THE ITM INVESTIGATOR
Year in Review 2013 - 2014 Issue I
ITM Director Julian Solway (L) NCATS Director Christopher P Austin (C) and ITM Co-Director Lainie Ross (R) meet in Washington DC in July
2
Letter From the Directors
Dear investigators and friends of the ITM
Just as we wrapped up another successful grant year the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) released its first annual report in which it highlighted ITM for our collaborative South Side diabetes program led by Monica Peek MD Marshall Chin MD and Deborah Burnet MD in partnership with the Merck Foundation the American Diabetes Association the American Heart Association and others
Wersquore proud to be recognized on the national stage But we have far more work to do
For example consider the following related to drug development
bull For every 5000 to 10000 compounds that enter the development pipeline only one makes it into the nationrsquos medicine chestbull Many thousands of diseases plague our patients However only about 500 have any treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration bull It takes about 14 years to go from discovering a therapeutic target to getting approval for a new drugbull More than 95 percent of the above projects fail bull It can cost $2 billion or more to create an approved successful treatment
NCATS director Christopher P Austin MD said he views the CTSA Consortiumrsquos mission in terms of the ldquo3-Dsrdquo
ldquoDevelop new approaches technologies resources and models demonstrate their usefulness and proactively disseminate the data analy-sis and methodologies so that other scientists can implement themrdquo Austin wrote in the report
Thatrsquos what wersquore doing at the ITM to change some of those statistics and convert biomedical research into health improvement In this inaugural Year in Review yoursquoll see how ITM investigators are developing ways to prevent transplant recipientsrsquo bodies from rejecting their new organs learn how our investigatorrsquos innovative violence intervention models are impacting Chicago and read how an investi-gatorrsquos program that disseminates the latest life-saving treatment methods to urban communities has grown to encompass groups across the Chicagoland region ndash and more
And as we all work to make this next grant year even stronger than the last please donrsquot hesitate to reach out to any of the ITM team members for information about our funding education and research resources Wersquore here to help you make discoveries and apply those findings in cutting-edge ways As British mathematician and science philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once said ldquoIdeas wonrsquot keep Something must be done about themrdquo
Keep exploring
Julian Solway MD amp Lainie Ross MD PhDITM Director ITM Co-Director
2
3
TAB
LE O
F C
ON
TEN
TS
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS2
ITM PILOT AWARDS4
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES5Piotr Witkowski Working to cure autoimmune diseases and organ transplant rejection5Jared Greenberg Immune dysfunction as risk factor for long-term mortality from Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia6 Harold Pollack UChicago Crime Lab reduces youth violence and secures millions in funding7Daniel Johnson ECHO-Chicago expands geographic reach and training opportunities9 NEW ITM AWARDEES11New Pilot Awardee Spotlight12Thank You to Reviewers13
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES14
CLUSTER NEWS16 Biomedical Informatics17 Clinical Resources18 Clinical Trials19 Population Sciences19 Education20 Community22 ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS24 ITM EVOLUTION26
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS27
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS29
LOOKING AHEAD31
Researchers collect samples at UChicago laboratories Photo by Sara Serritella
Medical images are just one of many things being analyzed at UChicago labs like those of ITM investigator
and medical physicist Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM investigators gather to discuss the latest in 3-D printing from NorthShore University HealthSystem in
June Photo by Sara Serritella
4
ITM PILOT AWARDS
ITM AWARDS MORE THAN $650000 IN PILOT FUNDING IN 2013 - 2014
The ITM gave $681763 in Pilot Award funding to more than a dozen investigators in the last fiscal year which ran from July 2013 to July 2014
The ITMrsquos Pilot Award Program awards investigators seed funding four times a year for promising translational and clinical research projects
This program supports projects that promote early career development
and allow trainees or researchers to generate preliminary data critical to securing subsequent funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations
The ITM also supports projects that will stimulate community-engaged research and improve clinical de-sign biostatistics ethics informat-ics or regulatory pathways
The ITM is a member of the NIH Clinical and Translational Science
Awards (CTSA) consortium that helps convert biomedical research into health improvement
During the last eight years the ITM has connected more than 1800 investigators with funding training and other resources while forging connections across departments universities and patient advocacy groups
Between 2008 and 2011 alone the ITM awarded 60 Pilot Award grants
totaling more than $275 million
Since 2007 total funding for the ITM exceeds $50 million from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
DONrsquoT MISS UPCOMING
ITM FUNDING DEADLINES
PILOT AWARDSUp to $40000
October 15January 15
CORE SUBSIDIES Up to $5000
Rolling
COMMUNITY MINI-AWARDSUp to $5000
Rolling
Learn more by visiting itmuchicagoedu
ITM LAUNCHES NEW PILOT FUNDING MECHANISM FOR TECHNOLOGY amp
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTThis past fiscal year the ITM launched a new Pilot Award in partnership with UChicagoTech to provide up to $40000 to research projects that could lead to commercialization
Submitting an application is a win-win situation for investigators who have the benefit of receiving detailed feedback from both inter-nal academic reviewers and external reviewers such as entrepreneurs representatives from pharmaceutical companies venture capitalists and others
ldquoThis is a unique mechanism to support early translational research thatrsquos leading towards a develop-ment of a product or servicerdquo said Heather Walsh assistant director of UChicagoTech ldquoItrsquos designed for investigators to get that vital external feedback earlier in the pro-cess so they can focus on the right experimentsrdquo
Applications are evaluated based on bull The novelty innovation and
multidisciplinary aspects of the project
bull The likelihood the proposal will result in future outside funding or a partnership with a commercial organization
bull The potential the proposed research has for impacting the diagnosis or treatment of human disease
Awardees may be assigned one or two industry members to provide ongoing consultation
ldquoWersquore not just pushing the science forward but wersquore also making sure the technology is advancing toward the marketplacerdquo Walsh said
The first recipient will be announced soon and the next deadline for applications is Oct 15
Visit ITMrsquos website for details or reach Heather Walsh at hwalshtechuchicagoedu
5
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
INVESTIGATOR WORKING TO CURE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES amp END
ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTION
(L - R) Piotr Witkowski MD PhD Karolina Golab MS PhD student Treg project specialist Sabarinathan Ram-achandran PhD director of the islet isolation laboratories Zehra Tekin MD postdoctoral research scholar Omid Savari MD postdoctoral research scholar Randall Grose PhD Treg project specialist Paulina Langa MS visiting
PhD student from the lab of Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD overseas Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Between 14 to 22 million people in the United States suffer from autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the medical cost of treating type 1 diabetes and mul-tiple sclerosis alone topping more than $7 billion each year
But with the help of an ITM Pilot Award Piotr Witkowski MD PhD is one step closer to curing those conditions ndash and ending the bodyrsquos rejection of organ trans-plants
In November 2010 Witkowski and his team initiated the development and optimization of expanding the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs)outside the body in his laboratory
Tregs are cells that hold the im-mune system in balance preventing
autoimmune diseases and the body from rejecting organ transplants As part of this ex-vivo process he col-lects the blood separates the white blood cells through leukapheresis and grows the number of Tregs to 1000 times the sample size in his laboratory
ldquoThose cells have great potentialrdquo Witkowski said ldquoOnce the produc-tion of the Tregs is optimized and theyrsquore available for clinical appli-cation we can test it for different autoimmune diseases So this is a big window of opportunityrdquo
His goal is to use the data gathered from the ITM Pilot Project to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and Institu-tional Review Board (IRB) so they can collect Tregs expand them in his laboratory setting and transfer those multiplied Tregs into the patients they originated from as one of the first US clinical trials of its kind
ldquoWe need to show those agencies that we are capable of manufac-turing those cells in a safe and reproducible way meeting all their standardsrdquo said Witkowski who is also the director of the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Pancreatic and Islet Transplant Program ldquoItrsquos a long process to get the approvalrdquo
One of Witkowskirsquos collaborators in Europe Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD of the Medical University of Gdansk implemented the worldrsquos first successful human therapy based on ex-vivo Treg cell expansion The duo is also working with Jeffrey Bluestone PhD a well-recognized immunologist and Treg leader who is also the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Bluestone who previously served as the director of the University of Chicagorsquos Ben May Department for Cancer Research recently complet-ed a Phase 1 clinical trial using Treg expansion technology in patients with new-onset diabetes using Treg expansion technology
While they are all collaborat-ing each of them developed slightly different Treg processing procedures look-ing for optimal conditions to achieve the same end product pure and stable Treg cells in suf-ficient numbers
For example Witkowskirsquos
team uses leukapheresis to acquire Tregs from patientsrsquo blood at the sampling stage whereas Trzon-kowski and Bluestone collect 500 milliliters of blood per patient and isolate the Tregs afterwards
ldquoAlthough itrsquos optimized the whole process is not stable because itrsquos based on the way the cells grow outside the body in artificial conditionsrdquo he said ldquoCells are like human bodies Sometimes they respond sometimes they donrsquot re-spondhellipWe are starting with higher numbers at the beginning so we could get more consistent resultsrdquo
And the extent of the expansion matters because of the different applications
Witkowskirsquos collaborators are focus-ing on patients who were recently diagnosed with diabetes and still have some healthy groups of cells known as islets that are producing insulin Their goal is to protect those remaining healthy islets from complete destruction by infusing
Members of Witkowskirsquos lab are trying to cure autoimmune diseases Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued on page 6
6
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
patients with their own Tregs that were expanded in the laboratory
In contrast Witkowski is planning to use Tregs to protect transplanted pancreatic islets
He retrieves those islets from a deceased donorrsquos pancreas and transplants them into ldquobrittlerdquo type 1 diabetic patients whose own islets vanished years ago from the disease Islet transplantation is a new alter-native procedure to transplanting the whole pancreas
ldquoInstead of a big operation with a high rate of complications wersquore giving patients a similar outcome just by infusing those islets into the bloodstream as a minimally invasive procedurerdquo Witkowski said
And his patientsrsquo lives have been changed allowing most of them much better control over their blood glucose levels - and at least half go off insulin injections within five years
But the doctors still have to use the same immunosuppressant medi-cations normally prescribed after whole organ transplantation to protect the donor islets from being rejected Witkowski said So the Tregs and their immunoprotective ability could act as an effective less toxic alternative because the expanded cells would originate from the bloodstream of the patient
Witkowski said the ITM Pilot Award was one of many necessary pieces that came together to help him apply for the next research stage as the testing and certifica-tion behind clinical grade reagents makes them far more expensive than basic research reagents His team is currently generating its data and will be applying for approval for clinical trials from the FDA this year
ldquoIt takes time and money to imple-ment the technology and optimize the productionrdquo Witkowski said ldquoAnd thanks to ITMrsquos support I
could proceed and get to the point where I am nowrdquo
Witkowski together with a team of diabetologists that include Louis Philipson MD PhD and director of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center Silvana Pannain MD Assistant Professor of Medi-cine Colleen Flynn MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tiffany
Grant NP and a team of nurses from the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) has been optimizing islet transplantation procedures that Witkowski said he is looking forward to combining with the new Treg therapy
Witkowskirsquos research team meets in his laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Reach Piotr Witkowski at pwitkowskisurgerybsduchicago
FELLOW IDENTIFIES IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LONG-TERM MORTALITY FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS BACTEREMIA
Jared Greenberg MD Photo provided
By Sara Serritella
Each year more than 650000 US patients are affected by severe sepsis a process by which an infection leads to deregulated inflammation throughout the entire body About 20 percent of these patients - more than 120000 - die in the hospital
Among those who survive the initial hospitalization about 25 percent die within the following year
ITM awarded Jared Greenberg a University of Chicago Medicine Fellow in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine a Pilot Award to investigate the types of pa-
tients who are at the highest risk for long-term mortality after sepsis
ldquoWersquore trying to figure out why people who survive a severe infec-tion have a higher mortality than their counterpartsrdquo Greenberg said ldquoWhile there are algorithms to treat sepsis in the first 24 hours there is really no way to identify people who are going to have complica-tions afterwardrdquo
Greenberg chose to focus on Staphy-lococcus aureus bacteremia because it is a common infection that typically causes a systemic inflammatory response He initially reviewed 237 patients with Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia at the University of Chicago hospital and found that clinical immunosuppression prior to infection was a risk factor for 31- to 90-day mortality but not 30-day mortality He is now using the ITM Pilot award to measure immune markers among a group of prospectively enrolled patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
ldquoIrsquom hoping to be able to use clinical and biochemical factors to risk stratify patients who survive an infectious processrdquo Greenberg said ldquoClinicians could use this informa-tion to have heightened vigilance for clinical changes among patients with a high risk for poor outcomes
Additionally clinical trials for pa-tients with sepsis may have greater chance of success if they only enroll high-risk patientsrdquo
Greenberg became interested in the immunosuppressed population during his residency at Emory University in Atlanta a region where there was a large population of people infected with HIV
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 7
7
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
Connect with Jared Greenbergat
JaredGreenberguchospitalsedu
ldquoI found it really interesting that when patients with HIV would come to the Intensive Care Unit they would often be sick with in-fections associated with prolonged healthcare exposure instead of unusual opportunistic infectionsrdquo he said
Greenberg was the first author on a paper highlighting his Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia findings that was published in Feb-ruary 2014 by the Public Library of Science (PLoS One)
He said he returned to clinical work
in July and plans to work on a K23 grant application ldquoItrsquos going to be very important when I apply for my K Award to have this preliminary datardquo Greenberg said
UCHICAGO CRIME LAB REDUCES YOUTH VIOLENCE amp SECURES
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING
Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the UChicago Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM Photo by Kyle Zimmerman
By Sara Serritella
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has been busy since receiving its ITM Pilot Award in 2012 evaluating strategies to reduce youth violence in Chicago and receiving a combined $7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
That work is addressing a huge problem Between September 2008 and April 2010 more than 610 Chicago Public School students were shot Only about half of high school students in major cities grad-uate and by the time many of those children reach high school they can be up to seven grade levels behind in subjects like math
ldquoIf kids donrsquot stay engaged they have a high probability of dropping out and once they drop out they have a high probability of being either victims or perpetrators of crimerdquo said Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
That ldquoroad maprdquo took the form of targeted interventions over the course of six months for 106 male 9th and 10th graders on Chicagorsquos South Side - and it led to a decrease in school misconduct course fail-ures absenteeism and violent crime
Studentsrsquo math scores also improved by the equivalent of about three yearsrsquo-worth of learning
The interventions involved a two-pronged approach
The non-academic prong was the Becoming a Man (BAM) program developed and implemented by Chicago nonprofit Youth Guidance which focuses on social-cognitive skills and is based on cognitive be-havioral therapy (CBT) BAM also included an after-school sports pro-gram offered in partnership with nonprofit World Sport Chicago
Pollack said the ITMrsquos funding
helped the Crime Lab quickly add the second prong ndash an intensive math tutoring component based on the model of Bostonrsquos Match Education
ldquoThe ITM Pilot funding really allowed us to take that next step to see what we could get by including this tutoringrdquo Pollack said ldquoWhat we found were very significant benefits to the pilot intervention and dramatic improvement in kidsrsquo school performance which provid-ed the basis for an NIH grant This grant will support the expansion of the BAM and Match programs as well as our current larger-scale study of these programs in turn growing
Students participate in a deep breathing exercise as they learn about self-control and relaxing during their weekly BAM session at a Chicago Public School Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoWithout the ITM Pilot Award money it would be difficult to do this initial researchrdquo
Continued from page 6
Continued on page 8
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
ITM Director Julian Solway (L) NCATS Director Christopher P Austin (C) and ITM Co-Director Lainie Ross (R) meet in Washington DC in July
2
Letter From the Directors
Dear investigators and friends of the ITM
Just as we wrapped up another successful grant year the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) released its first annual report in which it highlighted ITM for our collaborative South Side diabetes program led by Monica Peek MD Marshall Chin MD and Deborah Burnet MD in partnership with the Merck Foundation the American Diabetes Association the American Heart Association and others
Wersquore proud to be recognized on the national stage But we have far more work to do
For example consider the following related to drug development
bull For every 5000 to 10000 compounds that enter the development pipeline only one makes it into the nationrsquos medicine chestbull Many thousands of diseases plague our patients However only about 500 have any treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration bull It takes about 14 years to go from discovering a therapeutic target to getting approval for a new drugbull More than 95 percent of the above projects fail bull It can cost $2 billion or more to create an approved successful treatment
NCATS director Christopher P Austin MD said he views the CTSA Consortiumrsquos mission in terms of the ldquo3-Dsrdquo
ldquoDevelop new approaches technologies resources and models demonstrate their usefulness and proactively disseminate the data analy-sis and methodologies so that other scientists can implement themrdquo Austin wrote in the report
Thatrsquos what wersquore doing at the ITM to change some of those statistics and convert biomedical research into health improvement In this inaugural Year in Review yoursquoll see how ITM investigators are developing ways to prevent transplant recipientsrsquo bodies from rejecting their new organs learn how our investigatorrsquos innovative violence intervention models are impacting Chicago and read how an investi-gatorrsquos program that disseminates the latest life-saving treatment methods to urban communities has grown to encompass groups across the Chicagoland region ndash and more
And as we all work to make this next grant year even stronger than the last please donrsquot hesitate to reach out to any of the ITM team members for information about our funding education and research resources Wersquore here to help you make discoveries and apply those findings in cutting-edge ways As British mathematician and science philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once said ldquoIdeas wonrsquot keep Something must be done about themrdquo
Keep exploring
Julian Solway MD amp Lainie Ross MD PhDITM Director ITM Co-Director
2
3
TAB
LE O
F C
ON
TEN
TS
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS2
ITM PILOT AWARDS4
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES5Piotr Witkowski Working to cure autoimmune diseases and organ transplant rejection5Jared Greenberg Immune dysfunction as risk factor for long-term mortality from Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia6 Harold Pollack UChicago Crime Lab reduces youth violence and secures millions in funding7Daniel Johnson ECHO-Chicago expands geographic reach and training opportunities9 NEW ITM AWARDEES11New Pilot Awardee Spotlight12Thank You to Reviewers13
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES14
CLUSTER NEWS16 Biomedical Informatics17 Clinical Resources18 Clinical Trials19 Population Sciences19 Education20 Community22 ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS24 ITM EVOLUTION26
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS27
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS29
LOOKING AHEAD31
Researchers collect samples at UChicago laboratories Photo by Sara Serritella
Medical images are just one of many things being analyzed at UChicago labs like those of ITM investigator
