2018 RESEARCH
- Archives -Top story: FDA approves first drug to use RNA interference, based on discoveries made at UMass Medical School
The new drug, patisiran, approved Aug. 10 by the FDA, is based on the discovery of RNAi made by Craig Mello, PhD, and Andrew Fire, PhD. It was developed by Alnylam, an RNAi-based drug development company co-founded by Phillip Zamore, PhD.
Top story: UMass Medical School scientists safely deliver RNAi-based gene therapy for ALS in animal model
A gene therapy delivered to motor neurons was able to silence SOD1 protein, mutations of which are linked to ALS, without causing any adverse effects, according to a new study published in Science Translational Medicine, by Christian Mueller, PhD, and Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD.
Top story: UMass Medical School researchers explain why cannabis may relieve intestinal inflammation
Beth McCormick, PhD, led a study that has for the first time identified a biological mechanism to explain why some marijuana users have reported beneficial effects from cannabis on conditions such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Top story: John Harris lab identifies new pathway to reverse vitiligo
John E. Harris, MD, PhD, and colleagues have made a promising discovery that could lead to therapies for vitiligo with longer-lasting effects, according to new research published in Science Translational Medicine on July 18.
Physician-scientist Jane Freedman focuses on improving cardiovascular health
The single-minded goal of cardiologist and scientist Jane Freedman, MD, is to seek insights that will help heal patients with heart disease. Learn about her research and career in the latest Women in Science video.
UMMS researchers receive funding from Gilbert Family Foundation to develop NF1 therapeutic
The Gilbert Family Foundation has announced that UMass Medical School will receive funding from a $12 million gene therapy initiative to address the underlying cause of neurofibromatosis type 1.
UMMS scientists receive $1.6M in NIH funding to improve genome editing techniques
Led by Guangping Gao, PhD, and Erik Sontheimer, PhD, scientists at UMass Medical School will work to develop technology to enable safe genome editing in patients, thanks to new grant funding from the National Institutes of Health.
NIH grant supports UMMS research on ‘off switch’ for extra chromosome in Down syndrome
Jeanne Lawrence, PhD, and Jaime Rivera, PhD, received a five-year, $2.8 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development at the National Institutes of Health to test a strategy in a mouse model for silencing the extra chromosome that causes Down Syndrome.
Victor Ambros named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Victor Ambros, PhD, has been elected by his peers as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
RNAi therapy mitigates preeclampsia symptoms in UMass Medical School study
A new study by Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, and Melissa Moore, PhD, at UMass Medical School and colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Western Sydney University, suggests that RNA interference therapy could be a potential strategy for the treatment of preeclampsia.
