May 11, 2017
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Meetings

Lymphatic Forum
in Chicago, IL
June 8-10, 2017

Vasculata 2017
Chicago, IL 
July 24-27, 2017
Abstract deadline: June 1 

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


20th IVBM
Helsinki, Finland
June 3-7, 2018 
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VB 2017 Supporters


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Contributors
Funding for NIH in FY2018
Actions to take to help funding of NIH
Urge your Senators to sign onto the letter being circulated by Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) asking their Senate colleagues to join them in requesting robust NIH funding in FY18.

Attend a FASEB sponsored webinar, " The Trump Budget: How scientists can fight proposed cuts to NIH" on May 23 at 2:00pm ET.  You must register for this webinar, click here to RSVP. You do not have to be a FAS EB member to participate; feel free to spread the word.

Thank your Member of Congress for his/her support of the Omnibus Appropriations bill that will fund the federal government and its various programs for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17).  The Coalition for Life Sciences has a letter that you can use or edit to automatically send to your elected official. 

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
Lab of the Month
The Lab of Dr. Karen Hirschi This month we are highlighting the lab of Dr. Karen Hirschi, who is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Genetics and Biomedical Engineering and Co-Director of the  Cardiovascular Research Center at the Yale University School of Medicine. Find out more about Dr. Hirschi and her lab at http://www.navbo.org/membership/members-labs/606-lab052017.
Spotlight on Trainees
Entries Invited for New Award in Regenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy
Sartorius & Science Prize for Regenerative Medicine & Cell Therapy is an annual prize geared towards researchers focused on basic or translational research that advances regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Established in 2017, the prize is awarded for outstanding research performed by the applicant and as a mutual endeavor to raise awareness for the field and its fundamental significance for our future.

The winner is awarded US$25,000 and a publication of his or her essay in Science. This Grand Prize essay and those of up to three runners-up are also published on Science Online. Awarded fields include regenerative medicine, cell therapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy as well as materials and tissue engineering.  An individual scientist who received his or her PhD/MD within the past 10 years may apply.

Member News
Surprising link found between gut microflora and cerebrovascular disease
Studies published in Nature by Mark Kahn and fellow researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the Universities of Chicago, Utah, New Mexico, and California-San Francisco, and international collaborators in Australia, China, the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden, were featured in a May 10 New York Times Health column by Gina Kolata.  Dr. Kahn has been a NAVBO member since 2007, serving the organization as a member of the Meritorious Awards Committee, speaker at countless meetings and recipient of the Judah Folkman Award in 2013.  The new studies identify activation of endothelial Toll-like receptor 4 by Gram-negative bacteria as a critical event in formation of cerebral cavernous malformations, a significant predisposing condition for stroke and seizure for which effective medical therapies are lacking. This finding reveals unexpected roles for the microbiome and innate immune signalling in the pathogenesis of a cerebrovascular disease, as well as suggesting novel strategies for its treatment.
Welcome to our New Members:
H. Scott Baldwin, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Hae Jin Kang, KAIST
Maria Kraemer, University of Kentucky
Christopher Morris, Imperial College London
Ariadna Gador Navarro-Aragall, University College London
Mahak Singhal, DKFZ
Bhairavi Swaminathan, University of Illinois, Chicago
Patrick Van Hoose, University of Kentucky
 Recent Publications by NAVBO Members

MicroRNA-10a is crucial for endothelial response to different flow patterns via interaction of retinoid acid receptors and histone deacetylases
PNAS
Histone deacetylases (HDACs) and microRNAs (miRs) have emerged as two important epigenetic factors in the regulation of vascular physiology. This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between HDACs and miRs in the hemodynamic modulation of endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction.  Read more

 

Epigenetic Regulation: A New Frontier for Biomedical Engineers
Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering
Gene expression in mammalian cells depends on the epigenetic status of the chromatin, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, promoter-enhancer interactions, and noncoding RNA-mediated regulation. The coordinated actions of these multifaceted regulations determine cell development, cell cycle regulation, cell state and fate, and the ultimate responses in health and disease.  Read more

 

Perivascular extracellular matrix hydrogels mimic native matrix microarchitecture and promote angiogenesis via basic fibroblast growth factor
Biomaterials
Extracellular matrix (ECM)-derived bioscaffolds have been shown to elicit tissue repair through retention of bioactive signals. Given that the adventitia of large blood vessels is a richly vascularized microenvironment, the authors hypothesized that perivascular ECM contains bioactive signals that influence cells of blood vessel lineages.  Read more

 

