Research Bulletin
News from the Child Health Research Institute
August 2021
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Global Health Stakeholders
Convene for CHRI Mini Summit
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On August 3 and 4, The Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) held a Global Health Area of Emphasis (AOE) Mini Research Summit. Participants shared projects, discovered new resources and made valuable connections for future collaborative opportunities in addressing global health issues. The mini summit was led by the Global Health AOE Champions, Dr. Shirley Delair, Amy Rezac-Elgohary, Nick Kocmich and Vicky Nakibuuka-Muli.
On day one, featured speaker, Steven Yeh, MD, professor ophthalmology, director, Retinal and Uveitis Service, UNMC Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, presented on “Ebola and the Eye: Implications for Health Systems and Childhood Disease Surveillance.” Abbie Raikes, PhD, associate professor, Department of Health Promotion, UNMC College of Public Health, presented a talk on "Early Child Development: Using Data, Research and Science to Care for Young Children around the World" on the second day of the event. Dr. Raikes’s presentation was followed by the attendees of the mini-summit sharing their current roles, research areas of interest and international research experience.
Amy Rezac-Elgohary summed up the event saying, "We are thrilled with the inaugural Global Health Mini Summit. The CHRI team pulled together a great event. The presentations provided by Drs. Yeh and Raikes were informative, thought provoking and sparked great conversation. The attendee participation was exactly as hoped, with six different countries represented, as well as all four University of Nebraska campuses. One of our goals of the workshop was to bring together a multidisciplinary group of child health researchers actively engaged or interested in global health research, and we were successful! Those in attendance represented multiple disciplines, in various research roles and at varying points in their research careers."
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CHRI Priorities & Activities:
Update from Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD
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CHRI in the Community
As we embark on the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with children’s health more clearly at risk than other surges so far, it’s a critical time to highlight the work that our CHRI members are doing in the community to help translate infectious disease, vaccine and public health science into actionable items and acceptance of current recommendations.
The CHRI Vision, Mission and Goals clearly aligns this work:
Vision
To provide every child an equal opportunity for a healthy life through leading-edge innovation and discovery.
Mission
To support talented . . .
To read the rest of Dr. Anderson's letter, please click the link below.
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UNMC Core Facility Profile:
Biologics Production Facility
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Charlie Branson, Operations Manager of the Biologics Production Facility (BPF) graciously answered our questions about the BPF’s utility for CHRI members’ research efforts.
What kind of services can you provide CHRI investigators?
The BPF operates to support the clinical developmental and use of novel cell and gene therapy biological products. We support these endeavors through manufacturing, cryopreservation and logistics expertise that allows us to deliver these therapies directly to our community patients and to the human clinical trial setting. We facilitate these Good Tissue Practice (GTP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) -compliant services for investigator-initiated and sponsored clinical trials, as well as for small biotech companies needing contract manufacturing. Additionally, we have the capacity to support pre-clinical trial process/product development to ensure that we have reliable, robust processes that produce safe, regulatory-compliant products.
If an investigator wants to learn more about utilizing the services of the BPF, what is a good way of getting needed information?
Please reach out to Charlie Branson, the facility manager, or Phyllis Warkentin, PhD, the facility medical director, directly by phone or email, to schedule an introductory meeting.
What are the first steps towards engaging the services of the BPF?
The first step is a feasibility assessment to determine the full scope of the BPF’s commitment and how we will support the specific needs of the project or study protocol. This will also include a determination of funding sources and a budget discussion for reimbursement of our services. We will also examine the possible need for contracting with external entities, as applicable. Lastly, we will consider if a technical/manufacturing transfer of existing processes and procedures will be applicable.
What are some common questions you get about the Biologics Production Facility and what are the answers to those questions?
Where is the BPF located? We are tucked away inside the west end of the Academic & Research Services (ARS) building at the corner of 42nd and Emile Street.
What are our fees? Fees vary based on the labor and materials involved and the need for clean room processing/manufacturing. While we have defined rates, each project is independently budgeted and negotiated based on all the variables involved.
Who is allowed to use the BPF? The BPF’s services are available to anyone on a fee-for-service basis. The BPF has its own staff that will perform agreed upon scopes of work. While the staff involved in the original development of the product and processes may be asked to participate in technology transfer to the BPF, the laboratory space and equipment is not for open use. Only trained BPF employees work inside our clean rooms.
What is the main thing you hope readers take away from your profile in the CHRI Research Bulletin about BPF?
While the BPF represents clean room, GMP manufacturing on the Nebraska Medicine/UNMC campus has a specific design and function associated with cell- and gene-based biologics manufacturing. Therefore, we have a highly-specialized skillset amongst our staff and a very specific scope of practice relative to research: pre-CMC/IND product and process development and manufacturing to support Phase I and Phase II human clinical trials.
