed countries results from fibrotic diseases, a family of conditions where the build-up of scarlike tissue interferes with the body’s normal function. These conditions can be systemic (such as systemic sclerosis and scleroderma) or affect individual organs such as the lung, liver, kidney, heart or eye. Because the mechanisms underlying these conditions are poorly understood and treatments are few, Jefferson has made a major commitment to basic and translational research on a broad range of fibrotic diseases.

Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) causes progressive, potentially fatal scarring of the lung. PF results, in part, …

A Distinguished Career Honored - And The Work Continues

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

The most prestigious award in international dermatology - the World Congress of Dermatology’s Alfred Marchionini Medal in Gold—is bestowed every four years, and in 2019, Jouni Uitto, MD, professor and chair of dermatology and cutaneous biology, was the humble recipient. The award is a recognition of Dr. Uitto’s long and distinguished career, in which he has published nearly 900 peerreviewed articles, textbook chapters and reviews— including 30 new publications over the past year.

Modeling The Systems Of Life

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, PhD, professor of pathology, anatomy and cell biology, is a chemical engineer and systems biologist who views the body as a series of systems nested within systems, interacting in dynamic ways. He and his colleagues use high-powered computers to create complex models of how tissues and organs function, which they compare to observations of in vitro and in vivo lab models. The iterative process enables them to find minute, molecular

Treating The Most Common Liver Disorder

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Non-alcoholic liver disease, also known as Fatty Liver Disease, is the most common liver disorder in western nations. Up to 30 percent of Americans have some level of the disease, and it will soon be the country’s leading cause for liver transplant. As its name suggests, Fatty Liver Disease begins simply with storage of excess fat in the liver, but can progress into serious liver inflammation and to the extensive scarring of liver tissue known as cirrhosis.

Currently, biomedical researchers have a limited understanding of what causes the disease and drives its progression. Dina Halegoua-DeMarzio, MD, associate professor of medicine …

Treating Lung Cancer With Nanoparticles

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - the most common type of lung cancer—is very difficult to treat, but Sunday Shoyele, PhD, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, has developed a nanotechnology-based treatment. The new approach, which was effective in recent tests with mouse models, uses nanoparticles to deliver a molecule known to stall NSCLC tumor growth and believed to make cancer cells more susceptible to chemotherapy.

The molecule—microRNA 29b—is an example of the category of “silencing RNAs” (siRNAs) that interfere with the pathway by which individual genes are expressed. siRNAs are capable of both shutting down disease-causing processes in the cell …

Computational Medicine Center Uncovers New Rna Categories

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

The interdisciplinary experts of Jefferson's Computational Medicine Center combine high-performance computing, data-driven hypothesis generation and wet laboratory work to unravel the biology and role of short RNA molecules with powerful regulatory roles. The Center’s research is led by Isidore Rigoutsos, PhD, Richard H. Hevner Professor of Computational Medicine; Yohei Kirino, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; and Eric Londin, PhD, assistant professor of pathology, anatomy and cell biology.

The group has uncovered new RNA categories and many previously unsuspected molecules that act as regulators. They have also demonstrated that the identity and abundance of these newly discovered regulators depend …

Pursuing The Potential For Rna Biology

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

RNA is essential for the process of turning genes' DNA instructions into the proteins that actually drive cellular functions. The field of RNA biology is dynamic and growing, as researchers discover the functions of a dizzying array of types of RNA. Jefferson’s RNA biology program is multifaceted and rich with potential for both understanding human biology and developing ways to treat or prevent disease.

For example, Ya-Ming Hou, PhD, professor of biochemistry, guides a basic science research program addressing RNA’s roles in a range of biomedical challenges, from cancer to antibiotic resistance. Recently, she may have identified an RNA-based vulnerability …

A Career Advancing Midwifery

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

The year 2019 was a significant one—even for a clinician-researcher as accomplished as Barbara Hackley, PhD, CNM, associate professor of midwifery and women’s health and the Dorothea Lang Term Chair. Prior to joining Jefferson in 2017 to launch and direct the Jefferson Doctor of Midwifery Program— the nation’s first discipline-specific doctoral program for midwifery—Dr. Hackley served on the faculties of Georgetown, Columbia and Yale universities. And, during a career that has, thus far, spanned three decades, she received countless awards for her teaching and research—and for her clinical expertise in expanding mental health care, immunization, asthma care and obesity management …

Countering Spinal Disc Degeneration

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

The pain caused by spinal disc degeneration affects millions of people worldwide and, too often, causes disability and opioid addiction. Current therapies for degenerative disc disease address only symptomatic relief. However, it may be possible to address the underlying problem by using endogenous stem cells to rebuild diseased or degenerated tissues.

