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Research News … from Albany Medical Center FALL 2017 Scientists studying cancer, Research News … cardiovascular disease, immunology and neurosciences help fulfi ll Albany Med’s mission as a major from Albany Medical Center biomedical research center. Quickening the Pace of Medical Discovery Albany Med’s research enterprise drives innovation in both patient care and education while also fueling the local economy and our reputation as a leader in developing new bioscientifi c knowledge and technology. The promise of biomedical and clinical research, INSIDE THIS ISSUE and the combination of the two, has never been greater. Gene Editing Pioneers With this newsletter we bring you up-to-date on some of the many exciting research 2 Selected to Receive activities at Albany Medical Center. Albany Prize Albany Med, Rensselaer Researchers 4 Collaborate to Advance Personalized Anti-Cancer Drugs Awards Assist Faculty 5 Researchers’ Pursuits Meet Our Newest 6 Faculty Members Please join us for a special Panel Discussion with the Pioneers of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing, the 2017 recipients of the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 4 - 5:30 p.m. Albany Medical Center ME-700 Light refreshments will be provided FALL 2017 Gene Editing Pioneers Selected to Receive Albany Prize For their roles in the creation of a remarkable gene Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, editing system that has been called the “discovery of the Cambridge, Mass. century,” fi ve researchers have been announced as the recipients of the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine The $500,000 award has been given annually since 2001 and Biomedical Research for 2017. All fi ve awardees to those who have altered the course of medical research have made important contributions to the development and is one of the largest prizes in medicine and science in of CRISPR-Cas9, a gene engineering technology that the United States. It will be awarded on Wednesday, Sept. harnesses a naturally occurring bacterial immune system 27 during a celebration in Albany. process. The technology has revolutionized biomedical The fi ve recipients were chosen to receive the 2017 research and provided new hope for the treatment of Albany Prize for their fundamental and complementary genetic diseases and more. accomplishments related to CRISPR-Cas9. CRISPR is The awardees are: an acronym for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” a DNA sequence found in the Emmanuelle Charpentier, Ph.D. immune system of simple bacterial organisms. Director, Department of Regulation in Infection Biology, Max Planck Institute for The discovery of these CRISPR sequences in bacteria in the Infection Biology, Germany, and Honorary laboratory was the key to the later development of gene Professor, Humboldt University, Visiting editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9 that has allowed Professor, Umeå University, Sweden scientists to easily and effi ciently edit genes by splicing out and replacing or altering sections of DNA in the cells Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D. of any organism, including humans (though most current Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology research uses isolated human cells in labs and animal and Chemistry, University of California, models only). The editing technique has been compared to Berkeley “cutting and pasting” words in a computer program. CRISPR-Cas9 has revolutionized biological research in tens of thousands of laboratories worldwide. Its potential future Luciano Marraffi ni, Ph.D. applications include the possible ability to cure genetic Associate Professor, Laboratory of defects such as muscular dystrophy, eradicate cancer, and Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University, allow for pig organs to safely be transplanted into humans. New York City Its uses are so varied that CRISPR is being used to alter butterfl y wing patterns and it could also someday help make crops hardier. Francisco J.M. Mojica, Ph.D. Though it cannot be used as a “drug” in patients yet, it Associate Professor of Microbiology, is making a signifi cant impact in the clinical world by Department of Physiology, Genetics and accelerating drug research. Additionally, in laboratory Microbiology, University of Alicante, experiments, CRISPR-Cas9 is being used to try to modify Spain, and Member, Multidisciplinary genes to block the HIV virus, and to attempt to change the Institute for the Study of the Environment DNA of mosquitos that carry the Zika virus so that it cannot Ramón Margalef, Spain be passed to humans. Feng Zhang, Ph.D. “Rarely has such a recent discovery transformed an entire Core Member, Broad Institute of MIT fi eld of research, as CRISPR has in biological research. and Harvard, The James and Patricia Its implications for biological processes, including human Poitras Professor