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
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Emory Winship Cancer Institute

Marcus Lab researchers make key cancer discovery

A new discovery by Emory researchers in certain lung cancer patients could help improve patient outcomes before the cancer metastasizes.

The researchers in the renowned Marcus Laboratory identified that highly invasive leader cells have a specific cluster of mutations that are also found in non-small cell lung cancer patients. Leader cells play a dominant role in tumor progression, and the researchers discovered that patients with the mutations experienced poorer survival rates.

The findings mark the first leader cell mutation signature identified in patients and could prove key in teasing out high-risk patients, allowing oncologists to develop a treatment plan early on before the disease has progressed.

“It has been a lot of fun to see the research go from the basic science side inside the lab to hopefully having an actual clinical impact,” says Brian Pedro, an MD/PhD student in Emory’s Medical Scientist Training Program. “Our data suggest that if you have one or more of these mutations, then we could potentially intervene early and improve patient outcomes.”

Stopping leader cells before they metastasize has long been a goal of researchers at the Winship Cancer Institute. “That is what we strive for as researchers,” Pedro says. “We are optimistic that this could be a promising clinical tool.”

The findings were published in the American Cancer Society’s journal “Cancer.”

The researchers specifically found the novel mutation cluster on chromosome 16q and compared the survival rates of those who had the mutations with those who did not. The results showed the patients who had the mutations had poorer survival rates across all stages.

Pedro says more investigation is needed to figure out why the mutations lead to poorer outcomes. He adds that he hopes the mutation signature can prove useful for cancer types beyond lung cancer.

You can learn more from Pedro’s Tweetstorm.

 

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Wayne Drash in Cancer, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Brain tumor patient gives back and moves forward

Jennifer Giliberto

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

That’s the motto 36-year-old Jennifer Giliberto now lives by after recently welcoming a third child into the world. Late night feedings, diaper changes, mounds of dirty laundry and caring for two older boys (ages six and eight) would certainly be a challenge for most moms. But this mom is different.

Four years ago, Giliberto was diagnosed with a brain tumor – a slow growing Grade II astrocytoma located in her posterior right temporal lobe. The shocking diagnosis left Giliberto and her family with many choices and decisions to make.

Giliberto’s inspiring story was profiled on CNN on Aug. 16, 2011 in a special “Human Factor” segment, which takes a look at people accomplishing something significant after overcoming the odds.

The Long Road Ahead

After her second child was born in 2005, Giliberto began noticing a pattern of problems with her fine motor skills. Neurological testing revealed little, but an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) revealed a lesion and possible tumor in the brain. Follow-up MRIs over the next year showed no new growth, but in June 2007, a definite brain tumor was detected by MRI.

While taking the watch and wait approach to determine if the tumor would grow, she became involved with the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation (SBTF) as a volunteer. She focused her efforts on raising money to support critical brain and spinal tumor research. She also met Emory neurosurgeon Costas Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD.

Hadjipanayis, an assistant professor in Emory’s Department of Neurosurgery, would soon become Giliberto’s physician. He confirmed her diagnosis and recommended surgical removal of the tumor.

Costas Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD and patient Jennifer Giliberto

On August 18, 2008, at Emory University Hospital Midtown, Hadjipanayis removed Giliberto’s brain tumor. “Jennifer underwent a craniotomy and had a gross total resection of the tumor, with no complications,” explains Hadjipanayis, who is chief of neurosurgery at the hospital. “She spent one night in the neurosurgical ICU and her recovery afterwards went well.”

Then he encouraged her to embrace life and live it to the fullest. Giliberto has taken her doctor’s orders to heart, and lives life with a new purpose than before.

Giving Back

To support and encourage other brain tumor patients, Giliberto serves as a patient and family advisor at Emory University Hospital Midtown. She visits with hospitalized patients and their families who are in similar situations as the young mother of three.

“This has been a very fulfilling experience and an outlet to give back,” says Giliberto. “Being a patient is lonely, even when you know you have support. Working to assist other patients and families and improve a system goes a long way to ease that lonely journey of the patient experience.”

Patient and family advisors also work to improve hospital processes and procedures from a patient perspective.

She also serves as vice president of the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, continuing the mission to raise funds for research. The SBTF consistently funds innovative brain tumor research at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute.

And she is a devoted wife and mother.

Moving Forward

Last year, when Giliberto and her husband decided they would like to expand their family of four, she consulted with Hadjipanayis. He, once again, encouraged her to live life and move forward. They did, and their youngest child was born in July 2011.

While Giliberto has remained stable since her surgery in 2008, she continues to have MRI’s every six to nine months to check for any tumor recurrence. Astrocytomas, even once removed, can recur and can also become cancerous.

But for now, it’s on with life as she knows it – stable, moving ahead and enjoying every day with a new sense of hope.

And as for the small stuff – Giliberto’s learned there’s just no reason to sweat it at all.

Posted on August 17, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized 2 Comments

Reducing stress in cancer patients and caregivers

Emory’s Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, is recognized both nationally and internationally for her understanding of the mind-body connection and enhancing the quality of life for individuals affected by cancer. Her research programs aim to make a difference in the care that cancer patients receive and in the health of family caregivers through palliative care and integrative medicine and health. To know more about integrative medicine, one can visit an integrative medicine clinic.

Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN

Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN

Bauer-Wu, nurse scientist and Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar, joined Emory’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Emory Winship Cancer Institute faculties in 2007.

Bauer-Wu studies whether psycho-behavioral interventions have a positive effect on psychological and physical health. She is currently conducting a large randomized clinical trial that looks at whether meditation affects subjective symptoms as well as lab findings such as stress hormones or how long a patient’s white blood cells take to recover after a bone marrow transplant.

This National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study has enrolled 241 patients at Emory and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where Bauer-Wu previously served as director of the Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services. The study will finish in 2010. Bauer-Wu is also involved in research with neuro-imaging to see what parts of the brain respond to such interventions.

Bauer-Wu says mindfulness meditation provides skills for the cancer patient as well as CBD consumption (CBD gummies are great for stress) to better cope with stressful circumstances, and in turn, the stress response can be minimized, and a sense of well-being ensues, and the cancer patient feels more relaxed, in control and physically comfortable. Bauer-Wu’s interest in cancer patients began early in her career when she worked as an oncology nurse.

In addition, she recently received a $3.5 million NIH grant for a study aimed at reducing heart disease risk and improving health and wellbeing among family caregivers of dementia and heart failure patients.

Recently, the American Academy of Nursing inducted Bauer-Wu into its new Fellowship class of 98 top national nursing. Fellows are elected through a highly selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to nursing and health care and whose work has influenced health policies benefiting all Americans.

Posted on November 11, 2009 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment