ProteoViz: a tool for the analysis and interactive visualization of phosphoproteomics data.
Storey AJ, Naceanceno KS, Lan RS, Washam CL, Orr LM, Mackintosh SG, Tackett AJ, Edmondson RD, Wang Z, Li HY, Frett B, Kendrick S, Byrum SD.
Mol Omics.
Elevation of the unfolded protein response increases RANKL expression.
Iyer S, Melendez-Suchi C, Han L, Baldini G, Almeida M, Jilka RL.
FASEB Bioadv.
Trentzsch M, Nyamugenda E, Miles TK, Griffin H, Russell S, Koss B, Cooney KA, Phelan KD, Tackett AJ, Iyer S, Boysen G, Baldini G.
Cell Death Discov. 2020
Butler TJ, Estep KN, Sommers JA, Maul RW, Moore AZ, Bandinelli S, Cucca F, Tuke MA, Wood AR, Bharti SK, Bogenhagen DF, Yakubovskaya E, Garcia-Diaz M, Guilliam TA, Byrd AK, Raney KD, Doherty AJ, Ferrucci L, Schlessinger D, Ding J, Brosh RM.
Hum Mol Genet.
Utility of histone H3K27me3 and H4K20me as diagnostic indicators of melanoma.
Davis LE, Shalin SC, Tackett AJ.
Melanoma Res.
Urbaniak A, Jousheghany F, Piña-Oviedo S, Yuan Y, Majcher-Uchańska U, Klejborowska G, Moorjani A, Monzavi-Karbassi B, Huczyński A, Chambers TC.
J Biochem Mol Toxicol.
Sex-Specific Effects of Dietary Methionine Restriction on the Intestinal Microbiome.
Wallis KF, Melnyk SB, Miousse IR.
Nutrients.
The UAMS Translational Research Institute Health Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HSIE) Postdoctoral
Training Program has named four postdoctoral scholars for its class of 2022. The scholars, selected in a competitive application process, will begin two years of mentored entrepreneurship training July 1.
The HSIE Postdoctoral Scholars – all from the UAMS College of Medicine – their mentors and project plans are:
Emilie Darrigues, Ph.D., will be mentored by Analiz Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., in the Department of Neurosurgery. Her research project will focus on improving circulating-tumor DNA detection in glioblastoma liquid biopsies and devising therapeutic nanoparticles as a strategy to specifically target glioblastoma.
Shana Owens, Ph.D. Candidate, will be mentored by Craig Forrest, Ph.D., in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. She plans to develop an improved gammaherpesvirus (GHV) vaccine.
John Sherrill, M.P.H., Ph.D. Candidate, will be mentored by David Bumpass, M.D. in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He proposes to design a customized 3D printed stabilizer for orthopaedic applications.
Zachary Waldrip, Ph.D., will be mentored by Marie Burdine, Ph.D., in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Research, at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. Dr. Burdine has a secondary appointment in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He will continue research focused on targeting specific kinases to improve transplant immunotherapy.
UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) KL2 Scholar Isabelle Racine Miousse, Ph.D., is the lead author on a publication selected as the best research paper in the March issue of the American Journal of Physiology – Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.
The selection was announced by the American Physiological Society APSselect.
Miousse is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the UAMS College of Medicine. The title of her paper is “Methionine dietary supplementation potentiates ionizing radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome.” Its co-authors are Laura E. Ewing, M.S., Charles M. Skinner, B.S., Rupak Pathak, Ph.D., Sarita Garg, Ph.D., Kristy R. Kutanzi, Ph.D., Stepan Melnyk, Ph.D., Martin Hauer-Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., and Igor Koturbash, M.D., Ph.D., senior author.
The team found that in mice, high levels of the amino acid methionine in the diet increased the amount of damage to the gut caused by radiation. It suggests that a diet high in methionine (found in meat, fish and dairy), such as a typical Western diet, may worsen gastrointestinal side effects from radiation therapy. This, in turn, may prevent cancer patients from receiving the most effective doses of radiation therapy.
The KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Award Program is supporting Miousse’s research in improving survival in patients with metastatic melanoma by exploiting cancer cells’ dependence on methionine. KL2 scholars receive two years of research support, including 75 percent salary support and $25,000 per year for research, tuition, travel and education materials in support of the scholar’s career development plan.
Newly awarded grants are advancing research efforts at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
Three Seeds of Science small grant awards of $50,000 each were presented March 5 to UAMS cancer researchers at “The Doctor is in” event hosted by the Envoys volunteer advocacy group. The event included a research poster showcase highlighting ongoing cancer-related projects.
Funding for one of the awards was made possible by proceeds from the 18th annual Village Walk for Cancer Research, held Sept. 28, 2019 in Hot Springs Village. Organized by volunteers, the walk unites the community located one hour southwest of Little Rock, in support of cancer research.
The 2020 walk is scheduled for Sept. 26 at Balboa Pavilion in Hot Springs Village and will include the option to kayak in Lake Balboa.
Kimberly Stephens, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N., (second from right) received a grant funded by proceeds from the Hot Springs Village Walk for Cancer Research. Representatives from the walk joined Stephens and Cancer Institute Director Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., (far right) at the awards reception. They are (from left) Corina Hickman, Gloria Lyda, Donna Aylward and Christy Etheridge.
“We’re a grassroots group that is really passionate about finding a cure for cancer. Over the last 19 years, we’ve raised about $500,000 for research programs at the UAMS Cancer Institute. Knowing the money we raise is used to advance cancer research right here in Arkansas is very satisfying for those of us who organize the walk and participate in it,” said Melanie Pederson, chairman of the walk.
