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
•••

Emory Science Advocacy Network

March for Science ATL: photos

Emory scientists and supporters of science were out in substantial numbers Saturday at the March for Science Atlanta in Candler Park.

March organizers, many of whom came from the Emory research community, say they want to continue their advocacy momentum and community-building after the event’s success. Check out the web site “Science Marches On” for post-march activities. The organizers have estimated that somewhere around 8,000 people participated in Saturday’s march, based on aerial drone footage and Atlanta Police estimates.

Marchers Jarred Whitlock, Bethany Whitlock, Erica Werner, Victor Faundez, and Chelsea Lee (left to right)

Several issues propelled the Marches for Science around the world: proposed research funding reductions, skepticism on specific issues such as climate change or vaccines, and attention on diversity in science. Some Emory folks such as autism geneticist/communicator Chris Gunter and oncology nursing leader Deborah Bruner were in Washington DC for the March for Science there.

Here in Atlanta, marchers had a variety of colorful costumes and signs, with messages ranging from the blunt to the subtle.  The crowds enjoyed sunny weather and pre-march entertainment from the punk rock band Leucine Zipper and the Zinc Fingers.

Former Emory neuroscience postdoc Alison Bernstein, who blogs as “Mommy PhD” and is now an assistant professor at Michigan State, was one of the first speakers, describing how some vaccine skeptics have embraced unproven and possibly dangerous treatments for conditions such as eczema.

Emory virologist Anice Lowen was quoted in this WABE story.

Read more

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Quinn Eastman in Uncategorized Leave a comment

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.

thumbnail_IMG_7329-1

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

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Quinn Eastman in Uncategorized Leave a comment