Archived News (2011)

NEW PROGRAM: CBC Exploratory Workshops

November 22, 2011
Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC) is launching a new program to support small workshops for faculty members to encourage and support collaborative interactions across new boundaries among investigators in CBC institutions. These workshops are intended to stimulate new CBC Catalyst grant submissions, Program Project Grants from the NIH, and eventually CBC Lever Awards associated with large, multi-investigator NIH grants. Applications are now being accepted for CBC Exploratory Workshops.

CBC-affiliated researchers who would be interested in serving as scientific organizers of a workshop are encouraged to apply. For further information on the workshop program and instructions for applying see the CBC Exploratory Workshops Program Description. With questions feel free to contact CBC Associate Director

(Exploratory Workshops Program Description)
(Exploratory Workshops RFA)

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World experts in bioengineering lead the 9th Annual CBC Symposium

November 4, 2011
World experts in the field of Bioengineering joined forces at the Ninth Annual Chicago Biomedical Consortium Symposium. The speakers brought the approaches of engineers to the study of biological systems and cellular environments, and applied their findings to disease and clinical therapies. The symposium, Engineering Biology: From Tools to Insight, was held at the UIC Forum on October 21, 2011. The scientific organizers at the three CBC universities were Lonnie Shea (NU), Joel Collier (UChicago), Dave Eddington (UIC), Brenda Russell (former UIC CBC Scientific Director), and Brian Kay (current UIC CBC Scientific Director).

Doug Lauffenburger, head of Biological Engineering at MIT and a member of both the Chemical Engineering and Biology Departments, started the day with an outstanding discussion of “Multi-Variate Systems Approach for Molecular/Cell Therapeutics.” Doug’s research group used computational modeling to determine the major differences between cancer cells that are either responsive or non-responsive to EGFR inhibitors. The group found that cells that are sensitive to the drug have a slower uptake of receptors into the cells. In addition, they could make cancer cells sensitive to EGFR inhibitors by adding MEK inhibitors, which inhibit a downstream pathway implicated in the model, a finding that could open up new avenues into combinational therapy.

Local speakers included David Eddington, a member of the UIC Bioengineering Department and co-recipient of a CBC Lever Award. Dave gave an overview of the design features and uses of microfabricated devices to investigate cellular responses, including cell migration and adhesion, chemotrophic responses and the evaluation of clinical outcomes. Joshua Leonard, faculty in Chemical and Biological Engineering at NU, described technologies using synthetic biology, biomolecular engineering, gene therapy and systems biology to study the complexity of the human immune system. Dorothy Sipkins, a member of the UChicago Department of Medicine, presented data on “Cross-talk Between Leukemia, Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells and the Bone Marrow Niche.” Her research combines conventional molecular and cell biology approaches with multi-photon and confocal optical imaging techniques to explore the impact of malignant growth on the function of normal hematopoietic stem cells.

Christopher Chen from the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Bioengineering, started his talk by saying, “Even after spending over 40 years of studying cells in dishes, we don’t know much about now they organize into tissues.” Chris then described unique bioengineering tools he utilizes to explore mechanisms by which cells interact with materials and each other to build tissues. These tools can be applied to stem cell biology, angiogenesis, cell adhesion and engineering extracellular matrix proteins. Chris uses semiconductor technology to build in vitro microenvironments that allowed his group to study the interplay between integrin signaling during cell adhesion and structural changes associated with cell spreading. Novel findings in, “Immunobioengineering and the Lymphatic System,” were presented by Melody Swartz of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). She is using bioengineering, cell biology and physiology to understand the role of lymphatic function in immunity and tolerance, with an emphasis on localized targeting of lymph nodes as a site of drug interaction with metastasized cancer cells or delivery of immunomodulatory drugs to immune cells.

A “Data Blitz”, featuring short talks by selected poster presenters, was a new addition to this year’s symposium. The selected speakers were Yingzi Li (UIC graduate student, Jie Liang’s lab), Chi Bang (UIC graduate student, Jun Cheng’s lab), Mark Ciaccio (UChicago graduate student, Richard Jones’ lab), Stephanie Seidlits (NU post-doc, Lonnie Shea’s lab), Shahir Rizk (UChicago post-doc, Tony Kossiakoff’s lab) and Matthew Webber (NU graduate student, Sam Stupp’s lab). Close to 60 posters were presented during the well-attended and interactive poster session. In addition to the support from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, the symposium also received corporate sponsorship from Baxter Healthcare Corporation and Agilent Technologies.

LEFT: Morning session. CENTER: Winners of the "Data Blitz". RIGHT: Poster Session. Photos (CBC).

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Spotlight on October 2011 publications by three CBC award research teams

October 24, 2011
The CBC is pleased to report that this month, October 2011, three CBC-funded publications were published in high profile journals: PLoS Biology, Nature Chemical Biology and Nature Chemistry. Congratulations!

I. CBC Spark Team Member: Manyuan Long
Zhang YE, Landback P, Vibranovski MD, Long M. Accelerated Recruitment of New Brain Development Genes into the Human Genome. PLoS Biology, 2011; 9 (10): e1001179. [published online Oct. 18]
(Read more in UChicago Press Release: Young human-specific genes correlated with brain evolution)
Manyuang Long is a recipient of a 2009 CBC Spark Award: Noncoding RNA Structure, Function, and Evolution

II. CBC Catalyst Team Member: Chuan He
Jia G, Fu Y, Zhao X, Dai Q, Zheng G, Yang Y, Yi C, Lindahl T, Pan T, Yang YG, He C. N6-Methyladenosine in nuclear RNA is a major substrate of the obesity-associated FTO. Nat Chem Biol. 2011 Oct 16.
(Read more in UChicago Press Release: New research links common RNA modification to obesity)
Chuan He is a recipient of a 2009 CBC Catalyst Award: Virulence and Latency Regulation in M. tuberculosis

III. CBC Catalyst Team Member: Wonhwa Cho
Yoon Y, Lee PJ, Kurilova S, Cho W. In situ quantitative imaging of cellular lipids using molecular sensors. Nat Chem. 2011; 3, 868–874. [published online Oct. 9]
(Read more in UIC Press Release: New Membrane Lipid Measuring Technique May Help Fight Disease)
Wonhwa Cho is a recipient of a 2010 CBC Catalyst Award: In situ Imaging of Lipid Signaling Networks

From left to right: Manyuan Long, Chuan He and Wonhwa Cho.

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CBC helps fund a new Silvio O. Conte Center

October 10, 2011
The new Conte Center, a multi-institutional effort, will be based at the University of Chicago, and will apply data mining strategies to study mental disorders. The center will be established by a $11.75 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and a $2 million Lever Award from the Chicago Biomedical Consortium.
(UChicago Press Release)

Credit: Image courtesy of Andrey Rzhetsky / University of Chicago.

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NIH cites CBC as a role model

September 27, 2011
In a Policy Commentary “Core Facilities: Maximizing the Return on Investment” published in Science Translational Medicine (Aug 10, 2011), Gregory Farber (NCRR) and Linda Weiss (NCI) say, in a section headlined “Uniting Neighbors” “… Also being explored are core facility centralization and sharing activities that reach beyond a single institution. For example, the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, supported by the Searle Foundation*, provides core facilities to researchers at three Chicago-based universities. This idea could certainly be expanded to other metropolitan areas that have multiple research-intensive institutions.”
(full text)

*The CBC is supported by the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust.

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CBC Scholars meet Searle Scholars

September 20, 2011
On September 14, 2011, the CBC hosted a dinner at Crofton on Wells for the CBC Scholars and two Searle Scholars, David Biron and David McLean, who are Assistant Professors at UChicago and Northwestern, respectively. Lively dinner discussions took place with the Searle Scholars offering suggestions and advice in a number of areas, from selecting a post-doctoral mentor, to grant strategy, to career paths, to ways to balance life and a career in academic science. CBC Scholar Justin Cassidy (NU) said, “It was wonderful to get presentation tips and insights into the funding process from such great role models!” Bryan Singer (CBC Scholar at UChicago) had a very insightful conversation with David Biron: “Although David gave some very useful guidance on continuing our scientific careers, some of the most interesting aspects of our conversation centered around the discussion of differences in philosophic approaches to research in the biological and physical sciences, as well as how advancements in technology have effected progress in science over the years.”