and medical physicist Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM investigators gather to discuss the latest in 3-D printing from NorthShore University HealthSystem in
June Photo by Sara Serritella
4
ITM PILOT AWARDS
ITM AWARDS MORE THAN $650000 IN PILOT FUNDING IN 2013 - 2014
The ITM gave $681763 in Pilot Award funding to more than a dozen investigators in the last fiscal year which ran from July 2013 to July 2014
The ITMrsquos Pilot Award Program awards investigators seed funding four times a year for promising translational and clinical research projects
This program supports projects that promote early career development
and allow trainees or researchers to generate preliminary data critical to securing subsequent funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations
The ITM also supports projects that will stimulate community-engaged research and improve clinical de-sign biostatistics ethics informat-ics or regulatory pathways
The ITM is a member of the NIH Clinical and Translational Science
Awards (CTSA) consortium that helps convert biomedical research into health improvement
During the last eight years the ITM has connected more than 1800 investigators with funding training and other resources while forging connections across departments universities and patient advocacy groups
Between 2008 and 2011 alone the ITM awarded 60 Pilot Award grants
totaling more than $275 million
Since 2007 total funding for the ITM exceeds $50 million from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
DONrsquoT MISS UPCOMING
ITM FUNDING DEADLINES
PILOT AWARDSUp to $40000
October 15January 15
CORE SUBSIDIES Up to $5000
Rolling
COMMUNITY MINI-AWARDSUp to $5000
Rolling
Learn more by visiting itmuchicagoedu
ITM LAUNCHES NEW PILOT FUNDING MECHANISM FOR TECHNOLOGY amp
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTThis past fiscal year the ITM launched a new Pilot Award in partnership with UChicagoTech to provide up to $40000 to research projects that could lead to commercialization
Submitting an application is a win-win situation for investigators who have the benefit of receiving detailed feedback from both inter-nal academic reviewers and external reviewers such as entrepreneurs representatives from pharmaceutical companies venture capitalists and others
ldquoThis is a unique mechanism to support early translational research thatrsquos leading towards a develop-ment of a product or servicerdquo said Heather Walsh assistant director of UChicagoTech ldquoItrsquos designed for investigators to get that vital external feedback earlier in the pro-cess so they can focus on the right experimentsrdquo
Applications are evaluated based on bull The novelty innovation and
multidisciplinary aspects of the project
bull The likelihood the proposal will result in future outside funding or a partnership with a commercial organization
bull The potential the proposed research has for impacting the diagnosis or treatment of human disease
Awardees may be assigned one or two industry members to provide ongoing consultation
ldquoWersquore not just pushing the science forward but wersquore also making sure the technology is advancing toward the marketplacerdquo Walsh said
The first recipient will be announced soon and the next deadline for applications is Oct 15
Visit ITMrsquos website for details or reach Heather Walsh at hwalshtechuchicagoedu
5
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
INVESTIGATOR WORKING TO CURE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES amp END
ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTION
(L - R) Piotr Witkowski MD PhD Karolina Golab MS PhD student Treg project specialist Sabarinathan Ram-achandran PhD director of the islet isolation laboratories Zehra Tekin MD postdoctoral research scholar Omid Savari MD postdoctoral research scholar Randall Grose PhD Treg project specialist Paulina Langa MS visiting
PhD student from the lab of Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD overseas Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Between 14 to 22 million people in the United States suffer from autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the medical cost of treating type 1 diabetes and mul-tiple sclerosis alone topping more than $7 billion each year
But with the help of an ITM Pilot Award Piotr Witkowski MD PhD is one step closer to curing those conditions ndash and ending the bodyrsquos rejection of organ trans-plants
In November 2010 Witkowski and his team initiated the development and optimization of expanding the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs)outside the body in his laboratory
Tregs are cells that hold the im-mune system in balance preventing
autoimmune diseases and the body from rejecting organ transplants As part of this ex-vivo process he col-lects the blood separates the white blood cells through leukapheresis and grows the number of Tregs to 1000 times the sample size in his laboratory
ldquoThose cells have great potentialrdquo Witkowski said ldquoOnce the produc-tion of the Tregs is optimized and theyrsquore available for clinical appli-cation we can test it for different autoimmune diseases So this is a big window of opportunityrdquo
His goal is to use the data gathered from the ITM Pilot Project to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and Institu-tional Review Board (IRB) so they can collect Tregs expand them in his laboratory setting and transfer those multiplied Tregs into the patients they originated from as one of the first US clinical trials of its kind
ldquoWe need to show those agencies that we are capable of manufac-turing those cells in a safe and reproducible way meeting all their standardsrdquo said Witkowski who is also the director of the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Pancreatic and Islet Transplant Program ldquoItrsquos a long process to get the approvalrdquo
One of Witkowskirsquos collaborators in Europe Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD of the Medical University of Gdansk implemented the worldrsquos first successful human therapy based on ex-vivo Treg cell expansion The duo is also working with Jeffrey Bluestone PhD a well-recognized immunologist and Treg leader who is also the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Bluestone who previously served as the director of the University of Chicagorsquos Ben May Department for Cancer Research recently complet-ed a Phase 1 clinical trial using Treg expansion technology in patients with new-onset diabetes using Treg expansion technology
While they are all collaborat-ing each of them developed slightly different Treg processing procedures look-ing for optimal conditions to achieve the same end product pure and stable Treg cells in suf-ficient numbers
For example Witkowskirsquos
team uses leukapheresis to acquire Tregs from patientsrsquo blood at the sampling stage whereas Trzon-kowski and Bluestone collect 500 milliliters of blood per patient and isolate the Tregs afterwards
ldquoAlthough itrsquos optimized the whole process is not stable because itrsquos based on the way the cells grow outside the body in artificial conditionsrdquo he said ldquoCells are like human bodies Sometimes they respond sometimes they donrsquot re-spondhellipWe are starting with higher numbers at the beginning so we could get more consistent resultsrdquo
And the extent of the expansion matters because of the different applications
Witkowskirsquos collaborators are focus-ing on patients who were recently diagnosed with diabetes and still have some healthy groups of cells known as islets that are producing insulin Their goal is to protect those remaining healthy islets from complete destruction by infusing
Members of Witkowskirsquos lab are trying to cure autoimmune diseases Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued on page 6
6
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
patients with their own Tregs that were expanded in the laboratory
In contrast Witkowski is planning to use Tregs to protect transplanted pancreatic islets
He retrieves those islets from a deceased donorrsquos pancreas and transplants them into ldquobrittlerdquo type 1 diabetic patients whose own islets vanished years ago from the disease Islet transplantation is a new alter-native procedure to transplanting the whole pancreas
ldquoInstead of a big operation with a high rate of complications wersquore giving patients a similar outcome just by infusing those islets into the bloodstream as a minimally invasive procedurerdquo Witkowski said
And his patientsrsquo lives have been changed allowing most of them much better control over their blood glucose levels - and at least half go off insulin injections within five years
But the doctors still have to use the same immunosuppressant medi-cations normally prescribed after whole organ transplantation to protect the donor islets from being rejected Witkowski said So the Tregs and their immunoprotective ability could act as an effective less toxic alternative because the expanded cells would originate from the bloodstream of the patient
Witkowski said the ITM Pilot Award was one of many necessary pieces that came together to help him apply for the next research stage as the testing and certifica-tion behind clinical grade reagents makes them far more expensive than basic research reagents His team is currently generating its data and will be applying for approval for clinical trials from the FDA this year
ldquoIt takes time and money to imple-ment the technology and optimize the productionrdquo Witkowski said ldquoAnd thanks to ITMrsquos support I
could proceed and get to the point where I am nowrdquo
Witkowski together with a team of diabetologists that include Louis Philipson MD PhD and director of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center Silvana Pannain MD Assistant Professor of Medi-cine Colleen Flynn MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tiffany
Grant NP and a team of nurses from the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) has been optimizing islet transplantation procedures that Witkowski said he is looking forward to combining with the new Treg therapy
Witkowskirsquos research team meets in his laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Reach Piotr Witkowski at pwitkowskisurgerybsduchicago
FELLOW IDENTIFIES IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LONG-TERM MORTALITY FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS BACTEREMIA
Jared Greenberg MD Photo provided
By Sara Serritella
Each year more than 650000 US patients are affected by severe sepsis a process by which an infection leads to deregulated inflammation throughout the entire body About 20 percent of these patients - more than 120000 - die in the hospital
Among those who survive the initial hospitalization about 25 percent die within the following year
ITM awarded Jared Greenberg a University of Chicago Medicine Fellow in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine a Pilot Award to investigate the types of pa-
tients who are at the highest risk for long-term mortality after sepsis
ldquoWersquore trying to figure out why people who survive a severe infec-tion have a higher mortality than their counterpartsrdquo Greenberg said ldquoWhile there are algorithms to treat sepsis in the first 24 hours there is really no way to identify people who are going to have complica-tions afterwardrdquo
Greenberg chose to focus on Staphy-lococcus aureus bacteremia because it is a common infection that typically causes a systemic inflammatory response He initially reviewed 237 patients with Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia at the University of Chicago hospital and found that clinical immunosuppression prior to infection was a risk factor for 31- to 90-day mortality but not 30-day mortality He is now using the ITM Pilot award to measure immune markers among a group of prospectively enrolled patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
ldquoIrsquom hoping to be able to use clinical and biochemical factors to risk stratify patients who survive an infectious processrdquo Greenberg said ldquoClinicians could use this informa-tion to have heightened vigilance for clinical changes among patients with a high risk for poor outcomes
Additionally clinical trials for pa-tients with sepsis may have greater chance of success if they only enroll high-risk patientsrdquo
Greenberg became interested in the immunosuppressed population during his residency at Emory University in Atlanta a region where there was a large population of people infected with HIV
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 7
7
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
Connect with Jared Greenbergat
JaredGreenberguchospitalsedu
ldquoI found it really interesting that when patients with HIV would come to the Intensive Care Unit they would often be sick with in-fections associated with prolonged healthcare exposure instead of unusual opportunistic infectionsrdquo he said
Greenberg was the first author on a paper highlighting his Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia findings that was published in Feb-ruary 2014 by the Public Library of Science (PLoS One)
He said he returned to clinical work
in July and plans to work on a K23 grant application ldquoItrsquos going to be very important when I apply for my K Award to have this preliminary datardquo Greenberg said
UCHICAGO CRIME LAB REDUCES YOUTH VIOLENCE amp SECURES
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING
Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the UChicago Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM Photo by Kyle Zimmerman
By Sara Serritella
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has been busy since receiving its ITM Pilot Award in 2012 evaluating strategies to reduce youth violence in Chicago and receiving a combined $7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
That work is addressing a huge problem Between September 2008 and April 2010 more than 610 Chicago Public School students were shot Only about half of high school students in major cities grad-uate and by the time many of those children reach high school they can be up to seven grade levels behind in subjects like math
ldquoIf kids donrsquot stay engaged they have a high probability of dropping out and once they drop out they have a high probability of being either victims or perpetrators of crimerdquo said Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
That ldquoroad maprdquo took the form of targeted interventions over the course of six months for 106 male 9th and 10th graders on Chicagorsquos South Side - and it led to a decrease in school misconduct course fail-ures absenteeism and violent crime
Studentsrsquo math scores also improved by the equivalent of about three yearsrsquo-worth of learning
The interventions involved a two-pronged approach
The non-academic prong was the Becoming a Man (BAM) program developed and implemented by Chicago nonprofit Youth Guidance which focuses on social-cognitive skills and is based on cognitive be-havioral therapy (CBT) BAM also included an after-school sports pro-gram offered in partnership with nonprofit World Sport Chicago
Pollack said the ITMrsquos funding
helped the Crime Lab quickly add the second prong ndash an intensive math tutoring component based on the model of Bostonrsquos Match Education
ldquoThe ITM Pilot funding really allowed us to take that next step to see what we could get by including this tutoringrdquo Pollack said ldquoWhat we found were very significant benefits to the pilot intervention and dramatic improvement in kidsrsquo school performance which provid-ed the basis for an NIH grant This grant will support the expansion of the BAM and Match programs as well as our current larger-scale study of these programs in turn growing
Students participate in a deep breathing exercise as they learn about self-control and relaxing during their weekly BAM session at a Chicago Public School Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoWithout the ITM Pilot Award money it would be difficult to do this initial researchrdquo
Continued from page 6
Continued on page 8
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
3
TAB
LE O
F C
ON
TEN
TS
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS2
ITM PILOT AWARDS4
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES5Piotr Witkowski Working to cure autoimmune diseases and organ transplant rejection5Jared Greenberg Immune dysfunction as risk factor for long-term mortality from Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia6 Harold Pollack UChicago Crime Lab reduces youth violence and secures millions in funding7Daniel Johnson ECHO-Chicago expands geographic reach and training opportunities9 NEW ITM AWARDEES11New Pilot Awardee Spotlight12Thank You to Reviewers13
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES14
CLUSTER NEWS16 Biomedical Informatics17 Clinical Resources18 Clinical Trials19 Population Sciences19 Education20 Community22 ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS24 ITM EVOLUTION26
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS27
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS29
LOOKING AHEAD31
Researchers collect samples at UChicago laboratories Photo by Sara Serritella
Medical images are just one of many things being analyzed at UChicago labs like those of ITM investigator
and medical physicist Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM investigators gather to discuss the latest in 3-D printing from NorthShore University HealthSystem in
June Photo by Sara Serritella
4
ITM PILOT AWARDS
ITM AWARDS MORE THAN $650000 IN PILOT FUNDING IN 2013 - 2014
The ITM gave $681763 in Pilot Award funding to more than a dozen investigators in the last fiscal year which ran from July 2013 to July 2014
The ITMrsquos Pilot Award Program awards investigators seed funding four times a year for promising translational and clinical research projects
This program supports projects that promote early career development
and allow trainees or researchers to generate preliminary data critical to securing subsequent funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations
The ITM also supports projects that will stimulate community-engaged research and improve clinical de-sign biostatistics ethics informat-ics or regulatory pathways
The ITM is a member of the NIH Clinical and Translational Science
Awards (CTSA) consortium that helps convert biomedical research into health improvement
During the last eight years the ITM has connected more than 1800 investigators with funding training and other resources while forging connections across departments universities and patient advocacy groups
Between 2008 and 2011 alone the ITM awarded 60 Pilot Award grants
totaling more than $275 million
Since 2007 total funding for the ITM exceeds $50 million from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
DONrsquoT MISS UPCOMING
ITM FUNDING DEADLINES
PILOT AWARDSUp to $40000
October 15January 15
CORE SUBSIDIES Up to $5000
Rolling
COMMUNITY MINI-AWARDSUp to $5000
Rolling
Learn more by visiting itmuchicagoedu
ITM LAUNCHES NEW PILOT FUNDING MECHANISM FOR TECHNOLOGY amp
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTThis past fiscal year the ITM launched a new Pilot Award in partnership with UChicagoTech to provide up to $40000 to research projects that could lead to commercialization
Submitting an application is a win-win situation for investigators who have the benefit of receiving detailed feedback from both inter-nal academic reviewers and external reviewers such as entrepreneurs representatives from pharmaceutical companies venture capitalists and others
ldquoThis is a unique mechanism to support early translational research thatrsquos leading towards a develop-ment of a product or servicerdquo said Heather Walsh assistant director of UChicagoTech ldquoItrsquos designed for investigators to get that vital external feedback earlier in the pro-cess so they can focus on the right experimentsrdquo
Applications are evaluated based on bull The novelty innovation and
multidisciplinary aspects of the project
bull The likelihood the proposal will result in future outside funding or a partnership with a commercial organization
bull The potential the proposed research has for impacting the diagnosis or treatment of human disease
Awardees may be assigned one or two industry members to provide ongoing consultation
ldquoWersquore not just pushing the science forward but wersquore also making sure the technology is advancing toward the marketplacerdquo Walsh said
The first recipient will be announced soon and the next deadline for applications is Oct 15
Visit ITMrsquos website for details or reach Heather Walsh at hwalshtechuchicagoedu
5
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
INVESTIGATOR WORKING TO CURE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES amp END
ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTION
(L - R) Piotr Witkowski MD PhD Karolina Golab MS PhD student Treg project specialist Sabarinathan Ram-achandran PhD director of the islet isolation laboratories Zehra Tekin MD postdoctoral research scholar Omid Savari MD postdoctoral research scholar Randall Grose PhD Treg project specialist Paulina Langa MS visiting
PhD student from the lab of Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD overseas Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Between 14 to 22 million people in the United States suffer from autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the medical cost of treating type 1 diabetes and mul-tiple sclerosis alone topping more than $7 billion each year
But with the help of an ITM Pilot Award Piotr Witkowski MD PhD is one step closer to curing those conditions ndash and ending the bodyrsquos rejection of organ trans-plants
In November 2010 Witkowski and his team initiated the development and optimization of expanding the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs)outside the body in his laboratory
Tregs are cells that hold the im-mune system in balance preventing
autoimmune diseases and the body from rejecting organ transplants As part of this ex-vivo process he col-lects the blood separates the white blood cells through leukapheresis and grows the number of Tregs to 1000 times the sample size in his laboratory
ldquoThose cells have great potentialrdquo Witkowski said ldquoOnce the produc-tion of the Tregs is optimized and theyrsquore available for clinical appli-cation we can test it for different autoimmune diseases So this is a big window of opportunityrdquo
His goal is to use the data gathered from the ITM Pilot Project to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and Institu-tional Review Board (IRB) so they can collect Tregs expand them in his laboratory setting and transfer those multiplied Tregs into the patients they originated from as one of the first US clinical trials of its kind
ldquoWe need to show those agencies that we are capable of manufac-turing those cells in a safe and reproducible way meeting all their standardsrdquo said Witkowski who is also the director of the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Pancreatic and Islet Transplant Program ldquoItrsquos a long process to get the approvalrdquo
One of Witkowskirsquos collaborators in Europe Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD of the Medical University of Gdansk implemented the worldrsquos first successful human therapy based on ex-vivo Treg cell expansion The duo is also working with Jeffrey Bluestone PhD a well-recognized immunologist and Treg leader who is also the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Bluestone who previously served as the director of the University of Chicagorsquos Ben May Department for Cancer Research recently complet-ed a Phase 1 clinical trial using Treg expansion technology in patients with new-onset diabetes using Treg expansion technology
While they are all collaborat-ing each of them developed slightly different Treg processing procedures look-ing for optimal conditions to achieve the same end product pure and stable Treg cells in suf-ficient numbers
