In Breif

Researchers Find Region of Gene for Inherited Pancreatic Cancer

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington School of Medicine, have mapped the location of a gene associated with inherited pancreatic cancer, which accounts for about 10 percent of all such malignancies.

Study codirector David C. Whitcomb, M.D.—director of Pitt’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition—and his colleagues reported their findings in an electronic edition of The American Journal of Human Genetics.

The discovery marks the identification of the first genetic defect that is directly linked to pancreatic cancer.

“By understanding the genetics of pancreatic cancer, we can begin to understand the mechanism by which the disease develops, availing ourselves of new methods to detect, prevent, and treat this deadly cancer,” said Whitcomb, who also directs Pitt’s Center for Genomic Sciences.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat because it is undetectable by a routine physical exam, displays no symptoms, and progresses quickly—most patients die within six months of diagnosis.

Pitt to Provide Research Information to New Early Child, Education Task Force

Researchers in Pitt’s Office of Child Development (OCD) are teaming with colleagues from Penn State and Temple University to conduct research on the state’s childhood care and education delivery system for Pennsylvania’s Early Care and Education Task Force, created this spring by Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker.

The University Children’s Policy Collaborative will examine existing and potential programs and services for children from birth to age 8 and make recommendations on cost-effective strategies to the 33-member task force.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the universities to work together and to provide the state with balanced, nonpartisan information on early childhood services,” said Robert McCall, who, along with Christine Groark, is codirector of OCD.

OCD personnel assisting with the project are Robert Nelkin, director of policy initiatives; Wendy Ethridge, project manager for policy initiatives; and Kelly Mehaffie, an OCD staff member.

“From preschools to Head Starts to home-based care, this new task force will determine how to help improve the places where our children are getting their educational start,” Schweiker said.

Science2002 Festival to Spotlight Synergy in Science

Science2002: Synergy in Science, the University of Pittsburgh’s second annual celebration of science, will highlight groundbreaking research projects that are vital to the region’s economic development.

This year’s event, designed to appeal to anyone interested in science and its impact on society, will be held on campus September 18-20. Admission is free.

Highlights of Science2002 will include:

• Eight spotlight sessions on topics such as regenerative medicine, biodefense, robotics, “cool” gadgets, and “monster” databases;
• Keynote speakers C. David Allis, of the University of Virginia Health System, and Errol C. Friedberg, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center;
• Sessions featuring the science behind Pittsburgh’s emerging biotech companies;
• A technology job fair;
• Exhibits of laboratory and scientific products and services;
• Poster sessions spotlighting the research of Pitt graduate and medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty; and
• Other events include a barbecue, a concert, and an exhibition, “Science in Art.”

More information about Science2002 will be posted online at www.science2002.pitt.edu as it becomes available.

Pitt Received More 2001 NIH Bioengineering Grants than Any Other Institution

The University of Pittsburgh had more projects funded through the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Bioengineering Research Grants (BRG) program than any other institution in fiscal year 2001, according to a summary of BRG grants published earlier this academic year by the NIH.

With eight funded projects, Pitt had twice as many BRG-sponsored activities as the next two most-prolific institutions, Duke University and Case Western Reserve University, which had four each. Stanford University, Emory University, the University of Kentucky, and California Institute of Technology each had three funded projects.

“Funding from NIH is an endorsement of the quality of the programs, since they fund only the best and brightest. The fact that the University of Pittsburgh is ranked number one in the nation for NIH bioengineering funding is a testament to the caliber of work being done by Pitt researchers—in many ways, we are leading the nation,” said Gerald D. Holder, U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering at Pitt. “NIH funding is important because it funds the most highly creative research, thus providing a stimulating environment for our faculty and students.”

University of Pittsburgh Joins Project to Map the Universe

The University of Pittsburgh has officially joined the most ambitious astronomical research project ever undertaken, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), as a Participating Institution.

The SDSS will precisely map one-quarter of the sky, producing a detailed image of that section and determining the positions and brightness of more than 100 million celestial objects. It also will measure the distance to a million of the nearest galaxies, creating a three-dimensional picture of the universe through a volume 100 times larger than that explored to date. Upon completion of the study in five to seven years, the amount of information gathered is expected to rival the contents of the entire Library of Congress.

“Joining the SDSS puts Pitt in the forefront of modern observational astronomy,” says Andrew Connolly, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Pitt. Connolly, who has been working on the SDSS for the past eight years, investigates how galaxies form and how gravity causes them to cluster in the sky. He has developed techniques for estimating galaxy properties that could reveal their age and how they evolved.

Pitt Creates Nation’s First Department of Critical Care Medicine

Pitt’s School of Medicine has established the nation’s first Department of Critical Care Medicine (CCM) at a medical school. The department will train intensivists, physicians who specialize in managing critically ill patients requiring care in an intensive care unit.

“Recent studies have shown that critically ill patients substantially benefit from being treated by intensivists, reinforcing the fact that there is a great need for critical care specialists,” said Arthur S. Levine, M.D., senior vice chancellor, health sciences, and dean, Pitt’s School of Medicine.

Pitt has been a leader in the field of CCM; Peter Safar, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Resuscitation Medicine at Pitt, established one of the first intensive care units in the country at UPMC Presbyterian and developed the first multidisciplinary CCM fellowship-training program, which has trained more than 500 intensivists. With more than $5 million in research funding annually, Pitt’s CCM program has more external funding than any similar program in the country.

Mitchell P. Fink, M.D., Watson Professor of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Critical Care Medicine, is the founding chair of the department.

Researcher Receives Grant to Create Childhood Scleroderma Registry

Scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s autoimmune system attacks its own tissues, can cause thickening and tightening of the skin and, in some cases, damage internal organs, including the lungs, heart, kidneys, esophagus, and gastrointestinal tract.

The rarity of childhood onset of scleroderma hinders the ability to conduct accurate research, and Thomas A. Medsger Jr., M.D., the Gerald P. Rodnan Professor of Medicine in Pitt’s School of Medicine and director of the Scleroderma Research Program, will create the first National Registry for Childhood Scleroderma, with support from the Scleroderma Foundation.

The registry will keep specimens of patients’ blood, making samples available to researchers. Medsger is interested particularly in investigating the antinuclear antibodies found in the blood of children with scleroderma.

Medsger has made significant contributions to the understanding of the epidemiology, clinical and laboratory features, and natural history of scleroderma. His research contributions include more than 250 scientific publications, mainly concerning systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) and closely related connective tissue disease