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Remembering Ihor R . Lemischka ( 1953-2017 )
Ihor R . Lemischka , PhD
Ihor R . Lemischka , PhD , a pioneer in the fields of hematopoiesis and pluripotent cell biology , died on December 17 , 2017 .
Dr . Lemischka was born in 1953 to Ukrainian immigrants in Trenton , New Jersey . He earned his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , where he studied pseudo-genes and was among the first to determine their origins through RNAmediated insertions . He then spent 21 years at Princeton University , where he successfully isolated hematopoietic stem cells from a fetal liver and constructed their first molecular profiles . Dr . Lemischka established the Stem Cell and Stromal Cell Databases to make this information public to the stem cell research community .
He was appointed director of the Black Family Stem Cell Institute at the Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York in 2007 , where he remained for the rest of his career . In addition to his achievements in the field of stem cell biology , Dr . Lemischka was known to many as a mentor , fostering the careers of the next generation of researchers .
Dr . Lemischka served on numerous National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) review panels and was an advisory board member for the New York Stem Cell Foundation , Harvard Stem Cell Institute , and University of California Los Angeles Program in Regenerative Medicine .
He is survived by his wife and long-time collaborator , Kateri A . Moore , DVM , also of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai .
Source : Ivanova N , Pereira CF , Lee DF . Ihor R . Lemischka ( 1953 – 2017 ). Cell Stem Cell . 2018 ; 22:16-7 .
Remembering Günter Blobel ( 1936-2018 )
Nobel laureate Günter Blobel , MD , PhD , a molecular biologist , died of cancer on February 18 , 2018 . He spent most of his working life at Rockefeller University in New York . With funding from the NIH and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute , his 30 years of investigation culminated in a discovery for which he won the 1999 Nobel Prize in medicine :
Günter Blobel , Proteins in any living cell have internal signals that direct MD , PhD their transport within the cell and throughout the body . “[ Dr .] Blobel ’ s discovery has had an immense impact on modern cell biological research ,” the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm said when announcing the prize . “ Furthermore , knowledge about the topogenic signals has increased our understanding of many medically important mechanisms .”
Dr . Blobel won numerous other awards , including the 1987 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for biochemistry from Columbia University and the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1993 .
He is survived by his wife Laura Maioglio ; three brothers , Hans , Reiner , and Albrecht ; and two sisters , Sigrid Mack and Ingeborg Cosack .
Source : The New York Times , February 19 , 2018 .
Louis Weiner Named Director of MedStar Georgetown Cancer Institute
MedStar Health appointed Louis M . Weiner , MD , as director of its MedStar Georgetown Cancer Institute . Dr . Weiner will remain director of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center , the research engine of the institute . As director of the MedStar Georgetown Cancer Institute , he will lead the development and
Louis M . Weiner , MD coordination of clinical care and research programs spanning prevention , treatment , rehabilitation , survivorship , and end-of-life care across the MedStar Health system .
“ I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this effort ,” Dr . Weiner said in a statement . “ This is an exciting time for the field of cancer therapy , as new treatments are transforming the outlook for patients with this dreaded set of diseases .”
Prior to his appointment at Georgetown Lombardi in 2007 , Dr . Weiner held several leadership positions at Temple University Health System ’ s Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia . Dr . Weiner ’ s research career has focused on the development of monoclonal antibodies and other
immunotherapy treatments . He serves as chair of the National Cancer Institute ’ s Board of Scientific Counselors and as a member of its Clinical Trials Advisory Committee . In addition , Weiner recently concluded service as a member of the Advisory Panel of the NIH Center for Scientific Research , which administers NIH research grants .
Source : MedStar Health press release , November 20 , 2017 .
Raoul Tibes Leads Perlmutter Cancer Center ’ s Expanded Clinical Leukemia Program
New York University ( NYU ) Langone Health announced that Raoul Tibes , MD , PhD , associate professor of hematology and medical oncology at NYU School of Medicine , will lead efforts to
Raoul Tibes , MD , PhD expand the clinical and investigative leukemia programs at
its Perlmutter Cancer Center . Dr . Tibes joined Perlmutter from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona , where he served as an assistant professor of medicine and clinical consultant .
In his new position , Dr . Tibes will lead the clinical application of genomic discoveries and advances in targeted therapies for blood cancers , and develop investigator-initiated trials of specific biomarkers for leukemia . He will also work closely with Ahmad Samer Al-Homsi , MD , the director of bone marrow transplantation at Perlmutter .
Source : New York University Langone Health press release , November 29 , 2017 .
Feinstein Institute Researcher Awarded NIH Grant to Study Post- Cancer Fertility
Catherine Benedict , PhD
Catherine Benedict , PhD , a medical research assistant professor at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research , was awarded a two-year , $ 165,000 grant from the NIH to study how young women who completed cancer treatment make fertility decisions and plan for future families . This project will lead to the development of a decision-making and planning tool to help young survivors evaluate their options for having children after cancer .
“ Even if young women make some fertility plans before undergoing cancer treatment , many are still unclear of how to navigate their options post treatment when they actually want to plan for a family ,” said Dr . Benedict . “ They are often
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