From the CEO
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Read MoreBreast Cancer Cells Targeted, Then Burned, by Gold-Filled Silicon Wafers
HOUSTON (January 17, 2012) - By shining infrared light on specially designed, gold-filled silicon wafers, scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute have successfully targeted and burned breast cancer cells. If the technology is shown to work in human clinical trials, it could provide patients a non-invasive alternative to surgical ablation, and could be used in conjunction with traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, to make those treatments more effective.
The research is presented in the first issue of the new Advanced Healthcare Materials, a Wiley journal.
"Hollow gold nanoparticles can generate heat if they are hit with a near-infrared laser," said Research Institute Assistant Member Haifa Shen, M.D., Ph.D., the report's lead author. "Multiple investigators have tried to use gold nanoparticles for cancer treatment, but the efficiency has not been very good -- they'd need a lot of gold nanoparticles to treat a tumor."
Instead, Shen and his colleagues turned to a technology developed by the study's principal investigator, Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI) president and CEO, to amplify the gold particles' response to infrared light.
Leaders in Oncophysics Link Physics with Cancer
HOUSTON (October 5, 2011) - The Methodist Hospital Research Institute President and CEO Mauro Ferrari joined a biostatistician, a biophysicist, and a molecular biologist to explain how cancer biologists might benefit from the input of physicists and other fields in their essay, "What does physics have to do with cancer?" in the September issue of Nature Reviews Cancer.
Ferrari's coauthors were Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health Associate Professor of Computational Biology Franziska Michor, University of California Berkeley Associate Professor of Physics Jan Liphardt, and Northwestern University Professor of Structural Biology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics Jonathan Widom.
While cancer may seem the strict provenance of biology and medicine, Ferrari and his coauthors point out that contributions from physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists have been integral to the cancer discovery process all along -- and those fields have much yet to offer.
Ferrari, an expert in nanomedicine, an interdisciplinary field that exists at the cusp of biology, biochemistry, and physics, has long argued medical scientists benefit from understanding things like the brownian motion of hormones, receptor complexes, and nanoparticles, or the ways in which electrochemical signals can be used to determine the character and behavior of cells and tissues.
To speak with a representative of TMHRI, please contact David Bricker, The Methodist Hospital, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org. For more information on The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, visit our website. Follow Methodist on Facebook and Twitter.
Ernie H. Cockrell Inducted into American Academy of Arts & Sciences
HOUSTON (October 1, 2011) - Founding Chairman of the TMHRI Board of Directors Ernie H. Cockrell was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which recognizes leaders with expertise in technology policy, global security, the humanities and culture, social policy, and education.
Ernie Cockrell is chairman of Cockrell Interests Inc., and president and director of The Cockrell Foundation. Ernie is an active community leader, serving on the boards of many major non-profits including The Methodist Hospital System and the Research Institute; The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Sciences of Texas; the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America; The Children’s Museum of Houston; and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. He is also a trustee of the Cullen Trust for Health Care, a director and past chairman of the Greater Houston Community Foundation, a director of The Welch Foundation, and a director and current chairman of Reasoning Mind, Inc.
To speak with a representative of TMHRI, please contact David Bricker, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org. For more information on The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, visit our website. Follow Methodist on Facebook and Twitter.
Methodist is honored for $22.2 million in CPRIT awards
HOUSTON (September 30, 2011) - The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and several other Houston-area organizations were honored today by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) as recipients of millions of dollars in funding over the last year and a half.
TMHRI President and CEO Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., accepted a ceremonial check for $22.2 million, the total in grants provided by CPRIT since June 2010.
Other area institutions receiving CPRIT funding since June 2010 were the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ($68 million), Baylor College of Medicine ($42.3 million), Rice University ($14 million), the University of Texas Health Sciences Center ($14.6 million) and the University of Houston ($5.6 million).
The ceremony took place at Rice University's BioScience Research Collaborative. CPRIT Executive Director Bill Gimson, Rice University President David Leebron, and others joined Ferrari in delivering remarks.
To speak with a representative of TMHRI, please contact David Bricker, The Methodist Hospital, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org. For more information on The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, visit our website. Follow Methodist on Facebook and Twitter.
When Anthrax Isn't Anthrax
HOUSTON (August 24, 2011) - A patient who had symptoms of inhalation anthrax infection and who eventually succumbed to the disease was actually infected by a different bacterial species that had acquired anthrax toxin genes. Within a matter of days, pathologists at The Methodist Hospital and scientists from two other institutions sequenced and analyzed the pathogen's genome, and determined it was not likely to be a bioterrorism weapon.
