current News
CBC Scholars ‘Loop Connections’ in motion!
May 16, 2012
The first seminar of the new CBC Scholars organized 'Loop Connections' Seminar Series took place on May 8, 2012 at the UChicago campus. The seminar, From ECM to cell motility, featured two local experts on epithelial biology. Jonathan Jones, from the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University led off the seminar series with a stimulating discussion of
"Skin cell motility: Integrins lead the way." Jonathan's seminar was followed by exciting data presented by Sally Horne-Badovinac, a faculty member in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at UChicago. The title of Sally's talk was "The Misshapen kinase negatively regulates integrin levels to promote collective cell migration in Drosophila."
Approximately 85 students, faculty and staff from all three CBC universities attended this inaugural event. UChicago CBC Scholar, Greg Tietjen, gave opening remarks, which included a brief summary of the CBC and the Scholars Program. Greg also described the goals of the 'Loop Connections' Seminar Series - to build strong connections across the CBC universities by providing a platform for fostering novel collaborative efforts. Joanna Rowell (UChicago CBC Scholar) introduced both speakers and moderated the lively discussion at the conclusion of the seminar.
The CBC scholars and the speakers continued their scientific exchange at a post-seminar mentoring dinner. The Scholars presented the speakers with CBC Scholars Program T-shirts featuring original artwork by Joanna (right). Shohei Koide, the UChicago CBC Scientific Director and Tobin Sosnick, Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UChicago also attended the dinner and took part in the lively dinner conversation. Many topics were discussed including strategies for finding a post doc, transitioning to a faculty position and how to manage a lab, plus scientific, experimental and technology related questions. The Scholars also asked the attending faculty members for suggestions on how to improve the seminar series.
Lila Glotfelty (CBC Scholar at UIC) gave a great summary of the event. "Fantastic seminar this evening. If you missed it, y'all missed out. It was really interesting and the speakers made great dinner company as well. I look forward to more 'Loop Connections' Seminars!" Indeed, the next 'Loop Connections' Seminar is in the planning phase and is scheduled to take place at the UIC campus…..so stay tuned!
LEFT: Greg introducing the 'Loop Connections' Seminar Series. CENTER: Sally (standing) and Jonathan (sitting, far right) take questions after the seminar. RIGHT: Joanna introducing the speakers. TOP-RIGHT: 'Loop Connections' logo designed by CBC Scholar Joanna Rowell. (Photos: CBC)
CBC Scholar mentors students at Thomas Jefferson HS
May 1, 2012
CBC Scholar Lila Glotfelty (class of 2010) was recently invited to lead an information session on medical degree programs for students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology (TJHSST) in Alexandria, Virginia. She used a small portion of her CBC grant to fund her trip.
TJHSST is a publicly funded high school with a highly selective admissions process and has been rated the #1 high school in the country since 2007. TJHSST students participate in an integrated humanities and science curriculum and continue their studies at excellent universities in the USA and overseas. TJHSST has also produced 7 Rhodes scholars since its inception in 1985, more than multiple universities.
Working with TJHSST career counselor Mrs. Laurie Kobick and the Deans of University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Lila put together a talk about MD, BA/BS/MD and MD/PhD programs that involved interactive exercises and audience participation. The program was repeated for two groups of 60 students, all of whom registered in advance in order to attend. A lively question and answer session followed with several students staying afterwards to ask more specific questions.
TJHSST students found the info session extremely helpful and have since emailed Lila with additional questions. Mrs. Kobick was very pleased with the student turnout and Lila's talk, and has invited her back to TJHSST "any time."
The CBC is delighted that Lila was able to participate in this worthwhile event. Congratulations!
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Lila Glotfelty
Third Annual CBC Scholars Scientific Exchange
April 24, 2012
The Third Annual CBC Scholars Scientific Exchange took place on March 27, 2012, at the UChicago Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago. Seventeen scholars presented talks describing their thesis research and each presentation was followed by a short discussion. This all-day event included a networking lunch during which the scholars discussed future events, including the CBC Scholars Loop Connections Seminar Series, the first of which will be held on the UChicago campus on May 8, 2012.
