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Friday 20 December 2013
Congratulations
Tuesday 17 December 2013
Prof Ian Pavord Christmas Lecture, Freeman Hospital, 18th December 2013
Ian is an international authority on eosinophilic inflammation, especially as it applies to asthma. While some of the content will be clinical, there will undoubtedly be data of significant relevance to anyone interested in inflammation.
The talk is at the lecture theatre in the Institute of Transplantation at Freeman Hospital, and will be preceded at 8.45 by a short talk from Carlos Echevarria, a local clinical research fellow and PhD student.
INE Talk, Functional Genomics and PTP, Andy Cope, KCL
Andy Cope (Arthritis Research UK Chair of Rheumatology at King's College London)
INE speaker on the 8th of January,
Friday 13 December 2013
Thursday 12 December 2013
More Publications from MRG this Month
Predictors of access to care in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus: evidence from the UK JSLE Cohort Study
Eve M. D. Smith; Helen E. Foster; William K. Gray; David Taylor-Robinson; Michael W. Beresford;
Rheumatology 2013; doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/ket402
pGALS – paediatric Gait Arms Legs and Spine: a simple examination of the musculoskeletal system
Foster, H.E. and Jandial, S.
Pediatric Rheumatology 2013, 11:44
http://www.ped-rheum.com/content/11/1/44
Improving the peer review process in orthopaedic journals
Sprowson, A.P., Rankin, K.S., McNamara, I., Costa, M.L. and Rangan, A.
Bone Joint Res 2013; 2:245-247
No evidence of an association between mitochondrial DNA variants and osteoarthritis in 7393 cases and 5122 controls.
Hudson, G., Panoutsopoulou, K., Wilson, I., Southam, L., Rayner, N.W., Arden, N., Birrell, F., Carluke, I., Carr, A., Chapman, K., Deloukas, P., Doherty, M., McCaskie, A., Ollier, W.E.R., Ralston, S.H., Reed, M.R., Spector, T.D., Valdes, A.M., Wallis, G.A., Wilkinson, J.M., Zeggini, E., Samuels, D.C., Loughlin, J., Chinnery, P.F., arcOGEN Consortium
Ann Rheum Dis,2013; 72:136-139/ doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-201932
A computer simulation approach for assessing therapeutic intervention points to prevent cytokine-induced cartilage breakdown.
CJ Proctor, C Macdonald, JM Milner, AD Rowan, TE Cawston (doi 10.1002/art.38297) Arthritis & Rheumatism
Another Paper Accepted
Lendrem, D. W., & Lendrem, B. C. (2013).
The Development Speed Paradox: can increasing development speed reduce R&D productivity? Drug Discov Today. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2013.09.002
Congratulations: Madhushika Ratnayake
And congratulations to Madhushika “Madhu” Ratnayake on her PhD viva!
Welcome: New Starters This Month!
Katie Crossland has started as a 1yr JGWP postdoc post with Desa & Cat
David Wilkinson has started as a 1yr JGWP postdoc post with Drew
Andrew Skelton has been appointed as the MRG Bioinformatician with David
Prof John Isaacs gives the Sir Michael Perrin Lecture at the RCP, London, 2013
On 18th November Professor John Isaacs was invited to give the Sir Michael Perrin Lecture at the Royal College of Physicians (London). The title of his talk was: Biosimilars – what are they and are they safe?