In an upcoming issue of the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (now online), director of Center for Molecular and Translational Human Infectious Diseases Research at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, James M. Musser, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues report that the germ in this case is a strain of Bacillus cereus possessing a key plasmid and other genes the give Bacillus anthracis its virulent qualities. A plasmid is a small chromosome independent of the main bacterial chromosome, which -- under the right conditions - can be replicated and transmitted to other bacterial species.
Read more about this story in The New York Times. For more information on The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, visit our website. Follow Methodist on Facebook and Twitter
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Building Featured in Architectural Record
HOUSTON (August 22, 2011) - The new 12 story, 440,000 square foot TMHRI building was featured on the Architectural Record website this month. The article features the innovative design by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates architects that will house more than 90 principle investigators and 800 staff. The completion of the structure was celebrated with a grand opening ceremony in October of 2010.
The open concept design was the result of the challenge to build a structure that embodied the vision for a translational research center. The building is physically connected to the hospital, and supports the development of innovations that address the needs of the hospital patients next door.
It includes an imaging suite that is accessible to the lobby and the vivarium on upper floors, and is connected by dumbwaiter systems to the research lab floors, and the cyclotron and nuclear pharmacy facilities in the basement. The top floor is currently under construction to create an FDA-certified GMP manufacturing facility for the production of medicines, vaccines, and imaging agents that are approved for use in clinical trials
For more information on The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, see www.methodistresearch.com. For more information on The Methodist Hospital, see www.methodisthealth.com. Follow Methodist on Twitter at twitter.com/MethodistHosp and Facebook at www.facebook.com/methodisthospital.
Powerhouse Cancer Geneticists Copeland & Jenkins Named to Key Roles at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
HOUSTON (May 26, 2011) - The internationally-acclaimed husband and wife team, Neal Copeland, Ph.D. and Nancy Jenkins, Ph.D., that has identified hundreds of cancer-causing genes joins The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI) in Houston. They begin October 3 as the first luminary scholars recruited by Texas through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
Among the most-cited biomedical scientists in the world, Drs. Copeland and Jenkins, will serve as co-directors of a basic cancer research program for TMHRI and the Methodist Cancer Center. They are both members of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and have identified genes associated with numerous cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, melanoma, pancreatic, lung, breast and prostate. Their research proves that it is possible to model virtually any type of human cancer in mice.
"Neal and Nancy bring to Methodist and Houston the ability to decipher and characterize the genetic changes required to promote or sustain tumor formation," said Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., TMHRI's president and CEO. "Methodist has the ideal research environment that will help them translate the enormous knowledge database of these important cancer genes to treatment strategies for human cancer. We are altering the face of traditional academic medical research, and they will be a huge part of this change as it pertains to cancer research."
Mauro Ferrari Honored by the Controlled Release Society
HOUSTON (May 17, 2011) - Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D. , president and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, recently received the 2011 CRS Founders' Award. The prestigious, internationally-recognized Founders Award honors outstanding leaders in the field of drug delivery science and technology.
Ferrari has pioneered the use of nanotechnology for the controlled release of medicines, with technology that maintains steady levels of medicines in the body over time and increases the specificity of drug targeting, which reduces side effects caused by medicines not delivered directly to the site of disease.
The Founder's Award will be presented at the Opening Session of the CRS 38th Annual Meeting & Exposition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Dr. Ferrari will serve as the 2012 Founders Award Chair for the committee that will select the 2012 recipient.
Dr. Ferrari joins an elite group of CRS Founders Award recipients including Drs. Vladimir P. Torchilin (Northeastern University), Robert Langer (MIT), Kazunori Kataoka (University of Tokyo, Japan ), Nicholas Peppas (University of Texas at Austin), Alejandro Zaffaroni and Alexander (Sandy) Florence. "I am very honored to be in such distinguished company," says Dr. Ferrari.
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Creates Multidisciplinary Translational Research Departments
HOUSTON (April 25, 2011) -The Methodist Hospital Research Institute announced last week that it is creating three new departments that integrate the research expertise of multiple programs to drive the translation of research ideas into clinical innovations:
- The Department of Nanomedicine
- The Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering
- The Department of Translational Imaging
The Department of Nanomedicine will be overseen by interim Co-Chairs Drs. Alessandro Grattoni, Jason Sakamoto, Rita Serda and Ennio Tasciotti. Dr. Stephen Wong will chair The Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering. The Department of Translational Imaging will be chaired by Dr. King Li, and Vice Chairs Ching-hsuan Tung and Paolo Decuzzi.