The other two awards were provided by the Envoys, an advocacy group of the UAMS Cancer Institute.
“These grants are extremely important as they support pilot cancer research projects and young investigators as they pursue new ideas,” said Jenny Long, president of the Envoys.
Award recipients were:
Schinke and Bauer are working to understand the importance of myeloma’s surrounding bone marrow microenvironment in the development of the disease and its role in progression and relapse. They hope the results of their study will lead to new treatments aimed at modifying changes in that microenvironment that contribute to the development of myeloma and its resistance to treatment. This project was supported by a grant from the Envoys.
Envoys President Jenny Long speaks to the crowd.
Stephens hopes to identify the genomic regions associated with the initiation and progression of chemotherapy-induced nerve damage, which is often resistant to existing treatments and associated with adverse health outcomes in cancer survivors. While substantial advances have been made, current understanding does not explain what causes the development of nerve damage during chemotherapy. This grant was provided by the Village Walk for Cancer Research.
The aggressive brain tumor glioblastoma has a grim prognosis with a median survival of 15 months and limited treatment options. In her study, Rodriguez hopes to establish a new way to examine molecular characteristics of clinical specimens and rapidly screen different treatment regimens, which could one day help guide clinical management of these deadly tumors. Rodriguez’s grant was supported by the Envoys.
The Seeds of Science program has provided funds to jumpstart small cancer research projects at the Cancer Institute since 2009. The goal of the program is to provide “seed” funding that will allow researchers to make discoveries that can be used to apply for larger federal grant awards.
Congratulations to all of the winners of Student Research Day Competitions!
Megan Reed is a 5th year graduate student in the lab of Dr. Robert Eoff. She won first place in the graduate student division as well as second place for the Bhuvan Award for Excellence in Biochemistry Research for her poster entitled “hpol k is essential for maintaining genomic stability in glioblastomas”.
Dustyn Barnette is a 5th year graduate student in the lab of Dr. Grover Paul Miller. He won first place for the Bhuvan Award for Excellence in Biochemistry Research for his poster entitled “Dual mechanisms suppress meloxicam bioactivation relative to sudoxicam”
Allie Schleiff is a 3rd year graduate student in the lab of Dr. Grover Paul Miller. She won third place for the Bhuvan Award for Excellence in Biochemistry Research for her poster entitled “Bioinformatic, Computational, and Experimental Assessment of the Bioactivation of Structurally Similar Haloaromatic NSAIDs into Reactive Quinones”
Kirk West, Ph.D., an alum of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Justin Wai Chung Leung. He won first place in the postdoctoral division.
Klejborowska G, Urbaniak A, Maj E, Preto J, Moshari M, Wietrzyk J, Tuszynski JA, Chambers TC, Huczyński A.
Bioorg Chem.
Excessive excision of correct nucleotides during DNA synthesis explained by replication hurdles.
Singh A, Pandey M, Nandakumar D, Raney KD, Yin YW, Patel SS.
EMBO J.
Accurate and Sensitive Quantitation of the Dynamic Heat Shock Proteome Using Tandem Mass Tags.
Storey AJ, Hardman RE, Byrum SD, Mackintosh SG, Edmondson RD, Wahls WP, Tackett AJ, Lewis JA.
J Proteome Res.
Designing the Uniform Stochastic Photomatrix Therapeutic Systems
Oleg K. Karaduta, Aleksei F. Deon, and Yulian A. Menyaev
Algorithms
Highlighted on the journal’s home page.
Channel 7 News featured UAMS yesterday in their College Week segment. Duah Alkam, a Ph.D. student in the biochemistry track doing her research in the labs or Mark Smeltzer and David Ussery, participated with the dean of the graduate school, Dr. McGehee. Duah’s project involves DNA sequencing to track outbreaks such as the 2016 mumps outbreak and to find vulnerabilities in infectious agents such as Staphylococcus aureus (staph).
Dr. Grover Paul Miller and Allie Schleiff, a graduate student in Dr. Miller’s lab were separately selected as finalists for the Sternfels Prize for Drug Safety Discoveries. Congratulations to both!
The Sternfels Prize in Drug Safety Discoveries is an annual award created to foster the reduction of risks associated with the real-world use of pharmaceuticals through recognition of the most novel, clinically relevant and testable idea.
Dr. Miller’s group develops and applies new and powerful strategies to better assess drug liabilities causing significant Adverse Drug Events including cardio- and hepato-toxicity. Insights gained from these studies will generate a strong basis for more informed decision-making in drug development, management and regulation toward safer therapeutic interventions.
Dr. Miller and Allie Schleiff submitted individual proposals on possible projects for the Sternfels Prize.
Dr. Miller proposed determining the mechanistic role of pexidartinib bioactivation in drug-induced liver injury. The adverse outcome is significant enough for black box labeling; however, the FDA still approved the drug last year due to its high efficacy in treating tenosynovial giant cell tumors. The proposed studies would identify the source of that risk for facilitating pharmacovigilance efforts relevant to current clinical use and in the long term, potential insights on ways to engineer out drug liabilities.
Allie Schleiff developed her own proposal from a more generalized perspective reflecting her dissertation research. She integrated bioinformatic, computational, and experimental approaches for rapidly assessing which substituents on a drug scaffold may lead to drug-induced liver injury during metabolism. As a practical test case, she chose to focus on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are both highly prescribed and frequently hepatotoxic, according to the FDA.
Alicja Urbaniak has been selected to present in the “Guppy Tank” Translational Science Pitch Showcase at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) meeting. Alicja is a postdoctoral fellow in Timothy Chamber‘s lab. Congratulations Alicja!