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CBC Summer Workshop in Proteomics and Informatics, July 25-29, 2011

August 12, 2011
The annual CBC Summer Workshop in Proteomics and Informatics took place at the CBC/UIC Proteomics and Informatics Service Facility (PISF) on July 25-29, 2011. The intensive hands-on workshop was attended by 29 students, faculty members and staff from the three CBC universities and also researchers from Rush, Loyola, Ohio State University, Iowa State University, University of Texas-San Antonio, Stroger Hospital and Simplot Plant Science in Boise, Idaho.

The workshop organized by Dr. Larry Helseth, the Associate Director of the PISF, and Dr. Kolla Kristjansdottir of the University of Chicago, was a combination of lectures, demonstrations, hands-on-laboratory in multiple mass spectrometry techniques, and computer training in data analysis. Proteomics and informatics specialists from all three CBC universities contributed to the workshop. Lectures were given by Ron Davis and Drs. Alex Schilling, Richard van Breemen, Carrie Crot and Larry Helseth from UIC, Dr. Kolla Kristjansdottir from UChicago and Drs. Paul Thomas and Philip Compton from Northwestern University. The workshop also featured two invited speakers, Dr. Michael MacCoss from the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington and Dr. Forest White, Department of Biological Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition to presenting talks on specific aspects of mass spectrometry based approaches for protein analysis, both guest scientists gave seminars on the on-going research in their labs.

All workshop attendees participated in team research presentations. The workshop members were divided into three groups that described how they would apply proteomic and informatics techniques learned during the week to investigate a specific biological question. The presentation workflow included sample preparation, instrumentation usage, data analysis and a discussion of advanced spectrometric techniques that could provide additional information. The last day concluded with a final lecture by Dr. Shilling followed by workshop participants meeting one-on-one with PISF staff members to discuss individual projects.

LEFT: Attendees and staff of the 2011 CBC Summer Workshop in Proteomics and Informatics outside the UIC College of Pharmacy (Photo by CBC). RIGHT: Workshop attendees applying the knowledge they learned in the workshop to investigate a relevant biological question (photo by K. Kristjansdottir).

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CBC announces 2011 Spring Round Catalyst Awards

July 8, 2011
» Jun Yin, PhD, UChicago, and Hiroaki Kiyokawa, MD, PhD, Northwestern University, for the project:
Identify Cell Cycle-Regulatory Substrates Ubiquitinated by the Apoptosis Inhibitor BRUCE

» Adilson Motter, PhD, Northwestern University, and Sean Crosson, PhD, UChicago, for the project:
An approach to identify drug targets that select against antibiotic resistance

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Volume 5, June 2011

June 27, 2011
The spring of 2011 was a busy time for the CBC. CBC Science Day, a celebration of CBC-sponsored research held on April 22, 2011, was an all day event attended by over 200 Chicago-area researchers. The day was a smashing success with attendees learning about CBC-supported research and infrastructure, forming new collaborations, finding new resources and meeting people to enrich their research.

The newsletter includes information about CBC funding opportunities, educational events and introduces our two new Scientific Directors. To aid scientists in applying for CBC funding, we are offering a CBC Catalyst Workshop on Tuesday, July 5, 2011, at UChicago campus. Mark your calendars for the CBC Ninth Annual Symposium, Engineering Biology: From tools to insights, which will be held on Friday, October 21, 2011, at the UIC Forum.

We wish to thank Dr. Brenda Russell for the scientific leadership, program development, and collaborative spirit she has provided the CBC since its inception in 2002. Dr. Russell is stepping down as the UIC CBC Scientific Director and will take a hiatus from UIC this summer but will return in September to continue her NIH-funded research program in the area of cardiac and skeletal muscle growth and adaptation. Dr. Russell will be missed as a scientific director, advisor, colleague, and friend. The CBC family wishes Dr. Russell a relaxing summer and the continuation of an active research and teaching career.

Click here to read Volume 5 of the CBC Newsletter. Enjoy browsing through the newsletter and exploring the topics you find interesting!

