Author: Freelance Writer Jenisha Watts

 

Gilda Barabino teaches chemical engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. She decided to study chemistry in college after her high school teacher told her class "chemistry was not for girls." Walk into Dr. Gilda Barabino’s office at Georgia's Institute of Technology in Atlanta and scan the room. Each wall is lined with shelves, filled with thick science journals, hardback copies of Langston Hughes poems, and soft vintage novels by James Baldwin. Tucked between the shelves, a poster with a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the bold words, “The Right to be Free.”

It is a commemorative of Brown vs. the Board of Education, the landmark 1954 case where the Supreme Court ruled that state laws establishing "separate but equal" public schools for white and black students was unconstitutional.The ruling paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement. For Barabino, an African American woman, the words on the wall are more than an inspirational slogan. They serve as a “daily reminder” on how far black people have advanced in America. Gazing up at the poster, Barabino, says, "The best science is conducted when we have the most inclusive group of people involved. You can’t possibly have the best minds at the table if you exclude certain groups.”

Barabino is Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies at Georgia Tech and Emory University. She has degrees from Xavier University, B.S., and Rice University, Ph.D. In 1994, she received the Outstanding Engineering Faculty Award and in 2007, she was a fellow at the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. She’s penned articles for numerous publications sharing her research on adhesion mechanisms in sickle cell disease, cellular, and tissue engineering. Chemistry helps explain the substances we ingest through the air we breathe and food we eat, she said. As a chemical engineer, Barabino applies her knowledge to help solve problems in medicine.

While testing different experiments for her sickle cell research, she has learned, with medicine, “many times it is not the substance itself that is bad, but how it is being used,” she said. “We have an agent that will prevent your cells from sickling, but will cause other problems because it is toxic,” Barabino said. “If we use hydroxyurea, the body can tolerate that form, and we have an alternative antisickling agent.”

She credits her high school only educated parents for her ambitious track record. “They instilled in me every day that education is important.” A soft-spoken Barabino is quick to add, “In our family, it was just understood that you were going to college to obtain the highest degree.”

A naturally curious girl, she had multiple interests in school subjects."I loved everything," she says. It was her high school teacher who unknowingly set her down on a career path in science. “She told the class that chemistry was not for girls,” Barabino recalls. “I thought how dare you pick a group and say a particular subject is not acceptable for them!” The pupil with the wide attentiveness roped in her focus. “And that’s really how I got started in chemistry,” a proud Barabino said.

These days, she splits her time directing a laboratory and teaching chemical engineering courses and polymer science. She enjoys the research atmosphere, with lab benches as resting chairs, and bright colored molecules hanging up like wallpaper, just as much as she relishes sharpening future scholars minds in science.

“I am so passionate about broadening the community of science. I don’t want us to lose talent,” Barabino said. “I think it is important to give back because everyone does not have that same inner drive, some people need a little more nudging and support. I think it is even more important for people of color to give back. That’s part of my mission.”

 

The Georgia Tech/Emory initiative in Regenerative Medicine, in partnership with the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI), is pleased to invite seed grant proposals in Regenerative Medicine. The research seed grant program will fund both multi-investigator teams and single investigators. The review committee will strive to make awards that reflect a balance between multi and single investigators and between basic science and translational research, with the latter including large animal studies and initial clinical studies. The desired portfolio should include a balance of Emory and Georgia Tech faculty. The award program also is available to be used to fund junior investigators in team or individual grants and can be used for the recruitment of outstanding young investigators.

 

Strategic Priority Team Grants

● Applications should have a clinical target.

● A team must have a minimum of two investigators and may include both basic scientists and clinicians. Collaborations among Emory and Georgia Tech and other ACTSI partner faculty will be encouraged.

● Awards in general may be for up to $100,000 per year for no more than three years; however, where a larger budget is required, e.g. for large animal studies or a clinical study, an additional supplement may be possible.

 

Innovative Research Grants

● These grants will be funded at up to $50,000 per year, and based on satisfactory progress can be for up to three years.

● Awards can be made to investigators who are addressing new questions or taking new approaches.

● Awards can be made to investigators not previously engaged in regenerative medicine research.

 

The success of the research grant program will be measured by the number of publications and follow-on extramural funding that is achieved from the seed grants and/or the initiation of clinical studies. Any publications arising from a grant funded by this program is required to acknowledge this program and the ACTSI as the source of funds.

 

Purpose of the funds: Seed grant funds are intended to enable PI’s to generate preliminary data that facilitates the submission of proposals for subsequent external funding or to provide the initial studies leading to a clinical trial.

 

Who may apply: Proposals may originate from a single PI or may be a collaboration between investigators. All tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty and clinical faculty whose appointments reside at Emory and Georgia Tech are eligible to apply.

