2021 RESEARCH
- Archives -Early data from TeenCOVE study shows Moderna COVID-19 vaccine effective, safe for ages 12-17
Initial analysis of the Phase II/III TeenCOVE study of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine, in which UMass Medical School is participating, showed vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 of 96 percent, the company reported.
UMass Medical School and Broad Institute document COVID-19 reinfection in liver transplant patient
A case study by researchers from UMass Medical School and The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has documented evidence of COVID-19 reinfection in a patient who previously had the disease, highlighting the importance of widespread vaccination against COVID-19 to protect against community spread.
USA Today reports on first baby in gene therapy clinical trial for Sandhoff, Tay-Sachs diseases
Thomas Feldborg and Daria Rokina, of Denmark, chose to enroll their baby daughter, Alissa, in an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of GM2 gangliosidosis, which causes Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases, to “let hope conquer the fears,” according to a report in USA Today chronicling their journey.
Roger Davis elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Roger J. Davis, PhD, FRS, has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in recognition of his research on stress signaling pathways that are connected to a range of diseases, such as arthritis, cancer, stroke, heart disease and diabetes.
FDA clears investigational new drug application for ALS gene therapy candidate
Apic Bio, a gene therapy company developing treatment options for patients with rare genetic diseases and co-founded by UMass Medical School’s Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, announced that the FDA has cleared its investigational new drug application for APB-102, a gene therapy candidate designed to treat a common cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Robert Finberg: Perception doesn’t match reality of how vaccines work
Robert Finberg, MD, talks to The Conversation about the common misperception that side effects caused by the COVID-19 vaccine indicate a strong immune response in the recipient
Video capsule endoscopy safe, effective alternative for diagnosing GI bleeding during COVID-19
David Cave, MD, PhD, and colleagues at UMass Medical School found that using video capsule endoscopy as a first procedure for the detection of the source of acute gastrointestinal bleeding could be a safe and effective alternative to the traditional method.
M2D2 $200K Challenge names biomedical innovation contest winners
UMass Medical School and UMass Lowell announced the winners of the 2021 Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center $200K Challenge. Acoustica Bio, a startup aiming to transform how patients receive intravenous medications, is the top winner.
UMMS establishes gene therapy collaborative research agreement with Pfizer
UMass Medical School has entered into a three-year, collaborative research agreement with Pfizer to evaluate determinants that influence the manufacturing quality and yield of viral vectors used in gene therapy. The research at UMMS is being performed under the direction of Guangping Gao, PhD, and Dan Wang, PhD.
Erik Sontheimer co-leading efforts to develop gene editing toolkit by NIH Somatic Cell Genome Editing Consortium
Six UMass Medical School scientists are among the members of the National Institutes of Health’s Somatic Cell Genome Editing Consortium to publish a paper in Nature outlining the program’s goals.