July 20, 2017
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Vasculata 2017
Chicago, IL 
July 24-27, 2017
Sold out!!!   

 
Vascular Biology
Monterey, CA  
October 15-19, 2017
Abstract deadline: Aug 1 


20th IVBM
Helsinki, Finland
June 3-7, 2018 
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Contributors
Sad to Say Goodbye to Dr. Elaine Raines 
Elaine Raines, Department of Pathology, University of Washington
On July 24, friends and colleagues will gather together to celebrate the life of Elaine Raines,who passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, July 16.  A long time faculty member at UW, Elaine was a Research Professor in the Department of Pathology.  Although ill, Elaine remained active in her laboratory work until recently. In his announcement of her passing, Charlie Alpers, Chair of UW Pathology, had this to say, "her passing leaves a great void in the department and is a great loss to me personally. To those who knew her, Elaine was a gifted and dedicated scientist, a dependable and caring friend, and a thoughtful and wise mentor. She both carried on the scientific legacy of her mentor, Russell Ross, and developed a distinguished and much honored scientific career of her own." 

Indeed, Elaine shared her time and talent with NAVBO as well.  She served as Councilor from 2007 through 2010 and, working with Luisa Iruela-Arispe, was one of the first editors of the Vascular Biology Publications Alert.  She joined the Meritorious Awards Committee in 2013 and became chair of the committee in 2015; she was the current chair of that committee at the time of her death.  Elaine was instrumental in leading the committee in the restructuring of the nomination process for the Benditt and Folkman Awards. Under her guidance, we simplified the process, thereby making it fair for all while maintaining the intention of recognition the awards were established for.  She will be sorely missed. 
Special Guest at Vasculata
Mary Woolley Presents "Your Role in Changing Hearts and Minds for Science" at Vasculata 2017"
As Congress debates FY18 spending bills, scientists must educate policymakers, influencers, media and the public about the benefits of research from the standpoint of how it contributes to better health, economic growth, national security and global competitiveness.  A majority of Americans (64%) agree that even if it brings no immediate benefits, basic scientific research that advances the frontiers of knowledge is necessary and should be supported by the federal government, according to a survey commissioned by Research!America, but will Congress assign a higher priority to research?  On Wednesday, July 26, Mary Woolley, president and CEO, will discuss challenges and opportunities for medical and health research, share compelling public opinion survey data about research and innovation, and provide tips on effective advocacy to engage various audiences during a dinner presentation at Vasculata 2017.
Find out more about Research!America 
Welcome New Council Members
Election Results
Congratulations to our new President-elect, Michelle Bendeck of the University of Toronto and our new Councilors, Kayla Bayless, Texas A&M Health Science Center and A. Wayne Orr, Louisiana State University Health Science Center - Shreveport.  A special thank you to the other candidates: Ondine Cleaver, Hong Chen, Hyung Chun, Angela Glading, and Nicholas Sibinga.  I'm sure we will find other ways to keep them busy!

I also want to recognize those that are stepping off the Council - thank you Councilors Mary Dickinson and Rong Wang.  A special thank you to Past-President, Joyce Bischoff, her leadership and guidance were vital as we navigated the management of the IVBM.  Jan Kitajewski will continue to aid us through the upcoming year in his new position as Past-President.
Submit Your Abstract to Vascular Biology by August 1
Vascular Biology 2017
Abstract deadline - August 1
Submit an Abstract - Click Here

Early bird discount - August 15
Register Now!