Bone marrow transplantation prevents right ventricle disease in the caveolin-1-deficient mouse model of pulmonary hypertension
Blood Advances
Accumulating evidence shows a causative role for the bone marrow (BM) in the genesis and progression of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Engraftment of BM hematopoietic stem cells from PH patients to mice reproduces the cardiopulmonary pathology of PH.  Read more

 

Lymphatic deletion of calcitonin receptor-like receptor exacerbates intestinal inflammation
Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight
Lymphatics play a critical role in maintaining gastrointestinal homeostasis and in the absorption of dietary lipids, yet their roles in intestinal inflammation remain elusive. Given the increasing prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease, we investigated whether lymphatic vessels contribute to, or may be causative of, disease progression.  Read more

 

Development of a novel strategy to target CD39 antithrombotic activity to the endothelial-platelet microenvironment in kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury
Purinergic Signalling
Kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is common during transplantation. IRI is characterised by inflammation and thrombosis and associated with acute and chronic graft dysfunction. P-selectin and its ligand PSGL-1 are cell adhesion molecules that control leukocyte-endothelial and leukocyte-platelet interactions under inflammatory conditions.  Read more

 

VEGFR3 Modulates Vascular Permeability by Controlling VEGF/VEGFR2 Signaling
Circulation Research
Rationale: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the main driver of angiogenesis and vascular permeability via VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2), while lymphangiogenesis signals are transduced by VEGFC/D via VEGFR3. VEGFR3 also regulates sprouting angiogenesis and blood vessel growth, but to what extent VEGFR3 signaling controls blood vessel permeability remains unknown.  Read more

 

Structural basis of Tie2 activation and Tie2/Tie1 heterodimerization
PNAS
The endothelial cell (EC)-specific receptor tyrosine kinases Tie1 and Tie2 are necessary for the remodeling and maturation of blood and lymphatic vessels. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) growth factor is a Tie2 agonist, whereas Ang2 functions as a context-dependent agonist/antagonist.  Read more

Industry News
NIH Common Fund Invites Applications for High-Risk, High-Reward Research Awards
In late April, the NIH opened applications for the NIH Director's Common Fund high-risk, high-reward research program, including: Transformative Research Awards, Pioneer Award Program, New Innovator Award Program, and Early Independence Awards. These awards aim to attract exceptionally creative scientists proposing highly innovative approaches to solving major challenges in biomedical research. Common Fund programs address high-priority opportunities that no single NIH Institute or Center is well-suited to address alone. Applications are due in September 2017.

Prospects Brighten for Biomedical Funding in the Federal Budget
The NIH will get a $2 billion funding boost over the next five months, under a bipartisan Congressional spending agreement reached April 30. The deal rejects President Trump's proposal to slash over $1 billion from the NIH budget in FY2107.  NIH funding in FY2018, for which Trump seeks a nearly 20% reduction, remains to be addressed.  The fact that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle came together to not only spare but also increase NIH funding reflects their shared recognition of its importance, as well as their intention to honor goals articulated in the 21st Century Cures Act .

NYT: Science Needs Your Cells
Harvard Law School bioethicist Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, MB, and Steven Joffe, MD, MPH, of the U Penn School of Medicine have published an opinion piece in the New York Times exploring the cultural, medical, legal and ethical aspects of research that depends heavily on specimens collected from human patients.  This issue has been brought into the foreground by the imminent release of a film about Henrietta Lacks, from whose cervical cancer tissue HeLa cells were derived. Lynch and Joffe, focusing on the indispensable role played by such tissues in making progress against disease write: "Many aspects of Ms. Lacks's story reflect genuine injustice: the racism that characterized the health care system of her day; the suffering of her young family after her death; their own lack of access to health care. But should we be outraged by what happened to her cells, and could happen to our own? Actually, no."

Job Postings
Job Title
Company
Location
Jagiellonian University
Cracow, Poland
Faculty Positions in Cardiovascular Biology Research Program
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Oklahoma City, OK
Calendar of Events
May 19-20, 2017
The 9th Charleston Symposium on Vascular Anomalies
May 29 - June 1, 2017
ESM/EVBO 2017 Meeting Geneva
June 8-10, 2017
Lymphatic Forum 2017
June 8-11, 2017
12th HHT International Scientific Conference
July 8-13, 2017
International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2017 Congress
July 24-27, 2017
Vasculata 2017
Aug. 11-14, 2017
2017 APS Conference: Cardiovascular Aging, New Frontiers and Old Friends
Oct. 15-19, 2017
Vascular Biology 2017
June 4-7, 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.

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
18501 Kingshill Road
Germantown, MD 20874-2211