RSS 1.0University of Massachusetts Medical School Research Retreat
ABOUT THIS COLLECTION
The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) Research Retreat highlights the medical school's vibrant scientific environment and ongoing research. Organized by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the 25th Annual UMMS Research Retreat was held virtually on October 26-27, 2020. This site features a collection of selected posters and presentations contributed by UMMS researchers at that event.
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Recently Published
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New Faculty TalksModerator: Dr. Michael Green, Chair and Professor, Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology Presenters: Dr. Johanna Seddon, Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences: “Macular Degeneration epidemiology: nature-nurture, lifestyle factors, genetic risk, and gene-environment interactions: clues to therapies” Dr. Sohye Kim, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry: “Neural markers of social engagement in the first year of life” Dr. Andres Colubri, Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Physiological Systems: "ORAN: A meta-modeling platform to drive real-life and online outbreak simulations"
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Closing RemarksClosing Remarks by: Dr. Terence R. Flotte, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education; Dean, Provost and Executive Deputy Chancellor and Chief Research Officer
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COVID-19 ResearchModerator: Dr. Thoru Pederson, Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Associate Vice Provost for Research Presenters: Dr. Robert Finberg, Chair and Professor, Medicine: “SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza-What's the difference and why do I care?" Dr. Celia Schiffer, Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology: "Structural insights to antivirals against SARS-CoV-2” Dr. Anastasia Khvorova, Professor, RNA Therapeutics Institute: “Developing RNAi-based therapeutics for COVID-19 in five months”
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Presentation: The Dan Mullen Awards for Best PostersThe Dan Mullen Poster Awards to best graduate student posters at the research retreat, presented by: Dr. Kendall L. Knight, Associate Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 2020 Dan Mullen Poster Award winners: Emily Agnello (Brian Kelch lab) – “Investigating the Self Assembly and Structural Features of a Thermophilic Bacteriophage” Hao-Ching Jiang (Paul Greer lab) – “Analyzing the Role of MS4A1 in Olfaction” Christine Carbone (Andrei Korostelev lab) – “Time-resolved Cryo-EM Visualizes Ribosomal Translocation with EF-G and GTP” Naema Nayyar (Michael Brehm lab) – “Intracranial Responses to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Pre-clinical Models of Melanoma Brain Metastasis”
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Metabolic interactions in microbial communitiesThe Shank laboratory studies the chemical and physical interactions of microbes with each other and their hosts. Microbes live everywhere, and their activities can have profound impacts on their hosts as well as on ecosystem‐level processes. How microbes interact within these communities, however, remains largely unknown. We are fascinated by the idea that microbes are able to generate and secrete chemical cues (known as specialized or secondary metabolites) that can act as interspecies signals to influence the physiology and metabolism of their microbial neighbors, and thus contribute to the stability and functioning of complex microbial communities. Our research dissects these microbial interactions using traditional microbiology, fluorescent co-culture, bioinformatics, mass spectrometry imaging, and native-like microcosms. We aim to define the molecular basis of how microbial specialized metabolites impact bacterial cellular differentiation, discover chemical tools to kill and modulate pathogens, and dynamically visualize microbial interactions at the single-cell level. In doing so, we are gaining insights into microbial ecology. We are also identifying novel bioactive compounds as potential therapeutics and chemical tools to achieve our long-term goal of manipulating microbial communities to improve host health and the environment. Presented virtually during the "New Faculty Talks" session at the 25th Annual University of Massachusetts Medical School Research Retreat 2020 on October 27, 2020.
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New Faculty TalksModerator: Dr. Beth McCormick, Vice Chair and Professor, Microbiology and Physiological Systems Presenters: Dr. Hyun Youk, Associate Professor, Program in Systems Biology: “Quantitative approach to understanding autonomous and collective deaths of microbial and mammalian cells” Dr. Vanni Bucci, Associate Professor, Microbiology and Physiological Systems: “Machine learning to decouple associations between microbiome, host immunology and clinical outcome” Dr. James Munro, Associate Professor, Microbiology and Physiological Systems: “Single-molecule analysis of HIV-1 genomic RNA conformation and dynamics” Dr. Elizabeth Shank, Associate Professor, Program in Systems Biology and Microbiology and Physiological Systems: "Metabolic interactions in microbial communities"
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ORAN: A meta-modeling platform to drive real-life and online outbreak simulationsPresented virtually during the "New Faculty Talks" session at the 25th Annual University of Massachusetts Medical School Research Retreat 2020 on October 27, 2020.