 

Budget Information: Funds may be used for Ph.D. student/postdoc support, animal studies, supplies, and limited travel as related to the conduct of the research. Faculty salary support is not appropriate. For Georgia Tech students supported on these funds, their tuition will be waived. Note that these are not intended to be multi-year grants, but rather to facilitate the generation of critical preliminary data or demonstrate feasibility of concepts that will lead to external support through other federal or state agencies and/or to clinical studies. At the time of this announcement the amount of funds available for this seed grant program has not been determined. Thus, the review committee reserves the right to make adjustments to the budgets of funded projects based on the total funds available. Furthermore, funds provided from ACTSI must be spent by May 31, 2012 and those provided by Georgia Tech by June 30, 2012.

 

Deadline: The deadline for submission of proposals is August 5th; however, a letter of intent with the title of the project, the names of investigators, and the proposed total budget must be submitted by e-mail no later than July 15th to Robert Nerem (robert.nerem@ibb.gatech.edu). Funding period will start no later than September 2011. IACUC/IRB approvals (when appropriate) are necessary before funding can commence.

 

Proposal Format: The technical aspect of the proposal cannot exceed five pages and should include the following sections: a) brief introduction outlining the general problem and the specific aspect tackled by the proposed research; b.) specific aims; c.) a brief description of experiments proposed; and d.) outcomes anticipated. Budget request and a brief budget justification may be submitted using an additional page.

 

Submission Instructions and Questions: Technical questions regarding the program may be addressed to Robert Nerem (robert.nerem@ibb.gatech.edu).  Proposal should be submitted via email by 5 pm on August 5th to Megan McDevitt (megan.mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu).

 

 

A new study demonstrates RNA-driven genetic changes in bacteria and in human cells.
Not long ago, it was considered that the major role played by RNA was to carry genetic information for protein synthesis. Although an astonishing variety of RNA functions have been found in the last few decades, it has always been very difficult to determine if any RNA has the capacity to genetically modify the DNA of cells.

A double-strand break in the DNA genome of human embryonic kidney cells was repaired by RNA-containing molecules, which restored the function of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, making the human cells fluoresce green.

By using RNA-containing oligos, the Storici’s team (Assistant Professor, School of Biology) has found that RNA can function as a template for DNA synthesis without being reverse transcribed into cDNA, not only in yeast but also in Escherichia coli and in the human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells. These findings establish that a direct flow of genetic information from RNA to DNA can occur in organisms as diverse as bacteria and humans, and thus, it can be a significant source of genetic variation. The goal of future research is to understand the mechanisms by which RNA can directly transfer information to the DNA of cells and to reveal the circumstances in which RNA information can flow to DNA.
The study, which was published April 14 in the advance online edition of the journal Mutation Research, was conducted by a group of graduate and undergraduate students in the Storici’s lab in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech in collaboration with Bernard Weiss from Emory University School of Medicine.

The Stem Cell Biomanufacturing IGERT program at the Georgia Institute of Technology was mentioned in Nature Magazine on June 9^th in Growing with the flow by Meredith Wadman as one of the few programs providing young researchers with “outside-the-box opportunities” for stem cell research amidst the funding feud. 

Last year, the appeal to repeal the injunction blocking the NIH from funding research using embryonic stem cells was passed. A second victory for scientists recently occurred when courts ruled that “the Department of Health and Human Services would not prevent future presidents or Congresses from acting anew to limit government funding for research.” However, there is still some public opposition to using human embryos for research. The NIH will fund $125 million to stem cell research this year alone, but scientists are wary knowing this funding comes without long-term security.

The article details programs available to young scientist considering careers in stem-cell research in the US and around the world. Ms. Wadman recommended stem cell PhD programs at Stanford, the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at New York University School of Medicine, the University of Minnesota, and the Hanover Biomedical Research School in Germany.

She also commented on “the emerging need for biomanufacturures with stem-cell experitise, as exemplified by a new PhD prgoramme in stem-cell biomanufacturing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, funded by the US National Science Foundation. The programme opened its doors last year and is admitting six students per year. “If stem cells are going to move out of the lab, there will be lots of need for engineers to produce a large number of identical cells,” says Aaron Levine, assistant professor of public policy at Georgia Tech and researcher involved in the IGERT.

The Stem Cell Biomanufacturing IGERT program is headed by co-directors, Todd McDevitt, PhD and Bob Nerem, PhD, and offers enormous promise for researchers to become experts in stem cell biomanufacturing for the development of cell-based therapies, including regenerative medicine, drug discovery and development, cell-based diagnostics, and cancer. With funding for the next 4 years, this IGERT program is transforming the potential of stem cells for PhD scientists and engineers. 

View Article Here.

Following a presentation to an alumni group in Chattanooga, Tenn., in March, Georgia Tech’s dean of engineering Don Giddens was posed a question: How will a University of Georgia engineering degree compare to one from Georgia Tech?

Perhaps it was a rhetorical question, but after some of the snickers in the crowd subsided, Giddens replied, “First of all, one of the arguments that the University of Georgia used was that … they really needed to offer engineering and medicine both in order to be a first-tier university. So our kind of tongue-in-cheek comeback to that was, ‘Are you going to add a third-rate engineering program and become a first-rate university?’” Read Full Article

Georgia Tech’s Stem Cell Engineering Center is hosting a half-day workshop on May 9, 2011 at the Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.  Seventy-five scientists and trainees from seven different departments at Georgia Tech, Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine and the University of Georgia are convening to discuss research from various fields relating to stem cell engineering.  

Aligned with the mission of the Stem Cell Engineering Center, the purpose of this workshop is to cultivate teams of researchers from the basic sciences to address key hurdles and technological challenges currently impeding the development of stem cell therapeutics and diagnostics.  

Stem cells, or unspecialized cells, hold tremendous promise as a biological resource for regenerative medicine therapies, pharmaceutical discovery and development, and cell-based diagnostic assays. Transforming the potential of stem cells into viable biomedical technologies and commercial applications is dependent on developing efficient, robust, non-destructive and scalable strategies to control, assay and manufacture stem cells and stem cell-derived products.  

Many of the unique challenges posed by stem cell research could be addressed by applying innovative technological advances occurring in adjacent disciplines for similar purposes, but different applications. Presentations during the workshop will include talks on differentiation technologies, bioanalytical techniques, multi-scale phenotypic analysis and stem cell biomanufacturing.  

 

CoE Dean Don Giddens was recently awarded the GT Ambassadors Award for The Most Georgia Tech Spirit. The award is one of five awards given annually at the Up With the White and Gold Awards Ceremony to outstanding faculty and staff nominees by the GT Ambassadors as part of an effort to recognize those who work hard to positively affect the quality of education, research, and student life at Tech.  As with all of the GT Ambassadors' awards, a number of nominations are submitted anonymously by the entire organization, and then the top honorees (receiving the most nominations) are placed on a ballot for the organization to select a winner. 

This particular award recognizes those professional members of the Tech community whose commitment extends beyond their realm of expertise to the a genuine love of and spirit for the Institute. Dean Giddens was naturally one of the top candidates for the Most Georgia Tech Spirit Award, as his commitment has spanned over 50 years from his time as a student here for all of his degrees, up until his impending retirement. 

This year, the award was presented at the Up With the White and Gold ceremony on April 28th, in the Student Center Ballroom. 

To the campus community of Georgia Tech:

With the conclusion of the state legislative session and the monthly Board of Regents meeting occurring within the same week, I wanted to take the opportunity to provide an update on our current financial situation, as well as how some of the actions to date will impact the members of our community.

Prior to its adjournment last week, the Georgia General Assembly passed its proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget and sent it to the governor for his review and signature. At this point, the expectation is that Georgia Tech will receive another significant reduction in its state appropriation. In addition, the state formula funding — money allocated by the legislature to support growth of an institution’s enrollment — has been frozen for the first time.  All told, this represents an additional reduction in the funds available to the Institute of between $16 to $18 million.

To offer some perspective: over the past four years, Georgia Tech’s state allocation has been reduced by almost $90 million, or approximately 31 percent, and the state contribution now accounts for less than 17 percent of our overall budget. While we have taken steps to mitigate the effect of these reductions, we are not able to absorb these cuts and still preserve the quality of our academic programs, and provide the educational experience consistent with other top-tier public research universities.  With pay freezes already in place for three years, cuts to our state appropriation and increased efficiencies already implemented, it is necessary to seek other alternatives, including additional tuition and fees, to offset these reductions in state support for higher education.

Tuition and fees are directly responsible for the quality of the student education and experience. These include instructional and student-related activities; critical academic issues such as the student-faculty ratio, which has increased from 21 to 1 four years ago to 23 to 1 today; the availability of course sections for our undergraduates; and the operation of world-class academic and research facilities.

As some of you know, the HOPE Scholarship was the subject of intense debate during the recent legislative session.  Due to rising student enrollment and tuition costs, Governor Nathan Deal and the General Assembly leaders recalibrated the merit-based program in order to preserve its financial health for future generations of Georgians. All of us applaud those efforts by the governor and the legislature. In another year of tough choices, preserving as much of the HOPE Scholarship program as possible was the right thing to do.

This week, the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents met to set tuition and fees for its member institutions, taking in to consideration the needs of our institutions, the declining direct state budget support and the overall economic condition of Georgia and the nation. In so doing, the Regents voted to approve a 3 percent tuition increase for resident students as well as an additional mandatory $350 special institutional fee per semester for Georgia Tech. With these funds we plan to hire additional faculty to accommodate our enrollment growth, continue financial aid relief for our neediest students and support our important academic initiatives, including funds to operate the new Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.

Georgia Tech, like families throughout the state and nation, continues to face challenging economic times. Our first priority is to preserve the value of the degrees that we award to our students to ensure that we prepare them for an increasingly competitive and global job market. These increases represent an investment in the future of our institution, and I want to express my deepest appreciation to our faculty, staff, students and alumni as we work to ensure the quality of our educational and research programs and maintain our status as Georgia’s premier public university.
 
G. P. “Bud” Peterson


President, Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Tech BME students presented their "CardioScout" project done at SJTRI to the Science and Technology Committee at the Georgia State Capital. They were introduced by Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson and SJTRI Chairman Mr. Bruce Simmons.

Vaccine scientists say their "Holy Grail" is to stimulate immunity that lasts for a lifetime. Live viral vaccines such as the smallpox or yellow fever vaccines provide immune protection that lasts several decades, but despite their success, scientists have remained in the dark as to how they induce such long lasting immunity.

Researchers at Emory University and Georgia Tech have designed tiny nanoparticles that resemble viruses in size and immunological composition and induce lifelong immunity in mice. They designed the particles to mimic the immune-stimulating effects of one of the most successful vaccines ever developed — the yellow fever vaccine. The particles, made of biodegradable polymers, have components that activate two different parts of the innate immune system and can be used interchangeably with material from many different bacteria or viruses.

The results are described in this week's issue of Nature. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
These results address a long-standing puzzle in vaccinology: how do successful vaccines induce long lasting immunity? said senior author Bali Pulendran, Charles Howard Candler professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and a researcher at Yerkes National Primate Research Center.  These particles could provide an instant way to stretch scarce supplies when access to viral material is limited, such as pandemic flu or during an emerging infection. In addition, there are many diseases, such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and dengue, that still lack effective vaccines, where we anticipate that this type of immunity enhancer could play a role.

One injection of the live viral yellow fever vaccine, developed in the 1930s by Nobel Prize winner Max Theiler, can protect against disease-causing forms of the virus for decades. Pulendran and his colleagues in the Emory Vaccine Center have been investigating how humans respond to the yellow fever vaccine, in the hopes of imitating it.

Several years ago, they established that the yellow fever vaccine stimulated multiple Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the innate immune system. TLRs are present in insects as well as mammals, birds and fish. They are molecules expressed by cells that can sense bits of viruses, bacteria and parasites and can activate the immune system. Pulendran's group demonstrated that the immune system sensed the yellow fever vaccine via multiple TLRs, and that this was required for the immunity induced by the vaccine.

TLRs are like the sixth sense in our bodies, because they have an exquisite capacity to sense viruses and bacteria, and convey this information to stimulate the immune response, explained Pulendran. We found that to get the best immune response, you need to hit more than one kind of Toll-like receptor. Our aim was to create a synthetic particle that accomplishes this task.
Emory postdoctoral fellow Sudhir Pai Kasturi worked with Niren Murthy, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, to create tiny particles studded with molecules that turn on Toll-like receptors.
Given the ability of these nanoparticles to tune T and B cell responses, I anticipate they will be the focus of numerous vaccine developments in the future, said Murthy.

One of the particles components is MPL (monophosphoryl lipid A), a component of bacterial cell walls, and the other is imiquimod, a chemical that mimics the effects of viral RNA. The particles are made of PLGA — poly(lactic acid)-co-(glycolic acid) — a synthetic polymer used for biodegradable grafts and sutures.

All three components are FDA-approved for human use individually. For several decades, the only FDA-approved vaccine additive was alum, until a cervical cancer vaccine containing MPL was approved in 2009. Because of immune system differences between mice and monkeys, the scientists replaced imiquimod with the related chemical resiquimod for monkey experiments.

In mice, the particles can stimulate production of antibodies to proteins from flu virus or anthrax bacteria several orders of magnitude more effectively than alum, the authors found. In addition, the immune cells persist in lymph nodes for at least 18 months, almost the lifetime of a mouse. In experiments with monkeys, nanoparticles with viral protein could induce robust responses greater than five times the response induced by a dose of the same viral protein given by itself, without the nanoparticles.

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Media Relations Contacts: Emory University — Holly Korschun (hkorsch@emory.edu; 404-727-3990); Georgia Tech — Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364)
Writer: Quinn Eastman/Emory University