University of Pittsburgh receives $10 million grant for head and neck cancer
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 26 The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) has received a five-year, $10 million Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) federal grant to examine innovative treatment strategies designed to improve survival outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer. The grant, awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the second SPORE awarded to UPCI the f...University of Pittsburgh medical center among first to implant heart assist device
PITTSBURGH, July 20 The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) today is discharging its first patient who was successfully implanted, on July 2, with the Heartmate XVE Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS). It was implanted as a permanent implant in lieu of a heart transplant, as opposed to the traditional use for this type of device....... The patient, 58-year-old John Didion, has recov...University of Pittsburgh receives NIH funding to develop heart assist device for infants
PITTSBURGH, April 28 The University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has been awarded a five-year $4.5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a heart assist device for infants. Working with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and industry partners, the Pitt researchers envision the pediatric ventricular...Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research at Carnegie Mellon
The Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research has received a five-year, $6.7 million grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to pursue innovative work in applying nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to biomedical sciences. ... The Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research is a joint endeavor of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh an...University of Pittsburgh Medical Center acquires biotechnology firm Rheogene Inc.
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 17 The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has acquired important gene regulation technology, thanks to a donation from specialty chemical company Rohm and Haas Co. The donation is the first of its kind for UPMC and includes intellectual property, equipment, compounds, biological materials, research and commercial agreements and licenses that have been consolidated in...Pittsburgh researchers engineer and successfully test SARS corona vaccine in animal model
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 4 -- Research by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) in collaboration with colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta has shown that an adenoviral-based vaccine can induce SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-specific T-cell and virus-neutralizing antibody responses. ... ...The stu...Protein biomarkers accurately and quickly diagnose ALS, find Pittsburgh researchers
MILAN, Italy, Nov. 17 Detection of protein abnormalities in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may allow physicians to more rapidly diagnose and better monitor drug efficacy in clinical trials for the disease, according to a novel study presented by a University of Pittsburgh researcher in Milan, Italy, today. ... ...These findings may lead to the firs...University of Pittsburgh scientist honored for major accomplishment in cancer research
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 26 Yuan Chang, M.D., professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has been awarded the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for her work investigating Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), the most recently discovered virus linked to human cancer. ...... KSHV is the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma, a co...Worlds largest scientific society to hold regional meeting in Pittsburgh
The American Chemical Society will hold its 35th Central regional meeting in Pittsburgh, Penn., Oct. 19-22. Over 400 scientific presentations will be made to approximately 500 scientists and students. The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Hotel Station Square, 300 West Station Square Drive (412-261-2000). ...... A special highlight of the meeting is the Society's National Chemistry Week celebr...University of Pittsburgh named cooperative research center for muscular dystrophy
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 14 The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is among three medical schools nationwide to be named as a cooperative center for muscular dystrophy research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).... ...The centers, also at the University of Washington, Seattle and the University of Rochester School of Medicine, New York, are each being funded for five years at up to ......Infectious disease study findings presented by University of Pittsburgh scientists
HYANNIS, Mass., Aug. 7 Clinical and basic science findings of several studies are being presented by University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Women's Research Institute scientists at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology (IDSOG). Scientific sessions take place Aug. 7 to 9 at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis, Mass. Findings include the following:...... ...... Poten...University of Pittsburgh study links gynecological complaint to increased risk for herpes
PITTSBURGH, July 22 A recent investigation from the Magee-Womens Research Institute has found an apparent link between a common gynecological disorder called bacterial vaginosis (BV) and an increased risk for the acquisition of herpes. The researchers, who are affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, report their findings in the August issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, the journal of t...Artificial organ research findings presented by University of Pittsburgh researchers
WASHINGTON, June 18 The clinical and basic science findings of more than a dozen studies are being presented by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at a joint meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs and the International Society for Artificial Organs. Scientific sessions take place June 18 to 21 at the Hilton Washing...University of Pittsburgh scientists awarded for outstanding cancer research contribution
PITTSBURGH, June 9 Yuan Chang, M.D., and Patrick S. Moore, M.D., M.P.H., have been awarded the Charles S. Mott Prize, bestowed annually by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation (GMCRF), for the most recent outstanding contribution to the cause or prevention of cancer. The husband-and-wife team is from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where Dr. Chang is professor of patholo...Hypothermia helps brain heal after cardiac arrest, finds University of Pittsburgh study
BOSTON, May 30 Cooling body temperature to levels consistent with hypothermia improves survival when induced after cardiac arrest and also promotes growth factors important for the brains recovery, suggests a study performed by researchers in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Preliminary results of their study were reported today at the 2003...Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical Center leads group buying PPL'S cloning, stem cell business
PITTSBURGH, April 8 The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and other investors have formed Regenecor Holdings, Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation, to acquire PPL Therapeutics, Inc., of Blacksburg, Va., a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Therapeutics Plc of Scotland. ... ...PPL is considered one of the world's leading companies in the application of transgenic technology for th...Univ. of Pittsburgh receives $6.3M NIH grant to study oral health disparities in Appalachia
PITTSBURGH, March 31 Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, in cooperation with West Virginia University's School of Dentistry, have received a 7 year, $6.3 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to determine factors that contribute to oral health disparities in Appalachia. The grant is the largest NIH grant made to the Sch...Costly tests unnecessary for some miscarriages, University of Pittsburgh geneticist says
HOT SPRINGS, Va., Jan. 27 Current standard practice in cases of repeated pregnancy loss frequently involves a lengthy series of diagnostic tests that often still do not pinpoint a cause yet amass thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs, according to a geneticist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine....... With a minor adjustment concerning those patients who are recommended for a...Pittsburgh researchers discover genetic link between two juvenile onset renal diseases
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 5 Geneticists from the University of Pittsburgh have identified mutations in a gene that are responsible for two heritable kidney diseases. The discovery of four novel gene mutations in the uromodulin (UMOD) gene which are responsible for medullary cystic kidney disease 2 (MCKD2) and familial juvenile hyperuricemic nephropathy (FJHN) proves that these two diseases are actually t...Wake Forest, Pittsburgh doctors find gene behind two kidney diseases
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh report in the current Journal of Medical Genetics that they have found defects in the gene that produces a common protein in urine and that these defects are linked to two inherited kidney diseases. ... For six years, the researchers had studied a family from Western North Carolina t...University of Pittsburgh findings published in Science illustrate how KSHV causes cancer
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 14 Findings published in this week's issue of the journal Science by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) illustrate how the virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, or KSHV inhibits the body's immune response and causes cancer cells to grow through a technique called immune evasion. KSHV causes Kaposi's sarcoma...Pittsburgh researchers target genetic, environmental threats to maternal and fetal health
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 28 The Pittsburgh Development Center of the Magee-Womens Research Institute, and four other Oakland-based health care and academic institutions will share a $5.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Office of Research on Women's Health to study genetic and environmental causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes over five years.... ...Researchers from the Pittsburgh...University of Pittsburgh focuses on building careers in womens health
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 14 The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Research Institute are among a dozen institutions nationwide to share in an innovative effort to foster the expansion of women's health research and training through the National Institutes of Health's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) program. The Pittsburgh team is receivin...University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute discovers proteins linked to colon cancer
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 7 Findings published in this month's issue of Clinical Cancer Research and featured on the journal's cover, may bring researchers one-step closer to the development of tumor markers to detect colon cancer early, before it has had a chance to spread and when it is easier to cure, say researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). These tumor markers eleva...University of Pittsburgh scientist discusses blood cell damage from biomedical devices
ANTALYA, Turkey, Sept. 26 While biomedical devices such as prosthetic heart valves, heart-assist devices, oxygenators, vascular grafts and hemodialysis systems can help to save or significantly extend lives, these same devices also can damage the blood cells which travel through them. Severe consequences can result when blood cells are damaged or broken down, said Marina Kameneva, Ph.D., researc...Transplant patients from 40 years ago cause Pittsburgh doctors to take an about-face
MIAMI, Aug. 26 In a radical departure from the standard way of treating transplant patients, doctors from the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute have gone back to the future, so to speak. ... ...Instead of the current practice of giving patients high doses of multiple drugs to suppress the immune system as soon as the organ is transplanted, the Pittsburgh team...Amplified genome area mapped; New gene is overexpressed in oral cancer, say Pittsburgh researchers
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 1 Investigators from the University of Pittsburgh have used a new technique to map a region of the genome chromosomal band 11q13 that is present in extra copies, or amplified, in a large percentage of oral cancers. They also have identified a new gene that is expressed at abnormally high levels in oral cancers when the segment is amplified. Their results are to be published th...Not all enlarged prostates are the same, say University of Pittsburgh researchers
PITTSBURGH, May 23 Men with asymptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), symptomatic BPH, and BPH with prostate cancer express different genes according to a study published by the University of Pittsburgh in the May 28 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). These findings are the first to investigate the molecular differences underlying BPH, commonly referred t...University of Pittsburgh discovers gene mutation responsible for hereditary gingival fibromatosis
PITTSBURGH, April 1 A mutation in a gene that signals for cellular growth is responsible for the rare hereditary disease that causes the gums to grow over the teeth. The results, published in the April American Journal of Human Genetics, may help researchers explain the mechanisms by which such gingival overgrowth occurs.... ...An international team of researchers from the United States and Braz...University of Pittsburgh researchers define precursors to cells that control the immune response
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 11 - University of Pittsburgh researchers have identified the precursors of epidermal Langerhans cells (LCs), cells that reside in the skin and play a key role in the initiation and regulation of the immune response throughout the body. Researchers may now be able to use these cells to manipulate and control the immune response, according to the groundbreaking study to be publish...... ... ...PITTSBURGH, July 5 To realize the vast potential of tissue engineering and other techniques aimed at repairing damaged or diseased tissues and organs, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Health System have established the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM). As an entity, the MIRM will serve as a single base of operations for the university.... . . PITTSBURGH, June 5 -- University of Pittsburgh researchers have identified a new cellular target for aspirin, shedding light on the mechanisms of the most widely used drug in the world and raising a set of intriguing questions, including whether aspirin could be useful for preventing organ rejection.. . In the June 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology, the researchers report for the fi....CHICAGO, May 15 -- In one of the few studies of its kind, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute have found that a subtype of dendritic cell plays a key role in preventing organ rejection and may be associated with transplant tolerance, the long-term survival of a transplanted organ without the need for immunosuppressant drugs. .Researchers wi...... VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, April 26 -- A University of Pittsburgh researcher who has developed a device that functions like a temporary set of lungs told a group of heart and lung transplant surgeons today that such technology could have a tremendous impact for the nearly 750,000 patients with emphysema, chest trauma or acute respiratory distress, about 150,000 of whom die each year.......... PITTSBURGH, April 9 New research at the University of Pittsburgh shows that a recently discovered herpesvirus, which often leads to Kaposis sarcoma in HIV-positive individuals, has no negative effect on healthy HIV-negative adults. The study is published in the April 15 issue of Blood, a journal of the American Society of Hematology.... ... Researchers at the Graduate School of Public Heal....PITTSBURGH, Nov. 27 Using sophisticated techniques, University of Pittsburgh scientists have engineered perhaps the best gene therapy to date for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the catastrophic muscle wasting disease that strikes thousands of boys in the United States each year. .The research, conducted in animals and reported in the Nov. 28 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy.... . . . . Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are establishing a Biomedical Security Institute (BMSI) that will monitor public health threats and alert emergency management agencies nationwide to attacks of bioterrorism.. . The Biomedical Security Institute will provide a far-reaching preparedness, detection and response capability network that can be used to rapidly and....PITTSBURGH, June 29 -- Clinicians have long puzzled over families whose members have limbs swollen with lymphatic fluid. Now, University of Pittsburgh investigators and their collaborators from the University of Helsinki have pinpointed genetic errors that account for this disease, hereditary lymphedema. The mutations, described in the June issue of Nature Genetics, occur in the gene for vasc...Novel resuscitative fluid developed at University of Pittsburgh shows promise in animal studies
.PITTSBURGH, July 6 -- Results of animal studies indicate a novel resuscitative fluid, HemoMax, developed by University of Pittsburgh researchers has potential to treat severe hemorrhage, such as that seen in the trauma and emergency medicine setting. The findings were presented July 1 at the 46th Annual Conference and Exposition of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs in New Yo....To expedite the search for a cure to Type 1 Diabetes, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International (JDF) has awarded a $10 million grant to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh to establish the JDF Center for Gene Therapy Approaches to Type 1 Diabetes. . .The JDF Center brings together world-renowned experts in the areas of diabetes, gene therapy, immunology and...