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CBC Scientific Director’s transition at UIC: farewell to Brenda Russell, welcome to Brian Kay

June 24, 2011
Brian Kay The CBC is pleased to announce that, as of June 1, 2011, Brian K. Kay, PhD has become the new CBC Scientific Director for the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Dr. Kay was nominated by the UIC Acting Provost Jerry Bauman and his appointment was approved by Northwestern and UChicago Provosts, Daniel Linzer and Thomas Rosenbaum, respectively. He joins Scientific Directors Shohei Koide (UChicago) and Rick Morimoto (NU). The CBC Scientific Directors work closely with the philanthropists, faculty researchers and administrators at the three CBC universities, to advance the CBC mission of fostering and strengthening collaborative research in the Chicago area. Dr. Kay joins CBC Program Manager Tarra Barot as the primary UIC liaisons with the CBC.

Brian K. Kay, PhD, Professor & Head of the UIC Department of Biological Sciences, specializes in the research area of molecular recognition -- the science of specific interactions between two or more molecules. His work focuses on studying cellular protein-protein interactions and employs selective ‘designer affinity reagents’. Similar to antibodies in their properties, the selective affinity reagents are generated using phage-displayed libraries of combinatorial peptides, antibody fragments, and engineered proteins. Such synthetic affinity reagents are subsequently used as tools to affinity-purify target proteins, study intracellular protein expression and function, and probe conformational changes of proteins inside cells. Dr. Kay’s research is broadly interdisciplinary, spanning areas such as structural biology, biochemistry, cell biology, and physiology.

Dr. Kay takes over the UIC CBC Scientific Director position from one of the founders of the CBC, Brenda Russell, PhD. Dr. Russell retired from her duties in UIC academic administration on May 31, 2011, and stepped down as the UIC CBC Scientific Director. Dr. Russell will take a hiatus from UIC this summer but will return in the fall to her NIH-funded research and teaching in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at UIC. We wish to thank Dr. Russell for the scientific leadership, program development, and collaborative spirit she has provided the CBC since its inception in 2002. Dr. Russell will be missed as a scientific director, advisor, colleague, and friend. The CBC wishes Dr. Russell all the best in the continuation of her active research and teaching career.

Farewell to Dr. Brenda Russell at UIC. From left to right: Karen Snapp, CBC Associate Director, Katie Stallcup, CBC Executive Director, Kimber Corn, CBC Business Administrator, and Brenda Russell, UIC CBC Scientific Director (2002-2011).

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Connecting at the CBC Science Day

May 12, 2011
CBC Science Day took place on Friday, April 22, 2011, at the Prentice Women’s Hospital Conference Center in downtown Chicago. Over 200 people attended this all day celebration of CBC supported science. The meeting included talks and posters describing research by CBC-Award teams, CBC supported infrastructure and core facilities, faculty Recruitment Awards, and the thesis projects of the CBC Scholars.

The day started with talks by recipients of CBC Lever Awards. These awards are given to Chicago-area recipients of large-scale, multi-institutional grants and are used to create infrastructure that is transformative and will benefit researchers at all three CBC institutions. Kevin White (UChicago) discussed the CBC-supported infrastructure that is associated with the Chicago Center for Systems Biology (CCSB), Sergey Kozmin (UChicago) described the cores funded by the CBC that are part of the Chicago Tri-Institutional Center for Chemical Methods and Library Development (CTCMLD) and David Eddington (UIC) discussed the infrastructure that will be part of the newest CBC funded Lever Award, Nanomaterials for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE). Neil Kelleher (NU), a recipient of a CBC Senior Investigator Recruitment Resources Award, gave the final talk of the morning in which he described the Proteomics Center for Excellence (PCE) located on the Northwestern Evanston campus.

The two hour poster session was highly interactive and included 57 posters, all of which described research supported by the CBC. Twenty two Catalyst teams, 6 Spark teams, 3 Lever teams, the CBC/UIC Proteomics and Informatics Service Facility, 8 CBC faculty Recruitment Award recipients, 13 CBC Scholars and members of the core facilities located at each of the 3 CBC universities all presented posters.

The afternoon session, Cool Technologies, was filled with information and discussions from CBC Spark and Catalyst Award recipients describing novel ways to study cellular dynamics, element-specific imaging, MRI visualization agents, protein-protein interactions, noncoding RNA and cellular signaling pathways.