TMHRI Investigators Awarded $3.5 million by the Cancer Prevention and Research Initiative of Texas
HOUSTON (April 05, 2011) -The Methodist Hospital Research Institute congratulates members Drs. Stephen Wong, Paul Webb, Jan-Ake Gustafsson, Margaret Warner and Malcom Brennar on their awards for the most recent round of competitive funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Initiative of Texas.
Dr. Stephen Wong of Bioinformatics and Bioengineering was awarded $1.9 million in support of the TMHRI Bioinformatics Core as part of a proposal entitled Gulf Coast Consortia CPRIT High Throughput Screening Program. This grant award is for a total of $12.6 million to Drs. Stephen Wong, Peter Davies (University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston), Daniel Carson (Rice University), Kevin Dalby (University of Texas at Austin), Clifford Stephan (University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston), and Geoffrey Bartholomeusz (MD Anderson Cancer Center).
Dr. Paul Webb of Genomic Medicine was awarded $1.6 million for two proposals, one in support of the TMHRI Genomics Core and one entitled Structural Basis of AR and NR Activation and Repression Mechanisms in Prostate Cancer.
Dr. Lidong Qin Awarded Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Grant
HOUSTON (April 01, 2011) -The Methodist Hospital Research Institute congratulates Dr. Lidong Qin, Assistant Member of TMHRI and member of the Department of Nanomedicine, for his grant award from The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas for the recruitment of first-time, tenure track faculty members.
Dr. Qin will use this $2 million, four-year CPRIT grant to establish an independent laboratory dedicated to the study of prostate cancer at TMHRI. His lab plans to develop integrated proteomic micro-devices for cancer diagnosis, malignancy assessment and the study of molecular networks in the cancer microenvironment.
National Science Foundation Hosts Nanotech Conference at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
HOUSTON (March 01, 2011) -The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host the NSF Summer Institute on Cancer Nanotechnology at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute on June 7- 9, 2011.
"The resources and expertise we have cultivated here in Houston and in the Texas Medical Center put us in a position to be able to teach some of the brightest minds in medical research about how nanotechnology can change the course of medicine, with the guiding aim of curing diseases that afflict patients, especially those with cancer," said Dr. Mauro Ferrari, president and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and an internationally recognized leader in nanotechnology. "It is an honor for the NSF to recognize Methodist's contribution to this vibrant, growing field of medical research."
The NSF Summer Institute will provide an overview of the main nanotechnological devices that have been developed and are under development for cancer treatment, imaging and analysis.
Physician and Former Astronaut Joins The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
HOUSTON (Feb. 15, 2011) -Physician and former NASA Astronaut Scott Parazynski has been named Chief Medical Officer and Chief Technology Officer of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.
One of NASA's most experienced spacewalkers, Parazynski spent 16 years as a Mission Specialist Astronaut. His innovations and patent filings include tools for extravehicular activity, spaceflight exercise countermeasures, medical devices and technologies for mountaineering safety and other harsh environments. He flew on five shuttle missions between 1994 and 2007 and has logged more than 1,381 hours in space, including more than 47 hours spacewalking.
"Dr. Parazynski will bring to Methodist a wealth of experience in taking new ideas from conception through trials to final execution," said Dr. Mauro Ferrari, President and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston. "He will help catalyze innovation at the Research Institute with his unique background, combining medicine and technology to solve high-stakes challenges."
Parazynski comes to Methodist with an extensive history of innovation in challenging, extreme environments. With NASA, his expertise helped pave the way to successful assembly of the International Space Station.
Dr. Elvin Blanco Awarded U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Postdoctoral Fellowships
HOUSTON (Feb. 1, 2011) - The Methodist Hospital Research Institute congratulates Dr. Elvin Blanco of the Department of Nanomedicine for his fellowship awards from the U.S. DOD-BCRP and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
Dr. Blanco, under the mentorship of Dr. Mauro Ferrari, has received a total of $628,000 for three years to develop a nanotechnology-based ‘Russian nested doll' system for the targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs for breast cancer treatment. In close collaboration with co-mentor Dr. Funda Meric-Bernstam in the Department of Surgical Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Dr. Takafumi Sangai, a visiting scientist in Dr. Meric-Bernstam's laboratory, Dr. Blanco designed a system to reduce the toxic side effects and enhance the anti-cancer properties of chemotherapy drug combinations.