The following scholars presented at the Scientific Exchange:
Chaitanya Aggarwal (UIC; PI Michael Federle), Deciphering bacterial cell-to-cell communication to develop novel antimicrobials
Sevim Yildiz Arslan (UIC; PI Howard Lipton), Type of cell death influences TMEV pathogenesis
Tim Best (UChicago; PI Kenan Onel), Variants at 6q21 implicate PRDM1 in the etiology of therapy-induced second malignancies after Hodgkin's lymphoma
Justin Cassidy (NU; PI Richard Carthew), A microRNA paces phenotypic change
Christina Chow (UIC; PI Tohru Kozasa), Identification of specific phosphorylation sites on p115RhoGEF
Jackson Cone (UIC; Mitchell Roitman), Ghrelin modulates phasic dopamine signals evoked by food related stimuli
Lila Glotfelty (UIC; PI Gail Hecht), The effect of enteropathogenic E. coli EspG1/2-mediated microtubule disruption on intestinal epithelial tight junction recovery
Susan Klosterman (UIC; PI Janet Richmond), Synaptic characterization of the conserved vacuolar protein sorting complex component (VPS-39)
Qiyan Mao (UChicago; PI Robert Ho), Genetic control of coordinated cell convergence during vertebrate limb bud formation
Adam Pah (NU; PI Luis Amaral), Res Potentia as a route to understanding function and evolution of cellular networks
Nico Peláez (NU; PI Luis Amaral), The YAN Network is robust against YAN protein variation in the developing eye
Joanna Rowell (UChicago; PI Clifton Ragsdale), The evolution and development of the mammalian neocortex
Andy Scarpelli (NU; PI Joshua Leonard), Engineering systems for inducible genetic exchange in E. coli
Bryan Singer (UChicago; PI Paul Vezina), Dendritic spine plasticity underlying associative drug conditioning
Fei Sun (UChicago; PI Chuan He), Exploring the molecular mechanism of virulence regulation in S. aureus
Liz Tarasewicz (NU; PI Jacqueline Jeruss), CDK Inhibition and dichotomous TGFβ signaling in breast cancer
Greg Tietjen (UChicago; PIs Erin Adams and Ka Yee Lee), Pushing the boundaries of structural immunology; utilizing x ray surface scattering to explore lipid membrane recognition in immune response
How do cancers become resistant to chemotherapy?
April 5, 2012
Genetic mutations in cancer cells can lead to resistance to treatment, thereby potentially resulting in relapse. However, a new article, published April 3 in the magazine section of the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology, suggests that the converse may also happen. Steven Frank from the University of California, Irvine, and Marsha Rosner from the University of Chicago, propose that it may often be the case that a few cells become resistant before any genetic change, and then later acquire the genes to stabilize that resistance.
Why does it matter whether resistance comes before genetic mutations, or vice versa? Because the effectiveness of treatment depends primarily on preventing resistance. If, as is the current view, genetic mutations occur first and then spread to cause resistance, then treatment protocols must focus on preventing the origination of cancer cells with the particular set of mutations that cause this resistance. Widely used combination therapies are designed specifically to limit the chance that a cancer cell can develop the suite of mutations necessary for resistance.
Frank and Rosner argue that a few cells may often become resistant before they get specific genetic mutations. Such non-genetic resistance may occur through the random variation in cellular characteristics that has been widely observed among genetically identical cells. Alternatively, non-genetic resistance may occur when cells change (essentially reprogram) their characteristics in response to the stress of moving into new tissues, or dealing with toxic drugs. Cells are known to have many flexible programs of expression in response to a change in their environment. If cells first become resistant by either non-genetic randomness or flexibility, then those resistant cells can later acquire genetic changes to stabilize their resistance. Such a progression that starts with non-genetic resistance necessarily alters one's ideas as to how to design combinations of drugs aimed at preventing relapse.
The idea that non-genetic resistance comes first is not entirely new. But the small amount of existing evidence has not led to a change in how people view the issue. This new article aims to bring this perspective to a wider group of researchers by combining the evidence from prior studies with a clear understanding of the evolutionary theory by which populations adapt to extreme challenges. New studies, designed in the light of how evolution might occur in cancers, will show whether alternative approaches to treatment can improve outcomes.
Source: EurekaAlert!
Citation: Frank SA, Rosner MR (2012) Nonheritable Cellular Variability Accelerates the Evolutionary Processes of Cancer. PLoS Biol 10(4): e1001296. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001296
Marsha Rosner is the co-receipient of a 2009 CBC Catalyst Award: "Cell Cycle Regulatory Networks: An Integrative Approach."