Wednesday 11 December 2013
Newcastle-Manchester Research Day
Newcastle-Manchester Research Day, 12th December 2013
Jury’s Inn Newcastle, St James Gate, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4AD
Meeting Program
11:15 arrival of the Manchester group
12:00-13:00 lunch
SESSION 1
13:00-13:15 Mike Briggs (Newcastle) – Welcome
13:15-13:55 Louise Kung (Manchester) – ER stress and OA
13:55-14:35 Mitra Forouhan (Manchester) – Role of ATF6 in pathobiology of MCDS
14:35-15:15 Lorna Mullan (Manchester) – Therapy avenues in MCDS
15:15-15:55 Peter Bell (Newcastle) –V156D matrilin-1 mouse model
15:55-16:15 coffee break
SESSION 2
16:15-16:55 Sarah Edwards (Manchester) – Type VI collagen and ER stress
16:55-17:35 Kasia Pirog (Newcastle) – Xbp1 signalling in MED
17:35-18:00 Mike Briggs (Newcastle) – The role of ATF4 and ATF6 signalling in MED/future avenues
18:00-18:15 Mike Briggs/Ray Boot-Handford (Manchester) – Summary and closing remarks
19:00-20:00 drinks at Town Wall
20:00 dinner at The Forth Hotel, NE1 5DW
Friday 6 December 2013
INE Seminar: Dendritic Cells in Type 2 Inflammation
'Dendritic cells: central players in orchestration of Type 2 inflammation'.
Andrew MacDonald, University of Manchester
Thursday 12 December.
Research Beehive, INE talk at 5 pm
Thursday 5 December 2013
ICM Research Seminar, Friday 6 December 2013, 12noon
Institute Guest Seminar
Guest Speaker: Dr John Connolly
[Director, A-Star Programme in Translational Research on Infectious Disease]
[Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Proteos, Singapore]
Venue: Lecture theatre E, ground floor, Dental School
Date and time: Friday 6 December 2013 at 12noon
Dr Connolly will discuss:
“Systems Based Approach to Monitoring Vaccine Responses.”
Following vaccination, cellular communication, trafficking and polarization contribute to the development of the complex adaptive immune phenomenon we call protection. As with any complex behaviour, early perturbations in the innate immune response to vaccination lead to substantial differences in the development of adaptive immune memory. The ability to simultaneously monitor changes in multiple functional parameters holds both greater discriminatory and instructive power when compared to monitoring a single event. We have established an integrated, systems-based approach for high throughput monitoring of cellular responses (B-cell and T-cell) before and after vaccination. Preclinical analysis of a model pandemic influenza vaccine, demonstrates that the magnitude, quality and breadth of cellular responses are determined, in large part, by the nature of TLR and NLR signalling during vaccination. In addition to highlighting the important role of innate immune recognition in vaccination, these studies underscore the power of this systems based approach in rational vaccine design.
Bio:
Dr. Connolly is a Senior Principal Investigator and Director for Translational Immunology at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IMCB). Additionally, Dr. Connolly serves as Program Director for the A*Star Program in Translational Research in Infectious Disease, a multi-disciplinary centre focused on vaccine development. An Adjunct Associate Professor of Immunology at Baylor University, he serves on the Board of Governors for the Institute of Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. Connolly received his Ph.D. in Immunology from Dartmouth Medical School and studied human dendritic cell biology under Dr. Michael Fanger. During this time he was involved in the development of immunotherapeutic preclinical models and clinical trials for Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). He moved to the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, a fully translational research institute focused on rationally designed vaccines against cancer and infectious disease. Dr. Connolly served as the Director of Research Initiatives for the Baylor Research Institute, leading a large integrated translational research resource and multi-institutional programs that involved a number of international sites. During his tenure at Baylor, Dr. Connolly was the central core facility director of the NIAID Centres for Translational Research on Human Immunology and Biodefense, an NIH funded consortium of basic, translational research and clinical trials focused on vaccine design. Dr. Connolly is the past President of the Board of Directors of The American Cancer Society in N. Texas
Key words: translational immunology, systems immunology, vaccine development
Chair: Professor John Isaacs
Tuesday 3 December 2013
ICM Research Seminar, Wednesday 4 December 2013, 1.00pm
Institute Research Student Seminars
Speakers: PhD students Paul Milne (Haematology), Christopher Fox (Transplantation) and Emma Woodward (Dermatology)
Venue: Seminar room L2.5, 2nd floor, Leech Building, Medical School
Date and time: Wednesday 4 December 2013 at 1.00pm
Paul Milne will present:
"Total Mononuclear Cell Profiling in Haematological Malignancies."
The development of multi-parameter flow cytometry protocols to completely define the mononuclear cellular components of haematological malignancies and immunodeficiencies.
