Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more

research funding

Rep. Tom Price discusses research funding

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) expressed support for strong federal funding of scientific and biomedical research in a town-hall-type meeting Wednesday with Emory faculty and students, organized by the graduate student group Emory Science Advocacy Network.

Price tied a major expansion of federal funding for scientific research to reform of entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security (like this). Asked whether he could envision a large increase in the National Institutes of Health budget, comparable to the doubling in funding that occurred in the 1990s, Price replied: “In the near term, I don’t see it.”

However, a “smaller bump,” more along the lines of the $2 billion increase in NIH funding passed by Congress in December, could be more possible, he said.

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Price with Emory Science Advocacy Network officers/members

Price also advocated streamlining the Food and Drug Administration’s approval processes for new antibiotics and medical devices, and giving scientists more discretion in how federal research dollars are allocated.

In a question-and-answer session, Emory ethnobotanist Cassandra Quave urged Price to have Congress give increased attention to the problem of antibiotic resistance, in which some bacterial infections are becoming difficult to treat.

“Yes, we need more resources going into this,” Price said, going on to support a “dual track” approval process for new antibiotics.

Price expressed concerns that the United States’ role as a leader in medical innovation was waning, because of regulatory constraints that drive devices such as heart valves to be tested elsewhere first.

“We’re already losing bright minds,” he said, citing how colleagues from other surgical specialties were visiting other countries to learn new techniques.

Price, who represents parts of Cobb, Dekalb and Fulton counties, was appointed chairman of the House Budget Committee at the end of 2014, replacing Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).

Before his election to Congress in 2004, Price was an orthopedic surgeon. He grew up and went to medical school in Michigan, and came to Georgia for his orthopedic surgery residency at Emory. He was an assistant professor at Emory and medical director of the Orthopedic Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital, while he was a member of the State Senate. Read more

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Federal research funding sparks economic growth

A recent report from The Science Coalition gives numerous examples of how federally funded research at universities has led to innovation, new companies, and the creation of jobs. The Sparking Economic Growth report lists the university research origins of 100 companies, including Google, Genentech, Cisco Systems and iRobot. Four Emory startup companies were highlighted among the success stories: GeoVax, Inc., Pharmasset, Inc., Syntermed, Inc., and Triangle Pharmaceuticals, which was later acquired by Gilead Sciences in California.

Emory President James Wagner wrote a followup editorial in the Atlanta Business Chronicle about the importance of scientific research in Georgia’s universities to the health of our economy.

“Atlanta can be proud that Emory University is a shining example in this report, with four highlighted successful companies that were launched because federally funded research resulted in innovative and life-saving discoveries. These four success stories only scratch the surface as examples of the more than 150 companies and the resulting 5,500 jobs created in Georgia from discoveries at its research universities.

“Since the 1990s, Emory has turned external research funding, the majority from the federal government, into more than $775 million in licensing revenues from drugs, diagnostics, devices and consumer products. This is money infused into the state’s economy that helps create jobs and educational opportunities, saves lives, and leads to more research discoveries for the benefit of all. Emory has launched 47 start-up companies and licensed 27 drugs, medical devices and diagnostics already in the marketplace and 12 more currently in human trials.”

GeoVax, Inc., is developing and testing a promising AIDS vaccine based on research at the Emory Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Gilead Sciences (from Triangle Pharmaceuticals) and Pharmasset, Inc. are creating AIDS drugs that are taken by over 90 percent of HIV-infected patients in the United States and many more around the world. Syntermed, Inc. distributes imaging software developed at Emory that helps in the diagnosis of more than four million heart disease patients every year.

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The Bayh-Dole Act: 30 Years of Innovation

At Emory’s recent Fourth Celebration of Technology and Innovation, faculty researchers and entrepreneurs were recognized for outstanding accomplishments in developing promising technologies that are moving from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Keynote speaker for the annual event was Joseph Allen, a key staff member in helping Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN) secure passage of the Bayh-Dole Act 30 years ago, opening up collaborations between research universities and U.S. industry.

Todd Sherer, executive director of Emory’s Technology Transfer Office, described Emory’s robust product pipeline, which includes products at all stages of development and regulatory approval. The pipeline helps ensure multiple missions of driving academic discoveries, advancing commercially protected technologies, and providing substantial public benefit.

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