COBRE in Mesenchymal & Neural
Regulation of Metabolic Networks
Building research excellence in understanding causes of metabolic disease
M-COBRE News, Timeline & Photos
Timeline
Congratulations
Congrats to Matt Lynes, PhD, Faculty Scientist (and MCOBRE Project Leader) and David Seder, MD, MMC Critical Care Physician, for a Team Science Award from MHIR’s Acute Care COBRE! With this funding the research team will focus on the activity of brown adipose tissue as a potential therapeutic target in the post-resuscitation period and assess effects on glucose homeostasis and inflammation. By combining expertise in the areas of post-resuscitation cardiac arrest care (Dr. Seder) and brown adipose tissue biology (Lynes Lab) the team will take a team science approach to define patient subpopulations that benefit from therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest and identify a novel tissue target to mitigate post arrest alterations to glycemia, ultimately improving patient outcomes.
New Advisory Committee Member
Emily Oken, MD, MPH joins the Metabolic COBRE as an Advisory Committee Member. Learn more about Dr. Oken
New Project Leader
Isha Agarwal, MD, PhD joins the Metabolic COBRE. Project Title: The role of circadian disruption in metabolic dysregulation during and after pregnancy.
Notice of Award for MCOBRE Phase 2
Promotion
Aaron Brown, PhD was promoted to Faculty Scientist II position
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!
Promotions
Katie Motyl, PhD (left) and Michaela Reagan, PhD, (right) were promoted to Faculty Scientist II positions.
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
Annual External Advisory Board Retreat
COBRE Annual Retreat for External Advisory Board was held July 11-12, 2022
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.
Pilot Project Award
Principal Investigator: Ilka Pinz, PhD
Title: Novel caveolin-3 / NOTCH interaction regulates myoblast insulin signaling and differentiation
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.
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.
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.
Welcome
Dr. Matt Lynes, Faculty Scientist, is a M-COBRE Project Leader. His project addresses genetic regulators of vascular smooth muscle thermogenic differentiation.
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.
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.
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).
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).
Pilot Project Award
Principal Investigator: Kimberly Malka MD, PhD
Title: Characterization of the Microenvironment Involved in Aortic Pathologies