For example Witkowskirsquos
team uses leukapheresis to acquire Tregs from patientsrsquo blood at the sampling stage whereas Trzon-kowski and Bluestone collect 500 milliliters of blood per patient and isolate the Tregs afterwards
ldquoAlthough itrsquos optimized the whole process is not stable because itrsquos based on the way the cells grow outside the body in artificial conditionsrdquo he said ldquoCells are like human bodies Sometimes they respond sometimes they donrsquot re-spondhellipWe are starting with higher numbers at the beginning so we could get more consistent resultsrdquo
And the extent of the expansion matters because of the different applications
Witkowskirsquos collaborators are focus-ing on patients who were recently diagnosed with diabetes and still have some healthy groups of cells known as islets that are producing insulin Their goal is to protect those remaining healthy islets from complete destruction by infusing
Members of Witkowskirsquos lab are trying to cure autoimmune diseases Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued on page 6
6
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
patients with their own Tregs that were expanded in the laboratory
In contrast Witkowski is planning to use Tregs to protect transplanted pancreatic islets
He retrieves those islets from a deceased donorrsquos pancreas and transplants them into ldquobrittlerdquo type 1 diabetic patients whose own islets vanished years ago from the disease Islet transplantation is a new alter-native procedure to transplanting the whole pancreas
ldquoInstead of a big operation with a high rate of complications wersquore giving patients a similar outcome just by infusing those islets into the bloodstream as a minimally invasive procedurerdquo Witkowski said
And his patientsrsquo lives have been changed allowing most of them much better control over their blood glucose levels - and at least half go off insulin injections within five years
But the doctors still have to use the same immunosuppressant medi-cations normally prescribed after whole organ transplantation to protect the donor islets from being rejected Witkowski said So the Tregs and their immunoprotective ability could act as an effective less toxic alternative because the expanded cells would originate from the bloodstream of the patient
Witkowski said the ITM Pilot Award was one of many necessary pieces that came together to help him apply for the next research stage as the testing and certifica-tion behind clinical grade reagents makes them far more expensive than basic research reagents His team is currently generating its data and will be applying for approval for clinical trials from the FDA this year
ldquoIt takes time and money to imple-ment the technology and optimize the productionrdquo Witkowski said ldquoAnd thanks to ITMrsquos support I
could proceed and get to the point where I am nowrdquo
Witkowski together with a team of diabetologists that include Louis Philipson MD PhD and director of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center Silvana Pannain MD Assistant Professor of Medi-cine Colleen Flynn MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tiffany
Grant NP and a team of nurses from the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) has been optimizing islet transplantation procedures that Witkowski said he is looking forward to combining with the new Treg therapy
Witkowskirsquos research team meets in his laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Reach Piotr Witkowski at pwitkowskisurgerybsduchicago
FELLOW IDENTIFIES IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LONG-TERM MORTALITY FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS BACTEREMIA
Jared Greenberg MD Photo provided
By Sara Serritella
Each year more than 650000 US patients are affected by severe sepsis a process by which an infection leads to deregulated inflammation throughout the entire body About 20 percent of these patients - more than 120000 - die in the hospital
Among those who survive the initial hospitalization about 25 percent die within the following year
ITM awarded Jared Greenberg a University of Chicago Medicine Fellow in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine a Pilot Award to investigate the types of pa-
tients who are at the highest risk for long-term mortality after sepsis
ldquoWersquore trying to figure out why people who survive a severe infec-tion have a higher mortality than their counterpartsrdquo Greenberg said ldquoWhile there are algorithms to treat sepsis in the first 24 hours there is really no way to identify people who are going to have complica-tions afterwardrdquo
Greenberg chose to focus on Staphy-lococcus aureus bacteremia because it is a common infection that typically causes a systemic inflammatory response He initially reviewed 237 patients with Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia at the University of Chicago hospital and found that clinical immunosuppression prior to infection was a risk factor for 31- to 90-day mortality but not 30-day mortality He is now using the ITM Pilot award to measure immune markers among a group of prospectively enrolled patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
ldquoIrsquom hoping to be able to use clinical and biochemical factors to risk stratify patients who survive an infectious processrdquo Greenberg said ldquoClinicians could use this informa-tion to have heightened vigilance for clinical changes among patients with a high risk for poor outcomes
Additionally clinical trials for pa-tients with sepsis may have greater chance of success if they only enroll high-risk patientsrdquo
Greenberg became interested in the immunosuppressed population during his residency at Emory University in Atlanta a region where there was a large population of people infected with HIV
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 7
7
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
Connect with Jared Greenbergat
JaredGreenberguchospitalsedu
ldquoI found it really interesting that when patients with HIV would come to the Intensive Care Unit they would often be sick with in-fections associated with prolonged healthcare exposure instead of unusual opportunistic infectionsrdquo he said
Greenberg was the first author on a paper highlighting his Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia findings that was published in Feb-ruary 2014 by the Public Library of Science (PLoS One)
He said he returned to clinical work
in July and plans to work on a K23 grant application ldquoItrsquos going to be very important when I apply for my K Award to have this preliminary datardquo Greenberg said
UCHICAGO CRIME LAB REDUCES YOUTH VIOLENCE amp SECURES
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING
Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the UChicago Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM Photo by Kyle Zimmerman
By Sara Serritella
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has been busy since receiving its ITM Pilot Award in 2012 evaluating strategies to reduce youth violence in Chicago and receiving a combined $7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
That work is addressing a huge problem Between September 2008 and April 2010 more than 610 Chicago Public School students were shot Only about half of high school students in major cities grad-uate and by the time many of those children reach high school they can be up to seven grade levels behind in subjects like math
ldquoIf kids donrsquot stay engaged they have a high probability of dropping out and once they drop out they have a high probability of being either victims or perpetrators of crimerdquo said Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
That ldquoroad maprdquo took the form of targeted interventions over the course of six months for 106 male 9th and 10th graders on Chicagorsquos South Side - and it led to a decrease in school misconduct course fail-ures absenteeism and violent crime
Studentsrsquo math scores also improved by the equivalent of about three yearsrsquo-worth of learning
The interventions involved a two-pronged approach
The non-academic prong was the Becoming a Man (BAM) program developed and implemented by Chicago nonprofit Youth Guidance which focuses on social-cognitive skills and is based on cognitive be-havioral therapy (CBT) BAM also included an after-school sports pro-gram offered in partnership with nonprofit World Sport Chicago
Pollack said the ITMrsquos funding
helped the Crime Lab quickly add the second prong ndash an intensive math tutoring component based on the model of Bostonrsquos Match Education
ldquoThe ITM Pilot funding really allowed us to take that next step to see what we could get by including this tutoringrdquo Pollack said ldquoWhat we found were very significant benefits to the pilot intervention and dramatic improvement in kidsrsquo school performance which provid-ed the basis for an NIH grant This grant will support the expansion of the BAM and Match programs as well as our current larger-scale study of these programs in turn growing
Students participate in a deep breathing exercise as they learn about self-control and relaxing during their weekly BAM session at a Chicago Public School Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoWithout the ITM Pilot Award money it would be difficult to do this initial researchrdquo
Continued from page 6
Continued on page 8
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
4
ITM PILOT AWARDS
ITM AWARDS MORE THAN $650000 IN PILOT FUNDING IN 2013 - 2014
The ITM gave $681763 in Pilot Award funding to more than a dozen investigators in the last fiscal year which ran from July 2013 to July 2014
The ITMrsquos Pilot Award Program awards investigators seed funding four times a year for promising translational and clinical research projects
This program supports projects that promote early career development
and allow trainees or researchers to generate preliminary data critical to securing subsequent funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations
The ITM also supports projects that will stimulate community-engaged research and improve clinical de-sign biostatistics ethics informat-ics or regulatory pathways
The ITM is a member of the NIH Clinical and Translational Science
Awards (CTSA) consortium that helps convert biomedical research into health improvement
During the last eight years the ITM has connected more than 1800 investigators with funding training and other resources while forging connections across departments universities and patient advocacy groups
Between 2008 and 2011 alone the ITM awarded 60 Pilot Award grants
totaling more than $275 million
Since 2007 total funding for the ITM exceeds $50 million from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
DONrsquoT MISS UPCOMING
ITM FUNDING DEADLINES
PILOT AWARDSUp to $40000
October 15January 15
CORE SUBSIDIES Up to $5000
Rolling
COMMUNITY MINI-AWARDSUp to $5000
Rolling
Learn more by visiting itmuchicagoedu
ITM LAUNCHES NEW PILOT FUNDING MECHANISM FOR TECHNOLOGY amp
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTThis past fiscal year the ITM launched a new Pilot Award in partnership with UChicagoTech to provide up to $40000 to research projects that could lead to commercialization
Submitting an application is a win-win situation for investigators who have the benefit of receiving detailed feedback from both inter-nal academic reviewers and external reviewers such as entrepreneurs representatives from pharmaceutical companies venture capitalists and others
ldquoThis is a unique mechanism to support early translational research thatrsquos leading towards a develop-ment of a product or servicerdquo said Heather Walsh assistant director of UChicagoTech ldquoItrsquos designed for investigators to get that vital external feedback earlier in the pro-cess so they can focus on the right experimentsrdquo
Applications are evaluated based on bull The novelty innovation and
multidisciplinary aspects of the project
bull The likelihood the proposal will result in future outside funding or a partnership with a commercial organization
bull The potential the proposed research has for impacting the diagnosis or treatment of human disease
Awardees may be assigned one or two industry members to provide ongoing consultation
ldquoWersquore not just pushing the science forward but wersquore also making sure the technology is advancing toward the marketplacerdquo Walsh said
The first recipient will be announced soon and the next deadline for applications is Oct 15
Visit ITMrsquos website for details or reach Heather Walsh at hwalshtechuchicagoedu
5
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
INVESTIGATOR WORKING TO CURE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES amp END
ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTION
(L - R) Piotr Witkowski MD PhD Karolina Golab MS PhD student Treg project specialist Sabarinathan Ram-achandran PhD director of the islet isolation laboratories Zehra Tekin MD postdoctoral research scholar Omid Savari MD postdoctoral research scholar Randall Grose PhD Treg project specialist Paulina Langa MS visiting
PhD student from the lab of Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD overseas Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Between 14 to 22 million people in the United States suffer from autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the medical cost of treating type 1 diabetes and mul-tiple sclerosis alone topping more than $7 billion each year
But with the help of an ITM Pilot Award Piotr Witkowski MD PhD is one step closer to curing those conditions ndash and ending the bodyrsquos rejection of organ trans-plants
In November 2010 Witkowski and his team initiated the development and optimization of expanding the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs)outside the body in his laboratory
Tregs are cells that hold the im-mune system in balance preventing
autoimmune diseases and the body from rejecting organ transplants As part of this ex-vivo process he col-lects the blood separates the white blood cells through leukapheresis and grows the number of Tregs to 1000 times the sample size in his laboratory
ldquoThose cells have great potentialrdquo Witkowski said ldquoOnce the produc-tion of the Tregs is optimized and theyrsquore available for clinical appli-cation we can test it for different autoimmune diseases So this is a big window of opportunityrdquo
His goal is to use the data gathered from the ITM Pilot Project to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and Institu-tional Review Board (IRB) so they can collect Tregs expand them in his laboratory setting and transfer those multiplied Tregs into the patients they originated from as one of the first US clinical trials of its kind
ldquoWe need to show those agencies that we are capable of manufac-turing those cells in a safe and reproducible way meeting all their standardsrdquo said Witkowski who is also the director of the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Pancreatic and Islet Transplant Program ldquoItrsquos a long process to get the approvalrdquo
One of Witkowskirsquos collaborators in Europe Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD of the Medical University of Gdansk implemented the worldrsquos first successful human therapy based on ex-vivo Treg cell expansion The duo is also working with Jeffrey Bluestone PhD a well-recognized immunologist and Treg leader who is also the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Bluestone who previously served as the director of the University of Chicagorsquos Ben May Department for Cancer Research recently complet-ed a Phase 1 clinical trial using Treg expansion technology in patients with new-onset diabetes using Treg expansion technology
While they are all collaborat-ing each of them developed slightly different Treg processing procedures look-ing for optimal conditions to achieve the same end product pure and stable Treg cells in suf-ficient numbers
For example Witkowskirsquos
team uses leukapheresis to acquire Tregs from patientsrsquo blood at the sampling stage whereas Trzon-kowski and Bluestone collect 500 milliliters of blood per patient and isolate the Tregs afterwards
ldquoAlthough itrsquos optimized the whole process is not stable because itrsquos based on the way the cells grow outside the body in artificial conditionsrdquo he said ldquoCells are like human bodies Sometimes they respond sometimes they donrsquot re-spondhellipWe are starting with higher numbers at the beginning so we could get more consistent resultsrdquo
And the extent of the expansion matters because of the different applications
Witkowskirsquos collaborators are focus-ing on patients who were recently diagnosed with diabetes and still have some healthy groups of cells known as islets that are producing insulin Their goal is to protect those remaining healthy islets from complete destruction by infusing
Members of Witkowskirsquos lab are trying to cure autoimmune diseases Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued on page 6
6
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
patients with their own Tregs that were expanded in the laboratory
In contrast Witkowski is planning to use Tregs to protect transplanted pancreatic islets
He retrieves those islets from a deceased donorrsquos pancreas and transplants them into ldquobrittlerdquo type 1 diabetic patients whose own islets vanished years ago from the disease Islet transplantation is a new alter-native procedure to transplanting the whole pancreas
ldquoInstead of a big operation with a high rate of complications wersquore giving patients a similar outcome just by infusing those islets into the bloodstream as a minimally invasive procedurerdquo Witkowski said
And his patientsrsquo lives have been changed allowing most of them much better control over their blood glucose levels - and at least half go off insulin injections within five years
But the doctors still have to use the same immunosuppressant medi-cations normally prescribed after whole organ transplantation to protect the donor islets from being rejected Witkowski said So the Tregs and their immunoprotective ability could act as an effective less toxic alternative because the expanded cells would originate from the bloodstream of the patient
Witkowski said the ITM Pilot Award was one of many necessary pieces that came together to help him apply for the next research stage as the testing and certifica-tion behind clinical grade reagents makes them far more expensive than basic research reagents His team is currently generating its data and will be applying for approval for clinical trials from the FDA this year
ldquoIt takes time and money to imple-ment the technology and optimize the productionrdquo Witkowski said ldquoAnd thanks to ITMrsquos support I
could proceed and get to the point where I am nowrdquo
Witkowski together with a team of diabetologists that include Louis Philipson MD PhD and director of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center Silvana Pannain MD Assistant Professor of Medi-cine Colleen Flynn MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tiffany
Grant NP and a team of nurses from the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) has been optimizing islet transplantation procedures that Witkowski said he is looking forward to combining with the new Treg therapy
Witkowskirsquos research team meets in his laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Reach Piotr Witkowski at pwitkowskisurgerybsduchicago
FELLOW IDENTIFIES IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LONG-TERM MORTALITY FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS BACTEREMIA
Jared Greenberg MD Photo provided
By Sara Serritella
Each year more than 650000 US patients are affected by severe sepsis a process by which an infection leads to deregulated inflammation throughout the entire body About 20 percent of these patients - more than 120000 - die in the hospital
Among those who survive the initial hospitalization about 25 percent die within the following year
ITM awarded Jared Greenberg a University of Chicago Medicine Fellow in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine a Pilot Award to investigate the types of pa-
tients who are at the highest risk for long-term mortality after sepsis
ldquoWersquore trying to figure out why people who survive a severe infec-tion have a higher mortality than their counterpartsrdquo Greenberg said ldquoWhile there are algorithms to treat sepsis in the first 24 hours there is really no way to identify people who are going to have complica-tions afterwardrdquo
Greenberg chose to focus on Staphy-lococcus aureus bacteremia because it is a common infection that typically causes a systemic inflammatory response He initially reviewed 237 patients with Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia at the University of Chicago hospital and found that clinical immunosuppression prior to infection was a risk factor for 31- to 90-day mortality but not 30-day mortality He is now using the ITM Pilot award to measure immune markers among a group of prospectively enrolled patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
ldquoIrsquom hoping to be able to use clinical and biochemical factors to risk stratify patients who survive an infectious processrdquo Greenberg said ldquoClinicians could use this informa-tion to have heightened vigilance for clinical changes among patients with a high risk for poor outcomes
Additionally clinical trials for pa-tients with sepsis may have greater chance of success if they only enroll high-risk patientsrdquo
Greenberg became interested in the immunosuppressed population during his residency at Emory University in Atlanta a region where there was a large population of people infected with HIV
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 7
7
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
Connect with Jared Greenbergat
JaredGreenberguchospitalsedu
ldquoI found it really interesting that when patients with HIV would come to the Intensive Care Unit they would often be sick with in-fections associated with prolonged healthcare exposure instead of unusual opportunistic infectionsrdquo he said
Greenberg was the first author on a paper highlighting his Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia findings that was published in Feb-ruary 2014 by the Public Library of Science (PLoS One)
He said he returned to clinical work
in July and plans to work on a K23 grant application ldquoItrsquos going to be very important when I apply for my K Award to have this preliminary datardquo Greenberg said
UCHICAGO CRIME LAB REDUCES YOUTH VIOLENCE amp SECURES
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING
Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the UChicago Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM Photo by Kyle Zimmerman
By Sara Serritella
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has been busy since receiving its ITM Pilot Award in 2012 evaluating strategies to reduce youth violence in Chicago and receiving a combined $7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
That work is addressing a huge problem Between September 2008 and April 2010 more than 610 Chicago Public School students were shot Only about half of high school students in major cities grad-uate and by the time many of those children reach high school they can be up to seven grade levels behind in subjects like math
ldquoIf kids donrsquot stay engaged they have a high probability of dropping out and once they drop out they have a high probability of being either victims or perpetrators of crimerdquo said Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
That ldquoroad maprdquo took the form of targeted interventions over the course of six months for 106 male 9th and 10th graders on Chicagorsquos South Side - and it led to a decrease in school misconduct course fail-ures absenteeism and violent crime
Studentsrsquo math scores also improved by the equivalent of about three yearsrsquo-worth of learning