True to the CBC mission, new seeds of collaboration were planted during CBC Science Day as scientists were finding new resources and meeting people to enhance their research. As one participant put it: “Friday's CBC Science Day was truly great. The talks were great, but most importantly, those 2 hours of interaction time in the middle of the day were PURE GOLD. I know that I and others made some great connections that have the potential to become cross-Chicagoland collaborations!”

LEFT: David Eddington (UIC) takes questions following his talk: Nanomaterials for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE); CENTER: Neil Kelleher (NU) presents: Proteomics Center of Excellence (PCE); RIGHT: Poster Session. Photos (CBC)

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Richard I. (Rick) Morimoto, CBC Scientific Director at Northwestern University has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 28, 2011
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) announced the newly elected 2011 AAAS Fellows, April 19, 2011. Among the new members is Rick Morimoto, the CBC Scientific Director at Northwestern University. Rick is the Bill and Gayle Cook Professor of Biology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, a professor of Molecular Biosciences at Northwestern, and the director of the Rice Institute for Biomedical Research. He is widely recognized for his research on the regulation of the heat shock stress response and the function of molecular chaperones. His current research focuses on understanding how organisms sense and respond to physiologic and environmental stress.

Chad Mirkin, one of the Principal Investigators on the CBC Lever Award to the Chicago Center on Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Chad is director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology, the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of medicine and of material sciences and engineering at Northwestern.

Rick and Chad are among 212 extraordinary leaders who have been elected to the Academy this year for their pathbreaking work in the sciences, social sciences, the humanities, the arts, business and public affairs.

Congratulations, Rick and Chad!

For more info click here.

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Second Annual CBC Scholars Scientific Exchange

April 21, 2011
The CBC Scholars met at the NU Chicago Campus to present and discuss their dissertation research on April 7, 2011, during the Second Annual CBC Scholars Scientific Exchange. Each Scholar gave a short talk that was designed to focus on the “Big Picture” aspect of their thesis. The participating Scholars and the research they presented were:

Matt Curtis (UIC; PI Brenda Russell, Microscale Heterogeneity in 3D Alters the Mechanics of Cardiac Myocyte Contraction

Sam Nalle (UChicago; PI Jerry Turner), Intestinal damage and barrier dysfunction are critical to graft-versus-host disease

Jackie Shepard (NU; PI Lonnie Shea), Gene delivery from hydrogels for nerve regeneration

Erin White (UChicago; PI Michael Glotzer), Structural Transitions in Centralspindlin Required for Microtubule Bundling During Cytokinesis

Lou Dore (NU; PI John Crispino), Transcriptional regulation of blood cell development

Bryan Singer (UChicago; PI Paul Vezina), Isolating Drug-Induced Neuroadaptations Underlying Associative and Non-Associative Plasticity

Sevim Arslan (UIC; PI Howard Lipton), Theiler's virus-induced cell death during CNS persistance

Adam Pah (NU; PI Luis Amaral), Debugging Biology: Detecting evolutionary changes in metabolic networks

Fei Sun (UChicago; PI Chuan He), Chemistry in Staphylococcus aureus -- Molecular Mechanisms of Virulence Regulation in Staphylococcus aureus

Lila Gollogly (UIC; PI Gail Hecht), Enteropathogenic E. coli effectors EspG1/2 prevent tight junction recovery by disrupting microtubule networks

Nico Pelaez Restrepo (NU; PI Luis Amaral and Richard Carthew), Mechanisms for Robustness in a network switch controlling fly eye

Qiyan Mao (UChiago; PI Robert Ho), Coordinated directional cell motility driving vertebrate limb bud morphogenesis

LEFT: Presentation by CBC Scholar Qiyan Mao (UChiago; PI Robert Ho), Coordinated directional cell motility driving vertebrate limb bud morphogenesis. RIGHT: Scientific Exchange participants. (Photos: CBC)

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The CBC welcomes new Scientific Director for the University of Chicago, Shohei Koide

April 11, 2011
The CBC is pleased to announce that Shohei Koide, PhD has become the new CBC Scientific Director for the University of Chicago. Dr. Koide was nominated by the University of Chicago Provost Thomas Rosenbaum and his appointment was approved by Northwestern Provost Daniel Linzer and UIC Acting Provost Jerry Bauman. Dr. Koide’s official term began April 1, 2011. He joins Scientific Directors Rick Morimoto and Brenda Russell, from Northwestern and UIC, respectively. The CBC Scientific Directors work closely with the philanthropists, faculty researchers, administrators, and CBC staff members who together advance the CBC’s mission of fostering and strengthening collaborative research.