April 4, 2012
The CBC is pleased to announce that David E. Miller has joined the CBC External Advisory Board (EAB). Mr. Miller will serve as a representative of the Chicago community. He joins three distinguished external scientists, a member of the biotechnology business community, representatives of the Searle family, and a representative of The Chicago Community Trust to provide general direction, advice, and counsel to the CBC Leadership.
Currently, Mr. Miller is President and CEO of the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization -- iBIO® -- an organization with goals similar to those of the CBC: to make Chicago, Illinois and Midwest “one of the world’s top life sciences centers.” Mr. Miller is also President, CEO, co-founder and a member of the Board of Directors of the iBIO Institute, which strives to orchestrate business leadership in delivery of educational programs and new technology ventures. Of particular note, the iBIO Institute’s PROPEL® Center aims to increase the number and success rates of early-stage life sciences start-ups in Illinois.
Prior to joining iBIO, Mr. Miller held executive positions for technology startups in Silicon Valley, Chicago, and Wisconsin. He is the recipient of the 2009 Abraham Lincoln National Agriculture Award for Technology, and a member of the Board of Governors of Chicago Innovation Mentors, a joint undertaking in support of entrepreneurs founded by Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the iBIO Institute. Mr. Miller’s extensive knowledge and experience will greatly benefit the CBC as it works to promote the development of the biomedical industry in Chicago.
CBC Scholars inspire Chicago Public Schools budding scientists
March 26, 2012
For the second year in a row, the CBC Scholars volunteered to serve as judges for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Science Fair. The Fair brought CPS Junior High and High School students together at the Museum of Science and Industry where they presented their work and competed for prizes. Projects ranged from the effects of jazz music on growing radishes to 3D modeling of chemical compounds.
The organizers of the Science Fair are always looking for qualified judges and judging the event provides an excellent opportunity to mentor and encourage young scientists. Twelve CBC scholars, approximately equal numbers from the 3 CBC institutions, volunteered their time to be judges in areas as diverse as Physics, Botany, Microbiology and Zoology. The participating Scholars wore lapel pins identifying themselves as CBC members. The Scholars relished the teaching experience and greatly enjoyed interacting with the young students. A few Junior High School students were remembered from last year’s Science Fair and it was a pleasure to see how far they had progressed in their training and the direction in which they had chosen to take their research.
After a long day at the Science Fair, a CBC-sponsored lunch at a nearby restaurant provided a chance for the Scholars to unwind and discuss the projects that were judged.
March 13, 2012
In an article “Rowan or Rutgers: No need to change names to win grants” published March 12, 2012 in the Philadelphia Inquirer by Michael A. Palis, Joseph Martin, and Benedetto Piccoli*, the CBC is highlighted as a consortium role model that, if followed, could “leverage the existing strengths of four institutions and transform southern New Jersey into a hot spot for life-science and biomedical research in the region and the state.” They go on to state: “The consortium model has been implemented with great success elsewhere, including the Chicago Biomedical Consortium (Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois at Chicago); the Broad Institute (MIT, Harvard, and affiliated teaching hospitals); and the Research Triangle Park (Duke University, North Carolina State, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).” It’s nice to know that news of the CBC is spreading and inspiring other research communities to consider the power of collaboration.
(full text)
*Michael A. Palis is a professor of computer science; Joseph Martin is a professor of biology; and Benedetto Piccoli is Joseph and Loretta Lopez Chair of Mathematics at Rutgers-Camden.
CBC Catalyst comes into bloom: TULIPs
March 8, 2012
Congratulations to the CBC Catalyst Team: Tobin Sosnick, Eric Weiss and Michael Glotzer for their recent publication in Nature Methods! “TULIPs: tunable, light-controlled interacting protein tags for cell biology” describes development of novel optogenetic tools that can be used to directly manipulate the formation of protein complexes that drive diverse cellular processes.
The project developed as an exciting collaboration between three groups on two Chicago campuses: the Glotzer and Sosnick groups at the University of Chicago and the Weiss group at Northwestern University. The original idea sprung from Devin Strickland's Ph.D. thesis in the Sosnick lab that showed that the photosensitive LOV2 domain (of Avena sativa phototropin 1) could be used to modulate other protein domains with light. “We realized that many interesting biological processes could be studied from a novel angle if we could regulate a whole host of different proteins with light,” recalled Glotzer. Strickland was intrigued by the idea of controlling important biological processes in cells with light and decided to join the Glotzer lab to take on this challenge.