Key words: Leukaemia, Mononuclear Cells, Flow Cytometry
__________________________
Christopher Fox will talk about:
"Screening of Cathepsin B and D expression in an apoptotic acute model of kidney IRI."
The project aims to investigate if the cathepsin B or D play a role in apoptosis during renal ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). Following IRI the kidney undergoes 4 phases of regeneration, with apoptosis and necrosis as first stage. In this study we screened the expression of cathepsins along different ischemic times in order to assess if cathepsins expression correlates with the rate of apoptosis in a mouse model of IRI.
Key words: Kidney, Cathepsin, Apoptosis, Ischemia reperfusion injury
_________________________________
Emma Woodward will discuss:
"Investigating the pathogenesis of chloracne."
To understand the role of cathepsins and autophagy in regulating epidermal homeostasis
and toxicity following AhR activation by dioxin in skin.
Key words: Autophagy, Cathepsin D, Aryl hydrocarbon receptor
Chair: Sadaf Atarod, PhD student (Haematology)
Monday 2 December 2013
RACE: Rheumatoid Arthritis Pathogenesis Centre of Excellence
Professors Iain MacInnes, John Isaacs and Chris Buckley led the three teams from Glasgow, Newcastle and Birmingham in a discussion of the science and processes by which researchers would leverage the full benefits of the Centre.
In a lively meeting that bodes well for the future of the Centre the three teams identified key collaborations and PhD projects essential to the success of the Centre.
The next meeting is likely to be hosted by the team in Birmingham early in 2014..
Friday 29 November 2013
Biologics and Biosimilars
Wednesday 27 November 2013
MRG LAB MEETING 29.11.13
Tuesday 26 November 2013
ICM Guest Seminar, Wednesday 27 November 2013
Institute Research Seminar
Guest speaker: Dr Arian Laurence
[National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases, NIH, USA]
Venue: Seminar room L2.6, 2nd floor, Leech Building, Medical School
Date and time: Wednesday 27 November 2013 at 12.00 noon
Dr Laurence will discuss:
"Epithelial and haematopoetic STAT3 is required for antibacterial defence
in a mouse model of HIES."
Autosomal dominant Hyper IgE syndrome is an immunodeficiency associated with mutations in STAT3. To dissect the importance of STAT3 in haematopoietic and non-haematopoietic cells we generated a mouse model of this disease. These animals recapitulate multiple aspects of HIES including susceptibility to bacterial infections that was only partially corrected by bone marrow transplantation, emphasising the role played by the epithelium in the pathophysiology of HIES.
Key words: HIES (Hyper Ig E syndrome), IL-17, IL-22, STAT3
_______________________
Arian is a UK-trained haematologist and current postdoctoral member of John O'Shea's group at NIH, working on the role of STAT3 and STAT5 signaling in T cells. He will be in Newcastle all day on the 27th - please contact Sophie Hambleton (sophie.hambleton@ncl.ac.uk) if you would like an opportunity to talk with him.
Chair: Dr Sophie Hambleton
ICM Research Seminars, Wednesday 27 November 2013, 1.00pm
Institute Research Student Seminars
Speakers: Katie Griffiths, PhD student (Diagnostics), Richard Speight, MD student (Transplantation) and Victoria Whittle, MD student (Musculoskeletal)
Venue: Seminar room L2.5, 2nd floor, Leech Building, Medical School
Date and time: Wednesday 27 November 2013 at 1.00pm
Katie Griffiths will present:
"Laser Scribed Graphene as an electrode for sensing."
Light scribe technology has been used as a simple and inexpensive solution for manufacturing graphene electrodes for use in electrochemistry with the aim of developing novel biosensors.
Key words: Graphene, biosensors, electrochemistry
____________________________
Richard Speight will discuss:
'Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Is it all about bile in the small bowel?'
Recent evidence demonstrates that bile acids are more than mere detergent molecules with
evidence that they have an immune regulatory role. My MD is attempting to unravel how bile acid dysmetabolism may be implicated in IBD.
Key words: bile acids, IBD, FXR
_____________________________
Victoria Whittle will talk about:
"Practicing Medicine."