Longtime research collaborators Makarand Risbud, PhD, James J. Maguire Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Irving Shapiro, PhD, Gertrude and Anthony DePalma Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, are working to understand the cellular mechanisms underlying disc degeneration, identify conditions that enhance disc cell survival and create tissueengineering methods to regenerate healthy …

Identifying Biomarkers To Assess Pediatric Spinal Injury

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Diagnosing and assessing spinal cord injury (SCI) in children and adolescents has long been a challenging task, as has been the application of relevant and established outcomes measures for these patients. “In adults, the neurological consequence of SCI is determined by physically examining 56 sites on the patient’s body— examinations that require full participation and cognitive awareness,” explains Mary Jane (MJ) Mulcahey, PhD, professor of occupational therapy.

“But we showed in a study of 236 children with SCI that children younger than six years—and some up to 10 years old—are not able to participate effectively. The clinical assessment of SCI …

A Key To Preventing Tendinosis

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Researchers have long known that with age, blood supply to tendon cells decreases, leaving them starved of oxygen. But knowing why this occurs and why it causes tendons to fray with age can be critically important to creating treatments that eliminate the need for surgery for tendinosis, a painful orthopedic condition.

An intriguing NIH GEMSSTAR-funded study by Rowena McBeath, MD, PhD, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery, found that the paired reduction of oxygen supply and the signaling molecule Rac1 causes aged tendon cells to change shape and flexibility. The findings have broad implications for both injury prevention and tissue repair

Light4health: How Does Light Impact Health?

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

We use light to control how we perceive and engage with environments in which we live, work and play. In turn, light affects our endocrine system and circadian rhythm and impacts our emotions, focus and performance. And the practical purposes to which we apply light are expanding dramatically. Light Research at Jefferson addresses a wide spectrum of questions on how we do—and could— use light, and how light affects human psychology and physiology. It includes both deep, fieldspecific investigations and interdisciplinary work engaging faculty from architecture and interior design to engineering and material science to basic bioscience and clinical care. …

Exciting Findings On Epilepsy

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Epilepsy, one of the most common neurological conditions, is characterized by recurrent seizures prompted by abnormal, excessively synchronous firing of neurons in the brain. It may be caused by abnormal brain connections, an imbalance of neurotransmitters or changes in signaling channels within brain cells. For about 70 percent of patients, seizures can be controlled with pharmaceutical treatments. But for many—especially those who experience prolonged seizures— current treatments are ineffective and epilepsy can be life-threatening.

Clinician-scientist Michael Sperling, MD, Baldwin Keyes Professor of Neurology, is internationally known for his work in epilepsy surgery and electrophysiology. He integrates clinical practice with research, …

Increased Activity May Prevent Cognitive Decline

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

African Americans are at nearly twice the risk as Caucasians for developing Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Yet, no interventions have been shown to reduce this disparity.

Barry Rovner, MD, professor of psychiatry, neurology and ophthalmology, and a clinical expert in Alzheimer’s disease, has been intensely studying racial-based disparities in the incidence and outcomes of dementia. In one notable study, he and Robin Casten, PhD, professor of psychiatry, found that African Americans were less likely than whites to recognize cognitive decline as a medical problem. Those findings suggested that culturally specific interventions might help reduce African Americans’ risk for developing dementia.

Can We Teach Creativity?

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Creativity is an increasingly important skill for navigating the 21st century. But how do human beings acquire that skill? Can it be taught? Richard W. Hass, PhD, assistant professor of psychology, believes it can. “I want to understand the processes through which we solve problems creatively,” he says, “and then use those processes as the basis for curricula that prepare students to hone creativity as a tool for managing life in a swiftly changing economy, society and environment.”

Teaming Up On Autism

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - The most common neurodevelopment disorder of childhood— is characterized by challenges with social skills and communication, repetitive behaviors and sensory sensitivities.

The Jefferson Autism Research Program is comprised of a team investigating the molecular, genetic, synaptic and functional aspects of ASD. Program researchers and clinicians translate newly gained knowledge into treatments and behavioral interventions intended to improve the function and quality of life of those with ASD.

Roseann Schaaf, PhD, professor of occupational therapy, leads a multi-project study investigating ASD-associated sensory perception and integration difficulties. These often include hypersensitivity to sounds, sights and tactile sensations …

Stem Cells As A Pathway To Neuro Regeneration

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Bioscientists' ability to create induced pluripotent stem cells—which can be differentiated into many kinds of cells has opened new pathways for research and treatment of many medical conditions. One of the most notable areas of advancement by stem cell researchers at Jefferson is in treatment for conditions affecting the central nervous system.

