YAP/TAZ-CDC42 signaling regulates vascular tip cell migration
Angiogenesis and vascular remodeling are essential for the establishment of vascular networks during organogenesis. Here the authors show that the Hippo signaling pathway effectors YAP and TAZ are required, in a gene dosage-dependent manner, for the proliferation and migration of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) during retinal angiogenesis.   Read more

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Industry News (January 5) :

A new form of cap for R01s?

Based in part on an analysis suggesting that per-dollar research productivity may diminish as labs become larger, Michael Lauer, Chief of NIH's Office of Extramural Research, has raised the question of whether a cap on the total number of grants an investigator could receive would provide a means of funding thousands more researchers, particularly new and midcareer investigators, without any drop-off in scientific output. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences has such policies in place already, and an internal NIH working group is considering their broader deployment. (reported in Science)

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Folkman Award Announcement (March 16)

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The adult mammalian heart is incapable of regeneration following cardiomyocyte loss, which underpins the lasting and severe effects of cardiomyopathy. Recently, it has become clear that the mammalian heart is not a post-mitotic organ. For example, the neonatal heart is capable of regenerating lost myocardium, and the adult heart is capable of modest self-renewal.  Read more

Member News (May 11) :

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.

Lab of the Month (January) :

Diane R. Bielenberg, Ph.D., Boston Children's Hospital

 

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Spotlight on Trainees (January) :

Whither after the postdoc?
Maggie Kuo of Science Careers has posted brief accounts of the careers paths taken by five newly-minted postdocs, representing a variety of choices leading away from the research laboratory.  Recognizing that there are many more Ph.D. holders than available tenure-track faculty positions, trainees often find themselves considering major career shifts.  These five former postdocs now working in careers outside of research describe how they used their postdoc time to discern their strengths and career aspirations and to build the requisite skills and connections needed to secure rewarding non-research positions.

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Lab of the Month (May) :

Karen Hirschi, Ph.D., Yale School of Medicine

The field of vascular remodeling is fundamental to cardiovascular research, as vessel growth, differentiation, development and regression are involved in numerous physiologic and pathologic conditions of both systemic and pulmonary circulation. The editors of this special issue are very enthusiastic to conduct their research on pulmonary artery microvascular and vasa vasorum endothelial cells that are extremely and uniquely sensitive to pathologic conditions and environmental factors that control these vessel phenotype and function.

This special issue will give an overview plus bring together the results

of recent findings in the field of vascular remodeling. The Vessel Plus Journal's Editorial team invites you to submit your paper(s) to the special issue on " Vascular Remodeling 2018: the Updates."

The topics should be related, but not limited to: vascular development;

vasculogenesis, angiogenesis and arteriogenesis; pathologic and physiologic vessel growth; vascular permeability; bioengineering; signaling, metabolic, and epigenetic signatures of arteries, veins and capillaries.

This month we are highlighting the lab of Dr. Maria Bloksgaard, who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiovascular and Renal Research, Vascular Physiology and Pharmacology in the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the University of Southern Denmark. Find out more about Dr. Bloksgaard and her lab at http://www.navbo.org/membership/members-labs/652-lab122017.