The interventions involved a two-pronged approach
The non-academic prong was the Becoming a Man (BAM) program developed and implemented by Chicago nonprofit Youth Guidance which focuses on social-cognitive skills and is based on cognitive be-havioral therapy (CBT) BAM also included an after-school sports pro-gram offered in partnership with nonprofit World Sport Chicago
Pollack said the ITMrsquos funding
helped the Crime Lab quickly add the second prong ndash an intensive math tutoring component based on the model of Bostonrsquos Match Education
ldquoThe ITM Pilot funding really allowed us to take that next step to see what we could get by including this tutoringrdquo Pollack said ldquoWhat we found were very significant benefits to the pilot intervention and dramatic improvement in kidsrsquo school performance which provid-ed the basis for an NIH grant This grant will support the expansion of the BAM and Match programs as well as our current larger-scale study of these programs in turn growing
Students participate in a deep breathing exercise as they learn about self-control and relaxing during their weekly BAM session at a Chicago Public School Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoWithout the ITM Pilot Award money it would be difficult to do this initial researchrdquo
Continued from page 6
Continued on page 8
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
5
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
INVESTIGATOR WORKING TO CURE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES amp END
ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTION
(L - R) Piotr Witkowski MD PhD Karolina Golab MS PhD student Treg project specialist Sabarinathan Ram-achandran PhD director of the islet isolation laboratories Zehra Tekin MD postdoctoral research scholar Omid Savari MD postdoctoral research scholar Randall Grose PhD Treg project specialist Paulina Langa MS visiting
PhD student from the lab of Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD overseas Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Between 14 to 22 million people in the United States suffer from autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the medical cost of treating type 1 diabetes and mul-tiple sclerosis alone topping more than $7 billion each year
But with the help of an ITM Pilot Award Piotr Witkowski MD PhD is one step closer to curing those conditions ndash and ending the bodyrsquos rejection of organ trans-plants
In November 2010 Witkowski and his team initiated the development and optimization of expanding the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs)outside the body in his laboratory
Tregs are cells that hold the im-mune system in balance preventing
autoimmune diseases and the body from rejecting organ transplants As part of this ex-vivo process he col-lects the blood separates the white blood cells through leukapheresis and grows the number of Tregs to 1000 times the sample size in his laboratory
ldquoThose cells have great potentialrdquo Witkowski said ldquoOnce the produc-tion of the Tregs is optimized and theyrsquore available for clinical appli-cation we can test it for different autoimmune diseases So this is a big window of opportunityrdquo
His goal is to use the data gathered from the ITM Pilot Project to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and Institu-tional Review Board (IRB) so they can collect Tregs expand them in his laboratory setting and transfer those multiplied Tregs into the patients they originated from as one of the first US clinical trials of its kind
ldquoWe need to show those agencies that we are capable of manufac-turing those cells in a safe and reproducible way meeting all their standardsrdquo said Witkowski who is also the director of the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Pancreatic and Islet Transplant Program ldquoItrsquos a long process to get the approvalrdquo
One of Witkowskirsquos collaborators in Europe Piotr Trzonkowski MD PhD of the Medical University of Gdansk implemented the worldrsquos first successful human therapy based on ex-vivo Treg cell expansion The duo is also working with Jeffrey Bluestone PhD a well-recognized immunologist and Treg leader who is also the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Bluestone who previously served as the director of the University of Chicagorsquos Ben May Department for Cancer Research recently complet-ed a Phase 1 clinical trial using Treg expansion technology in patients with new-onset diabetes using Treg expansion technology
While they are all collaborat-ing each of them developed slightly different Treg processing procedures look-ing for optimal conditions to achieve the same end product pure and stable Treg cells in suf-ficient numbers
For example Witkowskirsquos
team uses leukapheresis to acquire Tregs from patientsrsquo blood at the sampling stage whereas Trzon-kowski and Bluestone collect 500 milliliters of blood per patient and isolate the Tregs afterwards
ldquoAlthough itrsquos optimized the whole process is not stable because itrsquos based on the way the cells grow outside the body in artificial conditionsrdquo he said ldquoCells are like human bodies Sometimes they respond sometimes they donrsquot re-spondhellipWe are starting with higher numbers at the beginning so we could get more consistent resultsrdquo
And the extent of the expansion matters because of the different applications
Witkowskirsquos collaborators are focus-ing on patients who were recently diagnosed with diabetes and still have some healthy groups of cells known as islets that are producing insulin Their goal is to protect those remaining healthy islets from complete destruction by infusing
Members of Witkowskirsquos lab are trying to cure autoimmune diseases Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued on page 6
6
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
patients with their own Tregs that were expanded in the laboratory
In contrast Witkowski is planning to use Tregs to protect transplanted pancreatic islets
He retrieves those islets from a deceased donorrsquos pancreas and transplants them into ldquobrittlerdquo type 1 diabetic patients whose own islets vanished years ago from the disease Islet transplantation is a new alter-native procedure to transplanting the whole pancreas
ldquoInstead of a big operation with a high rate of complications wersquore giving patients a similar outcome just by infusing those islets into the bloodstream as a minimally invasive procedurerdquo Witkowski said
And his patientsrsquo lives have been changed allowing most of them much better control over their blood glucose levels - and at least half go off insulin injections within five years
But the doctors still have to use the same immunosuppressant medi-cations normally prescribed after whole organ transplantation to protect the donor islets from being rejected Witkowski said So the Tregs and their immunoprotective ability could act as an effective less toxic alternative because the expanded cells would originate from the bloodstream of the patient
Witkowski said the ITM Pilot Award was one of many necessary pieces that came together to help him apply for the next research stage as the testing and certifica-tion behind clinical grade reagents makes them far more expensive than basic research reagents His team is currently generating its data and will be applying for approval for clinical trials from the FDA this year
ldquoIt takes time and money to imple-ment the technology and optimize the productionrdquo Witkowski said ldquoAnd thanks to ITMrsquos support I
could proceed and get to the point where I am nowrdquo
Witkowski together with a team of diabetologists that include Louis Philipson MD PhD and director of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center Silvana Pannain MD Assistant Professor of Medi-cine Colleen Flynn MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tiffany
Grant NP and a team of nurses from the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) has been optimizing islet transplantation procedures that Witkowski said he is looking forward to combining with the new Treg therapy
Witkowskirsquos research team meets in his laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Reach Piotr Witkowski at pwitkowskisurgerybsduchicago
FELLOW IDENTIFIES IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LONG-TERM MORTALITY FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS BACTEREMIA
Jared Greenberg MD Photo provided
By Sara Serritella
Each year more than 650000 US patients are affected by severe sepsis a process by which an infection leads to deregulated inflammation throughout the entire body About 20 percent of these patients - more than 120000 - die in the hospital
Among those who survive the initial hospitalization about 25 percent die within the following year
ITM awarded Jared Greenberg a University of Chicago Medicine Fellow in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine a Pilot Award to investigate the types of pa-
tients who are at the highest risk for long-term mortality after sepsis
ldquoWersquore trying to figure out why people who survive a severe infec-tion have a higher mortality than their counterpartsrdquo Greenberg said ldquoWhile there are algorithms to treat sepsis in the first 24 hours there is really no way to identify people who are going to have complica-tions afterwardrdquo
Greenberg chose to focus on Staphy-lococcus aureus bacteremia because it is a common infection that typically causes a systemic inflammatory response He initially reviewed 237 patients with Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia at the University of Chicago hospital and found that clinical immunosuppression prior to infection was a risk factor for 31- to 90-day mortality but not 30-day mortality He is now using the ITM Pilot award to measure immune markers among a group of prospectively enrolled patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
ldquoIrsquom hoping to be able to use clinical and biochemical factors to risk stratify patients who survive an infectious processrdquo Greenberg said ldquoClinicians could use this informa-tion to have heightened vigilance for clinical changes among patients with a high risk for poor outcomes
Additionally clinical trials for pa-tients with sepsis may have greater chance of success if they only enroll high-risk patientsrdquo
Greenberg became interested in the immunosuppressed population during his residency at Emory University in Atlanta a region where there was a large population of people infected with HIV
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 7
7
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
Connect with Jared Greenbergat
JaredGreenberguchospitalsedu
ldquoI found it really interesting that when patients with HIV would come to the Intensive Care Unit they would often be sick with in-fections associated with prolonged healthcare exposure instead of unusual opportunistic infectionsrdquo he said
Greenberg was the first author on a paper highlighting his Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia findings that was published in Feb-ruary 2014 by the Public Library of Science (PLoS One)
He said he returned to clinical work
in July and plans to work on a K23 grant application ldquoItrsquos going to be very important when I apply for my K Award to have this preliminary datardquo Greenberg said
UCHICAGO CRIME LAB REDUCES YOUTH VIOLENCE amp SECURES
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING
Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the UChicago Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM Photo by Kyle Zimmerman
By Sara Serritella
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has been busy since receiving its ITM Pilot Award in 2012 evaluating strategies to reduce youth violence in Chicago and receiving a combined $7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
That work is addressing a huge problem Between September 2008 and April 2010 more than 610 Chicago Public School students were shot Only about half of high school students in major cities grad-uate and by the time many of those children reach high school they can be up to seven grade levels behind in subjects like math
ldquoIf kids donrsquot stay engaged they have a high probability of dropping out and once they drop out they have a high probability of being either victims or perpetrators of crimerdquo said Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
That ldquoroad maprdquo took the form of targeted interventions over the course of six months for 106 male 9th and 10th graders on Chicagorsquos South Side - and it led to a decrease in school misconduct course fail-ures absenteeism and violent crime
Studentsrsquo math scores also improved by the equivalent of about three yearsrsquo-worth of learning
The interventions involved a two-pronged approach
The non-academic prong was the Becoming a Man (BAM) program developed and implemented by Chicago nonprofit Youth Guidance which focuses on social-cognitive skills and is based on cognitive be-havioral therapy (CBT) BAM also included an after-school sports pro-gram offered in partnership with nonprofit World Sport Chicago
Pollack said the ITMrsquos funding
helped the Crime Lab quickly add the second prong ndash an intensive math tutoring component based on the model of Bostonrsquos Match Education
ldquoThe ITM Pilot funding really allowed us to take that next step to see what we could get by including this tutoringrdquo Pollack said ldquoWhat we found were very significant benefits to the pilot intervention and dramatic improvement in kidsrsquo school performance which provid-ed the basis for an NIH grant This grant will support the expansion of the BAM and Match programs as well as our current larger-scale study of these programs in turn growing
Students participate in a deep breathing exercise as they learn about self-control and relaxing during their weekly BAM session at a Chicago Public School Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoWithout the ITM Pilot Award money it would be difficult to do this initial researchrdquo
Continued from page 6
Continued on page 8
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
6
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
patients with their own Tregs that were expanded in the laboratory
In contrast Witkowski is planning to use Tregs to protect transplanted pancreatic islets
He retrieves those islets from a deceased donorrsquos pancreas and transplants them into ldquobrittlerdquo type 1 diabetic patients whose own islets vanished years ago from the disease Islet transplantation is a new alter-native procedure to transplanting the whole pancreas
ldquoInstead of a big operation with a high rate of complications wersquore giving patients a similar outcome just by infusing those islets into the bloodstream as a minimally invasive procedurerdquo Witkowski said
And his patientsrsquo lives have been changed allowing most of them much better control over their blood glucose levels - and at least half go off insulin injections within five years
But the doctors still have to use the same immunosuppressant medi-cations normally prescribed after whole organ transplantation to protect the donor islets from being rejected Witkowski said So the Tregs and their immunoprotective ability could act as an effective less toxic alternative because the expanded cells would originate from the bloodstream of the patient
Witkowski said the ITM Pilot Award was one of many necessary pieces that came together to help him apply for the next research stage as the testing and certifica-tion behind clinical grade reagents makes them far more expensive than basic research reagents His team is currently generating its data and will be applying for approval for clinical trials from the FDA this year
ldquoIt takes time and money to imple-ment the technology and optimize the productionrdquo Witkowski said ldquoAnd thanks to ITMrsquos support I
could proceed and get to the point where I am nowrdquo
Witkowski together with a team of diabetologists that include Louis Philipson MD PhD and director of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center Silvana Pannain MD Assistant Professor of Medi-cine Colleen Flynn MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Tiffany
Grant NP and a team of nurses from the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) has been optimizing islet transplantation procedures that Witkowski said he is looking forward to combining with the new Treg therapy
Witkowskirsquos research team meets in his laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Reach Piotr Witkowski at pwitkowskisurgerybsduchicago
FELLOW IDENTIFIES IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR LONG-TERM MORTALITY FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS BACTEREMIA
Jared Greenberg MD Photo provided
By Sara Serritella
Each year more than 650000 US patients are affected by severe sepsis a process by which an infection leads to deregulated inflammation throughout the entire body About 20 percent of these patients - more than 120000 - die in the hospital
Among those who survive the initial hospitalization about 25 percent die within the following year
ITM awarded Jared Greenberg a University of Chicago Medicine Fellow in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine a Pilot Award to investigate the types of pa-
tients who are at the highest risk for long-term mortality after sepsis
ldquoWersquore trying to figure out why people who survive a severe infec-tion have a higher mortality than their counterpartsrdquo Greenberg said ldquoWhile there are algorithms to treat sepsis in the first 24 hours there is really no way to identify people who are going to have complica-tions afterwardrdquo
Greenberg chose to focus on Staphy-lococcus aureus bacteremia because it is a common infection that typically causes a systemic inflammatory response He initially reviewed 237 patients with Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia at the University of Chicago hospital and found that clinical immunosuppression prior to infection was a risk factor for 31- to 90-day mortality but not 30-day mortality He is now using the ITM Pilot award to measure immune markers among a group of prospectively enrolled patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
ldquoIrsquom hoping to be able to use clinical and biochemical factors to risk stratify patients who survive an infectious processrdquo Greenberg said ldquoClinicians could use this informa-tion to have heightened vigilance for clinical changes among patients with a high risk for poor outcomes
Additionally clinical trials for pa-tients with sepsis may have greater chance of success if they only enroll high-risk patientsrdquo
Greenberg became interested in the immunosuppressed population during his residency at Emory University in Atlanta a region where there was a large population of people infected with HIV
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 7
7
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
Connect with Jared Greenbergat
JaredGreenberguchospitalsedu
ldquoI found it really interesting that when patients with HIV would come to the Intensive Care Unit they would often be sick with in-fections associated with prolonged healthcare exposure instead of unusual opportunistic infectionsrdquo he said
Greenberg was the first author on a paper highlighting his Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia findings that was published in Feb-ruary 2014 by the Public Library of Science (PLoS One)
He said he returned to clinical work
in July and plans to work on a K23 grant application ldquoItrsquos going to be very important when I apply for my K Award to have this preliminary datardquo Greenberg said
UCHICAGO CRIME LAB REDUCES YOUTH VIOLENCE amp SECURES
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING
Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the UChicago Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM Photo by Kyle Zimmerman
By Sara Serritella
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has been busy since receiving its ITM Pilot Award in 2012 evaluating strategies to reduce youth violence in Chicago and receiving a combined $7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
That work is addressing a huge problem Between September 2008 and April 2010 more than 610 Chicago Public School students were shot Only about half of high school students in major cities grad-uate and by the time many of those children reach high school they can be up to seven grade levels behind in subjects like math
ldquoIf kids donrsquot stay engaged they have a high probability of dropping out and once they drop out they have a high probability of being either victims or perpetrators of crimerdquo said Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
That ldquoroad maprdquo took the form of targeted interventions over the course of six months for 106 male 9th and 10th graders on Chicagorsquos South Side - and it led to a decrease in school misconduct course fail-ures absenteeism and violent crime
Studentsrsquo math scores also improved by the equivalent of about three yearsrsquo-worth of learning
The interventions involved a two-pronged approach
The non-academic prong was the Becoming a Man (BAM) program developed and implemented by Chicago nonprofit Youth Guidance which focuses on social-cognitive skills and is based on cognitive be-havioral therapy (CBT) BAM also included an after-school sports pro-gram offered in partnership with nonprofit World Sport Chicago
Pollack said the ITMrsquos funding
helped the Crime Lab quickly add the second prong ndash an intensive math tutoring component based on the model of Bostonrsquos Match Education
ldquoThe ITM Pilot funding really allowed us to take that next step to see what we could get by including this tutoringrdquo Pollack said ldquoWhat we found were very significant benefits to the pilot intervention and dramatic improvement in kidsrsquo school performance which provid-ed the basis for an NIH grant This grant will support the expansion of the BAM and Match programs as well as our current larger-scale study of these programs in turn growing
Students participate in a deep breathing exercise as they learn about self-control and relaxing during their weekly BAM session at a Chicago Public School Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoWithout the ITM Pilot Award money it would be difficult to do this initial researchrdquo
Continued from page 6
Continued on page 8
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
7
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
Connect with Jared Greenbergat
JaredGreenberguchospitalsedu
ldquoI found it really interesting that when patients with HIV would come to the Intensive Care Unit they would often be sick with in-fections associated with prolonged healthcare exposure instead of unusual opportunistic infectionsrdquo he said
Greenberg was the first author on a paper highlighting his Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia findings that was published in Feb-ruary 2014 by the Public Library of Science (PLoS One)
He said he returned to clinical work
in July and plans to work on a K23 grant application ldquoItrsquos going to be very important when I apply for my K Award to have this preliminary datardquo Greenberg said
UCHICAGO CRIME LAB REDUCES YOUTH VIOLENCE amp SECURES
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING
Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the UChicago Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM Photo by Kyle Zimmerman
By Sara Serritella
The University of Chicago Crime Lab has been busy since receiving its ITM Pilot Award in 2012 evaluating strategies to reduce youth violence in Chicago and receiving a combined $7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation
That work is addressing a huge problem Between September 2008 and April 2010 more than 610 Chicago Public School students were shot Only about half of high school students in major cities grad-uate and by the time many of those children reach high school they can be up to seven grade levels behind in subjects like math
