Category Archives: Gene Medicine

Much of the human genome is made of regulatory regions that control which genes are expressed at a given time within a cell. Those regulatory elements can be located near a target gene or up to 2 million base pairs away from the target.

To enable those interactions, the genome loops itself in a 3D structure that brings distant regions close together. Using a new technique, MIT researchers have shown that they can map these interactions with 100 times higher resolution than has previously been possible.

Using this method, we generate the highest-resolution maps of the 3D genome that have ever been generated, and what we see are a lot of interactions between enhancers and promoters that haven't been seen previously, says Anders Sejr Hansen, the Underwood-Prescott Career Development Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT and the senior author of the study. We are excited to be able to reveal a new layer of 3D structure with our high resolution.

The researchers findings suggest that many genes interact with dozens of different regulatory elements, although further study is needed to determine which of those interactions are the most important to the regulation of a given gene.

MIT postdoc Miles Huseyin is also a lead author of the paper, which appears today in Nature Genetics.

High-resolution mapping

Scientists estimate that more than half of the genome consists of regulatory elements that control genes, which make up only about 2 percent of the genome. Genome-wide association studies, which link genetic variants with specific diseases, have identified many variants that appear in these regulatory regions. Determining which genes these regulatory elements interact with could help researchers understand how those diseases arise and, potentially, how to treat them.

Discovering those interactions requires mapping which parts of the genome interact with each other when chromosomes are packed into the nucleus. Chromosomes are organized into structural units called nucleosomes strands of DNA tightly wound around proteins helping the chromosomes fit within the small confines of the nucleus.

To perform Hi-C, researchers use restriction enzymes to chop the genome into many small pieces and biochemically link pieces that are near each other in 3D space within the cells nucleus. They then determine the identities of the interacting pieces by amplifying and sequencing them.

While Hi-C reveals a great deal about the overall 3D organization of the genome, it has limited resolution to pick out specific interactions between genes and regulatory elements such as enhancers. Enhancers are short sequences of DNA that can help to activate the transcription of a gene by binding to the genes promoter the site where transcription begins.

To achieve the resolution necessary to find these interactions, the MIT team built on a more recent technology called Micro-C, which was invented by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, led by Stanley Hsieh and Oliver Rando. Micro-C was first applied in budding yeast in 2015 and subsequently applied to mammalian cells in three papers in 2019 and 2020 by researchers including Hansen, Hsieh, Rando and others at University of California at Berkeley and at UMass Medical School.

Micro-C achieves higher resolution than Hi-C by using an enzyme known as micrococcal nuclease to chop up the genome. Hi-Cs restriction enzymes cut the genome only at specific DNA sequences that are randomly distributed, resulting in DNA fragments of varying and larger sizes. By contrast, micrococcal nuclease uniformly cuts the genome into nucleosome-sized fragments, each of which contains 150 to 200 DNA base pairs. This uniformity of small fragments grants Micro-C its superior resolution over Hi-C.

However, since Micro-C surveys the entire genome, this approach still doesnt achieve high enough resolution to identify the types of interactions the researchers wanted to see. For example, if you want to look at how 100 different genome sites interact with each other, you need to sequence at least 100 multiplied by 100 times, or 10,000. The human genome is very large and contains around 22 million sites at nucleosome resolution. Therefore, Micro-C mapping of the entire human genome would require at least 22 million multiplied by 22 million sequencing reads, costing more than $1 billion.

To bring that cost down, the team devised a way to perform a more targeted sequencing of the genomes interactions, allowing them to focus on segments of the genome that contain genes of interest. By focusing on regions spanning a few million base pairs, the number of possible genomic sites decreases a thousandfold and the sequencing costs decrease a millionfold, down to about $1,000. The new method, called Region Capture Micro-C (RCMC), is therefore able to inexpensively generate maps 100 times richer in information than other published techniques for a fraction of the cost.

Now we have a method for getting ultra-high-resolution 3D genome structure maps in a very affordable manner. Previously, it was so inaccessible financially because you would need millions, if not billions of dollars, to get high resolution, Hansen says. The one limitation is that you can't get the whole genome, so you need to know approximately what region you're interested in, but you can get very high resolution, very affordably.

Many interactions

In this study, the researchers focused on five regions varying in size from hundreds of thousands to about 2 million base pairs, which they chose due to interesting features revealed by previous studies. Those include a well-characterized gene called Sox2, which plays a key role in tissue formation during embryonic development.