"At the crux of the research sponsored by these two organizations is the desire to enhance drug delivery using a strategy that combines, within the same nanoparticle, different drugs that when administered together, synergize and result in a greater antitumor effect," says Dr. Blanco.
By encapsulating the drugs in a polymer nanoparticle, they can be concentrated at cancer sites. The ‘nested' design then releases the two drugs sequentially, and in a controlled manner over time, that makes them more efficient at killing cancer cells.
The Simmons Family Foundation Awards Collaborative Research Grants
HOUSTON (Jan. 31, 2011) - Biomarkers and brain tumors are the focus of new research funded in the third annual round of grants by the Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation Collaborative Research Fund. The $3 million, five-year initiative to discover new ways to diagnose and treat diseases supports collaboration among researchers at Rice University, Texas Children's Hospital and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.
Two projects chosen from 29 proposals involving scientists at the three institutions have been awarded one-year seed grants of $170,000, while four others earned $55,000 grants. Successful initial findings will ideally lead the researchers to pursue further funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other organizations.
The fund was formed to promote novel solutions to difficult medical problems through the combined expertise of Texas Medical Center scientists, engineers and physicians who might not otherwise collaborate.
"The proposals we received this year truly fulfilled the intent of the Simmons Foundation awards," said James Coleman, Rice's vice provost for research and a member of the selection committee. "Researchers are developing tremendous collaborations across the Texas Medical Center, and we only wish we could fund more of their initiatives."
The Methodist Hospital Opens MITIE, a 35,000 Square Foot Virtual Surgical Training Center
HOUSTON (Jan. 27, 2011) -Today The Methodist Hospital in Houston opened the Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation and Education (MITIETM), a 35,000 square-foot interactive, simulation-based surgical training center created to help practicing physicians acquire new high-tech skills including image-guided therapies, surgical robotics and new techniques.
"MITIE has already drawn thousands of surgeons, physicians and their teams to Houston to train in this truly unique environment," said Dr. Barbara Bass, executive director of MITIE and chair of the department of surgery at Methodist. "There is a great need for this type of training."
MITIE incorporates a virtual hospital for recreating high-risk patient care environments, a procedural skills lab for hands-on training with state-of-the-art models, and a suite of 15 operating rooms for image-guided procedure research, robotic surgery and technology development.
"Until now there has been nothing in place to provide our nation's surgeons with consistent, measureable skills training on these technologies," Bass said. "Methodist has created what is now the model surgical skills laboratory in the nation. Surgeons and their teams can come here to train in a virtual environment and stay ahead of constantly-changing techniques - before practicing on patients."
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Funds 2010 Scholar Awards
HOUSTON (Dec. 21, 2010) -TMHRI congratulates Drs. Christof Karmonik, Muthiah Kumaraswami, Kevin Phillips, Federico Monzon, Ping Wang and James Xia for receiving TMHRI Scholar Awards. The annual TMHRI Scholar Awards program recognizes outstanding and promising young investigators with innovative research ideas. The awards provide seed funds for expanding these ideas and obtaining preliminary data that can then be used to apply for extramural funding.
Congratulations to the 2010 recipients of TMHRI Scholar Awards:
- Dr. Christof Karmonik, Imaging & Molecular Imaging, for using fMRI and PET imaging of the activation of the Default Mode Network (DMN), an area of the brain associated with goal-directed activity, to uncover patterns with diagnostic value for epilepsy.
- Dr. Muthiah Kumaraswami, Infectious Disease & Inflammation, for characterization of intracellular signaling peptides that regulate virulence gene expression for group A Streptococcus.
- Dr. Kevin Phillips, Diabetes and Metabolic Disease, to develop chemical synthesis of the radiotracer 18F-FTHA for use in PET-CT imaging of fatty acid metabolism.
- Dr. Federico Monzon, Genomic Medicine, for development of multiplex cancer biomarkers detections assays using magnetic immuno-particles.
- Dr. Ping Wang, Cancer Research, for prediction of nephrotoxicity in renal transplant recipients using personalized miRNA profiles.
- Dr. James Xia, Outcomes Research, to develop eFace, an imaging informatics system that predicts soft-tissue-deformation and reduces the risk of facial disfigurement after craniomaxillofacial surgery.