ldquoIf kids donrsquot stay engaged they have a high probability of dropping out and once they drop out they have a high probability of being either victims or perpetrators of crimerdquo said Harold Pollack PhD co-director of the Crime Lab and associate director of the ITM
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
That ldquoroad maprdquo took the form of targeted interventions over the course of six months for 106 male 9th and 10th graders on Chicagorsquos South Side - and it led to a decrease in school misconduct course fail-ures absenteeism and violent crime
Studentsrsquo math scores also improved by the equivalent of about three yearsrsquo-worth of learning
The interventions involved a two-pronged approach
The non-academic prong was the Becoming a Man (BAM) program developed and implemented by Chicago nonprofit Youth Guidance which focuses on social-cognitive skills and is based on cognitive be-havioral therapy (CBT) BAM also included an after-school sports pro-gram offered in partnership with nonprofit World Sport Chicago
Pollack said the ITMrsquos funding
helped the Crime Lab quickly add the second prong ndash an intensive math tutoring component based on the model of Bostonrsquos Match Education
ldquoThe ITM Pilot funding really allowed us to take that next step to see what we could get by including this tutoringrdquo Pollack said ldquoWhat we found were very significant benefits to the pilot intervention and dramatic improvement in kidsrsquo school performance which provid-ed the basis for an NIH grant This grant will support the expansion of the BAM and Match programs as well as our current larger-scale study of these programs in turn growing
Students participate in a deep breathing exercise as they learn about self-control and relaxing during their weekly BAM session at a Chicago Public School Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoWithout the ITM Pilot Award money it would be difficult to do this initial researchrdquo
Continued from page 6
Continued on page 8
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
8
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
WATCH THE VIDEOHear about the impact the University of Chicago Crime Lab is having in the words of the student participants and tutors by watching this video
A BAM counselor congratulates students and hands out T-shirts as they pass the halfway mark in the program Photo by Robert KozloffUniversity of Chicago
ldquoThe kids have to be tough They donrsquot have a lot of margin for
error academically or in many other areas in their lives and so we want
to give them a realistic way to follow a road maprdquo
- Harold Pollack PhD
Reach Harold Pollack at
haroldpuchicagoedu
the impact of this work to benefit not only Chicago but also other cities as wellrdquo
The P01 grant from the NIHrsquos Eu-nice Kennedy Shriver National In-stitute of Child Health and Human Development awarded the Crime Lab $6 million and Chicago Public Schools pro-vided the BAM and Match programs with $4 million The Crime Lab also earned $1 mil-lion as one of seven nonprof-its worldwide recognized with a 2014 MacAr-thur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions
What makes the Crime Labrsquos work
unique is that it is evaluating its in-terventions using the same rigorous methods applied to clinical trials in medical research And the data speaks for itself
The interventions increased expect-ed graduation rates by about 50 percent decreased course failures
by about 60 percent and resulted in about 25 more weeks of school attended per year ndash all of which
researchers said would have an impact on violence Based on an almost 70 percent reduction in school misconduct in a compara-tive trial researchers predict a decrease in violent crime arrests over the next two years by an estimated 50 to 60 percent and a drop in drug-related arrests by about 40 to 50 percent
ldquoWe got a lot of attention for the results that we
achieved with our pilot and that was something the ITM really helped make possiblerdquo Pollack said
with publications like The New York Times covering the project and US and international agencies reaching out to collaborate
While the research team got a lot of credit for the data Pollack said there were many other people in-volved in the schools who changed the studentsrsquo lives
ldquoOur partners just did an amazing job implementing the interventionrdquo Pollack said ldquoThey deserve to see the value of their work notedrdquo
Those collaborators included the Crime Labrsquos multidisciplinary team of economists public health researchers psychologists and edu-cation experts along with Chicago Public Schools the Chicago Police Department the City of Chicago and nonprofit partners Match Edu-cation and Youth Guidance
The results of the 2012-2013 study were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in January 2014 and the Crime Lab is currently running a large-scale study based on the pilot in 21 Chicago Public Schools
ldquoThe most important thing for peo-ple to note is that we have effective interventions that can helprdquo Pollack said ldquoNo one of these interventions is going to be the polio vaccine thatrsquos going to end youth violence But if we methodically pursue evi-dence-informed interventions we can really make a difference for kids in Chicago and in every other city across the United Statesrdquo
Continued from page 7
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
9
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
ECHO-CHICAGO EXPANDS ITS GEOGRAPHIC REACH amp TRAINING OFFERINGS
Andrew Aronsohn MD (L) leads an ECHO-Chicago telehealth session about hepatitis C with transplant pharmacist Lindsey Pote PharmD BCPS (R) Photo by Sara Serritella
By Sara Serritella
Patients who receive care at com-munity health centers often have limited access to subspecialists research shows and ITM Pilot
awardee ECHO-Chicago is changing that by expanding what started as medical training for six federally qualified health centers on
Chicagorsquos South Side to working with 22 different organizations across Chicagoland
ldquoWersquore translating the changes in medicine more rapidly out to community pro-vidersrdquo said Daniel Johnson MD the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago associate professor of pediatrics and chief of the Section of Academic Pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoIt normally takes years
for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore able to reduce that time by bringing state-of-the-art care to community providers at the speed of lightrdquo
ECHO stands for Extension of Com-munity Healthcare Outcomes and its goal is to provide innovative medical training using videoconferencing tech-nology to break down the divisions between primary and specialty care
The first ECHO project was born at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and ECHO-Chicago is one of 39 tele-
ECHO hubs that run in 22 states and six countries But Chicagorsquos project is the first one to apply the model to an urban setting and continues to be the most successful urban ECHO
Over the past five years ECHO-Chicago has trained more than 250 providers which includes physicians advanced
practice nurses and social workers And its educational offerings have expanded from three to five subjects taught over 12 sessions
Those subjects now cover resistant hypertension pediatric ADHD risk-based approach to womenrsquos health hepatitis C and pediatric obesity and comorbidities
Finicia Graham MD practices family medicine at Beloved Com-munity Family Wellness Center in Robbins IL and has participated in more than 30 ECHO-Chicago sessions
ldquoECHO has been an invaluable resource for me as it has provided a link to experts in the field and a chance to discuss common clinical questions with colleaguesrdquo Graham said
And thatrsquos part of the beauty of the ECHO model according to Johnson
ldquoIt gets people talkingrdquo he said ldquoBecause yoursquore in a virtual confer-ence room it gives you the ability to look at people When you can look at people you can read body language When you can read body language yoursquore more likely to speak The person becomes more
ldquoIt normally takes years for new knowledge to trickle out Wersquore
bringing state-of-the-art care to com-munity providers at the
speed of lightrdquo- Daniel Johnson MD
Daniel Johnson MD is the principal investigator for ECHO-Chicago Photo by UChicago Medicine Continued on page 10
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
10
familiar to you and it provides a real opportunity for working togetherrdquo
The ITM attended a recent session on hepatitis C where about six medical providers from the Chicagoland region listened to a presentation on new treatment methods from UChicago Medi-cinersquos Andrew Aronsohn MD an assistant professor gastroenterolo-gist and hepatologist Then they dis-cussed the best ways to apply that new information to treat specific patients
ldquoEmpowering primary care doctors to be able to treat something like
hepatitis C which is very prevalent in the United States and is going to be better treated in a primary care setting is going to make a huge impact on treating the diseaserdquo Aronsohn said at the end of the session
Researchers are already seeing those results According to a 2011 study pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medicine ECHO has enabled community primary care provid-ers to offer chronic disease care at almost the same level as universi-ty-based subspecialists
To get involved with ECHO-Chicago contact
Daniel Johnson at djohnsonpedsbsduchicago
A GOOD THING GROWSSince the ITM awarded Daniel Johnson a Pilot Award for ECHO-Chicago in 2012 the program has grown to secure more than 17 times that funding for a total of more than $876000 in support from the following organizations
bull Grant Healthcare Foundationbull Lloyd A Fry Foundationbull Baxter International Foundationbull VNA Foundationbull Aetna Foundationbull Illinois Department of Public Healthbull American Cancer Society ndash Illinois Divisionbull Northern Trust Charitable Trust
ECHO-Chicago brings top training to urban providers using videoconferencing Photo by Sara Serritella
LOOKING AHEADECHO-Chicago is in the process of analyzing millions of electronic records it has obtained through a partnership with Illinoisrsquo Healthcare and Family Services (HSF) which administers Medicaid Its goal is to analyze the prescribing habits of providers who have gone through ECHO-Chicago training and compare them to those who have yet to go through it ndash in turn measuring the outcome it has on patients directly
Additionally the program submitted a grant application to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for about $7 million to make use of the ECHO-Chicago structure and develop a surveillance mechanism for identifying and tracking the outcomes of Chicagoland patients with hepatitis C
It also helped organize MetaECHO the first international ECHO conference that took place Sept 11 - 13 in New Mexico
ITM PILOT AWARDEE UPDATES
UChicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who would like to join in the telehealth sessions which are limited to less than 10 sites at a time ndash and it will be cover-ing even more topics next year
ECHO-Chicago just came to an agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch a program focused on pediatric seizures and there are plans to start another addressing the best ways to integrate mental health care into the normal stream of health center activities
Johnson said the ECHO-Chicago would not be where it is today without the early financial support it received from the ITMrsquos Pilot Award
ldquoThe funding was spectacularrdquo Johnson said ldquoIt helped us to underwrite infrastructure so that we could reach more providersrdquo
ECHO-Chicagorsquos program now has a waitlist of providers who want to join in the telehealth sessions Photo by Sara Serritella
Continued from page 9
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
11
NEW ITM AWARDEES
ITM CONGRATULATES ITS AWARDEESJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Pilot AwardsInvestigator
Konstantin G Birukov MD PhD
Julie Chor MD
Emil F Coccaro MD
Tina N Drossos PhD
Nickolai Dulin PhD
Andrea B Goldschmidt PhD
Christopher Gomez MD
Nicholas Hatsopoulos PhDand
Derek Kamper PhD
Project Title
Discovery of a Novel Class of Synthetic Phospholipids for Treatment of Acute
Lung Injury
Conceptualizing the Full-Spectrum Doula Model
Neurobehavioral Correlates of Central Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Hu-
man Aggression
Emotional Intelligence and Regulation in Patients with T-2 Diabetes
Regulation of Myofibroblast Differ-entiation and Pulmonary Fibrosis by
Cardiotonic Steroid Digoxin
Executive Function in Overweight Children at Risk for Eating
Disorders
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibi-tors of a Novel Pathogenic Cistron to
Treat SCA6 Ataxia
Incorporation of Natural Censory Feedback to Improve Control of a Crain-Cachine Interface for Grasp
Investigator
Kate Keenan PhD
Dorit Koren MD
Yanchun Li PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhD
Patrick Singleton PhD
Bret Ulery PhD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD
Amittha Wickrema PhD
Project Title
Depression Prevention Effects on Neural Processing of Emotion and
Reward Stimuli
Sleep Habits in Adolescents and Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vitamin D Regulation of Systemic Inflammation in Mice and Humans
Defining Characteristics of Epileptic Human Cortex
Peripheral MOR Antagonism as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for
Lung Cancer
Mixed AntigenAdjuvant Micelles for Single Administration Streptococcus
Vaccination
Automated Scoring of MIBG Scans for Patients with Neuroblastoma
Mobilization of Chemokine Receptor CXCR4-Expressing Erythroid
Progenitors in Blood
CTSA
Lea K Davis PhD
Vladimir Liarski MD
Julie Chor MD
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD
Oncology
Manish Sharma MD
Jane Churpek MD
Linda Patrick-Miller PhD
Raymon Grogan MD
Oncology
Hongtao Liu MD PhD
Hae Kyung Im PhD
Daniel Catenacci MD
Oncology
Swati Kulkarni MD
Tatyana Grushko PhD
LungOmics
Gabrielle Lapping-Carr MD
SPIRiT Awards
Theodore Karrison PhD Imaging and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Anti-Retroviral Neuro-Intensification
K Appointees
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
12
NEW PILOT SPOTLIGHTS
ANDREA G GOLDSCHMIDTNICKOLAI DULIN
Andrea G Goldschmidt PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Eating Disorders Program Photo provided
Nickolai Dulin PhD Associate Professor Section of Pulmo-nary and Critical Care Medicine Photo provided
Project Title Executive function in overweight children at risk for eating disorders
Pilot Project GoalsAbout 30 percent of weight loss treatment-seeking children also report binge eating The project sets the stage for understanding the mechanisms behind the binge eating so that effective interventions can be developed
No one has really looked at these childrenrsquos brains while they lose control Goldschmidt said so the project uses functional magnetic resonance imag-ing or fMRI to see what is going on when they do
ldquoWe have such a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in binge eating with kids right now that itrsquos almost like developing interventions would be putting the cart before the horsehellipThatrsquos where the cognitive piece comes in because inhibitory control is one factor that seems to go awry in these kids and could lead to binge eating They just canrsquot stop themselves from eating even when they donrsquot want to be eatingrdquo
ITM Impact K ScholarGoldschmidt received a Pilot Award shortly after becoming part of the K12 program She said it jump-started her career by increasing her knowledge in cognitive neuroscience an area in which she had no prior training and giv-ing her dedicated time for research and networking with important faculty members in her field
ldquoThe K12 is the training piece and the Pilot Award is the implementation piece Itrsquos great that these funds are available especially to junior investigators because it is so hard and such a long process to get NIH funding ndash and you often need preliminary data to put in your grant applicationrdquo
K Scholar Traction Goldschmidt has already been first author on three articles published while funded by the K12 program Latent Profile Analysis of Eating Episodes in Anorexia Nervosa Predictors of Child Weight Loss and Maintenance Among Family-Based Treatment Completers and Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating Episodes in Obese Adults She also applied for an NIH K Award in June
Project Title Regulation of myofibroblast differentiation and pulmonary fibrosis by cardiotonic steroid digoxin
Pilot Project Goals There are no drugs currently available to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibro-sis a deadly disease characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue
ldquoPeople breathe air but their lungs cannot exchange the oxygen and this wors-ens with time From the time of diagnosis they have about two to three years to live so itrsquos a bad one Wersquore trying to understand the mechanism of the disease and through this find something that could at least prolong their livesrdquo
Pilot Award Path About two years ago Dulin made an observation that differentiation of myofibroblasts the pathologic cells driving pulmonary fibrosis was blocked by cardiac glycosides including digoxin - the FDA-approved drug for treating heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias He translated this observa-tion into his current Pilot Award project testing whether digoxin can also be used to treat pulmonary fibrosis Dulin is working with cultured human lung fibroblasts and with mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis that the ITM funding supports In preliminary experiments he found that digoxin administered at lower therapeutic dose levels drastically reduced pulmonary fibrosis in the mouse models
ldquoWe aim to establish the protective effect of digoxin and to understand the mechanism by which it works The first part is clinically relevant the second is scientifically relevant But once we know the mechanisms we can think of maybe even better drugs that work the same wayrdquo
Pilot Project Traction Dulin applied for an NIH R01 grant in June 2014 and plans to submit his first manuscript on this subject in September or October 2014
ldquoThe ITM funding is a huge help especially with the limited funding from the NIH nowadays And the ITM reviewersrsquo comments were very helpful not only to improve this study but also to prepare for a more expanded R01 applicationrdquo
Collaborate with Nickolai Dulin by e-mailing him at ndulinmedicineuchicagoedu
Collaborate with Andrea Goldschmidt by e-mailing her at agoldscmbsduchicagoedu
NEW ITM AWARDEES
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
13
ISAP COMMITTEE MEMBERS amp AD-HOC REVIEWERS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SCIENTIFIC REVIEWERS
JULY 2013 - JULY 2014We would not be able to support the more than 1500 investigators who have utilized the ITMrsquos resources this past year without the prestigious
members of the ITM Internal Scientific Advisory Panel (ISAP) review committee and our ad-hoc reviewers who evaluated almost 200 submissions You have directly impacted vital research and countless careers by sharing your time and insights
Atique Ahmed PhDMarisa Alegre MD PhD
John C Alverdy MDGary An MD
Vineet Arora MDIssam Awad MD
Arshiya Baig MDCornelia Bailey MS
Yamini Bakhtiar MDLev Becker PhD
Graeme Bell PhDEric Beyer MD PhDMichael Bishop MD
Marc Bissonnette MDMatthew Brady PhDMartin Burke DO
Deborah Burnet MDDaniel Catenacci MDChin-Tu Chen PhDMarshall Chin MDAnita Chong PhDEmil Coccaro MDRonald Cohen MDSusan Cohn MDJoel Collier PhD
Philip Connell MDNancy Cox PhD
Sean Crosson PhDJohn Cunningham MD
Farr Curlin MDJuan de Pablo PhDHarriet de Wit PhDDouglas Dirschl MDNickolai Dulin PhD
Stephanie Dulawa PhDYun Fang PhD
Gini Fleming MDAaron Fox PhD
H Barrett Fromme MDElliot Gershon MD
Maryellen Giger PhDCatherine Glunz MD
Lucy Godley MDChristopher Gomez MD
Jon Grant MD JDSiri Greeley MD PhD
Sandeep Gurbuxani MD PhDChristian Hansel PhD
Tong-Chuan He MD PhDGavin Hougham PhD
Marion Hofmann-Bowman MD PhDElbert Huang MD
R Stephanie Huang PhDBana Jabri MD PhDDaniel Johnson MDLoren Joseph MD
Theodore Karrison PhDKate Keenan PhDKaren Kim MD
Andrea King PhDKristen Knutson PhD
Jay Koyner MDStephen Kron MDSonia Kupfer MD
John H Kwon MD PhDJames LaBelle MD PhD
Benjamin Lahey PhDRoberto Lang MDRaphael Lee MD
Younghee Lee PhDErnst Lengyel MD PhD
Stacy Lindau MDJames Liao MD
Elizabeth Littlejohn MDHongtao Liu MD
Hue Luu MDKay Macleod PhD
Tom MacTavish MSMichael Maitland MD PhD
Jeremy Marks MD PhDChristopher Masi MD
Karl Matlin PhDDavid McClintock MDDaniel McGehee PhD
David Meltzer MD PhDDoriane Miller MDSteven Montner MD
Martha Clare Morris ScD
Mark Musch PhDCathryn Nagler PhD
Yusuke Nakamura MD PhDJayasri Nanduri PhD
Marcelo Nobrega MD PhDOlatoyosi Odenike MD
Aytekin Oto MDLinda Patrick-Miller PhD
Jayant Pinto MDHarold Pollack PhDVictoria Prince PhDMilda Saunders MDNancy Schwartz PhD
Madeleine Shalowitz MDManish Sharma MD
Howard Shuman PhDPatrick Singleton PhDSangram Sisodia PhD
Keyoumars Soltani MDJulian Solway MD
Anne Sperling PhDSamuel Refetoff MD
Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer PhDConnie Robinson RNLainie Ross MD PhDGregory Ruhnke MDAndrey Rzhetsky PhD
Vera Tesic MDGopal Thinakaran PhDMichael Thirman MDMatthew Tirrell PhD
F Gary Toback MD PhDVincent Turitto PhD
Wim van Drongelen PhDMichael Vannier MD
Samuel Volchenboum MD PhDR Parker Ward MD
Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg MD PhDSydeaka Watson PhD
Steven White MDAmittha Wickrema PhDKristen Wroblewski MSXiaoyan Wu MD PhD
Ming Xu PhDXiaoxi Zhuang PhD
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
14
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
ITM CO-DIRECTOR AWARDED PROMINENT FELLOWSHIP
By Sara Serritella
The John Simon Guggenheim Me-morial Foundation named Lainie Ross MD PhD as one of its 2014 fellows in April
ldquoLainie is one of our most excep-tional scholars and Irsquom delighted that she has earned this fitting rec-ognition of her incredibly import-ant workrdquo said Julian Solway MD director of the Institute for Trans-lational Medicine (ITM) and BSD dean for translational medicine
Only 177 Fellowships were awarded out of almost 3000 applicants and Ross was the only applicant honored for medicine and health Sen Simon Guggenheim started the Foundation in 1925 in memory of his deceased son and each year it recognizes exceptional artists scholars and scientists with funding for their work
While Ross - who is the ITMrsquos
co-director a pediatri-cian and an associate director of the Univer-sity of Chicago Medi-cinersquos MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics - has received numerous recognitions and published more than 200 papers in scholarly journals in addition to authoring three books
She said this award was particularly special
ldquoMy two mentors - basically the two people who shaped my thinking about medi-
cal ethics - were Paul Ramsey who was a Christian theologian at Princ-eton and Jay Katz who was a psychiatrist who worked at Yale Law School and both of them were former Guggenheim (recipients)rdquo she said ldquoSo that was really very heartwarming for merdquo
Starting in September Ross will use the yearlong fellowship to write a book examining the unexpected impacts of genetic policies She said shersquoll be traveling across the US and around the world to examine cutting-edge programs and study the impact of genetic policies on various communities in order to find diverse case studies for what will be titled ldquoFrom Peapods to Whole Genomes Incidental Find-ings and Unintended Consequences in a Post-Mendelian Worldrdquo
ldquoItrsquos looking at how we might be