After capturing and sequencing the DNA segments of interest, the researchers found many enhancers that interact with Sox2, as well as interactions between nearby genes and enhancers that were previously unseen. In other regions, especially those full of genes and enhancers, some genes interacted with as many as 50 other DNA segments, and on average each interacting site contacted about 25 others.

People have seen multiple interactions from one bit of DNA before, but it's usually on the order of two or three, so seeing this many of them was quite significant in terms of difference, Huseyin says.

However, the researchers technique doesnt reveal whether all of those interactions occur simultaneously or at different times, or which of those interactions are the most important.

The researchers also found that DNA appears to coil itself into nested microcompartments that facilitate these interactions, but they werent able to determine how microcompartments form. The researchers hope that further study into the underlying mechanisms could shed light on the fundamental question of how genes are regulated.

Even though we're not currently aware of what may be causing these microcompartments, and we have all these open questions in front of us, we at least have a tool to really stringently ask those questions, Goel says.

In addition to pursuing those questions, the MIT team also plans to work with researchers at Boston Childrens Hospital to apply this type of analysis to genomic regions that have been linked with blood disorders in genome-wide association studies. They are also collaborating with researchers at Harvard Medical School to study variants linked to metabolic disorders.

Christine Eyler, a medical instructor at Duke University School of Medicine, says the new technique will provide a valuable tool for analyzing ultrafine chromatin looping architecture.

I anticipate that pairing the ultraresolved RCMC contact looping data with other assays that define specific regulatory elements will reveal important new insights as to the relationship between nuclear structure and gene regulatory function, says Eyler, who was not involved in this study. Having performed the assay in our own group, we were impressed by the fact that the protocol is easy to follow as written (even for scientists not previously experienced in topology assays), and is economically very efficient given the wealth of information that it provides.

The research was funded by the Koch Institute Support (core) Grant from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, a Solomon Buchsbaum Research Support Committee Award, the Koch Institute Frontier Research Fund, an NIH Fellowship and an EMBO Fellowship.

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An unprecedented view of gene regulation | MIT News ... - MIT News

image:Veterinary epidemiologist Brian Vander Ley of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, poses with Ginger, the first gene-edited cow resistant to bovine viral diarrheal virus (BVDV). view more

Credit: Craig Chandler|University Communication|University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Cattle worldwide face major health threats from a highly infectious viral disease that decades of vaccinations and other precautions have failed to contain. Federal, private-sector and Husker scientists are collaborating on a new line of defense, by producing a gene-edited calf resistant to the virus.

If follow-up research confirms its efficacy, the gene-editing approach offers long-term potential to reduce antimicrobial and antibiotic use in the cattle industry.

The bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) devastates the bovine immune system and can cause severe respiratory and intestinal harm to infected beef and dairy cattle, said veterinary epidemiologist Brian Vander Ley, an associate professor in the University of Nebraska-Lincolns School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

In utero calves are especially vulnerable to infection. If they survive, they can remain infected for life, repeatedly spreading the virus to other cattle.

They show up as normal cattle but really, theyre shedding a tremendous amount of virus. Theyre the Typhoid Marys of BVDV spread, said Vander Ley, assistant director of UNLs Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center in Clay Center.

The cattle industry has vaccinated against the disease since the 1960s, but the highly mutable nature of BVDV and the emergence of highly virulent strains of BVDV contribute to limited success of present control programs, the Academy of Veterinary Consultants has stated.

Scientists identified the specific genetic structure associated with the disease earlier this century. A collaborative project involving scientists with the USDAs Agricultural Research Service and Acceligen, a Minnesota-based private company, used gene editing to change the small number of amino acids that lead to BVDV vulnerability, while keeping the rest of the protein, CD46, unchanged.

Our objective was to use gene-editing technology to slightly alter CD46 so it wouldn't bind the virus yet would retain all its normal bovine functions, said Aspen Workman, a scientist with ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska.

A gene-edited calf, named Ginger, was born on July 19, 2021, and was transported to UNL a week later for close monitoring by Vander Ley. Throughout, Ginger has remained a bright, healthy calf, normal both physically and behaviorally, which included a week with a BVDV-infected dairy calf that was shedding the virus in great volume.

The research findings will be published online May 9, by the PNAS Nexus open-access journal, a sibling publication to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Workman is lead author.

Ginger is a Gir, a tropically adapted cattle breed used to develop Brahman cattle in North America. Follow-up research will require experimental replication in other cattle breeds. Ginger also will be monitored through pregnancy, if it occurs.

If the gene-editing approach proves viable, it could potentially reduce the cattle sectors use of antimicrobials, Vander Ley said.