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Dr. Afshin Salehi Joins
Pediatric Neurosurgery Team
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Afshin Salehi, MD, has been hired to join the neurosurgery team in September as an assistant professor, Department of Neurosurgery
Pediatric Neurosurgery. We were able to catch him before he started to ask him some questions about his life, career so far and clinical and research plans.
What led you to become interested in pediatric neurosurgery?
I decided that I wanted to become a neurosurgeon when I was about 13. It’s hard to say why. It had something to do with the fact that I enjoyed science and enjoyed learning about the things my dad would teach me about the brain. He was an electronic engineer and would instruct me, at a young age, on Newtonian physics, Ohm’s Law, etc. At one point he told me that neurons in the brain communicate via electrical signals. That stuck in my head. Even though he was an electrical engineer, he really played a huge role in my decision to pursue science and eventually neurosurgery.
I majored in neuroscience in college and got a master’s degree studying UCHL1, a de-ubiquitinating enzyme that is involved in flagging certain proteins on the neurons that are then trafficked in and out of cell membranes. It plays a role in learning and memory, and by extension, neurological degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. In medical school I tried to fall in love with another specialty, but every time I ended up working with the brain, I would realize neurosurgery is where I am meant to be. I eventually decided that operating on the brain and treating kids with neurological diseases is how I want to spend most of my time.
While in medical school at University of California San Diego, I met and worked with Dr. Bob Carter, who is now the chair of neurosurgery at Harvard and chief at Mass General. He and I looked at exosomes, tiny vessels released from all cells. Working with Dr. Carter energized my interest in the research aspect of neuroscience and made me realize that I wanted to do both surgery and research.
The interest in pediatric neurosurgery was developed when I was doing my rotation during neurosurgery residency. It really stemmed from the fact that I was really pleased with my interactions with the kids and the generally better outcomes you have in pediatrics versus adult patients. I also enjoyed dealing with the parents. They generally feel more accountable for the health of their child and are very appreciative.
What do you plan to research?
Both clinically and in research, I have been drawn to a recent technology, LITT, Laser Interstitial Thermotherapy. Washington University, where I did my residency training, was one of two sites that was an early adopter of this technology. So, while I was there, I saw how LITT allows for the treatment of brain tumors or epilepsy in a minimally invasive fashion. I spent much of my residency research efforts exploring, at a basic science level, how LITT works. I developed a mouse model for LITT, which was published in July 2020. At the time of publication, my study was one of the only works exploring how LITT breaks down the blood/brain barrier at a basic science level. I found that LITT does disrupt this barrier in a way that will allow delivery of chemotherapy drugs more directly to the desired sites – tumors. Going forward I would like to use the mouse model of the laser to look at how nanoparticles can enhance the targetability of the laser for a region of interest and enhance the laser kill effect.
One of my major roles at Children’s will be to use the laser system for treatment of epilepsy. We will deliver laser treatments, in conjunction with the interoperative MRI available at the new Hubbard Center, in a real-time fashion, through a probe inserted into the tumor or the epileptogenic zone. This allows patients to be treated with much less pain and shorter recovery times compared to the conventional open surgical treatment. Some of what I will be doing in the research lab will be complementary in the sense that I will working to address what we now see as limitations in how we can use the LITT system.
What drew you to Children’s and UNMC Pediatrics?
One of the main factors that drew me to Omaha Children’s was the willingness and the enthusiasm of the leadership to grow and to support my clinical and research interests to bring the state-of the art technology to the kids in Nebraska. The fact that epileptic children in Nebraska did not have access to LITT system in the state is why I came here. My major role on the clinical side will be to develop a robust, advanced epilepsy treatment center, with the help of the neurology team, leadership and all the involving personnel. We will soon be able to offer exciting, latest and the greatest methodologies to deal with epilepsy and brain tumors here in Omaha.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in Iran and lived there until I was 16 years old. When we moved to the states I lived in New Orleans and then San Diego, where I lived until my residency. My girlfriend Jaynie and I love to travel. I am a pilot. Last year we flew our plane to the Bahamas and hopped from island to island. In a few weeks we will be flying to Yellowstone and then over to the west coast to San Diego to visit family and then back to the Midwest, flying over the Grand Canyon. We love to cycle and spend time in the outdoors. We are very excited about our move to Omaha and are looking forward to building a life here.
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Meet a Fellow CHRI Member |
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Hamid Band, MD, PhD, is the Elizabeth Bruce Professor of Cancer Research in the Eppley Institute and Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at UNMC, with courtesy appointments in the
Departments of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Pathology and Microbiology.