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Student TalksModerator: Dr. Kendall L. Knight, Associate Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology. Presenters: Maureen Hester, Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology (Stu Levitz lab), “Antigen specificity and cross reactivity in vaccine-mediated protection against cryptococcosis”; Xue Li, Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology (Elinor Karlsson lab), "Investigating the genetics of social behavior in wolf-dog hybrids”; and Nicholas Rice, Program in Molecular Medicine (Bill Theurkauf lab), "Heat stress disrupts piRNA biogenesis machinery”.
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New Faculty TalksModerator: Dr. Roger Davis, Chair and Professor in Molecular Medicine Presenters: Dr. TengTing (Elaine) Lim, Assistant Professor, Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology and Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology: “Multiplexing and demultiplexing with cerebral organoids for neurological diseases” Dr. William Flavahan, Assistant Professor, Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology: “Insulator dysfunction and epigenetic alterations as tumor drivers" Dr. Marcus Ruscetti, Assistant Professor, Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology: "Harnessing cellular senescence for cancer immunotherapy”
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Agenda: 2020 University of Massachusetts Medical School Research RetreatAgenda for the 2020 virtual University of Massachusetts Medical School Research Retreat.
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Welcome and Opening RemarksWelcome and Opening Remarks by: Dr. Terence R. Flotte, Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education; Dean, Provost and Executive Deputy Chancellor and Chief Research Officer Dr. Michael F. Collins, Chancellor and Professor, Population and Quantitative Health Sciences and Medicine; Senior Vice President for the Health Sciences Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, Professor, Molecular Medicine, Pediatrics, and Medicine; Director, UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science; Vice Provost, Clinical and Translational Research
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Virtual Poster Session #3Virtual Poster Session #3 (see Poster Session agenda for presenter details) for the University of Massachusetts Medical School Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 25th Annual Research Retreat, held online on October 26-27, 2020. Full-text posters made available by presenters in this session: Poster 75: "PFN1 phosphorylation marks protein aggregation and white matter pathology in ALS," Sepideh Parsi, Tao Qiao, Lyle Wilfred Ostrow, Marco B. Rust, and Zuoshang Xu
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Virtual Poster Session #1Virtual Poster Session #1 (see Poster Session agenda for presenter details) for the University of Massachusetts Medical School Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 25th Annual Research Retreat, held online on October 26-27, 2020. Full-text posters made available by presenters in this session: Poster 12: "Supporting Family Members of Youth in Mental Health Crisis," Joshua Feriante, Maite Cintron, Ariella Shayani, Brian Denietolis, Emily Lauer, David M. Cochran, Yael Dvir, and Emily Rubin Poster 22: "Transcriptome-wide investigation of stop codon readthrough in Saccharomyces cerevisiae," Kotchaphorn Mangkalaphiban, Feng He, Robin Ganesan, Chan Wu, Richard E. Baker, and Allan S. Jacobson
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Virtual Poster Session #2Virtual Poster Session #2 (see Poster Session agenda for presenter details) for the University of Massachusetts Medical School Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 25th Annual Research Retreat, held online on October 26-27, 2020. Full-text posters made available by presenters in this session: Poster 27: "Frailty Index Scores are Stronger Predictors of Complications in Free Flap Breast Reconstruction than BMI, Age, and ASA Class: A Retrospective Analysis on the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2010 - 2018," Alex Joo and Giorgio Giatsidis Poster 29: "A ThinPrep Cytopathology of Cutaneous Meningioma with Histologic Correlation," Ahmed M. Alhusseiny and Rukmini M. Kashikar Poster 35: "Targeted multielectrode tDCS increases functional connectivity within the arcuate fasciculus network: An exploratory study and analysis," Karl D. Lerud, Anant B. Shinde, Axel Thielscher, David A. Ross, and Gottfried Schlaug Poster 42: "Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Post-stroke Motor Recovery - a Phase II Study (TRANSPORT2)," Muhammed E. Gunduz, Anant B. Shinde, Karl D. Lerud, Wayne Feng, and Gottfried Schlaug Poster 49: "PAD2 Dysregulation and Abnormal Protein Citrullination in ALS Disease Models," Issa Yusuf, Tao Qiao, Ronak Tilvawala, Paul R. Thompson, and Zuoshang Xu
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Poster Sessions: 2020 University of Massachusetts Medical School Research RetreatList of poster session presentations for the 2020 virtual University of Massachusetts Medical School Research Retreat.
