Cerebral edema, swelling that occurs in the brain, is a severe and potentially fatal complication of stroke. New University research, which was conducted in mice and appears in the journal Science, shows for the first time that the glymphatic system – normally associated with the beneficial task of waste removal – goes awry during a stroke and floods the brain, triggering edema and drowning brain cells.

“These findings show that the glymphatic system plays a central role in driving the acute tissue swelling in the brain after a stroke,” says Maiken Nedergaard, co-director of the Medical Center’s Center for Translational Neuromedicine and senior author of the article. “Understanding this dynamic – which is propelled by storms of electrical activity in the brain – points the way to potential new strategies that could improve stroke outcomes.”

First discovered by the Nedergaard lab in 2012, the glymphatic system consists of a network that piggybacks on the brain’s blood circulation system and is comprised of layers of plumbing, with the inner blood vessel encased by a ‘tube’ that transports cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The system pumps CSF through brain tissue, primarily while we sleep, washing away toxic proteins and other waste.

Read more here.

During the past five years, New York parents, students, and teachers have increasingly resisted five Regents exams  known as the Common Core State tests that students are required to pass in order to graduate from high school.

Families have actively opted out 20 percent of students statewide and 50 percent of students in Long Island. This has reduced the value of the tests for parents, students, and teachers and increased the possibility for educators to focus on the whole child, not test scores.

Professor David Hursh, doctoral student Zhe Chen ‘18W (MS), and alumna Sarah McGinnis ‘18W (MS), all of the  Warner School of Education, have collaborated with two parent leaders —Jeanette Deutermann and Lisa Rudley— to write Opting Out: The Story of the Parents’ Grassroots Movement to Achieve Whole-Child Public Schools (Myers Education Press, January 2020).

The book tells the story of two parents becoming education activists in the opt-out movement and how others—students, parents, teachers—have joined them in resisting high-stakes testing in New York State. The story of parents resisting not only high-stakes testing but also privatization and other corporate reforms parallels the rise of teachers nationwide going on strike to demand increases in school funding and teacher salaries. The success of both the opt-out movement and teacher strikes reflect the rise of grassroots organizing using social media to influence policymakers at local, state, and national levels.

“We’ve tried to take these two parents’ stories and put them into a political and historical context so that others can better understand the politics of testing,” explains Hursh. “The opt-out movement is not just against the standardized tests, though it seems we have digressed to this conversation. It’s also about how this strong grassroots movement makes possible the ways of teaching and learning that are not currently possible because of testing.”

Read more here.

A $4.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will establish a Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) at the Medical Center.

Led by co-principal investigators Ann R. Falsey, professor of medicine, and Angela R. Branche, assistant professor of medicine, the center will be one of 9 nationwide and will conduct clinical trials of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics for known and emergent infectious threats.

Leaders of the VTEUs will work with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH to determine the areas of focus and prioritize projects for the consortium. One major focus will likely be the development and testing of a universal flu vaccine.

The new grant will also fund a clinical trial track for infectious disease fellows. Falsey and Branche plan to recruit junior faculty members and train them how to manage clinical trials, including developing protocols, navigating the institutional review board process, recruiting, interacting with and following study subjects over time, and reporting study results.

Read more here.

Suzanne Haber, dean’s professor of pharmacology and physiology, who has been honored by the Society of Biological Psychiatry with its 2020 Gold Medal for her research elucidating specific brain networks that play a role in multiple neurological, movement, and mental health disorders.

Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering, director of the Center for Freeform Optics, and director of the Robert E. Hopkins Center, who has been selected as the 2020 recipient of The Optical Society (OSA) Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize. Rolland is being honored for creative and innovative applications in several fields of optical engineering including astronomy, medical imaging, augmented & virtual reality, image science, and freeform optics. Read more here.

Denisse Vega-Ocasio, a student in the Translational Biomedical Sciences PhD Program, who begins a year-long fellowship this week with the Yale Ciencia Academy (YCA) for Career Development. This highly competitive program provides doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds opportunities for mentoring, networking, skills development, and contributing to their communities through science outreach. Read more here.

This year’s Three Minute Thesis — an academic competition that challenges doctoral students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience – will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, 2020 in the Medical Center’s Class of ’62 Auditorium (G-9425), with a reception to follow.

The competition, sponsored by the School of Medicine and Dentistry Center for Professional Development, the School of Arts, Science and Engineering Graduate Studies Office, the Graduate Student Society, and the Graduate Student Association, is open to current PhD and professional doctorate (research) candidates who have passed their qualifying exam or are in their third year of study or greater.

Research travel awards will be presented to the first-place winner ($750), runner-up ($500), and people’s choice winner ($250), who could also be the first-place winner or runner-up.

A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted. Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum .

Registration will open Monday, March 9, at 8 a.m. and close Friday, March 13, at 4 p.m.

Subheats to determine final competition presenters will be held March 25.

For more information, contact: Daniel Curran, PhD student in chemistry, or Olivia Marola, PhD student in pathology.

The NSF I-Corps Upstate New York Node is offering a short-course program for researchers interested in exploring the market potential of their work and learning entrepreneurial skills. Short Courses, geared toward faculty, doctoral candidates, and postdocs, are offered at no cost to participants and consist of both in-person and remote meetings over a two-week period. The next Short Course will begin on Friday, February 21.  Apply by Monday, February 17. Contact I-Corps instructor Matthew Spielmann with questions.

COMPETITION

March 9-13: Registration available for the Three Minute Thesis competition, open to current PhD and professional doctorate (research) candidates who have passed their qualifying exam or are in their third year of study or greater.  For more information, contact: Daniel Curran, PhD student in chemistry, or Olivia Marola, PhD student in pathology.

April 8: Final Three Minute Thesis competition that challenges doctoral students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. 4 p.m. Medical Center’s Class of ’62 Auditorium (G-9425), with a reception to follow.

CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIUMS

LECTURES AND TALKS

Feb. 19: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Sue Uselmann (ESM Humanities) . 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

Feb. 26: Phelps Colloquium. “Surgery of the Future: 3D-Printed Patient-Specific Organs Guide the Way for Complex Cancer Surgery,” by Ahmed Ghazi, associate professor, Department of Urology. “Structural Engineering to the Rescue of Cultural Heritage,” by Renato Perucchio, professor and chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and director of the Program in Archaeology, Technology, and Historical Structures. 4-5:30 p.m. Feldman Ballroom, Douglass Commons, River Campus. Register here.

March 4: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Eduardo Herrera (Musicology, Rutgers) (external fellow). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

March 18: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Elena Bellina (ESM Humanities). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

March 26: Phelps Colloquium. “Harnessing Immunity to Fight Cancer: Clues from the Tumor Microenvironment,” by David Linehan, professor and chair, Department of Surgery. “Preparing for the Worst: Portrayal of Downside Risk in Professional Investment Advice,” by Joanna Wu, professor of business administration,  Simon Business School. 4–5:30 p.m. Eisenberg Rotunda, Schlegel Hall, River Campus. Register here.

April 2: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Alexandra Lindgren-Gibson (History, Univ. of Mississippi) external fellow). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

April 16: Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Ash Arder (Studio Art) (visiting artist). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

April 22: Phelps Colloquium. “Making Fuel and Fertilizer from Sun, Air, and Water,” by Kara Bren, professor in the Department of Chemistry. “A Black Musician in the Court of Henry VIII. You’re Kidding, Right?” by Lee Koonce, president and artistic director of the Gateways Music Festival in association with Eastman School of Music, and senior advisor to the dean, Eastman School of Music. 4–5:30 p.m. Max of Eastman Place, 25 Gibbs Street, Rochester.  Register here.

April 30:  Rosenberger Work-in-Progress seminar. Khan and Sullivan (Public Humanities fellows). 12:30 to around 1:45 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Humanities Center. River Campus.  All are welcome to attend, exchange ideas, and have lunch.

GRANT DEADLINES

Feb. 17: Applications due for NY Public Humanities Fellowships. Interested Rochester graduate students can contact Joan Shelley Rubin, Ani & Mark Gabrellian Director of the Humanities Center, for more information. The Fellows Application is currently open, read the call for 2020-2021 applicants.

Feb. 28: Deadline for new investigators to submit proposals for pilot project funding ($25,000 maximum for one year) from the Resource-Based Center for Musculoskeletal Biology and Medicine for research relevant to musculoskeletal diseases. Proposals must be submitted by email to Kristin Smith (585-275-1397). Learn more.

March 16: Deadline to apply for pilot project funding from five programs, through the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience. For more information on the awards, download the RFA.

April 15: Deadline to apply for pilot funding from the Rochester Roybal Center for Social Ties & Aging Research (The STAR Center) to promote the social well-being and healthy aging of those caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. There are two pilot award opportunities—the STAR Constellation Pilot Award and the ProtoSTAR Pilot Award. Learn more.

FELLOWSHIPS, TRAINING PROGRAMS

Today: Applications due for the Wilmot Cancer Research Fellowship program, which funds physicians for up to three years allowing them to investigate the causes, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer. Mentored research training for physicians with MD or MD/PhD degrees who have completed their residency training and intend to pursue an academic career in clinical, translational or basic cancer research. Learn more. For questions and to submit applications, email Pam Iadarola.

Today: Applications due for Wilmot Cancer Institute Predoctoral Cancer Research Fellowship Program. Contact Thom Fogg with questions.