Given that the ubiquity of sweat glands over the surface of the body is such a defining aspect of human physiology (and evolution), it's a wonder how little basic research has been done to understand how they work at the cellular level. Until Rockefeller University cell biologists published their recent findings in Cell, we didn't even know if sweat glands had unique stem cells. It turns out they do. The study also demonstrated that, while sweat glands are close cousins to mammary glands, adult stem cell activity is markedly different in the two systems (though they have a common progenitor), and in fact that there are four separate stem cell types that regulate maintenance and repair of glands and their epidermal-level counterparts throughout our lives.
Tags: Rockefeller University, Northeast, Stem cell research, cell biology, New York, 2012, Cell Research, bio research, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, New York City
Construction began four years ago on Mt. Sinai New York's new 550,000sf Hess Center for Science and Medicine on E. 102nd St., between Madison and Fifth Avenues in East Harlem. Originally due for completion this fall, the new opening date has been pushed into spring of 2013. The 13-storey building is a major advance in the medical institute's larger plan of integrating its clinical and research areas through a strong translational medicine program. Basic research facilities will include wet and dry bench labs, animal facilities, and computer-supported research spaces. There will be lounges, meeting and education rooms, and other open, interactive spaces to encourage collaboration through daily contact. The half million square feet will add to, not replace, Mount Sinai School of Medicine's overall facility space. They have already begun recruiting and hiring new faculty researchers.
Tags: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Northeast, Translational Research, New research facilities, 2012, MSSM, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, New York City, new construction
University expansion is never uncomplicated, especially in an urban environment where density is high, real estate is ultra-expensive, and development is intensely regulated. Yet new buildings do go up in places like New York City if you have the drive, wealth, and reputation of an institution like Columbia University, which is currently constructing not only new buildings but an entirely new campus to expand its academic and research programs. In addition to the original Morningside Heights location and the Medical School campus in Washington Heights, Columbia has purchased and is building a new campus in the "Manhattanville" neighborhood, stretching from 125th Street to 133rd Street in West Harlem.
Tags: biomedical sciences, Northeast, Biomedical expansion, New research facilities, New York, Columbia University, 2012, Neuroscience, Columbia, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, new construction, NYC campus competition
How is it that a prominent Rockefeller University professor and director of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior is sought out by a fashion magazine one month, the New York Magazine the next, and a CBS interview just last week? Dr. Leslie Vosshall studies the mechanism of scent recognition in humans on the one hand, and attraction to humans by mosquitos on the other. We still know so little about smell, and even less about why an insect like the mosquito hones in on one of us more often than another, but the Vosshall Lab is adding insight to the genetic basis of olfactory recognition. Given that mosquitos are a global vector for disease, including right here in the U.S., Vosshall's research aims to find out what it is about a particular one of us that excites the little bug to such raptures. If we know that, perhaps we can intervene productively to keep them at bay. As for the fashion magazine (Elle Canada), they wanted an expert on scent to comment on designers' and retailers' new fad for marketing their products with a scent component.
Tags: Rockefeller University, Northeast, women in science, New York, 2012, genetic engineering, Neuroscience, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, New York City
Tags: Rockefeller University, biomedical research, Northeast, cell biology, New York, RockU, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, laboratory
The NIH has just announced that the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) consortium of seven US medical research institutions has received an additional $25M in funding for Phase II of a series of projects to study how genetic information in patients' medical records can be used to improve their care. As genome sequencing becomes increasingly affordable and more widely done, translational research is needed to show physicians how they might respond to indicators of genetic predisposition to disease in their treatment programs. The eMERGE network was formed in 2007 "to develop, disseminate, and apply approaches to research that combine DNA biorepositories with electronic medical record (EMR) systems for large-scale, high-throughput genetic research," according to the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) branch of the NIH.
Tags: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Northeast, Vanderbilt University, University of Washington, WA, Northwest, Translational Research, New York, MSSM, BioResearch Product Faire Event, Genomics, NY, NIH, Seattle, Biomedical Research Funding, Nashville TN, 2011
The Center of Bioengineering Innovation & Design at Johns Hopkins University has recently received the honor to boast the first place winner of the 2011 ASME IShow: a competition inspiring students to invest in their own innovation and entrepreneurialism to develop a sustainable business model of a medical, technological, or robotic nature.
Tags: Northeast, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, New York, Columbia University, 2012, Columbia, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, Kidney Dialysis, 2011
At this time of year especially, our hearts seem to go out all the more to those in need, which is why we like this blog, which we've updated with a recent video which should bring a smile to your face. Please consider donating your excess inventory in 2012! --updated(12/23/2011)
Tags: Rockefeller University, Northeast, Biomedical Equipment, Cornell University, New York, Columbia University, Stony Brook University, Weill Cornell, BioResearch Product Faire Front Line Event, MSSM, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, Laboratory Equipment Supplier, Rockefeller, SunySB, 2011, Mount Sinai Medical School,
Innovation is described as "the creation or improvement of products, technologies, and ideas", and is the core reason education, the economy, and society progress from simple forms to more sophisticated and complex organisms.
Tags: Northeast, New York, Stony Brook University, BioResearch Product Faire Event, NY, AERTC, SunySB, 2011