̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Arthur Kaser

̽��ֱ��Academy of Medical Sciences announces new Fellows for 2017

cjb250 — Mon, 08 May 2017 09:00:39 +0000

̽��ֱ��Fellows have been elected for their contribution to biomedical and health research, the generation of new knowledge in medical sciences and its translation into benefits to society.

This year's elected Fellows have expertise that spans women’s health, immunology, public health and infectious disease among many other fields.

Professor Sir Robert Lechler PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences said: “As we elect new Fellows each year, the Academy continues to grow as a unique and productive hub of the best minds in UK medical science. Our expanding and evolving Fellowship allows the Academy to play a vital role in tackling the major health challenges facing society today and in the future.

“ ̽��ֱ��election of these 46 exceptional biomedical and health researchers is a well-deserved honour. Each newly elected Fellow has made an outstanding impact in the community, contributing to the development of better healthcare - from fundamental scientific understanding to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. I am delighted to welcome them to the Academy and greatly look forward to working with them all in the future.”

̽��ֱ��newly elected Fellows include Professor Giovanna Mallucci, whose research is pioneering new treatments for dementia and who was recently announced as one of the five associate directors of the UK Dementia Research Institute.

Professor Giovanna Mallucci said: “Election to the Fellowship is a great honour and distinction, internationally recognised, and I am delighted and proud to be awarded it. This is a tremendous achievement in any medical research career: a milestone in a scientific and personal journey. It is a real privilege to join this this community of distinguished, inspirational and luminary leaders in the medical sciences.”

Four of Cambridge’s Fellows are cancer specialists, including CRUK Cambridge Centre Director Professor Richard Gilbertson.

Professor Gilbertson said: “I am deeply honoured to have received this recognition of our work and feel privileged to join such a wonderful organisation dedicated to promoting excellence in medical science, ultimately for the good of patients. This honour belongs to my many postdocs, PhD students, technicians and wonderful collaborators who over the years who have worked with me to pursue fantastic science. ̽��ֱ��cadre of scientists elected from Cambridge also reflects the vibrant cancer research community in our city and the terrific support of the clinical school.”

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Fellows elected in 2017 are:

Professor Sheila Bird OBE FRSE, Visiting Senior Fellow, MRC Biostatistics Unit, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine and Institute of Public Health and Visiting Professor at Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Strathclyde ̽��ֱ��
Dr Jason Carroll, Senior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Richard Gilbertson, Li Ka Shing Chair of Oncology, Head of Department of Oncology, Director, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Gregory Hannon, Royal Society Wolfson Research Professor of Molecular Cancer Biology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Dr Roman Hovorka, Director of Research, WT-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Arthur Kaser, ̽��ֱ�� Chair of Gastroenterology, Honorary Consultant Physician, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Giovanna Mallucci, van Geest Professor of Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical Neurosciences, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; Associate Director UK Dementia Research Institute at ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; Programme Leader and Head of Neurobiology, MRC Toxicology Unit, ̽��ֱ�� of Leicester
Professor Hugh Markus, Professor of Stroke Medicine, Clinical Neurosciences, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge
Professor Christine J. Watson, Professor of Cell and Cancer Biology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

In addition, two Fellows were elected from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute:

Dr Anne Bertolotti, Programme Leader, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Dr Matthew Hurles, Senior Group Leader, Human Genetics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

̽��ֱ��new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on 28 June 2017.

Nine researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge are among 46 world leading UK researchers who have been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Academy of Medical Sciences

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FAMIN or feast? Newly-discovered mechanism influences how immune cells ‘eat’ invading bacteria

cjb250 — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 15:00:31 +0000

To date, researchers have identified hundreds of genetic variants that increase or decrease the risk of developing diseases from cancer and diabetes to tuberculosis and mental health disorders. However, for the majority of such genes, scientists do not yet know how the variants contribute to disease – indeed, scientists do not even understand how many of the genes function.

One such gene is C13orf31, found on chromosome 13. Scientists have previously shown that variants of the gene in which a single nucleotide – the A, C, G and T of DNA – differs are associated with risk for the infectious disease leprosy, and for the chronic inflammatory diseases Crohn’s disease and a form of childhood arthritis known as systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

In a study published today in the journal Nature Immunology and led by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, researchers studied how this gene works and have identified a new mechanism that drives energy metabolism in our immune cells. Immune cells help fight infection, but in some cases attack our own bodies, causing inflammatory disease.

Using mice in which the mouse equivalent of the C13orf31 gene had been altered, the team showed that the gene produces a protein that acts as a central regulator of the core metabolic functions in a specialist immune cell known as a macrophage (Greek for ‘big eater’). These cells are so named for their ability to ‘eat’ invading organisms, breaking them down and preventing the infection from spreading. ̽��ֱ��protein, which the researchers named FAMIN (Fatty Acid Metabolic Immune Nexus), determines how much energy is available to the macrophages.

̽��ֱ��researchers used a gene-editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9, which acts like a biological ‘cut and paste’ tool, to edit a single nucleotide in the risk genes within the mouse’s genome to show that even a tiny change to our genetic makeup could have a profound effect, making the mice more susceptible to sepsis (blood poisoning). This showed that FAMIN influences the cell’s ability to perform its normal function, controlling its capacity to kill bacteria and release molecules known as ‘mediators’ that trigger an inflammatory response, a key part of fighting infection and repairing damage in the body.

