McGowan Institute?
September 2002 | VOL. 5 | www.McGowan.pitt.edu
Alan Russell announced that Michael Chancellor (Urology) has agreed to Chair the 2003 McGowan Institute Scientific Retreat. The retreat will be held at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort from March 3 and 4, 2003. As a leading clinical tissue engineer it is particularly apt that Dr. Chancellor will lead the event. That said, we cannot have an excellent retreat without the input of key leaders from the spectrum of those involved with regenerative medicine. We have therefore formed a Program Committee which will be responsible for determining what type of event the retreat will be, how researchers will be networked during the event and working with us to keep attendance as high as last year. The Committee consists of: Michael Chancellor, Chair; James Antaki; Freddie Fu; Leaf Huang; John Murphy; Massimo Trucco, and Alan Wells. Suggestions can be directed to any of the Committee; for general suggestions, please send them to jmurphy@pitt.edu
The retreat is probably the most important event that the Institute sponsors during the year. Remember, the date for the Retreat is March 3 and 4, 2003 and will be held at the Nemacolin Woodlands. Please Save The Date
Other McGowan Institute News
The McGowan Institute, the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, and the Department of Bioengineering have joined forces to organize and host the 2002-2003 Seminar Series. Last year the Institute and PTEI hosted the seminar series. The addition of the Department of Bioengineering to the sponsors enhances the opportunities for a great selection of internationally recognized speakers.
The program began with Dr. Blaxall on September 6th and the upcoming presentations are listed below:
| September 6th | "Differential Gene Expression in the Failing and Rescued Heart"; Burns C. Blaxall, PhD; Duke University Medical Center |
| September 13th | "Intracellular Mechanisms of Reparative Action of Mechanical Strain: Implications in Cartilage Tissue Engineering"; Sudha Agarwal, PhD; School of Dental Medicine |
| September 20th | "Biomechanical factors in cartilage physiology and pathology: From organism to organelle"; Farshid Guilak, Ph.D.; Director, Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory , Department of Surgery , Duke University Medical Center |
| September 27th | H. Paul Ehrlich, Professor of Surgery and Cellular and Molecular < Physiology, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center |
| October 4th | James Moore, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering Director, Cardiovascular Engineering Center, Biomedical Engineering Institute, Florida International University |
| October 11th | Stephen Badylak, Senior Research Scientist, Purdue University, Department of Biomedical Engineering |
| November 1st | Kimberlee Potter, Technical Director, Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Facility, Dept. of Cellular Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology |
These weekly seminars are at 2 PM in Lecture Room #5, 4th Floor Scaife Hall
The McGowan Institute Wound Healing Conference has announced the 2002 schedule; the program is:
| September 3rd | "A Multi-Station Culture Force Monitor Station to Study Cellular Contraction and Collagen Synthesis"; Brian Campbell, M.S.; Department of Pathology |
| September 17th | "EGF Receptor Signaling from the Cell Surface is Preferential towards Cell Motility over Proliferation"; Kien Tran, Graduate Student; Department of Pathology |
| October 1st | "Pro- and Anti-apoptotic Effects of Synthesis of Nitric Oxide in the Skin"; Yoram Vodovotz, Ph.D., Associate Professor; Department of Surgery |
| October 15th | "Bone tissue engineering using peptide based urethanes and BMP-4"; Robert Gassner, MD, DMD, PhD; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery |
| November 5th | "Dual role of ELR-negative CXC chemokine IP-9 during cell migration in wound healing"; Latha Satish, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Research Fellow; Department of Pathology |
| November 19th | "Muscle Injury and Repair"; Yong Li, M.D., Ph.D. Research Asst. Professor; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery |
| December 3rd | "Title To Be Ammounced"; James H-C. Wang, Ph.D; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery |
| December 17 | "Title To Be Announced"; Ryan Branski; Department of Speech and Communication Disorder |
All Meetings are in the Board Room - 5th Floor
Eye and Ear Institute
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
(Lunch will be provided)
For information regarding the schedule, please
contact Paula Festa at
(412) 692-6223 / e-mail: Paula.Festa@chp.edu
or Hilary Hake at (412) 692-7947 / email: Hilary.Hake@chp.edu
The new McGowan Center for Regenerative Medicine facilities, located at 3025 East Carson Street held an Opening and Dedication Celebration on September 26th at 4:00pm. Chancellor Nordenberg, Mrs. McGowan, Dr. Russell, Dr. Kormas, Dr. Levine and Senator Tim Murphy lead the dedication ceremonies.
Agency Name: Alternatives Research & Development Foundation
PI: James H-C. Wang
Title: A Novel Approach to Study Biological Mechanisms for Tendinitis
Period of Performance: 9/01/02 – 9/01/03
Agency Name: Thoratec Corporation
PI: Kenneth Litwak
Title: Studies of the HeartMate II Left Venticular Assist System
Period of Performance: 8/15/02 - 3/30/03
Agency Name: Bayer Corporation
PI: Alan Russell
Title: Design of membranes for creatinine biosensor incorporating three Enzymes
Period of Performance: 7/1/02 - 6/30/03
Agency Name: Department of Defense-Army
PI: Alan Russell
Title: Biocatalytic pH Control in Nerve Agent Degradation and Sensing
Period of Performance: 5/1/02 - 4/30/05
Agency Name: National Institutes of Health
PI: William Federspiel
Title: Percutaneous Respiratory Assist Catheter
Period of Performance: 4/15/02 - 3/31/06
Note: Please send notice of new grant awards to jmurphy@pitt.eduand these notices will be included in subsequent issues of the Newsletter.