More meeting details at:
http://www.navbo.org/vb2017

Spotlight on Trainees (from the July 6 issue)
The Future of Graduate Student Unionization
"Last year, students at private universities were granted collective bargaining rights," reports Alana Semuels in The Atlantic, but "[a] reversal may be coming." The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees workplaces in the private sector, has vacillated on this issue over the years. The NLRB ruled in 2000 that graduate students at New York University were employees and thus had a statutory right to engage in collective bargaining. That ruling was reversed in a case involving students at Brown University in 2004, then restored in 2016 by an NLRB with a majority of members appointed by President Obama.  President Trump's nominees for two of the five seats on the NLRB are presently awaiting approval, and it appears likely that the board will revisit the "students-as-employees" once the board is fully constituted.
Member News
Welcome to our Newest Members:
Anthony Arena, University of Illinois - Chicago
Samantha Borland, University of Manchester
Xiaowu Gu, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dakota Gustafson, University of Toronto
Ayla Hoogendoorn, Erasmus Medical Center
Ngan Huang, Stanford University
Matthew Kleinjan, University of Illinois at Chicago
Md Riaj Mahamud, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Julia Marzi, University of Tuebingen
Timothy McCord, Duke University Medical Center
Astrid Moerman, Erasmus Medical Center
Taliha Nadeem, University of Illinois at Chicago
Li-Kun Phng, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology
Sofia Serena Tsakali, King's College London
Kuei-Chun Wang, University of California, San Diego
Huaning Zhao, Virginia Tech
If you have news to share with your colleagues, send it to membership@navbo.org.
 Recent Publications by NAVBO Members

Smooth muscle cells of human veins show an increased response to injury at valve sites
Journal of Vascular Surgery
OBJECTIVE: Venous valves are essential but are prone to injury, thrombosis, and fibrosis. We compared the behavior and gene expression of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the valve sinus vs nonvalve sites to elucidate biologic differences associated with vein valves.  Read more

 

VEGF-A and neuropilin 1 (NRP1) shape axon projections in the developing CNS via dual roles in neurons and blood vessels
Development
Notch and Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1)/Tie2 pathways are crucial for vascular maturation and stability. Here we identify the transcription factor ERG as a key regulator of endothelial Notch signalling. We show that ERG controls the balance between Notch ligands by driving Delta-like ligand 4 (Dll4) while repressing Jagged1 (Jag1) expression.  Read more

 

The endothelial transcription factor ERG mediates Angiopoietin-1-dependent control of Notch signalling and vascular stability
Nature Communications
Visual information is relayed from the eye to the brain via retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons. Mice lacking NRP1 or NRP1-binding VEGF-A isoforms have defective RGC axon organisation alongside brain vascular defects. It is not known whether axonal defects are caused exclusively by defective VEGF-A signalling in RGCs or are exacerbated by abnormal vascular morphology.  Read more

 

Efficient activation of the lymphangiogenic growth factor VEGF-C requires the C-terminal domain of VEGF-C and the N-terminal domain of CCBE1
Scientific Reports
The collagen- and calcium-binding EGF domains 1 (CCBE1) protein is necessary for lymphangiogenesis. Its C-terminal collagen-like domain was shown to be required for the activation of the major lymphangiogenic growth factor VEGF-C (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-C) along with the ADAMTS3 (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin Motifs-3) protease.  Read more

 

Tubulogenesis of co-cultured human iPS-derived endothelial cells and human mesenchymal stem cells in fibrin and gelatin methacrylate gels
Biomaterials Science
Here, the authors investigate the tubulogenic potential of commercially-sourced iPS-ECs with and without supporting commercially-sourced hMSCs within 3D natural fibrin or semi-synthetic gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels.  Read more

 

Donor SIRPa polymorphism modulates the innate immune response to allogeneic grafts
Science Immunology
Mice devoid of T, B, and natural killer (NK) cells distinguish between self and allogeneic nonself despite the absence of an adaptive immune system. When challenged with an allograft, they mount an innate response characterized by accumulation of mature, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) that produce interleukin-12 and present antigen to T cells.  Read more

 

Endothelial Glycocalyx-Mediated Nitric Oxide Production in Response to Selective AFM Pulling
Biophysical Journal
Nitric oxide (NO) is a regulatory molecule in the vascular system and its inhibition due to endothelial injury contributes to cardiovascular disease. The glycocalyx is a thin layer of glycolipids, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans on the surface of mammalian epithelial cells.  Read more

 