Dr. Koide, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago, is well known for his research in protein engineering, design and folding. His current research focuses on designing proteins with novel functions and utilizing such 'designer' proteins toward understanding biology and controlling aberrant proteins responsible for human diseases. Dr Koide's research is interdisciplinary, integrating approaches in structural biology, directed evolution, protein biochemistry, spectroscopy and cell biology – research areas that fit well with the CBC mission and span the Physical and Biological Sciences Divisions at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Koide will follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Silverstein, MD, one of the founders of the CBC. Jonathan stepped down from his role as the University of Chicago CBC Scientific Director in January 2011, to join NorthShore University HealthSystems Research Institute as the Vice President for Clinical Research Informatics.

Dr. Koide joins CBC Program Manager Jola Glotzer as the primary University of Chicago liaisons with the CBC. Welcome, Shohei!

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CBC Scholars Judge at the CPS Student Science Fair

March 30, 2011
Nine CBC Scholars volunteered as judges at the 61^st Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Student Science Fair (SSF) held on March 24-27, 2011 at the Museum of Science and Industry. This annual event is designed to stimulate scientific interests among Chicago-area youth, to emphasize the value of original research, and to connect gifted CPS seniors with college scholarships. Each year approximately 300 individuals from a variety of Chicago-based academic, scientific, and business institutions serve as volunteer judges, providing expertise, advice, and encouragement to the Science Fair participants.

SSF organizers heartily welcomed the CBC Scholars to judge student projects in biomedical research areas such as Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Behavioral, Health and Environmental Sciences. The participating CBC Scholars -- Qiyan Mao, Sam Nalle, Bryan Singer and Erin White from UChicago, Sevim Yildiz Arslan, Matthew Curtis and Lila Gollogly from UIC, and Lou Dore and Adam Pah from NU -- were each responsible for judging up to 8 posters. Notably, UChicago CBC Scholar Erin White had the privilege of judging the poster of Lane Tech's Saad Khan, whose project “Intracellular Signaling of Fox01 in the PI3K/AKT Pathway: Pathogenesis of Skeletal Muscular Atrophy” was one of the four top-scoring SSF winners. Saad will be heading to Los Angeles to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

Terry Mazany, the interim CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, was on hand to address the SSF participants and judges. Terry is also President and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust and serves on the CBC External Advisory Board.

The fact that nine (out of 14 total) CBC Scholars volunteered their time and energy at this truly remarkable event demonstrates the CBC’s commitment to promote science education and scientific exchange within the Chicago-area community.

The MSI, ComEd, Excelon, Motorola, Takeda and Wolfram Research Companies were among the key sponsors of the 2011 SSF.

FROM THE LEFT: (1) The Fair opens with the ‘Big Bang’. (2) CBC Scholar Erin White (right) at Saad Khan's poster. (3) CBC Scholar Sam Nalle (right) judging another project. (4) Terry Mazany addressing the SSF participants. (Photos: CBC)

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The Ribosomal Tunnel: who’s talking?

February 14, 2011
A recent study from the 2009 CBC Spark Award co-recipient Alexander S. Mankin entitiled, “Nascent Peptide in the Ribosome Exit Tunnel Affects Functional Properties of the A-Site of the Peptidyl Transferase Center,” was published in the February 4, 2011, volume of Molecular Cell. A member of the first class of CBC Scholars, Haripriya Ramu, is the first author of the manuscript.

The team led by Mankin analyzed ribosome stalling at the regulatory cistron of the antibiotic resistance gene ermA and found a cooperation between the ribosomal exit tunnel and the A-site of the peptidyl transferase center (PTC) in halting translation. The presence of erythromycin and a specific nascent peptide in the exit tunnel, abrogate the PTC’s ability to catalyzed peptide bond formation in the growing polypeptide and results in translation arrest. The degree of A-site selectivity is modulated by the nascent peptide’s C-terminal, with the third-from-last residue playing a critical role. (For commentary see Molecular Cell Preview: "Peptides in the Ribosomal Tunnel Talk Back").

(Image credit: Graphical Abstract, Molecular Cell)

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Volume 4, February 2011

February 10, 2011
The fall of 2010 was a very productive time for the CBC and we are pleased to share many of these activities with you in our Winter Newsletter. We are delighted to report the renewal of the CBC’s Funding by the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust for 2011-2015. As the CBC celebrates its fifth anniversary, we are proud to announce that over 200 publications have resulted from CBC funded research, and 40 grants totaling over $118 million have been awarded as a result of CBC funding.

The current newsletter includes articles about CBC funding opportunities, educational activities, and introduces two new CBC Junior Investigators. Mark your calendars for CBC Science Day scheduled for April 22, 2011, at Prentice Women’s Hospital in downtown Chicago.

Finally, we wish to thank Jonathan Silverstein for the collaborative and scientific leadership he has provided the CBC from its earliest days. Jonathan is stepping down from his role as The University of Chicago CBC Scientific Director and will assume the position of Vice President for Clinical Research Informatics at NorthShore University HealthSystems Research Institute. The CBC community wishes Jonathan tremendous success as he embarks on this next phase in his research career.

Click here to read Volume 4 of the CBC Newsletter. Enjoy browsing through the newsletter and exploring the topics you find interesting!

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Renewal of CBC Funding (2011-2015)

February 9, 2011
The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust (CCT) has renewed its funding commitment to the CBC. “The Searle family is very pleased with the innovations the CBC has introduced to Chicago and the scientific community during the past five years, “ said Karie Thomson, a member of the Searle family and a consultant to the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust. “It makes sense to continue this collaborative work that is central to furthering Chicago’s prominence as a leader in biomedical sciences and offers much hope for scientific advancements. We look forward to seeing what the next five years uncover.”

The initial five-year funding commitment of $25 million, which concluded with a $5 million grant for 2010, supports and stimulates innovative multi-institutional collaborations in research and education that have propelled the Chicago area to become a leader in biomedical sciences, said Terry Mazany, president and chief executive officer of The Chicago Community Trust. “Based on a review of this initiative during its fourth year, the return on investment has been extraordinary, and the Searle family and The Chicago Community Trust have announced a five-year extension of the program beginning in January 2011.” Mazany said.

Members of the Searle Family were instrumental in establishing the CBC and have supported the program through the Searle Funds at the CCT since the CBC’s inception. The CBC thanks the Chicago area biomedical research community and the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust for making the CBC’s mission possible!

For more details please see News Releases from the three CBC universities: The University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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CBC Scholars Program Update

January 24, 2011
The CBC Scholars advance the CBC mission of fostering collaboration and excellence at the graduate student level at their universities. The CBC Scholars from the Class of 2011 were joined by the remaining members of the Class of 2010, the CBC Scientific Directors and CBC Staff members for a welcoming lunch at Bistrot Margot on January 14, 2011. In addition to giving short summaries of their thesis projects, the Scholars spent time getting to know each other and discussing future events they hope to participate in. Suggestions included volunteering to be judges for the Chicago Public Schools Science Fair and getting involved with outreach programs for high school teachers and students sponsored by the Field Museum. They discussed designing a student centric research forum, which would be open to all graduate students.

All current CBC Scholars will be presenting posters at CBC Science Day on April 22, 2011, so this will be an ideal time for the CBC community to meet these outstanding graduate students.

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CBC Announces 2010 Fall Round Catalyst Award

December 15, 2010 (updated January 15, 2011)
» Amittha Wickrema, PhD, UIC and Hongmei Jiang, PhD, NU for project:
"Uncovering Early Genetic Aberrations in Myelodysplastic Syndromes"

» Steven T. Rosen, MD, NU and Fotini Gounari PhD, UChicago for project:
"The molecular basis of genomic instability: A genome wide approach"

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