What is your current primary area of research?
I am a cancer biologist, and my laboratory investigates how certain cancer-initiating and cancer-sustaining receptors, called receptor tyrosine kinases, are regulated to identify new therapeutic avenues in human cancers, including breast cancer, myeloid leukemia and Ewing Sarcoma.
Please share information on a current research project.
Ewing Sarcoma (EWS) is the second most common malignant bone tumor in children and young adults. While survival has improved in localized EWS, recurrence remains an issue and 5-year survival rate in patients with distant metastases is only 39%. The insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R; a receptor tyrosine kinase) is upregulated in 93% of Ewing sarcomas, but therapies targeting this receptor have only shown modest effectiveness in clinical trials. Our laboratory has identified a novel molecular pathway that controls the display of IGF-1R on the surface of cancer cells where its activation by IGF-1 growth factor takes place. Accordingly, genetic perturbations of the novel pathway we study impair the in vitro hallmarks of Ewing sarcoma oncogenesis, such as cell proliferation, migration and invasion. We are now exploring the importance of the newly-identified molecular pathway in Ewing sarcoma tumorigenesis in animal models. To develop rationale for co-targeting the new pathway, we study with IGF-1R towards new combination therapy approaches for resistant Ewing sarcomas.
What has been the primary benefit of CHRI membership?
Finding outstanding collaborators to help us investigate pediatric cancer questions, pilot grant support to initiate our studies and generating new and innovative ideas through numerous forums organized under the auspices of the CHRI.
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Melissa Thoene, PhD, RD, LMNT, is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology at UNMC. She also works as a clinical dietitian in the NICU at Nebraska Medicine hospital.
What is your current primary area of research?
I am primarily interested in neonatal nutrition and growth. I have also branched into perinatal nutrition, more specifically assessing the role of nutritional carotenoids on birth and NICU infant outcomes.
Please share information on a current research project.
I just received funding to evaluate the relationship between carotenoid levels and biomarkers of oxidative stress in maternal blood, umbilical cord blood and placental tissue in mother-infant dyads at time of birth. This will build on our previous and ongoing work that assesses the relationship between perinatal carotenoid status with birth or neonatal outcomes. In the future, we aim to initiate a nutrition intervention, such as a RCT of antioxidant carotenoid supplementation to preterm infants to evaluate how this impacts clinical NICU outcomes like incidence or severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
What has been the primary benefit of CHRI membership?
Being a CHRI member has connected me to useful resources, such as a grant writer to review my grant application submissions. Likewise, I've had greater opportunity to learn about the many excellent research projects taking place at UNMC and Children's Hospital, as well as to share my own work.
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Thank you Drs. Band and Thoene for your time and responses. At this time, we are randomly selecting the members to be profiled, but if you would like to be featured, please email chri@unmc.edu. |
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PRO Education Committee Tip of the Month:
Informed Consent Process: From A Principal Investigator (PI) Perspective
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The PI of a study is ultimately responsible for going over the entire consent form with the subject/parent. This includes documenting the consenting process in EPIC.
Prior to the subject/parent signing consent, the PI needs to explain the following:
- The number of study visits
- The research procedures involved in the study
- The treatment 1.) discuss the actual treatment they will be on or may be receiving and if they will be receiving a possible placebo 2.) make sure they know their odds of receiving actual study medication
- The possible risks and benefits of participating in the study
- The common side effects – discuss possible adverse events that may occur
- Review the schedule of events from the protocol with the subject/parents – ensure the study window will be doable for the family
- Review the right to withdrawal from the study and the process for withdrawing
*Don’t forget to give the family a copy of their signed ICF; the PI keeps the original*
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Disseminating Discoveries:
July Publications
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Take a minute to check out the wide range of research published by CHRI members in July. |
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Research in Academic Pediatrics Initiative on Diversity (RAPID) Research Grants
Funder: Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
Independent Investigator Grant
Funder: Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research | LOI October 1, 2021 | $50,000/max, 1-2 years | Grant Information
Individual Research Award
For more funding opportunities, please review the CHRI grant calendar available here.
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CHRI 2021 Pediatric Cancer Research Symposium
CHRI Seminar Series
Laura Ortmann, MD, "Epinephrine Use in Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation"
Gwenn Skar, MD, TBA
“Journal club” session of the CHRI Writing Task Group – Visitors Welcome
Discuss “Introduction to the Specific Aims Page of a Grant Proposal” DOI: 10.1111/acem.13419
September 16 | 1:30 | Email Matt Sandbulte for Zoom information
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Child Health Research Institute
986847 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-6847
402-559-4032 or 402-955-7907
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