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Investigators Awarded $3 million in CPRIT Funding
HOUSTON (Nov. 1, 2010) -TMHRI congratulates Drs. Paolo Decuzzi, Federico Monzon, Paul Webb and Stephen Wong for garnering $3 million in research funding awards from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas this year. These research teams use new imaging and nanomedicine technologies to target breast, lung, brain and central nervous system cancers by developing early detection methods and new therapies for clinical use. The cross-disciplinary mission of TMHRI fosters these collaborative approaches by bringing together engineers, mathematicians, physicists, tumor biologists and clinicians in the fight against cancer.
This week, CPRIT announced the funding awards for two projects at TMHRI directed by Drs. Paolo Decuzzi and Federico Monzon. Dr. Paolo Decuzzi received $1.5 million for collaboration with investigators from Rice University, The University of Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center. The goal of this project is to use magnetic nanoparticles for enhanced imaging and heat-based ablation of brain tumors. In addition, Dr. Federico Monzon and Dr. Richard Willson of The University of Houston received $434,000 to use nanoparticles for the early and highly sensitive detection of lung cancer. These nanoparticles have unique properties that allow for the parallel detection of multiple lung cancer biomarkers in one test.
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Opens 440,000 Square Foot Research Building in Houston
HOUSTON (Oct. 27, 2010) - The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI) today opened a 12-story, 440,000 square foot research facility dedicated solely to research and equipped with the world's most advanced technology to help research scientists, physicians and engineers cure diseases that afflict today's patients.
"The new building is simply extraordinary," said Dr. Mauro Ferrari, president and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute. "I believe it is where many of the hardest challenges faced by patients and their doctors will be solved, just steps from the patients and clinics at The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center." The Research Institute's proximity to the 1,000-bed hospital brings researchers in direct contact with the patients they ultimately serve.
"The fact that the building is seamlessly integrated into the hospital represents the physical manifestation of our vision for research. We believe that research has a responsibility to improve patient care," said Ferrari. "We never want to lose sight of why we're here, to cure the diseases that affect our patients."
The building will be home to approximately 90 principal investigators and 800 post-docs, trainees and staff. The work of these researchers will move from the molecule of discovery to production of medications or vaccines to preclinical and early clinical trials, each phase of research handled seamlessly within the walls of this building.
Dr. Mauro Ferrari honored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences
HOUSTON (Oct. 18, 2010) -Dr. Mauro Ferrari, president and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, recently was honored with a Chinese Academy of Sciences Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, founded in 1949, is China's most prominent academic institution focusing on the natural sciences, and is home to its technological advisory body. As part of the CAS Visiting Professorships Program, accomplished researchers from overseas are invited to participate in research at CAS to strengthen cooperation and exchange of ideas between CAS institutes and international research institutions and universities.
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Announces 2011 Inaugural Research Symposium
HOUSTON (Sept. 17, 2010) - The Methodist Hospital Research Institute is pleased to announce that the inaugural TMHRI Research Symposium will be held February 17 and 18, 2011, in the auditorium of the new TMHRI building.
Drs. Stanely H. Appel, John D. Baxter, Mark Ghobrial, Willa Hsueh, King Li, Alan B. Lumsden, James M. Musser, Miguel Quinones, Stephen Wong and Bo Xu are hosting an outstanding slate of world-class speakers for this event. Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology and Medicine, Dr. Stanley Pruisner, will speak on Feb. 17. This day will also feature seven members of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and Investigators of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. On Feb. 18, the symposium will feature the latest cutting-edge TMHRI research.
The Methodist Hospital Names Jenny C. Chang as Director of Methodist Cancer Center
HOUSTON (Sept. 8, 2010) - Dr. Jenny C. Chang, an internationally acclaimed breast cancer researcher and clinician, has been named director of the Methodist Cancer Center. She begins her new role on Oct. 1.
While serving as the director, Chang will continue her research and patient care activities. The Methodist Cancer Center offers a full range of cancer prevention, diagnostic and treatment options. The center also provides a robust research program, making numerous clinical trials available to its patients.
As the Director, Chang plans to create translational centers in which clinical and research information are fully integrated, leading to individualized therapy that is optimized for each person's biological tumor type. Chang anticipates one of these focus areas will highlight triple negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, enabling experts in this field to discuss each patient's case in a multi-disciplinary setting. She will lead this multidisciplinary approach for all patients with a team of surgeons, medical oncologists, radiologists, and radiation oncologists.
Dr. Mauro Ferrari joins The Methodist Hospital Research Institute as President and CEO
HOUSTON (Aug. 12, 2010) - Dr. Mauro Ferrari, an internationally recognized leader, collaborator and scientist specializing in biomedical nanotechnology, was named President and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute today.