Exploring the impact of an Acute Care, High-fidelity Simulation teaching programme
delivered to final year medical undergraduates.
Keywords: Medical education, Simulation, Acute Care
Chair: Catriona Barker, PhD student (Transplantation)
Saturday 23 November 2013
Prof Drew Rowan is our expert at the Arthritis Research UK Christmas event.
Wednesday 20 November 2013
ICM Student Seminars - Wednesday, 20th November, 2013
Everyone is very welcome to attend the seminars being given today at 1.00pm in seminar room L2.3, 2nd floor, Leech Building by ICM PhD students Keith Wu (Dermatology), Eirini Giannoudaki (Immunology/Transplantation) and Teresa Kelly (Reproductive & Vascular Biology).
Tuesday 19 November 2013
UK Molecular Epidemiology Group, 6th December 2013
Research Student Seminars, Wednesday, 20th November, 1.00pm
Institute Research Student Seminar - Wednesday 20 November 2013 at 1.00pm Seminar room L2.3, 2nd floor, Leech Building, Medical School
· Keith Wu: "Investigating the role of epigenetics in the control of inflammatory skin disease."
· Eirini Giannoudaki: "The role of sphingosine 1-phosphate in ischemia-reperfusion injury."
· Teresa Kelly: "Optimising Baby to Breast Attachment (OBBA): a feasibility randomised controlled trial".
Monday 18 November 2013
Arthritis Demographic Data
http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/data-and-statistics.aspx
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Immunodeficiency and Early Inflammatory Arthritis
Seminar Room of the Baddiley Clark Building on Friday 15th November 2013 at 9.00am.
Chair
Jessica Tarn (PhD Student - PIs Fai Ng/David Young)
Speakers
Nic Robertson (Academic Foundation Doctor - PI Sophie Hambleton)
Title of talk "Investigating mutations in NUDCD3 as a possible cause of immunodeficiency"
John-Paul Doran (Clinical Research Fellow - PI John Isaacs)
Title of Talk "Biomarkers in Early Inflammatory Arthritis"
Erik Gocker: immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, colitis, IL-10
Institute Research Seminar
Guest speaker: Dr Erik Glocker
[Department of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital, Freiburg]
Venue: Dental lecture theatre E, ground floor, Dental School
Date and time: Wednesday 13 November 2013 at 4.00pm
Dr Glocker will discuss:
“Key players for intestinal immune homeostasis.”
Key words: immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, colitis, IL-10
Sandy Tse: Cartilage Resorption in Osteoarthritis
Institute Research Student Seminars
Speakers: Sandy Tse, PhD student,
Venue: Seminar room L2.3, 2nd floor, Leech Building, Medical School
Date and time: Wednesday 13 November 2013 at 1.00pm
“Investigating the novel serine proteinase SPUVE and its role in cartilage resorption
in osteoarthritis.”
The aim of this project is to fully characterise the trypsin-like serine proteinase SPUVE (also known as PRRS23). SPUVE is predicted to promote cartilage resorption in osteoarthritis since it is one of the most significantly up-regulated genes in cartilage from OA patients compared to non-diseased cartilage.
Oxford Book of Rheumatology
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199642489.do#
Monday 11 November 2013
Early Diagnosis = Better Prognosis?
Thursday 7 November 2013
Latest Awards
Recent Awards:
ANJA - JGWP Foundation grant: dissection of tNF-mediated regulatory T cells functions: Differential TNF receptor signalling as potential predictor for anti-TNF responders and non-responders in RA (£36 000 includes technical assistant for 12 months).
JDI - MICA: Targeting the RA synovial fibroblast via cyclin dependent kinase inhibition - a phase IIa study (£1.1 Million).
Drew - JGW Patterson Foundation Grant: The role of non-catalytic protein domains of matriptase in cartilage catabolism. £50,000.
Welcome to the MRG
And a warm welcome to our new starters!