Making each individual protein light-regulated would require a lot of protein engineering. “We decided to go around this problem and figure out a way to make the interaction between two small proteins light-regulated and then attach other proteins of interest to these two proteins. Formation of light-regulated dimers could then be used to control the localization of specific proteins or the formation of specific protein complexes,” explained Glotzer.
In 2009, Sosnick and Glotzer applied for an NIH Eureka grant to fund this high risk - high reward project. Shortly after they realized that the project could benefit from interactions with Eric Weiss at Northwestern who studies yeast and is experienced in high throughput screening. Eric was excited to participate and the same year the three PIs submitted a CBC Catalyst award application to provide support for high throughput methods and the Weiss lab expertise with yeast. “We were fortunate to get both proposals funded,” said Glotzer. “The collaboration worked very smoothly, we interacted frequently through video-conferences and swapped reagents freely. All of us were excited to see if we could make it work.”
As it turned out, the idea worked beyond expectations. Although TULIPs was mostly developed in the Glotzer lab, the collaboration with Northwestern and hence the possibility to use budding yeast was critical, as it allowed the team to screen many variants quickly. It also allowed them to determine which variants actually worked inside living cells and to demonstrate that this system could control cell growth and polarity. The involvement of the Sosnick biophysics lab was invaluable because understanding of the mechanism by which the LOV2 domain converted light into a conformational change helped to design and optimize the system.
“The CBC project allowed us to take risks that we normally would have taken a pass on, and ended up getting us a tool that will let us do entirely new things,” remarked Weiss. “As an added benefit, it also established a collaborative team that works well together after the funding period ended and has begun spinning off even more new ideas.” Indeed, all three labs still meet frequently and exchange ideas. “We are now using these advances to study new aspects of biology and develop second generation strategies to study cells with light,” concluded Glotzer.
The project hit the spot, fulfilling the CBC’s mission. As Sosnick summarized: “The CBC’s goal of bringing the Chicagoland institutions together was very successful. It motivated us to expand the UChicago collaboration to include Eric Weiss from Northwestern University. Eric brought a new, critical component which helped with the success and direction of our multi-disciplinary project, and will undoubtedly lead to more Chicagoland optogenetic studies.”
Publications attributed to the CBC Catalyst grant:
Strickland D, Lin Y, Wagner E, Hope CM, Zayner J, Antoniou C, Sosnick TR, Weiss EL, Glotzer M. TULIPs: tunable, light-controlled interacting protein tags for cell biology. Nat Methods. 2012 doi:10.1038/nmeth.1904 (Published online 04 March 2012)
Strickland D, Yao X, Gawlak G, Rosen MK, Gardner KH, Sosnick TR. Rationally improving LOV domain-based photoswitches. Nat Methods. 2010 Aug;7(8):623-6. (PubMed)
Collaborators websites: Glotzer Lab, Sosnick Lab, Weiss Lab
Catalyst award: Genetically Encoded Control of Protein Function with Light
CONTACT: Jola Glotzer, CBC Program Manager for the University of Chicago
Phone: 773.834.5132, Email:
(See also: Light-Guided Biology #1: TULIP Mania)
Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC) Open Rank Faculty Search
March 5, 2012
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) invites applications for a tenured faculty position at either the associate or full professor level, starting Fall 2012.
We seek an outstanding candidate who is a leader in the field of bioinformatics, chemical biology, drug discovery, epigenetics, lipidomics, metabolomics, proteomics, or systems biology. The candidate must possess strong interpersonal, communication, and project management skills, and is expected to coordinate a multi-disciplinary research program.
The successful candidate will join a vibrant community of faculty in the Chicago area, many of who are members of the Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC). The CBC will supplement the recruitment funds from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust. The mission of the CBC is to stimulate and nurture major research collaborations among biomedical scientists at Northwestern University, The University of Chicago, and UIC. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience.
For fullest consideration, please enter a CV and a brief summary of research plans online at https://jobs.uic.edu by March 15, 2012. The position will remain open until filled. UIC is an AA/EOE organization.
