Several faculty members in the College of Medicine Department of Biomedical Sciences have authored noteworthy studies in 2019. Among them, Professor Yi Ren published a study in Nature Neuroscience shedding light on new developments in understanding spinal cord injuries. Her work was featured on FSU Headlines

Other recent noteworthy articles published by researchers in the Department of Biomedical Sciences include:

Jan. 1, 2019

Lead author and PI Sanjay Kumar, Ph.D., post-doctoral associate Stephen Beesley, graduate student Thomas Sullenberger and colleagues published “Colocalization of distinct NMDA receptor subtypes at excitatory synapses in the entorhinal cortex” in the Journal of Neurophysiology (Vol. 121, Issue 1). The article is in the first percentile (1%) among nearly 13 million research publications tracked by Altmetric for the quality and quantity of online attention it has received (as of Jan. 11, 2019).  Link to published article

Jan. 8, 2019

Robert J. Tomko Jr., Ph.D., authored “An Allosteric Interaction Network Promotes Conformation State-Dependent Eviction of the Nas6 Assembly Chaperone from Nascent 26S Proteasomes” in the online, open-access journal Cell Reports. The study answers a long-standing question regarding how the proteasome is assembled from more than 66 individual protein "parts" and revealed a potential strategy to treat a subset of cancers.  Link to published article

Jan. 23, 2019

Branko Stefanovic, Ph.D., was first author for “Discovery and evaluation of inhibitor of LARP6 as specific antifibrotic compound" in the open-access journal Scientific Reports. The study highlights a promising compound that dramatically reduced production of Type I collagen during experimental screening. Type I collagen causes fibrosis – the excessive scarring of internal organs. The most common form is liver fibrosis, a deadly disease for which there presently is no cure.   Link to published article

Feb. 1, 2019

Richard Nowakowski, Ph.D., and coauthors Joseph Bundy, Ph.D., and Cynthia Vied, Ph.D., published “Sex-biased hippocampal pathology in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease: a multi-omic analysis” in the Journal of Comparative Neurology (Volume 527, Issue 2). The study found early molecular changes representing potential biomarkers for disease development that could become candidates for pharmacological intervention. The study also reaffirms the importance of studying subjects of each sex in animal models to respect differences in molecular pathological mechanisms. Link to published article

David Satcher, the former U.S. surgeon general and CDC director who began as a civil-rights activist, was the College of Medicine’s Grand Rounds speaker Jan. 17 for Racism Awareness Week.

RAW is an annual student-sponsored series designed to raise awareness of how racial issues in society intersect with health. The week features lectures, workshops and discussions on racism, bias and current events.

Satcher discussed the role of student activism in achieving racial justice and health equity.

“I want to commend you, Dean Fogarty, … and especially the students for being willing to confront the issue of racism,” he said. “And to really work toward creating an environment that recognizes that there’s really no place for racism in our society.” 

The most important policy change the country needs, he said, is universal access to health care.

In his PowerPoint presentation, Satcher emphasized this slide: “In order to eliminate disparities in health and achieve health equity, we need leaders who first care enough, leaders who know enough, leaders who have the courage to do enough and leaders who will persevere until the job is done.”

By "leaders," he was referring not just to physicians or academics but also parents and other concerned community members.

“We can change things,” he said in conclusion. “We can make things better for everybody.”

RAW speakers this year also included Jessica Pryce, director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare; Elena Reyes, director of the College of Medicine’s Center for Child Stress & Health in Immokalee; and representatives from FSU’s Center for Leadership & Social Change.