designing policies to achieve one goal and not realizing the other repercussions that occurrdquo Ross said ldquoWe often think about the direct effects and this is all about the indirect effectsrdquo
For example Ross described the aftermath of a freshman Rice University football playerrsquos death In 2006 the young player fell uncon-scious during training and died the next day from issues connected with sickle cell trait Individuals who are ldquocarriersrdquo of the trait have one copy of the sickle cell mutation which Ross said is known to increase the risk of exertional heat illness and sudden death in athletes
His parents sued the NCAA and as part of a settlement a rule was enacted to test all college athletes for the sickle cell trait
Ross said some schools may respond to the policies by developing a more gradual preseason training program for those with the trait ndash which would put them at a disadvantage when it came time to physically evaluate and cut players
ldquoEight percent of all African American athletes have sickle cell trait and death from exertional heat illness occurs in less than one ath-lete annuallyrdquo Ross said ldquoSo many athletes would do fine without the special treatment One could say the policy may be over-determined Alternatively the Army took the approach that it was under-deter-minedrdquo
In the 1980s the Army evaluated a different approach to reduce exertional heat illness by modifying training for everyone ndash regardless of whether they possessed the trait ndash to a safer standard training using the wet-bulb globe temperature measurement to evaluate heat stress during workouts This prevented exertional heat illness in all of the trainees not just those at greater risk And Ross said it did so with-out having to screen and label any trainees as ldquogenetically differentrdquo
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect people in all communitiesrdquo Ross said ldquoThere are just a lot of unintended consequences in some of our policieshellipthe goal of the book is to help us make the policy implications more transparent in order to make better policyrdquo
And as a matter of per-sonal policy the first thing Ross did after the official Guggenheim Fellowship announce-ment went out was to send thank you notes to the four people who
wrote the foundation letters on her behalf for her application
ldquoI told them to read the New York Timesrdquo Ross said with a smile
Ross said shersquoll also always remem-ber her two mentors who helped get her there
ldquoThey actually changed my whole career pathrdquo she said about Katz and Ramsey ldquoI had dreamed of being the orthopaedic surgeon for the New York YankeeshellipNow I get to follow in their footstepsrdquo
Lainie Ross MD PhD was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in April Photo provided
ldquoWe have to make sure that our policies are fair and that they protect
people in all communitiesrdquo- Lainie Ross MD PhD
Reach Lainie Ross at lrossuchicagoedu
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
15
ITM INVESTIGATORS MAKING HEADLINES
John C Alverdy MD Suzanne D Conzen MD Maryellen L Giger PhD Karen E Kim MD
Alexander Langerman MD David Meltzer MD PhD Doriane Miller MD Dana L Suskind MD
Geoffrey L Greene PhD Ryan J Bourgo PhD
Alverdy the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery was named president-elect of the Surgical Infection Society in May at the 34th annual Society meeting in Baltimore He will assume the presidency in 2015 The Society has more than 550 members and pub-lishes the journal Surgical Infections
Conzen Professor in the Depart-ment of Medicine Section of He-matologyOncology is developing a diagnostic tool to identify tumors in patients likely to benefit from treat-ment with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist The project Companion Diagnostic for Treatment of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer was awarded $55000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee
Giger the AN Pritzker Professor of Radiology is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Quantitative Insights a company creating a soft-ware platform to help radiologists make more accurate and efficient breast cancer diagnoses The compa-ny was awarded $100000 as a win-ter 2014 Innovation Fund Awardee The company also received $50000 from the Innovation Fund in 2011
Kim Professor of Medicine in the Section of Gastroenterology Hepa-tology and Nutrition was selected to serve as dean for faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division Melina Hale PhD Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy was also selected to serve in the same capacity Kim focuses on clinical faculty and Hale on basic science faculty
Langerman Assistant Professor of Surgery was a principal investi-gator in one of the two proposals that won $50000 from the new University of Chicago Medicine Innovations Grant Program His study entitled ldquoPrudencerdquo Surgical Cost Reduction Initiative explores ways to engage surgeons and staff in reducing operating room costs relat-ed to disposable surgical supplies
Meltzer Professor of Medicine and chief of the Section of Hospital Medicine at the University of Chi-cago Medicine received the 2014 John M Eisenberg Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Meltzer was also named as the speaker for the 520th Convo-cation of the University of Chicago in August
Miller Associate Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality presented a play she wrote about the ripple effects of commu-nity violence at the international Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Conference in Chicago in May ldquoIt Shoulda Been Merdquo was written with funding support from an ITM grant
Suskind Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics is the director of the University of Chicago Medicine Thirty Million Words (TMW) program that originated from an ITM grant The PNC Foundation selected TMW to be part of a $19 million initiative supporting early childhood language development and the White House plans to high-light TMW at an upcoming event
Greene the Virginia and DK Ludwig Professor and Chair of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research is leading a project with Bourgo a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research that was awarded $70000 as a winter 2014 Innovation Fund awardee The project entitled Simplified Chromatin Conforma-
tion Capture (S3C) is working to develop a new tool for identifying long-distance genomic interactions key to normal biological function as well as diseases like cancer diabetes and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders Their goal which is already well underway is to streamline the assay into a kit for researchers and drug developers
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
16
CLUSTER NEWS
ITM CLUSTERSThe ITM served more than 1500 investigators last year through targeted initiatives referred to as ldquoclustersrdquo These clusters are led by distinguished faculty and administer support training and other services to move forward compelling translational research and community projects The ITM clusters include biomedical informatics clinical resources clinical trials community education population sciences and T1 research and technology Cluster leaders meet with the ITM leadership every month to share their progress and identify areas for growth
Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-Biomedical Informat-
2013-2014 ITM CLUSTERS
Biomedical InformaticsLeaders
Robert Grossman PhDSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD
The ITMrsquos Biomedical Informatics Cluster works in partnership with the University of Chicago
Center for Research Informatics (CRI) to provide services and data management tailored to clinical
and translational science offer education and training that investigators can apply to their
research and collaborate with other scientists through data storage sharing and other resourc-es Monthly hands-on bioinformatics training
sessions are held at no cost to investigators
Clinical ResourcesLeaders
David Ehrmann MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Resources Cluster offers investigators services education and the Clinical Resource Center (CRC) to support investigatorsrsquo research The CRC provides unique services and research assets such as bionutrition expertise a metabolic kitchen and specialized nursing and monitoring for clinical studies The Cluster also
runs the Core Laboratory which administers specimen processing for blood urine saliva and
stool
Population SciencesLeaders
Lainie Ross MD PhDRonald Thisted PhD
The ITMrsquos Population Sciences Cluster provides support and education in study design biosta-
tistics epidemiology research ethics health out-come analysis and more This last year more than 100 investigators utilized its biostatistics offerings
and it also offers year-round training and CME credit with programs like the Essentials of
Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and the summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
series
T1 Research and TechnologyLeaders Graeme I Bell PhD John Cunningham MD Maryellen Giger PhD Raphael Lee MD ScD DSc
The ITMrsquos T1 Research and Technology Cluster provides training and access to enabling technological resources for T1 research It also works in partner-ship with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Illinois Institute of Technology to run the D4Lab a workshop series and proj-
ect-based training program that combines entrepreneurship education with human-centered design to solve problems in biomedicine and health care
CommunityLeaders
Deborah Burnet MDKaren Kim MD
Doriane Miller MD
The ITMrsquos Community Cluster connects South Side leaders with health professionals and medical
researchers to improve healthcare delivery and the quality of life of South Side residents The Cluster facilitates the Community Advisory
Review Council Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and other resources to investi-gators while providing community members with health programs counseling and other outreach
Clinical TrialsLeaders
Susan Cohn MDWalter Stadler MD
The ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster works closely with the University of Chicago Office of Clinical
Research to offer a full spectrum of services to investigators engaging in human subject research
It connects investigators with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)and human subject protec-tion experts study design consultants and other resources to help make the process of launching a
clinical trial as streamlined as possible
EducationLeaders
Eric Beyer MD PhDDavid Meltzer MD PhD
Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade MD
The ITMrsquos Education Cluster facilitates the CTSA K12 Scholar Program that gives junior investigators protected time mentoring and
funding for their research The ITM administered 14 K Awards in 2013-2014 The ITM also works
with the Center for Health and Social Services (CHeSS) to run the Committee on Clinical and Translational Sciences a freestanding academic unit that creates multidisciplinary curricula tar-
geting clinical and translational sciences
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
17
CLUSTER NEWS - BIOMEDICAL INFORMATICS
CENTER FOR RESEARCH INFORMATICS OFFERS FREE BIOINFORMATICS TRAINING
By Sara Serritella
While working on an epidemiology research project Amikar Sehdev became interested in big data sets and the bioinformatics needed to manipulate them After attending a few Center for Research Informatics (CRI) bioinformatics training ses-sions he said he decided to change his career trajectory and obtain bioinformatics certification
ldquoCRI was the catalystrdquo said Sehdev a third-year HematologyOncology fellow at the University of Chicago Medicine
Sehdev is now using bioinformat-ics in his own research comparing DNA mutations in obese colorectal cancer patients to those of colorec-tal cancer patients who are not He is also a significant bioinformatics contributor in the lab of Olufun-milayo Olopade MD associate dean of Global Health and director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics
The Center for Research Infor-matics (CRI) has been hosting free bioinformatics training sessions supported by the ITM each month since 2012 In its first year alone it taught more than 350 participants how to analyze complex biological
data according to a CRI annual report
ldquoBioinformatics has become a vital analytic tool for conducting research and wersquove made education an important part of CRIrsquos mission to meet the needs of our research communityrdquo said Samuel Volchen-boum MD PhD director of the CRI and associate director of the ITM ldquoWersquore working to expand our course offerings in partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center ITM and other affiliates so that we can build on the excellent training thatrsquos already underwayrdquo
Volchenboum said that training is being led by Jorge Andrade PhD CRIrsquos director of Bioinformatics Andrade and Wenjun Kang MS a CRI Bioinformatics Core scientif-ic programmer led a three-hour session in May that served as an introduction to Linux the primary operating system used in bioinfor-matics
ldquoMany of the people participat-ing do not have formal training in computer science or computer engineering so this motivates them to get interested and involvedrdquo
Andrade said
Attendee Tunde Ade-dokun a University of Chicago Medicine student research assistant said the training was a great way to learn something useful to his career
ldquoIrsquove used Windows all my life so this opportunity
is something that will be really help-fulrdquo he said
Other participants like Shwu-Fan Ma PhD go in having more expe-rience in the field Ma is a research associate (assistant professor) at the University of Chicago Medicinersquos Section of PulmonaryCritical Care and has attended at least five of CRIrsquos bioinformatics training sessions
ldquoThe audience level is very broad and the instructors are very knowl-edgeablerdquo Ma said ldquoAfter the first part of the lecture itrsquos up to the more advanced audience members to raise questions and they will an-swer for the specific needs You can always get something out of itrdquo
And that something comes at no cost ndash which could translate into saving thousands of dollars
ldquoA training session on Linux for three hours will usually cost $300 to $500rdquo Andrade said ldquoAnd more specific analysis could go in the order of thousandsrdquo
But the impact the training has on
careers like Sehdevrsquos and research in general canrsquot be quantified with a price
The amount of data generated from the benchside and bedside can run into the millions of entries and top hundreds of gigabytes according to Ma making bioinformatics knowl-edge critical in moving toward precision care
ldquoBioinformatics is essential now for the future of medical researchrdquo she said ldquoThe large quantity of data needs to be sorted and then quali-ty-controlled and you just canrsquot do that manually anymorerdquo
Want to learn more about bioinformatics
Reach Jorge Andrade at jandradebsduchicagoedu
A classroom of students take a free hands-on bioinformatics course in May offered by the Center for Research Informatics and supported by the ITM Photo by Sara Serritella
IF YOU GO
Amikar Sehdev PhD attended several of CRIrsquos free bioinformatics training sessions
Photo by Sara Serritella
Bioinformatics training sessions are held at the end of each month Check out CRIrsquos
website for the latest dates and new learning opportunities Remember to register early - because the classes are hands-on there is
limited seating with computer access
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
18
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL RESOURCES
Position
Manager of Bionutrition Research for the ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC)
Background
Jennifer has served as the CRCrsquos manager of bionutrition research since 2005 Prior to the University of Chicago she was a research bionutritionist at the University of Illinois at Chicagorsquos Clinical Research Center and a clinical dietitian at Loyola University Medical Center Jennifer also has taught a nutrition course for health care professionals as a part-time faculty instructor at the College of DuPagersquos Department of Hospitality Administration since 2009 and her work has appeared in publications like the Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN ITM Archive Photo
She is an alumna of Loyola University Chicago where she received her bachelorrsquos degree in dietetics and nutrition and of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her masterrsquos degree in human nutrition Jennifer also has a certificate in medical writing and editing from The University of Chicago Graham School
Responsibilities
Jennifer collaborates with faculty investigators to provide nutrition expertise for their research protocols She designs and implements research diets consistent with the scientific goals of each project current nutritional knowledge and standards of practice and the needs of individual research partici-pants As of March 2014 she also oversees the processing of CRC applications which are accepted on a rolling basis
ldquoI love being able to see protocols come full-circle You work with the investigators and the study team from the time that they have the idea for their study through the application process and while their entire study is being carried outItrsquos very rewardingrdquo
When Planning Your Research Studies
bull Reach out to Jennifer and the CRC team before submitting your application ndash they can help with the entire study design and development process based on CRC services like nursing lab nutrition and more Theyrsquore also happy to answer any questions about conducting a CRC study and filling out the CRC applicationbull If you put through an amendment to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) make sure to update the CRC on the changes so that they can disseminate the new information to CRC staff and ensure the research is done according to the required specifications
Contact Connect with Jennifer Kilkus by emailing her at jkilkusbsduchicagoedu
ITM PERSON TO KNOWJENNIFER KILKUS MS RD LDN
CRC Announces Updated RatesThe Clinical Resource Center (CRC) offers investigators a variety of special-ty services that arenrsquot available anywhere else at the University of Chicago See the ways it can help you and note the updated CRC rates on the ITM website effective June 1 2014 through May 31 2015
ITMrsquos CRC offers several special services to investigators Photo by Sara Serritella
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
19
CLUSTER NEWS - CLINICAL TRIALS amp POPULATION SCIENCES
OFFICE OF CLINICAL RESEARCH OFFERING FALL TRAINING
The Fundamentals of Clinical Research course was held last spring and kicked off again on Tuesdays from 130 to 330 in Billings Hospital W-632 starting Sept 16 and running through Nov 25 On average almost two dozen participants attend the sessions each quarter
The training course educates clinical research staff and investigators on the regulatory and practical aspects of conducting clinical research at the University of Chicago covering topics like federal regulations informed consent processes documentation and more The course is free and CME credit is available
Plan on attending a session Register by emailing Chrystal Johnston at cjohnstobsduchicagoedu
EPOR amp SUMMER RCR COURSES TRAIN MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE BETWEEN 2013 - 2014
The ITMrsquos Essentials of Pa-tient-Oriented Research (EPOR) and summer Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) courses trained more than 200 participants be-tween 2013 and 2014
EPOR serves as an introduction to clinical research for young in-vestigators focusing its sessions on study design ethics and statistical methods This past year more than 120 people attended the ITMrsquos
EPOR sessions that were held during three academic quarters
More than 100 people combined attended the 2013 and 2014 summer RCR training programs that covered topics like conflicts of interest the ethical treatment of animals in research and intellectual property
Robert Hamanaka PhD a research associate in the Section of Pulmo-
naryCritical Care was one of the more than 50 RCR participants who attended the 2014 session that wrapped up Aug 26
ldquoIt prepares you for the futurerdquo Hamanaka said of the free training ldquoYoursquore reminded of what situations people can get themselves into and learn to recognize if those situations come up in your life and how you can deal with them in the best wayrdquo
All trainees on training grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) andor National Science Foundation (NSF) are required to complete eight hours of a face-to-face RCR course at the start of their training and again every four years
The next EPOR series will run October through December
The University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has been serving investigators and the community for almost a decade Photo by Sara Serritella
The ITM has served more than 1800 investigators since 2007 Photo by Sara Serritella
Find more about upcoming classes online or contact Sara Serritella at
sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
20
ITM SCHOLARS LUNCH AND LEARN FROM RENOWNED FACULTY
By Sara Serritella
Scholars enjoyed an intimate lunch with UChicagorsquos renowned John C Alverdy MD in May as part of ITMrsquos monthly Career (K) Seminar Series that brings together junior faculty and senior experts
Alverdy who introduced operations like bariatric and minimally invasive esophageal and biliopancreatic surgery spends time at both the science bench and patient bedside as a clinical gastrointestinal surgeon and researcher doing breakthrough work into the pathophysiology of GI disorders at his NIH-funded laboratory
But Alverdy told the ITM attendees that his career path like many others was a ldquostrange odysseyrdquo
He wasnrsquot even planning on going to medical school until after he became sick while visiting a cousin in Mexico
ldquoI got very interested in gut mi-crobes because I contracted several of themrdquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd when I talk to people like myself they always talk about what an odyssey it is that they ended up where they ended up The transition to R fund-ing is often not the linear path that it is made out to berdquo
Alverdy shared his research with the group as they enjoyed catered sandwiches salads and desserts
ldquoI study how physiologic stress releases host compensatory local cuesrdquo Alverdy said clicking through slides detailing his work ldquoAnd those cues are taken up by bacterial information processing systems You activate these quorum sensing signaling systems in bacteria and then you observe them to display what we call assemblage behavior These bacteria can now assemble as an entire community And then you get what we call context-dependent virulence expressionrdquo
But he also laced his lecture with career wisdom telling everyone to be ready for rejection
In his case he said he wrote a great E coli grant that was rejected be-cause the reviewers said E coli was not a pathogen ndash a position that has been proven false
ldquoYoursquore going to get a grant that comes back and a person is going to say lsquoThis hypothesis is untenable and it will not workrsquordquo Alverdy said ldquoAnd theyrsquore going to be dead wrongrdquo
Alverdy advised attendees to get their clinical trials going as soon as possible and to stay in an uncrowded space
ldquoThe game today is not just to obtain an R01 but sustained R01 funding so your lab goes on for 20 yearsrdquo he said ldquoWhatever specialty yoursquore in you need to really be careful to know that only you can answer the question yoursquore askingrdquo
Philip A Verhoef MD PhD attended the seminar and said he already scheduled a follow-up meet-ing with Alverdy to talk more