Marilena Padsalidou – RT – Anja
Joe Willet – RA - Sophie
Karin Engelhardt – RA - Sophie
David Swan – RA - Sophie
Ken Baker – PhD Student – John Isaacs
Natasha Price – MRes/PhD Student – John Isaacs & Drew
David Hodgson – MRes/PhD Student – Carol & Drew
Chun Chang – RA - Drew
Craig Bullock – JRA - Drew
Wednesday 6 November 2013
BSR Abstracts Deadline - 15th November 2013
Please note that the deadline for abstract submission to next year’s BSR is 15th November.
Plenty of prizes on offer (eg young investigator awards): http://www.rheumatology.org.uk/about_bsr/press_releases/over_20k_of_awards.aspx?utm_source=BSR+e-newsletter+recipients&utm_campaign=514a9b7b43-BSR+e-News+4+July&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_af7b6bb546-514a9b7b43-334865897
Monday 4 November 2013
Infection, Immunity and Inflammation
Just to remind you that this Thursday, 7th November at 5pm in room 2.21 of the Research Beehive (refreshments available from 4.30pm)
Prof. Jim Brewer from the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow will be speaking on:
"Imaging infection and immunity in vivo."
Jim’s research interests are listed on his lab. web page (below) and I have listed some of his recent publications fyi.
http://www.gla.ac.uk/researchinstitutes/iii/staff/jamesbrewer/
ICM Research Seminar - Intestinal Immune Homeostasis
Guest speaker: Dr Erik Glocker
[Department of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital, Freiburg]
Venue: Dental Lecture Theatre E, Ground Floor, Dental School
Date and time: Wednesday 13 November 2013 at 4.00pm
Dr Glocker will discuss:
“Key players for intestinal immune homeostasis.”
Key words: immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, colitis, IL-10
Dr Glocker is a medical microbiologist who unravelled the critical role of IL-10 and IL-10 receptor deficiency in inflammatory bowel disease.
He also published the first report on the role of CARD9 in mucocutaneous and systemic fungal immunity.
Chair: Dr Desa Lilic
Tuesday 29 October 2013
CIMA: Ageing Skeletal Muscles
Time: 12.30-1.30
Venue: Changing Age Opportunity Room, Newcastle Biomedical Research Building (NBRB), Institute for Ageing and Health, Campus for Ageing and Vitality
Speaker: Prof Francesco Falciani, University of Liverpool
Title: A Network Biology Approach Reveals Novel Regulators of Energy Metabolism in Ageing Skeletal Muscles.
Falciani is Professor in integrative Systems Biology at the University of Liverpool and holds an honorary Chair in Systems Biology at the University of Birmingham. He is the Director of the new Centre of Computational Biology and Modelling (CCBM) at Liverpool University, which has a focus in large-scale data integration across different disciplines. He leads an interdisciplinary group in Systems Biology with nine researchers with backgrounds ranging from physics, computer science and experimental biology. His current research strategy, which integrates both experimental and computational biology, has two main streams. The first is the development of novel computational methods to address the most important challenges in the emerging discipline of systems biology. These include network biology, reverse engineering and network modularization methods. The second is the application of these methods to understand complex biological systems, such as muscle degeneration in chronic inflammatory diseases.
Francesco is also a member of the Centre for Integrated research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA), a collaboration between the universities of Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield.
If you would like to speak to Francesco after the seminar, please contact Carole (carole.proctor@ncl.ac.uk).
Monday 21 October 2013
Meeting Report: NIHR BRC Ageing Research
Dr Louise Reynard outlines risk factors in osteoarthritis. |
Wednesday 9 October 2013
Frontiers of Ageing
Frontiers of Ageing Research:
Understanding Prevention
Thursday 17th October 2013
10:00 - 15:00
Bamburgh Suite
St. James' Park
Monday 7 October 2013
Osteoarthritis Research Day
Newcastle University
Wednesday 16th October 2013
@Research Beehive
Programme:
11:15 11:45 Ian Clark
(University of East Anglia)
(Cubby) Broccoli - ‘The Golden Gun’ for osteoarthritis?
11:45 12:00 David Wilkinson Serine proteinases in Osteoarthritis
12:00 12:15 Matt Barter microRNAs in chondrogenesis and osteoarthritis
12:15 12:45 TBC
12:45 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 14:30 Ray Boot-Handford
(University of Manchester)
Do increases in ER stress and loss of circadian rhythm contribute to the development of osteoarthritis?
14:30 14:45 Kasia Pirog
Mouse models of rare skeletal diseases as a tool to elucidate the pathomolecular mechanisms of osteoarthritis
14:45 15:00 Louise Reynard
Functional analysis of the osteoarthritis susceptibility locus residing at the carbohydrate sulfotransferase 11 gene CHST11
15:00 15:30 Chris Murphy
(University of Oxford) MicroRNA mediated regulation of chondrocyte function
15:30 16:00 coffee
16:00 16:15 Michael Ruston
Characterisation of the DNA methylome in knee and hip osteoarthritis
16:15 16:30 Rodolfo Gomez
Epigenetic control of MSC differentiation: Focus on adipocytic and osteoblastic fates
16:30 16:45 Mark Birch
Engineering biomaterials to influence musculoskeletal cell activity
16:45 17:15 Peter van der Kraan
(Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Netherlands) Role of TGF beta superfamily members in OA pathology
Registration:
http://bit.ly/18nKWjt
Thursday 3 October 2013
New centre to speed up development of arthritis drugs
Professor John Isaacs and his team have been awarded funding of £225,000 over three years to set up the Arthritis Research UK Experimental Arthritis Treatment Centre. They will test drugs for rheumatoid arthritis that are being studied for other conditions such as cancer, in small numbers of patients.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects nearly half a million people in the UK. It is a chronic, disabling condition in which the body's immune system attacks the joints. Although newer biologic treatments have made a huge difference to patients' lives, a proportion do not respond.
"We hope we can bring more treatment choices, in particular to test cancer drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have run out of options after trying all of the biologic drugs," explained Professor Isaacs, professor of clinical rheumatology at Institute of Cellular Medicine.
"At the other extreme, if we can find a treatment that 'switches off' arthritis, this could mean that patients with early disease only require a short-term treatment, after which they will not need to take drugs."
Being part of a trial
Professor Isaacs added that experimental medicine research could seem quite daunting to patients, as the treatments being tested were new and might not work, and the trials often involve a number of blood tests and other investigations.
"When patients become involved with research they generally benefit, regardless of the actual drug being tested. Because of this we feel it's very important for everyone to understand about research. Therefore we're also developing a programme of activities to provide better information to patients and their relatives, to help them to understand about research, and whether or not to become involved," he added.
Industry collaboration
The Newcastle researchers are working with pharmaceutical companies. "Often drug companies studying one disease can't afford to simultaneously test their drug in another condition such as arthritis, so we hope they will allow us to test their drugs for the, on our diseases," said Professor Isaacs. "If successful this will benefit the patient, the researchers, the company, the charity – and the economy – a win-win situation."
The new centre has already gained funding from the Medical Research Council to 're-purpose' a cancer drug called seliciclib being developed by Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, a University of Dundee spin-out company.
Seliciclib has been evaluated to date in approximately 380 cancer patients and is currently being tested in combination with another Cyclacel drug in cancer patients with solid tumours.
Researchers hope to show that the treatment is safe and potentially effective. Initially they will treat patients who have had the condition for at least a year and who are already taking treatment but not responding well enough. If this research is successful then they will test the treatment in patients taking different treatments, at different stages of their illness.
Medical director of Arthritis Research UK Professor Alan Silman said: "There's a real need to do in-depth testing of the benefits and safety of new drugs in small numbers of patients before large scale trials can begin, and our new experimental arthritis treatment centres are providing the resources to study patients in these key first stage studies."
Tuesday 1 October 2013
Extra Immunology
Another exicitng immunology talk is happening this week! "Modulation of immunity to pathogens by mast cells" will be presented by Prof. Soman Abraham of Duke University, USA. If you wish attend we'll be in LTF Newcastle University, 1pm this Thrusday. It would be a delight to see you there!