For more than 20 years, Lorraine Iacovitti, PhD, professor of neuroscience, neurology and neurological surgery, has been making major research contributions in stem cell biology and the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to pursue therapies for stroke and neurodegenerative disease. Her breakthrough discovery for prompting stem …

Public Health Study Aims To Increase Hpv Vaccinations

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Too often, cultural, educational and demographic barriers hamper the public’s use of vaccines. Among the most prominent examples is the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV): roughly half of U.S. adolescents are not vaccinated and remain vulnerable to the virus and the cancers it causes.

“You’d have a hard time finding a parent who doesn't want to protect their child from cancer,” observes Amy Leader, DrPH, MPH, associate professor of population science. “Still, many parents are missing an opportunity to protect their children from HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection and a leading cause of cancers.”

Dr. Leader is deeply engaged …

Vaccines Fighting Viruses & Cancer

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

A group of Jefferson viral vaccine researchers led by Jefferson Vaccine Center (JVC) director and professor of microbiology and immunology Matthias Schnell, PhD have been using rabies vaccine as a potent tool for understanding and fighting hemorrhagic viruses—such as Ebola, Marburg, Sudan and Lassa Feve—as well as coronavirus. By the end of 2019, the team had developed a tetravalent vaccine that uses an established dead-virus rabies vaccine modified with specific antigens for the viruses. In animal models, the immune system develops a reaction to the vaccine that is specific and can defend against rabies and some viruses. Soon after COVID-19 …

A New Look At Cancer Care Disparities

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

The death rate from cancer is notably higher for African Americans than Caucasians, which derives from disparities in screening, diagnosis, engagement in clinical trials and therapeutic efficacy and less use of hospice and palliative care among African Americans.

“The causes of these complex disparities reflect social, cultural and economic inequalities more than biological differences,” says Lisa Whitfield- Harris, PhD, MSN, MBA, assistant professor of nursing. “Addressing them effectively will require interventions that are developed in full partnership with the African American community.”

She and two Jefferson colleagues—Clara Granda- Cameron, DrNP, MSN, assistant professor of nursing, and Jeannette Kates, PhD, CRNP, …

Can A Primrose Compoud Fight Uveal Melanoma?

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Uveal melanoma is the most common eye cancer in adults. It metastasizes to the liver in 50 percent of patients, and there are no effective therapies to treat those metastases. Yet.

Jeffrey L. Benovic, PhD, Thomas Eakins Endowed Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is globally recognized for research uncovering the mechanisms of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling and how GPCR dysregulation contributes to disease. GPCRs regulate a variety of biological functions—from neurotransmission and sensory perception to the movement of cells in response to chemical stimuli. They have also been implicated in diseases ranging from cancer to neurological disorders.

How To Re-Stress Pancreatic Cancer

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

What is the molecular basis for pancreatic cancer's aggressive nature and resistance to treatment? Elda Grabocka, PhD, assistant professor of cancer biology and surgery, is working to find out. Last year, she received both a Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation grant—which supports promising early-stage medical researchers—and her first NIH/NCI R01 grant. She has also received a V Foundation Scholar Research Award and a W.W. Smith Charitable Foundation grant. Her research investigates pancreatic cancer’s ability to hijack the mechanisms by which normal cells adapt stressors. Ratcheting up that mechanism allows tumors to grow under adverse conditions and it enhances their resistance …

Real World Data Review Sheds Light On Medical Treatment

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

In the largest population-based retrospective study on combination therapies for high-risk prostate cancer, a team led by Grace Lu-Yao, PhD, MPH, professor and vice chair of medical oncology, found that more patients live longer if treated with prostate removal (prostatectomy) plus radiation therapy. The study was the first to show that removing the whole prostate and following up with radiation therapy is associated with greater overall survival than simply treating the prostate with radiation plus hormone-blocking therapy.

Advancing Cellular And Immune-Based Cancer Therapies

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

The NCI-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) is the heart of Jefferson’s broad-based cancer research program. SKCC investigators are currently pursuing hundreds of basic science, translational and clinical studies on cancer cell biology and signaling, molecular biology and genetics, and specific diseases ranging from brain cancer to uveal melanoma. Among the most exciting efforts are partnerships between SKCC basic scientists and clinician-researchers to both advance new immune-based therapies and continuously improve current approaches.