ldquoHis work is pretty similar to the kinds of research questions I want to askrdquo Verhoef said ldquoSo for me personally it was really important that I have the chance to hear about what hersquos doing in such a nice small settingrdquo
Hongtao Liu MD PhD said the best part of ITMrsquos Career (K) Semi-nars is hearing the personal research path of each presenter
ldquoDr Alverdy gave us an excellent example to choose your scientific
field wisely and you need to believe yourself and not be afraid to face the challengerdquo Liu said
While everyone has a mentor in their departments Alverdy said events like Mondayrsquos lunch give people a chance to hear from someone completely outside of their normal space
ldquoThere are few opportunities here to see people completely out of your area of specialty and interact with them in a more intimate setting like thatrdquo Alverdy said
The ITMrsquos next Career (K) Seminar is scheduled for 12 pm on Sept 15 2014
Visit itmuchicagoedu for more in-formation or contact Sara Serritella
at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu to get involved
2013 - 2014 SPEAKER LINEUP
IMPACTS
Presenters includedJohn C Alverdy MDRaymon Grogan MD
Wendy Stock MDHae Kyung Im PhDDavid Grdina PhD
ldquoFaculty open up about the lsquobe-hind-the-scenesrsquo issues that shaped their career This insight can help put onersquos own career development
journey in perspectiverdquo - Lea K Davis PhD
ldquoK Seminars are a nice way to network and learn how others have
established their careersrdquo- Eunji Ji Chung PhD
John C Alverdy MD talks to a group of junior faculty during the ITMrsquos K Seminar Series Photo by Sara Serritella
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
Attendees enjoy a free lunch Photo by Sara Serritella
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
21
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - EDUCATION
REGISTER FOR FALL CCTS COURSESThe Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) offers about five courses each quarter targeted toward translational science Mark your
calendar for fall classes check out the below sampling of 2014 offerings and visit the CHeSS and ITM websites for all the updated course information In general the courses are free to UChicago staff or faculty not seeking academic credit Those registrants should email Liz Nida to enroll and inquire about
potential CME credit Those already enrolled in a degree-granting program and seeking academic credit should sign up through the Registrar system
CCTS 4700027000Bioinformatics Analysis of High-Throughput Genomics DataInstructors Samuel Volchenboum Jorge Andrade Riyue Bao Kyle Hernandez Lei Huang Sabah Kadri and Kang WenjunTime 9 am - 5 pm Dec 3-5 9 am - 3 pm Dec 6 Location TBALearn computational technologies and the latest bioinformatics analysis tools through in-depth practical theory and hands-on training
CCTS 40004Advanced Clinical Pharmacology IInstructors Michael Maitland Navin Pinto and Manish SharmaTime and Location 330 ndash 450 pm Tuesdays in M214Get an interactive introduction to fundamental principles of clinical phar-macology relevant to drug development and personalized therapeutics
CCTS 46001Fundamentals of Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyInstructors Andy Davis and Laura BotwinickTime and Location Tuesdays 5 - 630 pm in Billings H300This course was designed for UChicago Medicine faculty and staff with the support of the CCTS to give an overview of concepts and methodologies for improving patient care Participants will design quality improvement projects using skills learned in class and hear from UCMC leaders through-out the course
CCTS 47001 Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Training Program 1 Instructors Deborah Burnett and Doriane MillerTime and Location Six Fridays throughout the year details TBACBPR involves community members organizational representatives and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process Online registra-tion for the CBPR Training Program is also required Note Registrants who wish to receive 025 units of course credit must register for CCTS 47001 in the fall quarter CCTS 47002 in the winter quarter and CCTS 47003 in the spring quarter
ITM PERSON TO KNOWLIZ NIDA MS
Liz Nida MS Photo provided
Position
Associate Director for Training Programs at the Center of Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS)
Background
Since 2013 Liz has served as the associate director for training programs at CHeSS and as the adminis-trator of the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) academic courses offered through CHeSS and the ITM
Prior to receiving her MSW at the University of Chicagorsquos School of Social Service Administration she studied business administration at the University of Colorado-Boulder Liz has also served as a clinical social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and worked in marketing and PR in Colorado She now applies those diverse skill sets to bridge the business and social service fields in healthcare and education
Responsibilities
Liz spends half of her time developing academic courses working with the ITM CHeSS and faculty members to offer unique CCTS classes each quarter The rest of her time is spent on social service initiatives and building community relationships for the Comprehensive Care Program launched by CHeSS Director ITM Education Cluster Co-Leader and CCTS Chair David Meltzer MD PhD
ldquoIn CCTS a lot of the courses have people from different departments because of how it impacts their clinical activities or their research interesthellipThe fun part is seeing an idea really develop end up becoming a course and hearing really nice feedback and ways in which we could tweak little things to make it betterrdquo
Contact Reach Liz at enidabsduchicagoedu to register for CCTS academic offerings or create a new translational science course
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
22
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
PILOT PROJECT BECOMES FINALIST IN SOCIAL NEW VENTURE CHALLENGE
FORMS NONPROFIT
Kohar Jones MD (L) and Greg Van Hyfte (R) rehearse for their GoodCity Chicago presentation in June Photo by Sara Serritella
An ITM Pilot Project led by Kohar Jones MD and UChicago alumnus Greg Van Hyfte has evolved to be-come a finalist in the University of Chicagorsquos premier startup program and is establishing its nonprofit status to bring therapeutic yoga to Chicagorsquos South Side
ldquoWersquore at the forefront of addressing yoga in underserved communitiesrdquo said Jones Assistant Professor and director of Community Health and Service Learning at the University of Chicago Medicine ldquoWe bring culturally competent therapeutic yoga to everyone regardless of the neighborhoods where they live and their ability to payrdquo
While research shows that yoga benefits at least 75 health con-ditions less yoga is available in medically underserved areas
To address these health dispari-ties Jones Van Hyfte and yoga teacher Julia Pedersen partnered with University of Chicago MBAMD candidate Kevin Stephens MBA candidate Kristin Cho and a team of business advisors and other supporters to launch YogaCare using ITM funding to gather the data that laid the groundwork for their organization YogaCare went on to become a finalist at the 2014 John Edwardson lsquo72 Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) put on by the Polsky Center for Entrepre-neurship and Innovation and Social Enterprise Initiative at Chicago Booth
The data from their 2013 study of 70 yoga participants showed statistically significant reductions in pain and stress
ldquoThe research piece was incredibly valuable for our operations and developing our business planrdquo Van Hyfte said noting that the SNVC advisors considered it one of YogaCarersquos strengths ldquoWe had that thanks to the ITM and the research projectrdquo
YogaCare grew out of Van Hyftersquos 2010 Schweitzer Fellowship project during which he offered free yoga courses to patients staff and the community at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) where Jones practices family medicine The two connected and YogaCare has gone on to secure about $9000 in fund-ing from the Schweitzer Fellowship and American Medical Association Foundation as well as more than $4000 from the GoodCity Chicago incubator in June
But YogaCare doesnrsquot just offer classes ndash it has a mentoring com-ponent to help others become yoga instructors
ldquoWersquore training students who live in the communities where classes are held to be teachersrdquo Van Hyfte said ldquoWersquore building community stability and sustainabilityrdquo
Right now YogaCare is offering four classes ndash two at the CFHC one at CommunityHealthrsquos Englewood
location and one at Community-Healthrsquos West Town location Ses-sions at CFHC are pay-what-you-can with a suggested $5 donation Listing a specific donation amount was based on advice from the SNVC Van Hyfte said and it has increased YogaCarersquos average income per student by about a dollar Ses-sions at CommunityHealth are free based on its volunteer model
And as they continue to evaluate the program and chart health outcomes Jones said their work could also impact health care on a larger level
ldquoOne of our questions now is about the potential for using yoga classes to increase patient activation to encourage the participants to care for themselves through yoga classes and see how that translates to their health care behaviors in generalrdquo Jones said YogaCare presented its research at the 2013 annual meeting of the
Family Medicine Midwest Founda-tion in Milwaukee and at the 2014 international Yoga and Health Research and Practice conference in London in April They also presented the YogaCare model at the 4th annual Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference in September with YogaCare board member Sonia Oyola MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medi-cine at the University of Chicago
Connect with YogaCare by reaching out to Kohar Jones at
kjones1bsduchicagoedu or Greg Van Hyfte at
yogacaregreggmailcom
IN THE NEWSWatch ABC7 Chicago highlight YogaCare during a July broadcast
REAL DATA REAL RESULTSSee YogaCarersquos poster showing its research on the Health Benefits of Yoga in Underserved Clinical
Settings Visit its website for more
By Sara Serritella
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
2323
ITM CLUSTER NEWS - COMMUNITY
ITM and University of Chicago Medicine Partner to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Asthma amp Adult Diabetes Six local nonprofits have been selected as the first recipients of more than $250000 from the new University of Chicago Medi-cine Community Benefits Grant Program a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) and the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM)
ldquoAll of us at the Chicago Asthma Consortium are thrilled to receive a Community Benefits Grantrdquo said Stacy Ignoffo executive director of the Chicago Asthma Consortium one of the awardees ldquoIt will allow us to improve asthma screening education policies and referrals to quality medical care in the charter school setting in what we hope will serve as a model for other schools in Chicago and beyondrdquo
The Community Benefits Grant Program was created to address pe-diatric asthma and adult diabetes in South Side residents two prevalent conditions identified by a 2012 University of Chicago Medicine Community Health Needs Assess-ment
ldquoThese local organizations deserve recognition for the great work theyrsquore doing and Irsquom thrilled that wersquoll be collaborating with them to address these common diseases that so adversely affect sufferersrsquo quality of liferdquo said Julian Solway MD dean for translational medicine and director of the ITM
Almost 20 percent of children in the area have asthma according to the assessment and about six in every 10 of those children missed school and experienced an emer-gency or urgent care visit in 2011
because of their condition The assessment also showed that among the community adults diagnosed with diabetes more than 60 percent had more than three medical visits in 2011 related to their disease
ldquoWith this program we not only are leading the way for campus and community partnerships but helping amplify the efforts of innovative organizations serving at-risk and underserved populations in our priority health areasrdquo said Brenda A Battle vice president of care delivery innovation and the administrative leader of UHI
Applicants needed to outline measurable objectives that would be completed within 12 months and have support from collabo-rating organizations in order to be considered
ldquoThe new Community Benefits Grant Program is a natural part-nership for ITM and UHI as our missions emphasize using research to improve community health and wersquore looking forward to working with many dynamic communi-ty groups in the years to comerdquo Solway said
The ITM is able to support such initiatives thanks to the more than $50 million in total funding it has received since 2007 from the NIHrsquos National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) CTSA grant numbers UL1 TR000430 KL2 TR000431 and TL1 TR000432 and from the University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences
Goggles line the shelf of a UChicago laboratory Photo by Sara Serritella
Asian Health Coalition - $29500 - Its Diabetes Prevention Program for Asians in Chinatown will address gaps in con-ventional diabetes health education and disease management for the underserved and limited-English-proficiency Asian immigrant populations These gaps are due to limited opportunities for cul-turally and linguistically tailored health education
St Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center - $50000 - Its Pediatric Asthma Clinic will add a patient advocate posi-tion to help improve care coordination education and assistance for patients and their caregivers by identifying and mitigating home and environmental asthma triggers
Chicago Asthma Consortium - $48425 - Its Comprehensive School-Based Approach to Improve Asthma Outcomes a pilot program within a charter public school will consist of three parts screening and referral edu-cation and policy The goal is to create a model that can be applied in other Chicago schools to improve identifica-tion of children with asthma education about management and implementa-tion of policy
CommunityHealth - $50000 - Its Take Action Diabetes Management Program provides patients with essential infor-mation to build self-management skills for controlling their medical conditions while also establishing and monitoring interventions and healthy outcomes at the Englewood Clinic
Mobile CARE Foundation - $45000 - The Roseland Community Initiative will utilize existing asthma vans to serve Roseland-area children through monthly visits to 13 sites (an expansion from eight sites) for annual asthma screenings The grant also will make possible data-sharing with Roseland Hospital the creation of a network of community health workers and regular meetings and trainings with Roseland staff
Respiratory Health Association - $30000 - Its Southside Asthma Management Project will educate chil-dren through Fight Asthma Nowcopy and their adult caregivers through asthma management programs focusing on early recognition of asthma symptoms common triggers emergency care proper inhaler use and medications In partnership with the Midwest Pesticide Action Center adult caregivers will also be educated about environmental triggers to help them prevent asthma
2014 Awardees
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
24
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
Susan Cohn MD was appointed dean of clinical research in April Photo provided
Susan Cohn Appointed Dean of Clinical Research
By Sara Serritella
Kenneth S Polonsky dean of the University of Chicagorsquos Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) announced the appointment of the ITMrsquos Susan Cohn MD as dean of clinical research April 15
ldquoIrsquom thrilled to have the opportuni-ty to advance our clinical research program at the universityrdquo Cohn said
Cohn took over the position from Walter Stadler MD who stepped down to focus on his recent appointment as section chief of HematologyOncology in the De-partment of Medicine Cohn said Stadler helped establish an efficient program and gained significant support for clinical trial research
ldquoIn this role Dr Cohn will direct the strategy and operations of the Office of Clinical Research which oversees our clinical research stud-ies ensuring they are conducted in a compliant safe manner for all research participantsrdquo said Kenneth Polonsky MD BSD dean and executive vice president for medical affairs
And the pediatric oncologist hasnrsquot wasted any time
Cohn who has been a co-leader of ITMrsquos Clinical Trials Cluster for the past seven years has been meeting with faculty from clinical programs across campus in the months since her appointment to better understand their research and specific needs
She has also been attending biweek-ly meetings with Polonsky Julian Solway MD ITMrsquos director and dean for translational medicine
and Conrad Gilliam PhD dean of basic science research Cohn said those meetings will help identify additional resources and research areas ripe for collaboration across all sections of the BSD
ldquoWe have outstanding faculty who have research interests in many different areasrdquo Cohn said ldquoSome-times introducing a researcher with clinical skills to an investigator who is focused on translational or basic research will result in studies that transform the fieldrdquo she said
Cohn who has devoted her career to studying neuroblastoma and caring for children afflicted with the deadly cancer speaks from experience
Before joining the University of Chicago faculty Cohn focused her research on investigating the biol-ogy of neuroblastoma tumor cells Shortly after her UChicago arrival she attended a number of lectures on health disparities and decided to investigate whether ethnic dis-parities in survival are observed in children with neuroblastoma Using data from a large cohort of children enrolled in Oncology Group stud-ies she found that African-Ameri-can patients had a higher prevalence of clinically aggressive high-risk neuroblastoma and worse outcomes than Caucasian patients
ldquoWhile I was conducting these studies I was very fortunate to be introduced to UChicagorsquos renowned statistical geneticist Nancy Coxrdquo Cohn said ldquoIn a collaborative study we were able to perform a trans-population analysis of more than 2700 children with neuro-blastoma and show that common germline genetic variation influenc-
es neuroblastoma phenotype and contributes to the ethnic disparities in survival we had observedrdquo
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) published their findings in 2013
In her new role Cohn said she also hopes to apply successes shersquos had in creating a centralized pediatric clinical trials office - which includes expanding a staff of highly trained clinical research associates who can help investigators activate clinical trials and conduct clinical research in an efficient manner
ldquoTo have research staff who under-stand what it takes to get clinical trials through the entire regulatory process to be in compliance and to make sure that wersquore always con-ducting ethical research is obviously of utmost importancerdquo said Cohn who serves as the director of clinical sciences in the Department of Pediatrics and is the acting section head for Pediatric HematologyOncology ldquoAnd the University of Chicago has very high standards for all of these things
ITM support has enabled that pedi-
atric clinical trials staff to grow by at least another full-time member and Cohn said she plans to expand that resource outside the department to make it as easy as possible for other investigators to start clinical trials
Looking to the future Cohn said she is excited about goals to expand clinical research beyond the small number of patients enrolled in clinical trials through the creation of a universal University of Chicago Medicine consent form Every pa-tient would have the opportunity to sign the form giving all patients a streamlined option to donate blood or tissue samples information from their electronic medical records and more that could be analyzed and preserved for future research
ldquoWersquoll take it one step at a timerdquo said Cohn adding that a pilot program for the universal consent forms was in the works ldquoIrsquom some-one who very much understands that you can have a big vision but you need to take steps that are a little bit smaller initially to move
Have an idea to share with Susan Cohn Email her at
scohnpedsbsduchicagoedu
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
25
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW FISCAL ANALYST
ITM BIDS FAREWELL TO FORMER CRC DIRECTOR
Roy E Weiss MD PhD is the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine Photo by UChicago Medicine
Roy Weiss MD PhD former director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) left the Universi-ty of Chicago Medicine in June to become the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida
ldquoHersquos just fantasticrdquo said Jennifer Kilkus MS RD LDN CRC man-ager of bionutrition research ldquoHersquos just a wealth of information and was very supportive over the years He will be definitely be missedrdquo
Weiss spent 29 years at the University of Chicago where he also served as the Rabbi Morris I Esformes Endowed Professor of Medicine Professor of Pediatrics
Chief of the Section of Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Executive Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Deputy Provost for Research
Tonirenee Shaw joined the ITM as its new fiscal analyst in April Photo by Sara Serritella
Position ITM Fiscal Analyst
Responsibilities Tonirenee Shaw uses her advanced knowledge of invoice processing
procedures to perform a variety of accounting activities Those include handling complex accounts receiv-
able and accounts payable inquiries disbursing payments to vendors and reimbursing investigators She also analyzes the ITM account data and reviews invoice payment reports
Joined inApril
On joining the team ldquoWhat I enjoy the most in my
position are my co-workers We are a fairly small group that makes
enormous things happen as we work to get investigators the fund-ing they need to do various types of research I am proud to be part of this department because with all of these studies we might just find
that curerdquo
Reach Tonirenee Shaw about invoices and other account information at tshaw5bsduchicagoedu
ITM APPOINTS NEW CRC LAB DIRECTOR
David McClintock MD has been appointed lab director of the ITMrsquos CRC Photo by UChicago Medicine
David McClintock MD was appointed lab director of ITMrsquos Clinical Research Center (CRC) in June
McClintock is the medical director
as the new chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
McClintock will oversee a staff of two at the CRCrsquos decentralized CLIA and CAP-certified lab and be the administrator in charge of point of care tests for research purposes such as YSI glucometry for glucose tolerance studies
of Pathology Informatics governing the Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) of the clinical laboratories in addition to serving as the medical director of the University of Chica-go Medicinersquos Point of Care testing
which encompasses all laboratory testing at patientsrsquo bedsides and in the outpatient clinic setting He also serves as the associate director of UC MedLabs the hospitalrsquos outreach laboratory group
McClintock has a Pathology Informatics Laboratory as well that focuses on laboratory workflow analysis informatics translational research and telepathology
He steps into this new role follow-ing the departure of the CRCrsquos pre-vious lab director Roy Weiss MD PhD who left to accept a position
Reach David McClintock at DavidMcClintockuchospitalsedu
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
26
ITM LEADERSHIP NEWS
ITM WELCOMES NEW COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER
Sara Serritella joined the ITM as its new communications manager in April Photo provided
Share your latest news with Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
Sara Serritella joined the ITM team in April as its new communications manager She oversees its commu-nications platforms including its print and online publications social media website and more and she will also be representing the ITM at the CTSANCATS national level
Serritella has reported at news or-ganizations across the country with her work appearing in publications like The Wall Street Journal TIME The Miami Herald the Associated Press and The Times of Northwest
Indiana She contributed to the Pu-litzer Prize-winning team reporting at the Detroit Free Press and most recently served as the managing editor of Chicago Ideas Week the Midwestrsquos largest innovation platform
In her journalism days she covered everything from health care to federal courts and was among the pioneers of multimedia reporting on those beats She looks forward to using those three-dimensional storytelling techniques at the ITM
to highlight breakthroughs in translational medicine
Serritella is a proud alumna of Northwestern Universityrsquos Medill School of Journalism Media and
Integrated Marketing Communi-cations and she is thrilled to mix Maroon into her Wildcat pride She looks forward to hearing from you about research updates publications and other news
ITM EVOLVES
ITM is changing the way it brings you the latest translational news
Engage with us
We want to collaborate with you and help you collaborate with others
Look to us for information on funding opportunities break-through science discoveries and highlighting your accomplishments as well as those of your colleagues within the ITM community and beyond
Many changes have already begun
You may have noticed the redesign of our weekly newsletters which you can sign up for here They are shorter snappier and allow you to quickly find the news most relevant to you Just click on the targeted links to find out more
Wersquore also sharing your news regu-larly on our redesigned social media platforms where you can stay up to date not only on UChicago-related translational news but on some of the most creative applications of translational medicine from around
the world
Join the conversation by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons on this page Connect with your col-leagues in this publication by click-ing on the ITM logo or their email addresses at the end of their stories to send them a message And stay tuned for a website redesign during which wersquoll be making the site easier to navigate and less text-heavy
Also be on the lookout for step-by-step instructions on the best ways to update your research networking faculty profiles
But as a news platform that is here to serve you we want to hear from you to know how that can best be accomplished Tell us
What do you like about our news-letters and other communications materials What can we do better
What seminars or training sessions would you like to participate in
Please send any feedback to
Sara Serritella at sserritella1bsduchicagoedu
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
27
UCHICAGO OPENING INNOVATION HUB TO HELP TRANSLATE RESEARCH INTO BETTER HEALTH
By Sara Serritella
Decades ago ITM investigator and medical physicist Maryellen L Giger PhD said she did not understand the need to patent or license her work ndash she embraced the university setting and wanted to share her research freely for all to benefit
Fast forward to 2014 and Giger now holds 25 patents and has launched business ventures based on her lab discoveries ldquoIrsquom a convertrdquo said Giger the AN Pritzker Professor in the De-partment of Radiology director of the Imaging Research Institute and senior fellow in the Computation Institute ldquoIf we really want to have a beneficial impact on society we have to translate to the point where our research is truly being usedrdquo Investigators will soon have a pow-erhouse hub to help them
make that impact
This October the University of Chi-cagorsquos new Chicago Innovation Ex-change (CIE) is scheduled to open its 17000-square foot main space on 53rd St The CIE has an arsenal of partners that include the Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Inno-vation the ITM UChicagoTech major national research laboratories like Argonne Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory and others to make translating research into better health as easy as possible
ldquoOur investigators know their re-search better than anyone else but they donrsquot necessarily have expertise to turn it into a business in order to introduce it to the worldrdquo said Jason Pariso director of opera-tions for CIErsquos Innovation Fund ldquoOur mission is to streamline and prepackage the process wherever
possible and to identify partners and internal and external resources that can support the commercializa-tion of these ideasrdquo
The Innovation Fund which is run jointly by UChicagoTech and Polsky is just one of many mentoring funding intellectual property consulting and other resources available under the new CIE umbrella The $20-million philanthropic venture fund sup-ports proof-of-concept work to help commercialize research discoveries Since 2010 it has awarded about $21 million to more than two dozen university projects Polskyrsquos Edward L Kaplan lsquo71 New Venture Challenge offers an-other vehicle for turning great ideas into viable businesses The premier startup program culminates in an annual competition where finalists pitch to a panel of veteran entre-preneurs and investors and prizes are given in the form of cash legal services and professional consulting
Giger has benefited from both
In 2009 she and her lab teamed up with some Booth students to enter the New Venture Challenge ndash they made it to the final nine and formed a company called Quantitative Insights (QI) which is currently in the process of applying for FDA approval for its clinical workstation
With their software they aim to help radiologists make more accurate breast cancer diagnoses by seamlessly merging image analysis methods with mammography ultra-sound and MRI displays Radiolo-gists estimate it might potentially reduce the time it takes to interpret a breast MRI scan by around 60 percent
Quantitative Insights also re-ceived $100000 last February and $50000 in 2011 from the Innova-tion Fund
ldquoIf you just give your developments away no one will commercialize them because businesses run on making money ie a competitive edgerdquo Giger said ldquoAnd what we develop is often not ready for use The Chicago Innovation Exchange gave tours in May at the site of its new home shown here under construction
Photo by Sara Serritella
Maryellen Giger PhD holds more than 25 patents Photo by Sara Serritella
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Continued on page 28
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
28
ndash for example our computer-aided diagnostic methods needed a more user-friendly interface to make them more efficientrdquo
That customer development is what Pariso refers to as the ldquoscientific method for businessrdquo where you make a hypothesis about what needs people have and what theyrsquore willing to pay for your product You then test it by asking potential customers if that theory is true The Innovation Fund supports this development through its student diligence teams which give inves-tigators the flexibility of being as involved in the process as their time allows
ldquoIt doesnrsquot have to take you away from your research or take you away from your focusrdquo Pariso said ldquoSeeing your intellectual property being utilized can be very satisfying additive to your career and raise your stature at the university and within your industryrdquo
In addition to Giger Pariso said the University of Illinoisrsquo John Rogers PhD is another example of a researcher who has mastered the innovation equation
Rogers has published more than 350 papers and is an inventor on more than 80 patents and pat-ent applications 50 of which are licensed to companies or being used
by one of the startups he co-found-ed
ldquoThe research yoursquore doing has a chance to do the good that you hoped it would dordquo Pariso said adding that the CIE also helps nonprofits and research for rare diseases that might not otherwise get traction from pharmaceutical companies
And with the cuts to the NIHrsquos budget lowering 2013 appro-priations by $155 billion and decreasing average grant award sizes that licensing could offer another funding stream to fuel researchersrsquo labs for the next big discovery
Send Maryellen Giger an email at m-gigeruchicagoedu or contact
Jason Pariso at jparisouchicagoedu
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Innovation Fund cycle runs every six months and awards are
typically made in May and December Visit the CIErsquos website for the latest submission deadlines
INNOVATION ON CAMPUS
Students analyze medical images in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger PhD Photo by Sara Serritella
NEW GRANT NUMBER FOR
CITING THE ITM
When publishing your work please remember to cite the ITM It ensures that wersquoll be able to provide the same fi-nancial support and other resources that you were able to enjoy for the next generation of investigators Please note
the updated grant number information for citing your work and visit the ITM website for more information
Scholars
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number KL2 TR000431 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Trainees
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1 TR000432 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Grant Awardees and Recipients of Other ITM-Funded Support
This includes Pilot and Mini-Grant awardees CRC investigators and those who receive support from resources or services that are partially funded by the ITM such as those relating to biostatistics and the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Please contact ITM Administrative Director Bushra Rehman with any citation questions
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1 TR000430 The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
Continued from page 27
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
29
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH PUBLISHEDJULY 2013 - JULY 2014
Second cistron in CACNA1A gene encodes a transcription factor mediating cerebellar development and SCA6Du X Wang J Zhu H Rinaldo L Lamar KM Palmenberg AC Hansel C Gomez CM Cell 2013 Jul 3154(1)118-33
CASK regulates SAP97 conformation and its interactions with AMPA and NMDA receptorsLin EI Jeyifous O Green WNJ Neurosci 2013 Jul 1733(29)12067
Genome-wide discovery of genetic variants affecting tamoxifen sensitivity and their clinical and functional validationGamazon ER Flockhart DA Skaar TC Weng L Ziliak D Im HK Philips S Nguyen AT Desta Z Huang RSAnn Oncol 2013 Jul24(7)1867
Can we do better than dobutamineMcNally EM Circ Res 2013 Aug 2113(4)355-7
Atypical sleep in ventilated patients empirical electroencephalography findings and the path toward revised ICU sleep scoring criteriaEly EW Bernard GR Shintani AK Thompson JL Malow BA Watson PL Pandharipande P Gehlbach BK Dittus BSCrit Care Med 2013 Aug41(8)1958
PURLs should you still recommend omega-3 supplementsMounsey A Monaco J Bello Kottenstette JJ Fam Pract 2013 Aug62(8)422
Role of proximal tubule in the hypocalciuric response to thiazide of patients with idiopathic hypercalciuriaWorcester EM Bergsland KJ Coe FLAm J Physiol Renal Physiol 2013 Aug 15305(4)F592
Gender bias in autoimmunity is influenced by microbiotaYurkovetskiy L Burrows M Khan AA Graham L Volchkov P Becker L Antonopoulos D Umesaki Y Chervonsky AV Immunity 2013 Aug 2239(2)400-12
Genetic variants associated with warfarin dose in African-American individ-uals a genome-wide association studyPerera MA Cavallari LH Limdi NA Gamazon ER Konkashbaev A Dane-shjou R Pluzhnikov A Crawford DC Wang J Liu N Tatonetti N Bour-geois S Takahashi H Bradford Y Burkley BM Desnick RJ Halperin JL Khalifa SI Langaee TY Lubitz SA Nutescu EA Oetjens M Shahin MH Patel SR Sagreiya H Tector M Weck KE Rieder MJ Scott SA Wu AH Burmester JK Wadelius M Deloukas P Wagner MJ Mushiroda T Kubo
M Roden DM Cox NJ Altman RB Klein TE Nakamura Y Johnson JA Lancet 2013 Aug 31382(9894)790-6
Intestinal epithelial vitamin D receptor signaling inhibits experimental colitisHanauer SB Huang Y Liu W Kong J Chen Y Li YC Golan MA Annun-ziata ML Du J Dougherty U Musch M Pekow J Zheng C Bissonnette MJ Clin Invest 2013 Sep 3123(9)3983
A prospective study of nighttime vital sign monitoring frequency and risk of clinical deteriorationArora VM Edelson DP Yoder JC Yuen TC Churpek MMJAMA Intern Med 2013 Sep 9173(16)1554
Clinical review Adolescent anovulation maturational mechanisms and implicationsRosenfield RLJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Sep98(9)3572
A three-stage model of Golgi structure and functionDay KJ Staehelin LA Glick BS Histochem Cell Biol 2013 Sep140(3)239-49
A nondegenerate code of deleterious variants in Mendelian loci contributes to complex disease riskBlair DR Lyttle CS Mortensen JM Bearden CF Jensen AB Khiabanian H Melamed R Rabadan R Bernstam EV Brunak S Jensen LJ Nicolae D Shah NH Grossman RL Cox NJ White KP Rzhetsky A Cell 2013 Sep 26155(1)70-80
PURLs ramipril for claudicationStevermer JJ Rogers N Stephens LAJ Fam Pract 2013 Oct62(10)579
A logic model for community engagement within the Clinical and Transla-tional Science Awards consortium can we measure what we modelCarter-Edwards L Rumala BB Wallerstein N Hurd TC Eder MMAcad Med 2013 Oct88(10)1430
Reversible DNA methylation regulates seasonal photoperiodic time mea-surementStevenson TJ Prendergast BJProc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013 Oct 8110(41)16651
ITM investigators - those who received funding education or other support directly or indirectly from the ITM - published about 1400 research papers in the last year Enjoy highlights from some of those publications listed below in chronological order and click on the links to learn more
Continued on page 30
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
30
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
Interactions between pregnancy obstructive sleep apnea and gestational diabetes mellitusEhrmann DA Van Cauter E Wroblewski K Reutrakul S Zaidi N Kay HH Ismail MJ Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013 Oct98(10)4195
Circulating adropin concentrations in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea potential relevance to endothelial functionGozal D Kheirandish-Gozal L Bhattacharjee R Molero-Ramirez H Tan HL Bandla HP J Pediatr 2013 Oct163(4)1122-6
Chromosome replication and segregation govern the biogenesis and inheri-tance of inorganic polyphosphate granulesHenry JT Crosson S Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(20)3177-86
Occludin OCEL-domain interactions are required for maintenance and regulation of the tight junction barrier to macromolecular fluxBuschmann MM Shen L Rajapakse H Raleigh DR Wang Y Wang Y Lingaraju A Zha J Abbott E McAuley EM Breskin LA Wu L Anderson K Turner JR Weber CR Mol Biol Cell 2013 Oct24(19)3056-68
Median arcuate ligament syndrome in the pediatric populationMak GZ Speaker C Anderson K Stiles-Shields C Lorenz J Drossos T Liu DC Skelly CL J Pediatr Surg 2013 Nov48(11)2261-70
PURLs Is self-swabbing for STIs a good ideaMounsey A Rowland K Page CJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)651
SLIT3-ROBO4 activation promotes vascular network formation in human engineered tissue and angiogenesis in vivo Paul JD Coulombe KL Toth PT Zhang Y Marsboom G Bindokas VP Smith DW Murry CE Rehman J J Mol Cell Cardiol 2013 Nov64124-31
PURLs Should you screen for postpartum depressionPrasad S Slattengren AH Kaiseruddin MAJ Fam Pract 2013 Nov62(11)E1
Identification of genetic variants that affect histone modifications in human cellsMcVicker G van de Geijn B Degner JF Cain CE Banovich NE Raj A Lewellen N Myrthil M Gilad Y Pritchard JK Science 2013 Nov 8342(6159)747-9
Sec16 influences transitional ER sites by regulating rather than organizing COPII Bharucha N Liu Y Papanikou E McMahon C Esaki M Jeffrey PD Hughson FM Glick BS Mol Biol Cell 2013 Nov24(21)3406-19
Crystal structure of Vб1 T cell receptor in complex with CD1d-sulfatide shows MHC-like recognition of a self- lipid by human γб T cellsLuoma AM Castro CD Mayassi T Bembinster LA Bai L Picard D An-derson B Scharf L Kung JE Sibener LV Savage PB Jabri B Bendelac A Adams EJ Immunity 2013 Dec 1239(6)1032-42
Genetic variation near IRF8 is associated with serologic and cytokine pro-files in systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosisNiewold TB Kariuki SN Chrabot BS Zervou MI Feng X Arrington J Jolly M Boumpas DT Reder AT Goulielmos GNGenes Immun 2013 Dec14(8)471
A function for EHD family proteins in unidirectional retrograde dendritic transport of BACE1 and Alzheimerrsquos disease Aβ productionBuggia-Preacutevot V Fernandez CG Udayar V Vetrivel KS Elie A Roseman J Sasse VA Lefkow M Meckler X Bhattacharyya S George M Kar S Bindokas VP Parent AT Rajendran L Band H Vassar R Thinakaran G Cell Rep 2013 Dec 265(6)1552-63
N6-methyladenosine-dependent regulation of messenger RNA stabilityWang X Lu Z Gomez A Hon GC Yue Y Han D Fu Y Parisien M Dai Q Jia G Ren B Pan T He CNature 2014 Jan 2505(7481)117-20
Steroids for acute COPD--but for how longMounsey A Asher GNJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)29
Low-dose penicillin for recurrent cellulitisRowland K Nguyen LJ Fam Pract 2014 Jan63(1)E10
Cognitive and motor function in long-duration PARKIN- associated Parkinson diseaseAlcalay RN Caccappolo E Mejia-Santana H Tang MX Rosado L Orbe Reilly M Ruiz D Louis ED Comella CL Nance MA Bressman SB Scott WK Tanner CM Mickel SF Waters CH Fahn S Cote LJ Frucht SJ Ford B Rezak M Novak KE Friedman JH Pfeiffer RF Marsh L Hiner B Payami H Molho E Factor SA Nutt JG Serrano C Arroyo M Ottman R Pauciulo MW Nichols WC Clark LN Marder KS JAMA Neurol 2014 Jan71(1)62-7
Targeting the tumor microenvironment with interferon-β bridges innate and adaptive immune responsesYang X Zhang X Fu ML Weichselbaum RR Gajewski TF Guo Y Fu YX Cancer Cell 2014 Jan 1325(1)37-48
Induction of innate lymphoid cell-derived interleukin-22 by the transcrip-tion factor STAT3 mediates protection against intestinal infection Guo X Qiu J Tu T Yang X Deng L Anders RA Zhou L Fu YX Immu-nity 2014 Jan 1640(1)25-39 PubMed PMID 24412612
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes melli-tus the diabetes and aging studyHuang ES Laiteerapong N Liu JY John PM Moffet HH Karter AJ JAMA Intern Med 2014 Feb 1174(2)251-8
Integrating diabetes self-management interventions for Mexican-Americans into the Catholic church settingGorawara-Bhat R Chin MH Baig AA Locklin CA Wilkes AE Oborski DD Acevedo JC Quinn MT Burnet DLJ Relig Health 2014 Feb53(1)105
Continued from page 29
Continued on page 31
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
31
ITM INVESTIGATOR PUBLICATIONS
PURLs treating migraine the case for aspirinMounsey A Ingledue VFJ Fam Pract 2014 Feb63(2)94
A randomized trial of bevacizumab for newly diagnosed glioblastomaGilbert MR Dignam JJ Armstrong TS Wefel JS Blumenthal DT Vogel-baum MA Colman H Chakravarti A Pugh S Won M Jeraj R Brown PD Jaeckle KA Schiff D Stieber VW Brachman DG Werner- Wasik M Tremont-Lukats IW Sulman EP Aldape KD Curran WJ Jr Mehta MP N Engl J Med 2014 Feb 20370(8)699-708
Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryOkada Y Wu D Trynka G Raj T Terao C Ikari K Kochi Y Ohmura K Suzuki A Yoshida S Graham RR Manoharan A Ortmann W Bhangale T Denny JC Carroll RJ Eyler AE Greenberg JD Kremer JM Pappas DA Jiang L Yin J Ye L Su DF Yang J Xie G Keystone E Westra HJ Esko T Metspalu A Zhou X Gupta N Mirel D Stahl EA Diogo D Cui J Liao K Guo MH Myouzen K Kawaguchi T Coenen MJ van Riel PL van de Laar MA Guchelaar HJ Huizinga TW Dieudeacute P Mariette X Bridges SL Jr Zhernakova A Toes RE Tak PP Miceli-Richard C Bang SY Lee HS Martin J Gonzalez-Gay MA Rodriguez-Rodriguez L Rantapaumlauml-Dahlqvist S Arlestig L Choi HK Kamatani Y Galan P Lathrop M RACI con-sortium GARNET consortium Eyre S Bowes J Barton A de Vries N Moreland LW Criswell LA Karlson EW Taniguchi A Yamada R Kubo M Liu JS Bae SC Worthington J Padyukov L Klareskog L Gregersen PK Raychaudhuri S Stranger BE De Jager PL Franke L Visscher PM Brown MA Yamanaka H Mimori T Takahashi A Xu H Behrens TW Simino-vitch KA Momohara S Matsuda F Yamamoto K Plenge RM Nature 2014 Feb 20506(7488)376-81
SIRT3 deacetylates and activates OPA1 to regulate mitochondrial dynamics during stressSamant SA Zhang HJ Hong Z Pillai VB Sundaresan NR Wolfgeher D Archer SL Chan DC Gupta MP Mol Cell Biol 2014 Mar34(5)807-19
Racial disparities in olfactory loss among older adults in the United StatesPinto JM Schumm LP Wroblewski KE Kern DW McClintock MKJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014 Mar69(3)323
PURLs Finally a way to relieve cancer-related fatigueMounsey A Asher GN Thomas GBJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)270
PURLs A simple way to reduce catheter-associated UTIsStevermer JJ Nguyen L Pereira SJ Fam Pract 2014 May63(5)E10
PURLs Itrsquos time to use an age-based approach to D-dimerStevermer JJ Kirley K Urban KJ Fam Pract 2014 Mar63(3)155
Latent profile analysis of eating episodes in anorexia nervosaGoldschmidt AB Mitchell JE Engel SG Crosby RD Wonderlich SA Cao L Lavender JM Crow SJ Peterson CB Le Grange DJ Psychiatr Res 2014 Jun53193
Continued from page 30
Looking Ahead2014 - 2015
ITM investigators conduct research at the University of Chicago Medical Campus and with collaborators from other institutions Photo by Sara Serritella
R StudioOnly about 168 percent of re-
search project applications in fiscal year 2013 received funding from the NIH - the lowest success rate seen in more than 40 years ITMrsquos R Studio will connect investiga-tors with senior reviewers to gain
feedback specific to R applications and ensure the strongest possible submission is sent to the NIH Be on the lookout for an official
launch this fiscal year
ProfilesLearn how to update your research
profile featured on NIH-funded open source software developed
by Harvard Catalyst The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center This networking platform
connects you with researchers allows you to search electronic
CVs build professional networks and more Check your inbox soon for a detailed guide on how to get
started
Innovative SeminarsInterested in hearing how researchers are building
customized bones from patientsrsquo stem cells The ways investigators are applying their lab discoveries to improve lives The ITM will launch translational seminars led by experts from around the world who are doing this work Look forward to dynamic presentations discussions and
the generation of new ideas Send ITM an email if you are interested in attending the inaugural session or if there is
someone you would like to hear from at an upcoming event
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
32
ITM Leadership Team
Julian Solway MD DirectorLainie Ross MD PhD Co-Director
Bushra Rehman MPA Administrative DirectorSamuel Volchenboum MD PhD Associate Director
Harold Pollack PhD Associate DirectorSonja Johnson-Hall Associate Administrative Director
Michael Quinn PhD Evaluation and Tracking ManagerSara Serritella Communications Manager
ITM Administrative Team
Sonya Redmond-Head Career Award Program AdministratorChartay T Robinson Community Program Development Specialist
Tonirenee Shaw Fiscal Analyst
Address
5841 S Maryland AveQ301 MC 7100
Chicago IL 60637
Phone
773-702-6739
Copyright 2014
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO INSTITUTE FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(ITM)
Stay in Touch
Be the first to know about translational science breakthroughs seminars funding opportunities training and more by signing up for ITMrsquos weekly newsletters here
For the latest daily ITM and global science updates like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter