SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER
The newsletter of the Feinberg School of Medicine Research Office
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Feinberg Investigators Identify How a Residential Neighborhood Can Impact Health |
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While it’s well known that a person’s lifestyle choices have profound effects on lifelong health, recent research has shown that a person’s environment plays a major role in everything from life expectancy to pregnancy outcomes. In 2022, Feinberg established research into social determinants of health as a priority. To better understand the impact of social determinants of health, Feinberg investigators have been leading studies that provide new insights into how a person’s neighborhood can positively or negatively affect their health. |
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Research Day 2023 Celebrates Scientific Discoveries and Collaboration |
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Feinberg investigators, students, trainees and faculty gathered to celebrate discovery and presented scientific research posters and abstracts at Feinberg’s 17th annual Lewis Landsberg Research Day on Thursday, September 14. |
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Feinberg Receives Record-Breaking Research Funding in 2023 |
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Feinberg principal investigators secured $706 million in research funding and awards during the 2022-23 fiscal year, which is a nearly nine percent increase over the previous year, and the largest amount in the school’s history. More than 70 percent of Northwestern University’s total research funding dollars come from Feinberg; this year the University received more than $1 billion in research funding.
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Faculty ProfileExpanding Access to Mental Health Resources and Disability Services for Children and FamiliesHeather Risser, PhD, is an assistant professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and associate director of the Mental Health Services and Policy Program. Risser’s research focuses on violence prevention, child welfare, parenting and access to parenting and mental health promotion services for underserved children and families. |
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Staff ProfileProviding Regulatory Support for Clinical ResearchAshley Bowman, senior regulatory coordinator for the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). In her current role, Bowman bridges the gap between ethics, medical research and human impact. |
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Student ProfileTranslating Insights from Datasets to Improve HealthIrena Gushterova is a third-year PhD student in the Driskill Graduate Program. She joined Northwestern as PhD candidate and works in the laboratory of Lillian Eichner, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. |
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Campus Events |
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Research in the NewsThe New York Times, September 12 NBC 5 Chicago, September 7 US News & World Report, September 5 |
NUCATS CornerShare Your News with NUCATS and Read the Latest UpdatesMembers of the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute who cite the Institute’s NIH grant can email the NUCATS Communications team to have their work further amplified. Our daily Tweets, weekly NUCATS Minute, monthly newsletter, annual Impact Report and digital news center provide a range of communication channels that reach a broad research community throughout Chicago, Evanston and the national CTSA consortium. Read the latest news from NUCATS or visit the article archive for older highlights. |
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Sponsored ResearchTitle: Pathway-guided treatment of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy-induced colon toxicity
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Sponsored ResearchTitle: Targeting macrophage reprogramming in glioblastoma
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Breakthroughs PodcastHow AI Can Improve Healthcare Delivery with Mozzi Etemadi, MD, PhDMozziyar “Mozzi” Etemadi, MD, PhD, is supporting the transformation of healthcare delivery and patient care at Northwestern Medicine by bringing engineers into direct contact with clinical providers. In this episode, he talks about the explosion of artificial intelligence in healthcare in recent years and how Northwestern Medicine is using this technology to improve healthcare delivery and patient care. |
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New FacultyAndrea E. Spencer, MD, joined Feinberg in March as associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She is also vice chair for research in the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Her research mainly currently focuses on developing and testing innovative methods to improve and reduce disparities in ADHD and other child mental health treatment and outcomes. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Charles H. Hood Foundation and Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation. She is a bilingual medical provider (Spanish/English) and strives to conduct research studies and develop interventions in multiple languages. Spencer received her bachelor’s degree in music from Yale College in 2003 and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 2008. |
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Galter LibraryAdvancing Health Equity Through Collaborative Literature ReviewsAmidst growing awareness of health disparities and the pressing need to address them, Galter Health Sciences Library and Learning Center has emerged as a resource in advancing health equity research. Galter librarians collaborate with students, faculty, staff and affiliated investigators at Feinberg to tackle systemic disparities and drive positive change in healthcare for all through evidence synthesis projects such as systematic and scoping reviews. |
High Impact ResearchMann JR, McKenna ED, Mawrie D, Papakis V, Alessandrini F, Anderson EN, Mayers R, Ball HE, Kaspi E, Lubinski K, Baron DM, Tellez L, Landers JE, Pandey UB, Kiskinis E. Loss of function of the ALS-associated NEK1 kinase disrupts microtubule homeostasis and nuclear import. Science Advances. 2023;9(33):eadi5548.McLaren PJ, Porreca I, Iaconis G, et al. (including Kim EY, Walter M, Simons LM, Nam K, Hultquist JF, Wolinsky SM). Africa-specific human genetic variation near CHD1L associates with HIV-1 load. Nature. 2023;620(7976):1025-1030. Meador KJ, Cohen MJ, Loring DW, Matthews AG, Brown C, Robalino CP, Birnbaum AK, Voinescu PE, Kalayjian LA, Gerard EE, Gedzelman ER, Hanna J, Cavitt J, Sam M, French JA, Hwang S, Pack AM, Pennell PB, Grp MI. Cognitive outcomes at age 3 years in children with fetal exposure to antiseizure medications (MONEAD study) in the USA: a prospective, observational cohort study. Lancet Neurology. 2023;22(8):712-722. Moritz L, Schon SB, Rabbani M, Sheng Y, Agrawal R, Glass-Klaiber J, Sultan C, Camarillo JM, Clements J, Baldwin MR, Diehl AG, Boyle AP, O'Brien PJ, Ragunathan K, Hu YC, Kelleher NL, Nandakumar J, Li JZ, Orwig KE, Redding S, Hammoud SS. Sperm chromatin structure and reproductive fitness are altered by substitution of a single amino acid in mouse protamine 1. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 2023;30(8):1077. |
Featured CoreNervous System Tumor BankThe Northwestern University Nervous System Tumor Bank (NSTB) provides investigators with high-quality patient-derived biospecimens to support preclinical and translational neuro-oncology research. NSTB offers a comprehensive platform for biospecimen and data banking, including protocol and informed consent tracking, sample annotation, inventory management, and integration with sample processing and analysis technologies. Services include:
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NIH NewsThe FY 2024 Loan Repayment Program Cycle is Here: New Features and Expanded Program Applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) opened on September 1. LRPs can repay up to $100,000 of qualified educational debt for those who are eligible and agree to perform NIH mission-relevant research. The deadline to submit an application is November 16. The LRPs help recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals to careers in biomedical or behavioral research. Several different extramural LRP categories are available, so please review to see which may be the right fit for your research. The process of applying for an managing an LRP awards is now simpler and more cybersafe. There are two new portals that can be accessed through eRA Commons. NIH establishes Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence The National Institutes of Health has awarded $24 million in first-year funding to establish Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. Part of NIH’s Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, the centers will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths and promote maternal health equity. The grants are expected to last seven years and total an estimated $168 million. Research centers will partner with community collaborators, such as state and local public health agencies, community health enters and faith-based organizations. Additionally, the research centers will support training and professional development of maternal health researchers, including those from backgrounds underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce. |
Funding Opportunities
CART Fund Grants – Alzheimer’s
Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)
More Resources |
Thank You For ReadingWe are testing an updated format for this newsletter. We welcome your feedback. Please share it with us via email. |
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