"My goal is to develop technology to transform patient care," Ferrari said. "A hospital-based research institute is an ideal place to do that. Methodist's vision combined with its clinical expertise provides a historic opportunity to conquer society's most devastating diseases. The Methodist Hospital Research Institute is directly tied to clinicians and patients, so we can move the best in medical technology to the patient faster - for better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease."
Ferrari's leadership and expertise in biomedical nanotechnology are well established. He served as Special Expert on Nanotechnology at The National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he led the development of the NCI's program in nanotechnology, which remains the largest nanomedicine program in the world. He has more than 30 U.S. and international patents and has founded multiple startup companies, including NanoMedical Systems and Leonardo Biosystems. Ferrari was also the first recipient of a Research Superiority Award of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund
Methodist surgeons train on the first FDA-approved total artificial heart for transplant patients
HOUSTON (July 23, 2010) - A 13-member surgical team from the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center completed the first phase of training to implant a new total artificial heart designed to completely replace the heart's function while the patient waits for a heart transplant. Methodist will be the first hospital in Texas to offer this total heart replacement.
The SynCardia total artificial heart is the only FDA-approved total artificial heart and has the highest bridge-to-transplant rate of any approved heart assist device in the world.
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Receives $5 Million Donation to Study Neurodegenerative Diseases, Alzheimer’s
HOUSTON (March. 22, 2010) - Dr. Stephen Wong has received a $5 million gift from the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation to study progressive neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s Disease. The gift will support The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Center for Bioinformatics Research and Imaging for Neurosciences (BRAIN) at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.
Neurodegenerative diseases affect one in five Americans. According to a 2010 study by the Alzheimer’s Organization, 5.3 million people have Alzheimer’s at a cost of approximately $172 billion per year. With a rapidly aging baby boomer population, the organization believes Alzheimer's will continue to impact more lives. From 2000 to 2006, Alzheimer's Disease deaths increased 46.1 percent.
New Drug Reduces Bad Cholesterol and Triglycerides Without Statin Side Effects
Study appears in New England Journal of Medicine March 11, 2010
HOUSTON (March 11, 2010) - A new drug, eprotirome, has been shown to significantly lower bad cholesterol, triglycerides and Lp(A), without the side effects that statins cause in many people. Results of a study were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Our study has shown a dramatic reduction in the dangerous fats that cause heart disease, the number one killer of Americans,” said Dr. John Baxter, director of the Genomic Medicine Program at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and co-author for the study.
“For patients taking a statin, this drug can further lower LDL cholesterol by 25 percent – on top of what the statin is doing. It is also as potent in lowering triglycerides as any current medication available today,” Baxter added. “It also lowers Lp(a), which is an under recognized factor that also causes atherosclerosis and is a common cause of heart attack in young people. Thus, eprotirome could be a major complement to the only current medication for this condition, niacin, which causes flushing side effects.”
Genome Study Shows How Strep Throat Germ Circumvents Our Immune System
HOUSTON (Feb. 22, 2010) - Investigators at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston examined for the first time the long-term response to strep throat on a genome-wide level, shedding light on how group A streptococcus interacts with the patient’s immune system and attempts to circumvent it. Results were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
In the United States, the human bacterial pathogen group A streptococcus causes an estimated 30 million cases of strep throat annually, and also causes rheumatic fever that damages the heart.
$ 11.5 Million NIH Center Grant Funds Novel Cancer Stem Cell Research at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
HOUSTON (Feb. 18, 2010) - The Methodist Hospital Research Institute was awarded an $11.5 million Center Grant by the National Institutes for Health (NIH) today to study the best way to attack deadly cancer stem cells to enhance treatments for breast cancer. Other members of the team include Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
“Targeting cancer stem cells, rather than cancer cells, is a completely new strategy for treating cancer,” said Dr. Stephen Wong, director of the Center for Bioengineering and Informatics at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and principal investigator for the grant study. “By attacking the cancer stem cell, we hope to eliminate cancer’s ability to grow, recur or metastasize.”
Genome Sequencing Study Finds Clues To Unraveling The Causes Of Deadly Epidemics
HOUSTON (Jan. 25, 2010) - A team of collaborating scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, the Broad Institute in Boston, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) have sequenced almost 100 full genomes from three successive epidemics of flesh-eating bacteria. This has resulted in the first precise explanation of the biological events contributing to deadly epidemics of severe infection. This method can be used to track and help prevent devastating epidemics in the future.