March 2, 2012 (updated March 16, 2012)
Congratulations to the following CBC Scholars for their 2012 publications: Sevim Yildiz Arslan (PI: Howard Lipton, UIC), Timothy Best (PI: Kenan Onel, UChicago), Rima Chaudhuri (PI: Michael Johnson, UIC), Matthew Curtis (PI: Brenda Russell, UIC), Weston Daniel (PI: Chad Mirkin, NU), Lou Dore, (PI: John Crispino), Jaclyn Shepard (PI: Lonnie Shea, NU), Nicolas Peláez Restrepo (PIs: Richard Carthew and Luis Amaral, NU), Bryan Singer (PI: Paul Vezina, UChicago) and Fei Sun (PI: Chuan He, UChicago).
Arslan SY, Son KN, Lipton HL. The anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 protein controls the type of cell death in Theiler's virus-infected BHK-21 cells. J Virol. 2012 Feb;86(4):1922-9. (PubMed)
Curtis MW, Budyn E, Desai TA, Samarel AM, Russell B. Microdomain heterogeneity in 3D affects the mechanics of neonatal cardiac myocyte contraction. Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2012 Mar 11. [Epub ahead of print] (PubMed)
Cozen W, Li D, Best T, Van Den Berg DJ, Gourraud PA, Cortessis VK, Skol AD, Mack TM, Glaser SL, Weiss LM, Nathwani BN, Bhatia S, Schumacher FR, Edlund CK, Hwang AE, Slager SL, Fredericksen ZS, Strong LC, Habermann TM, Link BK, Cerhan JR, Robison LL, Conti DV, Onel K. A genome-wide meta-analysis of nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma identifies risk loci at 6p21.32. Blood. 2012 Jan 12;119(2):469-75. (PubMed)
Doçi CL, Mankame TP, Langerman A, Ostler KR, Kanteti R, Best T, Onel K, Godley LA, Salgia R, Lingen MW. Characterization of NOL7 Gene Point Mutations, Promoter Methylation, and Protein Expression in Cervical Cancer. Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2012 Jan;31(1):15-24. (PubMed)
Lee H, Torres J, Truong L, Chaudhuri R, Mittal A, Johnson ME. Reducing agents affect inhibitory activities of compounds: Results from multiple drug targets. Anal Biochem. 2012 Jan 18. [Epub ahead of print] (PubMed)
Prigodich AE, Randeria PS, Briley WE, Kim NJ, Daniel WL, Giljohann DA, Mirkin CA. Multiplexed Nanoflares: mRNA Detection in Live Cells. Anal Chem. 2012 Feb 21;84(4):2062-6. (PubMed)
Doré LC, Chlon TM, Brown CD, White KP, Crispino JD. Chromatin occupancy analysis reveals genome-wide GATA factor switching during hematopoiesis. Blood. 2012 Mar 1. [Epub ahead of print] (Blood)
Peláez N, Carthew RW. Biological Robustness and the Role of MicroRNAs: A Network Perspective. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2012;99:237-55. (PubMed)
Shepard JA, Stevans AC, Holland S, Wang CE, Shikanov A, Shea LD. Hydrogel design for supporting neurite outgrowth and promoting gene delivery to maximize neurite extension. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2012 Mar;109(3):830-9. doi: 10.1002/bit.24355. (PubMed)
Singer BF, Scott-Railton J, Vezina P. Unpredictable saccharin reinforcement enhances locomotor responding to amphetamine. Behav Brain Res. 2012 Jan 1;226(1):340-4. (PubMed)
Sun F, Ji Q, Jones MB, Deng X, Liang H, Frank B, Telser J, Peterson SN, Bae T, He C. AirSR, a [2Fe-2S] Cluster-Containing Two-Component System, Mediates Global Oxygen Sensing and Redox Signaling in Staphylococcus aureus. J Am Chem Soc. 2012 Jan 11;134(1):305-14. (PubMed)
Deng X, Sun F, Ji Q, Liang H, Missiakas D, Lan L, He C. Expression of multidrug resistance efflux pump gene norA is iron-responsive in Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol. 2012 Apr;194(7):1753-62. (PubMed)
POSITION OPEN: CBC Program Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Chicago
February 16, 2012
CBC is seeking a Program Coordinator to support the initiative under the direction of the CBC Scientific Director. The mission of the CBC is to stimulate and foster major research collaborations among biomedical scientists at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
A strong, central staff is critical to maintain large-scale collaborations. The Program Coordinator is charged with connecting people, managing projects, communications, and finance in a multi-institutional matrix organization.