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Student TalksModerator: Dr. Kendall L. Knight, Associate Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Presenters: Maureen Hester, Division of Infectious Disease and Immunology (Stu Levitz lab): “Antigen specificity and cross reactivity in vaccine-mediated protection against cryptococcosis” Xue Li, Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology (Elinor Karlsson lab): “Investigating the genetics of social behavior in wolf-dog hybrids” Nicholas Rice, Program in Molecular Medicine (Bill Theurkauf lab): “Heat stress disrupts piRNA biogenesis machinery”
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Frailty Index Scores are Stronger Predictors of Complications in Free Flap Breast Reconstruction than BMI, Age, and ASA Class: A Retrospective Analysis on the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2010 - 2018Background: Free flap autologous breast reconstruction (f-ABR) improves quality of life in cancer survivors but has a 5-47% higher postoperative complication (PCs) rate in vulnerable patients, such as those with obesity or the elderly. Given the high (respectively: 43% and 16%) and rising prevalence of these conditions, operative risk prediction is critical to guide targeted care. Age, BMI, and ASA class have shown inaccuracies as predictive factors of PCs in f-ABR. Since frailty, a measure of vulnerability, was reported to be a reliable predictor of PCs in multiple other surgical fields, we hypothesized that it would be an accurate predictor of PCs also in f-ABR. Methods: Patients undergoing f-ABR (CPT: 19364) were identified using the ACS-NSQIP (American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program) database (01/2010-12/2018). Frailty was calculated using the validated modified Frailty Index (mFI). Rates of wound complications, bleeding episodes, readmissions, returns to operating room (ROR), and DVTs were compared across mFI score, BMI, age, and ASA class. Results: mFI ≥ 2 was associated with 22.22% (p <0.001) wound complications; 15.79% (p <0.001) bleeding episodes; 8.20% (p <0.001) readmissions; 17.19% (p <0.001) ROR; and 1.81% (p <0.05) DVTs. Higher BMI, age, and ASA class did not significantly correlate with increased rates in one or more PCs. Only a high mFI was consistently associated with significantly higher odds of complications in all complication types. Conclusions: As a reliable and accurate predictor of PCs in f-ABR, frailty could be used preoperatively to counsel patients and guide surgical care.
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Harnessing Cellular Senescence for Cancer ImmunotherapyPresented virtually during the "New Faculty Talks" session at the 25th Annual University of Massachusetts Medical School Research Retreat 2020 on October 26, 2020.
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Post-Doc TalksModerator: Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor, Neurobiology Presenters: Sneha Shah, Program in Molecular Medicine (Joel Richter lab): “FMRP loss alters the epigenetic landscape and alternative splicing of mRNAs in Fragile X Syndrome” Emmanouela Tsagkaraki, Program in Molecular Medicine (Mike Czech lab): “CRISPR RNP-enhanced adipocyte 'browning' as cell therapy for metabolic disease” Khursheed Wani, Laboratory of Comparative Immunology (Javier Irazoqui lab): “NHR-49/PAARα and HLH-30/TFEB cooperate for C. elegans host defense via a flavin-containing monooxygenase“
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Supporting Family Members of Youth in Mental Health CrisisThe Sibling Support Program: A Family-Centered Mental Health Initiative, developed at the E.K. Shriver Center of UMass Medical School, addresses the impact of a youth’s mental health challenges on typically-developing siblings and caregivers. The project is an IRB-approved research study at Cambridge Health Alliance, and the principles of the project have been implemented at three sites in Worcester that provide gradated levels of care, ranging from residential to community-based. Findings show that regardless of the severity of a child’s mental health challenges, as evidenced by the level of care the child receives, family members display a similar need for support. The three sites in Worcester are: Continuing Care Units (CCU) at Worcester Recovery Center & Hospital; the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CANDO) at UMass Medical School; and a community collaboration between the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (McPAP), the Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL), and the department of psychiatry at UMass Medical School. The project aims to increase resiliency and mitigate the trauma commonly experienced by siblings of youth with mental health needs; build skills, competency and confidence among parents; strengthen the family unit; and build capacity among psychiatry trainees. Interventions include psycho-educational groups for caregivers and sibling support groups for children growing up alongside the affected youth. Participants completed surveys following the intervention to report on knowledge learned, satisfaction level, and behavioral change anticipated by the participant. This innovative program utilizes parent mentors and trainees to deliver interventions, with high satisfaction scores among participants. Results suggest that a child’s mental health challenges can be traumatic for family members, and that sharing stories and being introduced to coping skills can help alleviate the stress and anxiety related to living with a child with mental health issues. The program serves as a training elective for psychiatry residents at UMMS.