Professor Arthur Kaser from the Department of Medicine at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who led the research, says: “By taking a disease risk gene whose role was completely unknown and studying its function down to the level of a single nucleotide, we’ve discovered an entirely new and important mechanism that affects our immune system’s ability to carry out its role as the body’s defence mechanism.”

Dr Zaeem Cader, the study’s first author, adds: “Although it’s too early to say how this discovery might influence new treatments, genetics can provide invaluable insights that might help in identifying potential drug targets for so-called precision medicines, tailored to an individual’s genetic make-up.”

̽��ֱ��research was largely funded by the European Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, with support from National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Reference
Cader, MZ et al. C13orf31 (FAMIN) is a central regulator of immunometabolic function. Nature Immunology; 1 Aug 2016; DOI: 10.1038/ni.3532

A new mechanism that affects how our immune cells perform – and hence their ability to prevent disease – has been discovered by an international team of researchers led by Cambridge scientists.

By taking a disease risk gene whose role was completely unknown and studying its function down to the level of a single nucleotide, we’ve discovered an entirely new and important mechanism that affects our immune system’s ability to carry out its role as the body’s defence mechanism

Arthur Kaser

Mário Tomé

Pacman

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MRC, GSK and five leading UK universities collaborate to crack difficult disease areas

cjb250 — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 09:00:15 +0000

̽��ֱ��Experimental Medicine Initiative to Explore New Therapies (EMINENT) network will be coordinated by ̽��ֱ�� College London (UCL) and will bring together teams of researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Glasgow, Newcastle, Imperial College London and UCL, with GSK researchers to study the fundamental biological mechanisms responsible for a range of inflammatory diseases. Professor Edwin Chilvers, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, will be leading the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s involvement, and his colleagues Professors Arthur Kaser and Ken Smith and Dr David Jayne will be leading research themes.

It is hoped that combining the disease biology expertise of these academic scientists with GSK’s drug development expertise and resources will ultimately lead to breakthroughs in understanding that could accelerate the development of innovative treatments for patients.

Drug development is a lengthy, costly and risky process, with the majority of promising treatments failing in clinical trials and hence never reaching patients as medicines. This is because the biological processes that underlie many diseases are still not fully understood.

By gaining a better understanding of the inflammatory process in diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and fibrosis, the collaboration aims to improve the success rate for discovering new potential treatments for these and other diseases.

Through the unique EMINENT network, MRC funding of up to £8m over five years will support academic costs. This will be matched with GSK in-kind contributions, including access to a portfolio of currently available medicines, experimental compounds, screening facilities and the company’s drug discovery and development in-house expertise. While GSK will retain ownership of the intellectual property covering these medicines and compounds, joint project teams of GSK and academic researchers will be able to use these as investigational tools to help answer scientific questions about human disease – which in turn could provide starting points for the development of next generation treatments for patients.

̽��ֱ��initiative aims to support up to ten experimental medicine projects over the five year period. ̽��ֱ��academic research teams that are awarded funding by the MRC will work alongside their industry colleagues at both GSK and university facilities, with a view to building a legacy of expertise in translational and experimental human research across academia and industry. It is anticipated that the network will grow beyond the first five academic partners.

Information and new discoveries will be readily communicated across the network, and beyond, in a spirit of open innovation. This will help enable breakthroughs in understanding to be applied across a spectrum of diseases, maximising the potential of the initiative to bring real benefits to patients.

Minister for Life Sciences George Freeman said “Networks of biomedical researchers from hospitals, industry and universities are key to unlocking the biomedical breakthroughs that are transforming our understanding of the mechanisms of disease and developing new diagnostics and treatments for patients.”

Professor Sir John Savill, Chief Executive at the Medical Research Council, said: “Despite major progress made over the last 20 years in many disease areas, some hard-to-treat conditions still carry high morbidity and mortality. Addressing these challenges successfully requires close, flexible, collaboration across a range of disciplines with complementary methodological expertise and disease understanding which is why initiatives such as this are so important to the MRC. We believe this innovative approach could be applied in other areas to combine the work of academia and industry.”

GSK’s president of pharmaceuticals R&D, Patrick Vallance, said: “At GSK, we believe that alongside the cutting-edge research our own scientists are leading, we also have much to learn from researchers outside our walls. We believe that by sharing our resources and research during the early stages of research we can stimulate innovation within the scientific community, strengthen our understanding of human disease and accelerate the development of new treatments for patients. We need to embrace opportunities to work together and share information about our successes and failures.

“ ̽��ֱ��MRC’s EMINENT initiative is a great way for us to do precisely this, allowing us to work alongside scientists from five top UK universities to drive forward our collective understanding of inflammatory disease, and we’re confident this unique approach will make us better able to develop innovative new treatments in the future.”

An independent panel of experts will assess the applications submitted by EMINENT collaborators. Projects will be assessed against the same criteria as any other MRC-funded research, based on the quality of the science. An oversight group, the Joint Steering Committee (JSC), reporting to the MRC, will ensure robust governance and alignment with MRC’s strategic priorities.

̽��ֱ��collaboration will also be supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres at Cambridge, Newcastle, Imperial and UCL.

Cambridge has been part of a successful £16 million bid to work with the MRC, GSK and four other UK universities in a unique open innovation research initiative aiming to improve scientists’ understanding of inflammatory diseases that present a serious burden to patients.

James Heilman, MD

A chest X-ray demonstrating severe COPD (cropped)

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