Responsibilities include assisting with the day-to-day operations at the Chicago Biomedical Consortium at the UIC site; facilitating communications between the UIC and other CBC sites as well as outside entities; assisting with grant writing, program management, and other administrative tasks associated with the CBC; planning events, preparing routine and special reports, many of which are confidential and sensitive; and providing overall general administrative support.
A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Chemistry, Biology, or Engineering including coursework in science, mathematics, and statistics is required. The candidate must possess excellent oral and written communication skills; have the ability to organize, prioritize, and work under pressure to meet deadlines; be motivated and able to work cooperatively with faculty, staff and students; and have the ability to work with minimal direction, but able to accept direct supervision. Experience with information systems (database and word processing) is required.
This is a full-time civil service position. For fullest consideration, please submit resume, cover letter, and names and contact information for three references to
by Friday, March 16, 2012. Please reference Job Code CB0985 and position title Program Coordinator in the cover letter and email subject.
In addition, official sealed transcripts showing Bachelor’s Degree and/or Master’s must be received by Friday, March 23, 2012. They can be sent or dropped off directly to:
University of Illinois at Chicago
Recruitment and Staffing
Human Resources Building Room 109
715 S. Wood Street M/C 862
Chicago IL 60612
Attn: CB0985-AE
Join us in welcoming the Class of 2012 CBC Scholars
February 7, 2012
A welcoming lunch for the new class of CBC Scholars was held on January 16, 2012 at Markethouse Restaurant in downtown Chicago. Already in its third year of operation, the CBC Scholars Program aims to develop a leadership forum for students from the three CBC universities to advance the CBC mission of fostering collaboration and excellence.
The nine new members of the Class of 2012 were greeted by the Class of 2011, the remaining members of the inaugural Class of 2010, the three CBC Scientific Directors and members of the CBC staff. The lunch gathering began with each Scholar presenting a short summary of their thesis project followed by a discussion of future events that the Scholars hope to organize and participate in. High on the 2012 agenda is serving as judges for the Chicago Public Schools Science Fair and organizing a half-day symposium that will feature the research of CBC universities’ faculty members. The Scholars also expressed interest in a mentoring dinner, a scientific exchange featuring short talks by the Scholars, outreach programs involving Chicago area high school teachers and students, participating in a technical writing workshop, programs to aid in selecting a post-doctoral position and involvement in the CBC Annual Symposium.
The CBC is delighted to introduce the Class of 2012:
Northwestern:
• Andrew Scarpelli, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, PI Joshua Leonard
• Elizabeth Tarasewicz, Department of Surgery, PI Jacqueline Jeruss
• Jonathan Woon Teck Yap, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, PI Lonnie Shea
University of Illinois at Chicago:
• Chaitanya Aggarwal, Department of Medicinal Chemistry/ Pharmacognosy, PI Michael Federle
• Jackson Cone, Department of Psychology, PI Mitchell Roitman
• Susan Klosterman, Department of Biological Sciences, PI Janet Richmond
University of Chicago:
• Timothy Best, Committee on Cancer Biology, PI Kenan Onel
• Gregory Tietjen, Department of Biophysical Sciences & Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, PIs Erin Adams and Ka Yee Lee
• Joanna Rowell, Committee on Neurobiology, PI Clifton Ragsdale
(CBC Scholars Program webpage)
Update on Chicago Innovation Mentors (CIM)
February 7, 2012
The Technology Transfer Offices at UChicago, NU, UIC and iBIO Institute® co-founded and launched the Chicago Innovation Mentors (CIM) in November 2010. CIM’s goal is to connect experienced entrepreneurs, executives and domain experts with innovative academic scientists whose research and associated technologies, has the potential to be commercialized. CIM is modeled after MIT’s highly successful Venture Mentor Service (VMS) and is being implemented in collaboration with VMS. Like VMS, CIM provides mentees confidentiality and advice untainted by conflicts of interest. Currently, CIM has matched 72 mentors with 29 active ventures. Every month, representatives from the founding institutions meet, and several entrepreneurs from these organizations present prospective ventures to mentors, some of whom volunteer to advise as the project moves out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.