PGC-1α (Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Coactivator 1-α) Overexpression in Coronary Artery Disease Recruits NO and Hydrogen Peroxide During Flow-Mediated Dilation and Protects Against Increased Intraluminal Pressure
Journal of Vascular Research
Blood flow through healthy human vessels releases NO to produce vasodilation, whereas in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), the mediator of dilation transitions to mitochondria-derived hydrogen peroxide (mtH2O2). Excessive mtH2O2 production contributes to a proatherosclerotic vascular milieu.  Read more

Industry News (from the July 6 issue)
Platelet-mediated Dampening of Host Immune Response in Cancer  
New cancer treatments that reverse suppression of patients' immune responses have provided dramatic benefit in some cases. New research published in Science Immunology by investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina and Zhengzhou University reveals enhancement of adoptive T cell therapy by targeting platelets in murine tumor models. The authors conclude that TGFβ released from platelets decreases T cell function through the expression of the TGFβ-docking receptor glycoprotein A repetitions predominant. These findings suggest inhibition of platelet function may serve as a useful adjunctive element to cancer immunotherapies.
 
Bridging the Divide between Faculty and Administration  
Elizabeth Lehfeldt, Dean of the Mandel Honors College and Professor of History at Cleveland State University, bemoans the belittling of faculty whose career paths take them into administrative positions, leaving behind the supposed purity of traditional teaching/research appointments. In a recent   Tales Told out of School blog entry, Dr. Lehfeldt writes that such derision "... assumes that once we cross over we will be corrupted into the presumed bad practices of our administrator colleagues." She calls for those in the academic world to instead recognize "...that there are talented and collegial administrators who work tirelessly to put the interests of students and faculty members front and center" and that "[t]he so-called dark side will get a lot brighter if we recruit faculty members with integrity, purpose and good ideas to serve in its ranks."
 
What Defines Excellence in a Scientist?  
Inescapable in the processes by which grant applications, manuscripts, promotion dossiers, and award nominations are assessed is the uncomfortable conflict between objective measures and subjective judgment.   Writing in Nature , Simine Vazire (Associate Professor of Psychology at UC-Davis) professes that on "... my optimistic days, I can believe that, despite all the noise, there's still a reliable signal: that we mostly manage to publish, fund and hire people who do the better research." On darker days, she admits to doubt in such faith, prone to falling back on the assumption that "...researchers with more grant money, awards, publications and citations must be better than the rest." The bias that accompanies knowledge of an investigator's status is difficult to set aside, but Dr. Vazire urges her readers to "...focus less on eminence and more on its less glamorous cousin, rigour."
   
Job Postings
Job Title
Company
Location
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL
Northwestern University
Chicago, IL
Lymphatic Research
Northwestern University
Chicago, IL
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL
Post-Doc
Children's Mercy
Kansas City, MO
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Postdoctoral Fellow
Stanford University
Palo Alto, CA
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Calendar of Events
Aug. 11-14, 2017
2017 APS Conference: Cardiovascular Aging, New Frontiers and Old Friends
Sept. 7, 2017
Straight Talk: 2017 National Health Research Forum
Sept. 27-28, 2017
2017 NHLBI Symposium on Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine
Oct. 4-7, 2017
4th Latin American Glycobiology Meeting
Oct. 15-19, 2017
Vascular Biology 2017
June 3-7, 2018
20th International Vascular Biology Meeting
Advocating for Science
Contacting Your Representatives Can Make a Difference for Science
If you are a U.S. citizen, let your U.S. representatives hear from you and encourage them to be advocating for science. There are many methods by which to reach out -  from attending meetings or personal visits to congressional offices, to doing something as simple as writing a postcard.  Be sure to reach out to your district and state representatives. Now, in addition to funding the NIH budget and other federal biomedical research budgets, scientists must clearly express how other policies impact scientific collaboration, a key component in the scientific process.

For more information on public policy affecting the scientific community and ways that you can help, please visit NAVBO's Advocacy page - www.navbo.org/resources/advocate

Here are links to organizations that encourage, support and aid science advocates:
Coalition for the Life Sciences
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
Research!America

If you are aware  of other groups, please let us know and we will post them in future newsletter issues (send to info@navbo.org). 
North American Vascular Biology Organization | bernadette@navbo.org | http://www.navbo.org
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