Results of this research, funded by the National Institutes of Health and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, appear in a study published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Moran Foundation Publication Awards in Clinical Research and Translational Research
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute is pleased to announce two awards sponsored by the Moran Foundation. Annually a $1,000 prize will be awarded for the best paper in clinical research published by a TMHRI member in the preceding year. Similarly, a $1,000 prize will be awarded for the best paper in translational research published in the previous year.
Alliance for NanoHealth Investigators Meeting 2010 – February 23, 2010
HOUSTON (Jan. 14, 2009) - As a showcase of ongoing nanomedicine research, the ANH Investigators Meeting will bring together presentations from over 20 leaders in the field. Each of them has received ANH funding support to develop their research, and this event will be used to provide news of their achievements. The event also includes a poster exhibition to provide further details and generate discussion, and is open to a limited number of entrants. The event is free to attend, but since spaces are limited, please register by e-mail with damian.walsh@uth.tmc.edu. See ANH Investigators Meeting 2010 for a schedule of the events.
Mutant Gene Lessens Devastation of Flesh-Eating Bacteria
Study Appears Online This Week In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
HOUSTON (Dec. 29, 2009) - Scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston recently discovered a simple gene mutation that decreases the chance people will get a flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis. Further, they proved that inactivating this section of the gene lessens the devastating disease in humans.
Results of this research, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association, appear online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“The study of genomics has opened a wealth of information on how disease develops on a molecular level,” said Dr. James Musser, co-director of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute. “When we identify a gene mutation that has a direct effect on a disease – like we have done for the flesh-eating bacteria – this opens up doors to designing drugs that provide treatments and cures.”
Rice and The Methodist Hospital Win Stimulus Funding Team Will Test Emerging Wireless Applications in Houston´s East End
HOUSTON (Oct. 13, 2009) - A team of wireless researchers and doctors from Rice University and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute have won a $2 million federal grant to design and test next-generation wireless platforms and remote patient monitoring devices in Houston´s working-class Pecan Park neighborhood.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the money to a six-person team of researchers from Rice´s Center for Multimedia Communication (CMC) and from the Abramson Center for the Future of Health, a joint effort by Methodist and the University of Houston. The funding was made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Renowned Stem Cell Researcher Irving Weissman To Speak at TMHRI
HOUSTON (Sept. 29, 2009) - Irving L. Weissman, M.D., director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, will deliver a seminar titled "Normal and Neoplastic Stem Cells," in honor of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute´s first annual Cockrell Foundation Award in Clinical or Translational Research on Nov 11, 2009.
TMHRI Joins GCC´s John S Dunn Chemical Genomics Research Consortium
HOUSTON (Sept. 3, 2009) - TMHRI has been accepted as an affiliate member of the Gulf Coast Consortium´s John S Dunn Chemical Genomics Research Consortium. Members of this group work together to develop a multi-institutional program for high-throughput imaging-based screenings that will facilitate drug discovery in the Texas Medical Center. Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Wong for his work in this effort.
Dr. John D. Baxter Receives Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award
HOUSTON - (Sept. 1, 2009) - Dr. John D. Baxter, co-director of the Diabetes Research Center and division head of endocrinology at The Methodist Hospital, received the Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship award for his academic achievements in the field of thyroidology.
This award honors the memory of Dr. Sidney H. Ingbar and recognizes academic achievements in the field of thyroidology, keeping with the innovation and vision that epitomized Dr. Ingbar´s career. As part of the honor, Dr. Baxter will deliver his lecture, "Mechanisms of Thyroid Hormone Action: Perspectives and Applications," on Thursday, September 24, 2009, at the 80th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association in Palm Beach, Florida.
"We are extremely proud we have someone of Dr. Baxter´s caliber doing such advanced thyroid research at Methodist," said Dr. Richard Robbins, chairman of the Department of Medicine at The Methodist Hospital.
Baxter also serves as director of Methodist´s Genomic Medicine Program and is a senior member of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute. Prior to receiving the Sidney H. Ingbar award, Dr. Baxter received numerous other awards, including election to the National Academy of Sciences, the Koch Award from the Endocrine Society, and the Outstanding Investigator Award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
For more information on The Methodist Hospital, see www.methodisthealth.com. For more information on The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, see www.methodistresearch.com.
Carin and Todd Barth Host TMHRI dinner featuring Diabetes Research
David Underwood of the Fondren Foundation, at left, presents the Fondren Award to Jack Blanton, Sr. on April 29. |
At the suggestion of Ms. Barth, Institute Director Dr. Michael Lieberman began the scientific portion of the program with a brief speech about the work of TMHRI. In Dr. Lieberman's words, “What makes TMHRI so attractive to researchers across the country is our commitment to interdisciplinary research and a culture of innovation and discovery.”