Like the CBC, CIM was established to foster collaborative efforts in Chicago-based biomedical research. “You’re only as strong as your community,” says Alicia Löffler, executive director of INVO at Northwestern University. “We participate in CIM because one university alone does not have enough critical mass to attract key players, interested investors and potential partners. Together, however, local universities can not only benefit from each others’ points of view and complement each others’ strengths but, most importantly, make the entire region more attractive to researchers and investors.”
In July 2011, CBC made a $60,000 grant to CIM. These funds were used to hire Martha Wade, an experienced Operations Manager who works closely with John Flavin, the CIM Executive Director. “The CBC anticipates that CIM will continue to match entrepreneurial faculty at each campus with experienced mentors,” said Katie Stallcup, CBC Executive Director. “The ideal outcome will be the launch of several companies that will translate research discoveries into new biotech companies; companies that, we hope, will be established here in the Chicago area.”
UPCOMING CIM SEMINAR: Introducing the Chicago Innovation Mentors Fellowship Program
Friday, February 10, 2012, 4:00 PM, Biological Sciences Learning Center, Room 205, University of Chicago
(see also: Chicago Innovation Mentors celebrates first year and Chicago Innovation Mentors receive $60,000 grant from Chicago Biomedical Consortium)
(Chicago Innovation Mentors website)
January 23, 2012
Happy New Year from the CBC!
2012 brings the launch of a new initiative, Exploratory Workshops. Check out the RFA and let the CBC help you assemble a multi-institutional group of colleagues to discuss how to push forward the edges of your field with the goal of obtaining either CBC or external funding.
Learn about a new CBC Lever Award-funded facility, the Microenvironmental Control Foundry, that is up and running on the UIC campus. Spring 2012 Catalyst round electronic application submission opens in late February (March 7 deadline) and we hope to receive many proposals for innovative collaborative research projects.
The Lever Award program has been one of the most successful initiatives of the CBC. Levers offer matching grants to successful Center grants. A Lever match can help a Center grant win NIH funding and the Lever also benefits the wider community by providing resources to researchers who are not part of the Center. Learn about the two new Centers, matched with Lever Awards that were established in fall 2011. Take a few minutes to re-familiarize yourself with this powerful program, as well as the new Lever resources that will soon be available to the CBC community.
We are pleased to report that in the second half of 2011, 4 new Catalyst teams received awards and 9 new CBC Scholars joined the CBC community. On the biotechnology front, the CBC awarded support to the Chicago Innovation Mentors (CIM) program, which works with faculty interested in forming start-up companies.
Finally, the CBC has a wonderful tradition of presenting yearly symposia on timely and high-impact research. See a recap of the 2011 symposium, and mark your calendar for the 10th Annual CBC Symposium to be held on Friday, October 12, 2012.
Click here to read Volume 6 of the CBC Newsletter. Enjoy browsing through the newsletter and exploring the topics you find interesting - and visit our website often to read about our programs and other breaking news!
CBC Junior Investigator Daniel Dombeck receives a Whitehall Foundation Award
January 18, 2012
Dan Dombeck received a Whitehall Foundation grant for his proposal, Dissecting the Cellular Circuit Mechanisms Underlying Place Field Firing. The award is for $225,000 and will be distributed over three years. The Whitehall Foundation funds grants for life sciences research with an emphasis on funding young scientists.
Dan joined the Department of Neurobiology in February 2011 as an Assistant Professor and set up his laboratory on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus. Dan was selected as one of six outstanding newly recruited Assistant Professors who had accepted faculty positions at CBC institutions to receive a CBC Junior Investigator Award.
(see also: Daniel Dombeck Receives Whitehall Award)
(Whitehall Foundation website)
CBC announces 2011 Fall Round Catalyst Awards
January 13, 2012 (updated January 24, 2012)
- Alan Leff, MD (UChicago) and Terry Vanden Hoek, MD (UIC) for project: Design and Delivery of TAT Fusion Proteins for CPR
- Chuan He, PhD (UChicago) and Jung-Hyun Min, PhD (UIC) for project: Capturing Kinetically Labile Protein Assemblies on DNA
- David Eddington, PhD (UIC), Navdeep Chandel, PhD (NU) and Jalees Rehman, MD (UIC) for project: Oxygen Sensing in Endothelial Progenitor Cells
- Lucia Rothman-Denes, PhD (UChicago), Douglas Bishop, PhD (UChicago), Konrad Kording, PhD (NU) and Keith Tyo, PhD (NU) for project: A Molecular Chart Recorder