Dysregulation of the immune system and host-microbiota interaction has been associated with the development of a variety of inflammatory as well as metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Recent studies in Dr. Flavell’s laboratory have elucidated the important function of inflammasomes as steady-state sensors and regulators of the gut microbiota. Mice with a disrupted inflammasome pathway have been shown to develop a colitogenic microbial community, which results in exacerbation of chemical-induced colitis and diet-induced steatohepatitis, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
This year’s annual NIH J. Edward Rall Cultural Lecture features Dr. Sanjay Gupta, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and chief medical correspondent for CNN. Dr. Gupta is a successful practicing neurosurgeon and a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. His talk is is entitled “Medicine and the Media: A morning with Sanjay Gupta, M.D.”
The underlying molecular basis has been determined for more than 2,000 inherited monogenic disorders, of which at least 20 percent have cutaneous manifestations. The explosion of knowledge about genetics and genetic disease during the past 20 years has helped us to understand how gene changes translate into clinical manifestations.
Disease occurs in only some people carrying risk alleles, a phenomenon that may well be due in part to the influence of our virome. Chronic virus infection of mice protects the host against cancer and infection through symbiotic stimulation of innate immunity, and can complement multiple genetic immunodeficiencies. The virome may contribute to individual variations in the clinical presentation of disease. However, persistent viruses can also trigger “virus-plus-susceptibility-gene” interactions leading to bacteria-dependent inflammatory disease.
E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. University of Maryland School of Medicine
Successful fetal and maternal outcomes in the context of maternal pregestational diabetes (type 1 or type 2) largely depend on how well glycemic control is maintained, especially prior to conception and in the first trimester of pregnancy. Stringent metabolic control and monitoring, and nutritional management via supplements and antioxidants significantly reduce the risk for or can eliminate poor outcomes due to hyperglycemia on both the maternal and fetal side.
Pamela Stanley, Ph.D. Albert Einstein College Medicine
Notch signaling occurs when cell surface Notch receptors are stimulated by Notch ligands on an apposing cell. This interaction leads to release of the Notch receptor intracellular domain which complexes with several factors in the nucleus to induce the expression of Notch target genes. A large variety of cell fate decisions depend on regulated Notch signaling during development and differentiation in mammals. Thus, several human diseases and cancers arise from the malfunctioning of Notch signaling pathways. Diseases range from skeletal deformities to heart disease to a variety of cancers.
Judy E. Garber, M.D., M.P.H. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dr. Garber conducts research in clinical cancer genetics, with a special focus in the genetics of breast cancer. She has played a major role in the development of national guidelines in cancer genetics. Dr. Garber is also a leader in research into the characteristics and treatment of triple negative or basal-like breast cancer, the most common form in women with BRCA1 mutations.
Dr. Page’s laboratory seeks to understand fundamental differences between males and females in health and disease, both within and beyond the reproductive tract. Most recently, the Page lab discovered that XY and XX sex chromosomes account for subtle differences in the molecular biology of male and female cells and tissues throughout the body. These findings emerged from the lab’s comparative genomic and evolutionary studies of the sex chromosomes of humans, other mammals, and birds.
Marianne Bronner, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
The neural crest is a population of multipotent, migratory stem/progenitor cells that forms at the border of neural and non-neural ectoderm in vertebrate embryos. These cells then migrate from the neural tube along defined pathways, populate numerous sites, and differentiate into diverse cells types including melanocytes, sensory and autonomic neurons, and the craniofacial skeleton. However, neural crest populations differ along the neural axis with respect to migration pathways and derivatives.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