in Neuroscience and health and disease are promising and quite profound,” Associate Professor, Departments of Brain said Vincent Verdile, M.D. ’84, the Lynne and Mark and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Groban, M.D. ’69, Distinguished Dean of Albany Medical ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE 2 FALL 2017 College and chair of the Albany Prize National Selection gateway to medical and scientifi c breakthroughs. The Committee. “The Albany Prize recognizes that such a discovery of the CRISPR defense mechanism inside bacteria signifi cant development in science is brought forth by by basic scientists directly led to the development of the a community of scientists, and, therefore, we felt it was CRISPR gene editing system, which has promise for the appropriate to name a larger number of recipients than in treatment of disease. the past.” The Albany Medical Center Prize was established in 2000 CRISPR is an example of how science in the 21st century by the late Morris “Marty” Silverman, a New York City often works; as a remarkable ensemble act, in which a cast businessman and philanthropist who grew up in Troy, comes together to produce something that not one of them N.Y., to honor scientists whose work has demonstrated could do alone. signifi cant outcomes that offer medical value of national or international importance. A $50 million gift commitment While most studies focus on gene editing in somatic (non- from the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation provides germline) cells, due to the profound ethical implications for the prize to be awarded annually for 100 years. of modifying genes and impacting our species and environment, many CRISPR scientists, government For more information on the Albany Medical Center Prize representatives, ethicists and the general public are actively in Medicine and Biomedical Research, visit: debating how we as a society ethically use the technology. www.amc.edu/Academic/AlbanyPrize. According to Dr. Verdile, “the CRISPR story” is a testament to the importance of basic biomedical research as the ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE 3 FALL 2017 Biomedical Research Albany Med, Rensselaer Researchers Collaborate to Advance Personalized Anti-Cancer Drugs Researchers at Albany Medical Center and Rensselaer to lead to the eradication of Polytechnic Institute are working together to develop three- tumors,” said Dr. Barroso. “Our dimensional bioprinting and imaging techniques that will imaging approach can detect generate and analyze tumor models in the laboratory, with the binding of drugs to those the goal of accelerating the development and optimization cancer antennae throughout the of personalized anti-cancer drugs. tumor in its native environment. This allows researchers and The joint research, supported by a $3.7 million grant from clinicians to determine how the National Cancer Institute, will help address fundamental well a drug actually targets and issues in cancer research and treatment. binds to cancer cells in tumors to make sure that all cancer “If successful, our study will help researchers to develop cells are targeted and not just a personalized anti-cancer treatments,” said David Corr, small fraction of them.” Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering at Rensselaer and one of the study’s principal investigators. Combining the expertise of Margarida Barroso, Ph.D. “Ultimately, this research could help clinicians identify researchers at both institutions whether a particular drug, or drug combination, is allows for a unique approach effectively reaching the cancer cells in that type of tumor, in to cancer therapies, including: that specifi c person – to inform a patient-specifi c treatment strategy prior to undergoing chemotherapy.” • Creating molecular-level tumor models: Dr. Corr developed a laser-printing technique to create model In addition to Dr. Corr, the researchers leading the project 3D tumor systems, giving researchers the ability to are Xavier Intes, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering make different tumor architectures and compositions. and co-director of the BioImaging Center at Rensselaer and The model tumors replicate an idealized structure that Margarida Barroso, Ph.D., associate professor of molecular can explore how the distribution of receptors across a and cellular physiology at Albany Medical College. tumor affects the effi cacy of specifi c drugs that target those receptors. “One of the main challenges in developing new and effective cancer treatments is the lack of adequate tumor • Imaging techniques to monitor the effect of drugs on models that can mimic in the laboratory how tumors may cancer cells: New imaging techniques developed behave in a specifi c individual,” said Dr. Corr. “To achieve by Drs. Barroso and Intes will make it possible to that, we have to not only develop
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