COBRE in Mesenchymal & Neural
Regulation of Metabolic Networks

Building research excellence in understanding causes of metabolic disease

M-COBRE News, Timeline & Photos

Timeline

2022
September 7

Congratulations

A proposal submitted by former CIPHR faculty member Christine Lary, who left MHIR for a position at the Roux Institute in October, was funded by NIH at the end of September. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of prevention of bone loss by beta blockers was funded under PAR-21-055, Mechanistic Ancillary Studies to Ongoing Clinical Projects, as an ancillary study to a project led by researchers at the Mayo Clinic and MHIR’s Cliff Rosen.  While Dr. Lary is now at the Roux, the grant was awarded to MaineHealth and the two institutions will work together to transfer the award to Northeastern (Roux). Katie Motyl is named as key personnel in the NOA and she and Aaron Brown will be collaborators of Dr. Lary. Once the transfer from MH to Northeastern is complete, NU will issue a subaward back to MH to support Drs. Motyl and Brown. Congratulations to all three investigators!

 

August 15

Promotions

Promotions

Katie Motyl, PhD (left) and Michaela Reagan, PhD, (right) were promoted to Faculty Scientist II positions.

August 1

Welcome

Welcome

Dr. Ziru Li joins MaineHealth Institute for Research as a Faculty Scientist I in the Center for Molecular Medicine. Dr. Li’s COBRE Project Title: Gut Regulation of Bariatric Surgery Induced Bone Loss

July 11

Annual External Advisory Board Retreat

COBRE Annual Retreat for External Advisory Board was held July 11-12, 2022

 

2021
October 5

Congratulations

Congratulations

Congratulations to MHIR Faculty Scientist and M-COBRE Steering Committee Chair, Dr. Joe Nadeau for being awarded a a five-year, $9.6 million Transformative Research Award from the National Institutes of Health! Dr. Nadeau is a co-investigator with Van Andel Institute’s J. Andrew Pospisilik, PhD.  The funding will be used to study unknown factors that drive people’s health besides their genes and environment.

October 1

Pilot Project Award

Pilot Project Award

Principal Investigator:  Ilka Pinz, PhD

Title:  Novel caveolin-3 / NOTCH interaction regulates myoblast insulin signaling and differentiation

 

September 1

Congratulations

Congratulations

Congratulations to Dr. Lucy Liaw, Principal Investigator of the M-COBRE!  Dr. Liaw received a National Institutes of Health award on behalf of the Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Metabolic Networks (M-COBRE) for instrumentation that will support and expand metabolic phenotyping equipment in our Physiology Core Facility.

August 31

Bravo

Bravo

Congratulations to MHIR Faculty Scientist and M-COBRE Project Leader Alum, Dr. Aaron Brown for being awarded $2.1M from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Dr. Brown will examine brown fat further and help to better understand how the mitochondria that are found in brown fat burn energy.

 

August 23

Annoucement

Dr. Jackie Stephens joined the M-COBRE External Advisory Committee. Dr. Stephens is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University and Claude B. Pennington, Jr. Endowed Chair in Biomedical Research, Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

August 2

Welcome

Welcome

Dr. Matt LynesFaculty Scientist, is a M-COBRE Project Leader. His project addresses genetic regulators of vascular smooth muscle thermogenic differentiation.

June 10

New Appointment

New Appointment

Michaela Reagan, PhD, was invited to serve as a permanent member of the National Institutes of Health Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 1 Study Section.

 

June 1

Bravo

Bravo

Congratulations to MHIR Faculty Scientist and M-COBRE Project Leader Alum, Dr. Kathrine Motyl!  The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases awarded Dr. Motyl a grant to study ­­­­­­how the nervous system affects bone.  Dr. Motyl and her team will examine how the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) communicates with osteoclasts (cells that dissolve bone) through beta adrenergic receptors and how this pathway contributes to age- and SNS-related bone loss.

April 29

Proteomics & Lipdomics Core Commemorates New Addition

Proteomics & Lipdomics Core Commemorates New Addition

On April 29 a virtual ribbon cutting for MHIR’s mass spectrometer instrumentation took place. The new instrumentation will enable novel approaches that expand protein identification and quantification capabilities. Cal Vary, PhD, MHIR Faculty Scientist with Gusti Gartner, Technology Manager, and the new mass spectrometer. Dr. Vary gets help cutting the ribbon from Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs (VP Research), and Dr. Doug Sawyer (Chief Academic Officer).

 

January 5

Proteomics & Lipdomics Core Updates

Proteomics & Lipdomics Core Updates

We are starting the new year by renovating space for our Proteomics and Lipidomics Core facility to house the newly purchased Sciex TripleToF 6600+ mass spectrometry system. Thanks to NIH for supporting this new purchase through an S10 award to Calvin Vary PhD, Core Director (left). Proteomics and Lipidomics Core staff,  Dr. Gusti Gartner (right).

 

2020
September 22

Pilot Project Award

Principal Investigator:  Aldona Karaczyn, PhD

 

Title:  Novel roles of miR-199b in regulating fat and bone metabolism

September 22

Pilot Project Award

Principal Investigator:  Kimberly Malka MD, PhD

 

Title:  Characterization of the Microenvironment Involved in Aortic Pathologies

September 22

Pilot Project Award

Principal Investigator:  Susan Santangelo, PhD


Title:  OMOP ATLAS web implementation to support translational research in metabolic health and disease

July 31

Addition to the Vary Lab & Proteomics & Lipdomics Core

Addition to the Vary Lab & Proteomics & Lipdomics Core

Dr. Gusti Gartner (left) joins Dr. Cal Vary (right) in the Proteomics and Lipidomics Core in July 2020.

May 26

Congratulations

Congratulations

Congratulations to MHIR Faculty Scientist and M-COBRE Project Leader Alum, Dr. Michaela Reagan for being awarded a MERIT award from the National Cancer Institute!  Dr. Reagan will study how multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, is understood and treated. Specifically her work will focus on new forms of cancer drug resistance that are driven by fat cell-derived factors.

February 19

Clinical Partners/Researchers’ Monthly Meeting

Clinical Partners/Researchers’ Monthly Meeting

This monthly meeting featured Dr. Daniel Spratt, Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at Maine Medical Center.

Dr. Spratt was hosted by Dr. Irwin Brodsky, Clinical Advisor to the COBRE project and led a clinical-translational roundtable discussion about polycystic ovary syndrome.