Collaborative center aimed at treating, curing retinoblastoma opens
First center of its kind in Southwest; first in nation to offer gene therapy
HOUSTON – (March 25, 2009) – Doctors and researchers from four Texas Medical Center institutions have joined together in the fight against retinoblastoma, a childhood cancer of the eye.
The result of their collaboration is the Retinoblastoma Center of Houston, which includes experts from Texas Children´s Cancer Center, the Children´s Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.
Together these specialists will pioneer advancements in treating and curing retinoblastoma through ground-breaking research and the development of innovative therapies.
"By having top clinicians and researchers join forces, the Retinoblastoma Center of Houston will be able to deliver the highest quality patient care and conduct important research related to the diagnosis and treatment of retinoblastoma," said Dr. Murali Chintagumpala, clinical co-director of the center, pediatric oncologist at Texas Children´s Cancer Center and professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.
Retinoblastoma affects about 350 infants and children in the United States each year and is the most common malignant tumor of the eye in children. Retinoblastoma is often curable, but may result in the loss of the eye.
Internationally Acclaimed Researcher Joins Methodist and UH
Hormones Expert Gustafsson to Lead Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and UH
HOUSTON – (February 5, 2009) – The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and the University of Houston have recruited a top hormones researcher and his team to carry out laboratory research and to create next-generation pharmaceuticals and medical technologies at a world-class center to be established by UH and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI). Gov. Rick Perry today announced the awarding of a $5.5 million through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) to support the new center.
Jan-Åke Gustafsson, a renowned figure in the study of hormones and a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the Nobel Assembly, will lead the Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling. 
“The recruitment of Dr. Gustafsson and establishment the center represents a substantial collaboration between UH and Methodist," said Michael Lieberman, M.D., Ph.D., director of TMHRI. “Dr. Gustafsson will join two of the world’s top nuclear receptor researchers, TMHRI’s Drs. Willa Hsueh and John Baxter, in establishing the world’s largest center for nuclear receptor research."
Dr. Stephen Wong named John S. Dunn, Sr. Distinguished Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering
HOUSTON – (February 2, 2009) – Stephen Wong, Ph.D, P.E., was recently awarded the John S. Dunn, Sr. Distinguished Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering at The Methodist Hospital. Wong, who holds more than $6 million in NIH funding, will leverage this chair to pursue more innovative research that combines genomics with advanced imaging and biosensing techniques for more personalized medical care.
In his version of personalized medicine, Wong is coupling high throughput genomics and advanced mathematical algorithms with biological studies to identify the best combination of drugs for specific types of cancer within certain individuals. His goal is to take all of the guess work out of treatment decisions, saving cost and time, both of which are precious commodities for patients with cancer. He is also extending this approach to combat neurodegeneration.
He is also in the process of developing what he calls a "lab in a needle," enabling physicians to make on-the-spot diagnoses and initiate suitable therapies right away. It can also reduce the time it takes for physicians to determine if a certain chemotherapy is toxic to a patient. For example, rather than waiting for blood tests to determine this, the lab in a needle will be inserted directly into the liver, which processes toxins, and results will be immediate. This could help determine if the patient´ medications need to be changed well before debilitating side-effects are felt.
Simmons Family Foundation awards collaborative research grants
Teams from Rice University, Texas Children´s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute study breast and childhood cancers, hearing loss, tuberculosis
HOUSTON – (January 21, 2009) – Finding cures for hearing loss, breast cancer and childhood cancer and a way to identify people at risk for tuberculosis are goals of the first recipients of grants from the Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation Collaborative Research Fund. The fund, a $3 million initiative to discover new ways to diagnose and treat diseases, supports collaboration among researchers at Rice University, Texas Children´s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.
Four projects chosen from 35 proposals have been awarded one-year seed grants. Ideally, organizations like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund continuing research. The awards were announced today in a ceremony at The Methodist Hospital.
The Simmons family´s intention is to promote novel solutions to difficult medical problems through the combined expertise of Texas Medical Center scientists, engineers and doctors who might not otherwise collaborate.
The foundation requested proposals for original, innovative work suited to a multidisciplinary approach that would involve researchers from at least two of the three institutions.
"Our family is very pleased with, first and foremost, the collaborations that are taking place among the three institutions," said L.E. Simmons of the first round of recipients.
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