Listed below are a few federal funding sources. Each month we will be highlighting several funding opportunities relevant to the investigators of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Next month we will provide both federal and non-federal funding opportunities.
National Institutes of Health
BIOENGINEERING RESEARCH GRANTS (BRG) - PA NUMBER: PA-02-011
http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-011.html
Participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invite applications for R01 awards to support Bioengineering Research Grants (BRGs) for basic and applied multi-disciplinary research that addresses important biological or medical research problems. The BRGs support multi- disciplinary research performed in a single laboratory or by a small number of investigators that applies an integrative, systems approach to develop knowledge and/or methods to prevent, detect, diagnose, or treat disease or to understand health and behavior. A BRG application may propose hypothesis-driven, discovery-driven, developmental, or design-directed research at universities, national laboratories, medical schools, large or small businesses, or other public and private entities.
Applicants are strongly advised to personally contact the appropriate IC scientific program staff listed under INQUIRIES to discuss the relevance of their proposed work to the institute’s mission before preparing a BRG application.
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS: PHASED
INNOVATION AWARD (R21/R33) - PA NUMBER: PAR-02-091
http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-02-091.html
The purpose of this program announcement (PA) is to invite innovative applications for (1) the development of new and improved instruments or devices, (2) the development of new methodologies using existing instruments, or (3) the development of software to be used in biomedical research. Current technology development applications from individual investigators generally use either the R01 or the R21/R33 mechanisms. Investigators with substantial preliminary data for a technology development application should seek an R01 grant by submitting an unsolicited application at the standard receipt date or by responding to a particular program announcement. This program announcement uses the R21/R33 phased innovation mechanism. Applications using only the R21 mechanism are also welcome.
CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF BIOINFORMATICS AND
COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY SOFTWARE - PA NUMBER: PA-02-141
http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-141.html
Biomedical research laboratories occasionally undertake a software development project to solve a problem the laboratory faces. These software packages sometimes evolve into a well-designed system that can be easily extended and that is useful to a much broader community other than the members of the originating laboratory. The goal of this PA is to support the continued development, maintenance, testing and evaluation of existing software. The proposed work should apply best practices and proven methods for software design, construction and implementation to extend the applicability of existing bioinformatics/computational biology software to a broader biomedical research community.
FUNCTIONAL TISSUE ENGINEERING OF MUSCULOSKELETAL
TISSUES - PA NUMBER: PA-02-014
http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-014.html
The purpose of this Program Announcement (PA) is to encourage the submission of applications for research to enhance our understanding of functional tissue engineering of musculoskeletal tissues (articular cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bone, meniscus, intervertebral disc and skeletal muscle). Innovative approaches to these scientific areas will be stressed.
National Science Foundation
Biomedical Engineering Program and Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities
Program (BME/RAPD) - NSF 01-12
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2001/nsf0112/nsf0112.htm
The BME/RAPD programs encompass (a) the Biomedical Engineering program (BME) and (b) the Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities program (RAPD). Biomedical Engineering supports research that, often with diagnosis or treatment-related goals, applies engineering principles to problems in biology and medicine while advancing the engineering knowledge base. Integration of engineering expertise with life science principles is an essential requirement for advances in this field. The RAPD program supports the development of technologies for new and improved devices or software for persons with disabilities. Current areas of particular interest in BME/RAPD are biomedical photonics; novel tissue characterization schemes; new cellular and tissue engineering concepts; the innovative integration of multi-disciplinary technologies for new imaging and biosensing systems; and, home care technologies related to chronic illness, persons with disabilities, and the aging. Support is provided through submission of unsolicited proposals as well as through special initiatives. Additional information about BME/RAPD is found at http://www.eng.nsf.gov/bes/.
Searching for Funding Opportunities?
The University of Pittsburgh Office of Research provides links to several search engines at http://www.pitt.edu/~offres/funding.html.
Or contact the Pre-Award Grants Administrator at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine:
Lindsay Rodzwicz
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
100 Technology Drive; Suite 200
412-235-5157
rodzwiczlj@msx.upmc.edu
The Institute will host a Patient’s Day Celebration at the Senator John Heinz History Center on November 16, 2002. This is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of the patients, clinicians, scientists and engineers who have advanced the artificial device and heart transplantation programs. More details to follow in the next newsletter.
Institute Faculty and Graduate Students contributed to the production of a new informational segment that will be used in selected TV spots to highlight the University. Bill Federspiel, his students as well as Simon Watkins and students contributed to segments of the production. The finished product will be ready to air in late October.
Visit this site to obtain the current phone and fax listings, and travel directions for the new McGowan Institute facilities in the Cellomics and McGowan buildings.