2013 RESEARCH
![UMMS develops new technology to study stem cells]()
A new technology for manipulating gene expression in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) will allow researchers to dissect the underlying mechanisms governing cell differentiation and may lead to new avenues for directing development of cell types. This would enable researchers studying patient-specific disease models to advance development of new therapeutics for autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes.
![Flu season expected to hit area within weeks]()
The seasonal flu season is expected to hit New England within the next few weeks, said UMass Medical School infectious disease expert Robert W. Finberg, MD.
![Lawrence’s Down syndrome research gets boost from Hood Foundation]()
Jeanne B. Lawrence, PhD, has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Charles H. Hood Foundation to investigate the use of chromosomal therapy as a means of inactivating the extra copy of chromosome 21 responsible for disease pathologies in mouse models of Down syndrome.
![Research piling up against use of multivitamins]()
The latest research on multivitamins shows what experts including UMass Medical School cardiologist Ira Ockene, MD, have long suspected: Daily multivitamins offer no help in preventing heart disease, nor do they prevent a decline in cognition in aging men. The new research was published Dec. 17 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
![Finberg: Antibacterial products no better against germs than basic soap]()
Antibacterial soap has never been shown to be more effective than ordinary soap and water, and may be contributing to antibiotic resistance, according to UMMS infectious disease expert Robert W. Finberg, MD.
![Foreign Policy names Luzuriaga a ‘Leading Global Thinker of 2013’ for HIV research]()
UMass Medical School immunologist Katherine Luzuriaga, MD, has been named to the list of Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2013 for “bringing the world closer to a cure for HIV.”
![Jan Cellucci speaks of late husband Paul’s battle against ALS]()
In a rare public speech, Jan Cellucci said her late husband Paul, the former Massachusetts governor and U.S. ambassador to Canada, hoped his campaign to fund a cure for ALS wouldn’t end with his death from the disease.
![Luzuriaga: HIV return in Boston patients provides clues for scientists]()
UMass Medical School HIV expert Katherine Luzuriaga, MD, told the Boston Globe that the return of the HIV virus in two patients who had undergone bone marrow transplants and are being followed by Brigham & Women’s Hospital, while disappointing, does provide researchers with important findings in their search for a cure.
![Telemedicine improves outcomes for critically ill patients, study finds]()
National and regional media report on UMass Medical School Professor Craig Lilly’s study, which finds measurable benefits of telemedicine for intensive care patients.
![Saczynski concerned by report that many ICU patients develop Alzheimer’s-like symptoms]()
The dramatic reports of a recent study concluding that delirium leads to lingering cognitive impairments in three out of four patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit are consistent with findings from similar research conducted at UMass Medical School by neuroepidemiologist Jane Saczynski, PhD.