The most successful version of the future that I can see is one where we don't have to deal with antimicrobial resistance because we just don't use that many antimicrobials, he said. That's better for everyone. That means that we have eliminated the cause of a lot of the antimicrobial use and we've eliminated that expense for livestock producers.

Michael Heaton, a USMARC researcher for the BVDV project, concurred. This line of research represents another opportunity to lessen the need for antibiotics in agriculture, he said.

In addition to Vander Ley, Workman and Heaton, other study coauthors are Erin E. Jobman (Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center); Gregory P. Harhay (USMARC); private-sector scientists Tad S. Sonstegard, Dennis A. Webster, Luke Sherry, Sabreena Larson, Daniel F. Carlson and Jonathan Bostrom; and Theodore S. Kalbfleisch with the University of Kentucky.

Experimental study

Animals

First gene-edited calf with reduced susceptibility to a major viral pathogen

9-May-2023

Co-authors D.W., J.B. and D.C. are full-time employees of Recombinetics, Inc. S.L. and T.S. are employees of Acceligen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Recombinetics, Inc. Recombinetics, Inc., is a company that commercializes animal gene editing and associated applied technologies for biomedical research, regenerative medicine and animal agriculture. There are no patents to declare, and the interests do not alter the authors' adherence to all the journal's policies on sharing data and materials published herein.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Gene-edited calf may reduce reliance on antimicrobials against ... - EurekAlert

The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurships 2023 Celebration of Innovation on April 25, at the Petersen Events Centers Campus View Club recognizes Pitt innovators and regional businesses who are creating solutions to difficult societal problems and serving unmet needs through the commercialization of their innovations.

This event included seven special awards; an innovation showcase where nine emerging Pitt innovation teams in the early stages of commercialization were on hand to share their progress on the path from the classroom or lab to market; and recognition of all faculty and students who submitted an invention disclosure, were issued a U.S. patent or had their innovation licensed.

The culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at Pitt is getting stronger all the time, said Evan Facher, vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship and associate dean of commercial translation at the School of Medicine. This years Celebration of Innovation, in-person again for the first time since 2019, is our opportunity to bring our innovation and entrepreneurship community together to celebrate our successes, while recognizing several individuals and companies that are improving lives through their innovations.

The Innovation Award winners are:

Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award: William Wagner, director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine as well as distinguished professor of surgery, chemical engineering and bioengineering

The Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award is presented to a Pitt faculty member who has achieved a sustained commitment to innovation throughout a distinguished career. Wagners research interests are generally in cardiovascular engineering, with projects that address medical device biocompatibility and design, hypothesis-driven biomaterials development and tissue engineering. His research has generated nearly 50 issued patents and patent filings that have resulted in significant licensing activity and the formation of three startup companies. Under his leadership, the McGowan Institute has grown into the most prolific research institutes at Pitt in terms of commercialization activity.

Emerging Innovator Award: Leah Byrne, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine

The Emerging Innovator Award is presented to an early-to-mid-career Pitt faculty who has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to innovation commercialization. Byrnes research lab develops gene therapies for retinal disease. Byrnes lab engineers viral vectors with improved capabilities to deliver therapeutic genes to the retina that allow for increased precision of gene delivery and protein expression. In July 2022, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche partnered with Avista Therapeuticsa spinout based on Byrnes work and co-founded with Jos-Alain Sahel and Paul Sievingto further develop these therapies.

Student Innovator of the Year Award: Kunal Gandhi, a 2021 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh

Gandhi is CEO of APEX, which empowers clinicians to improve and expand access to musculoskeletal care using 3-D motion capture technology blending computer vision artificial intelligence with neuroscience to bridge in-person and virtual care. He leveraged the programs and resources of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurships Big Idea Center in each of his four years as an undergraduate to start on an entrepreneurial path after graduating.

James Chip Hanlon Volunteer Mentor of the Year Award: Jan Berkow, program manager for commercialization at the Pitt Center for Military Medicine Research

The Pitt Innovation Institute relies heavily on volunteer mentors to assist faculty and students interested in exploring the commercial potential of their innovations to navigate the often unfamiliar terrain of innovation commercialization. Berkow is responsible for bringing to market U.S. Department of Defense-funded advanced medical technologies. He previously led InteloMed Inc., a Pitt startup company, as co-founder and chief technology officer. For the past five years, he has served as a volunteer mentor on numerous Pitt innovation teams, helping to guide them through early commercialization exercises in customer discovery and value proposition development as part of the NSF I-Corps First Gear program, as well as assisting teams participating in the Michael G. Wells Student Healthcare Competition.

Startup of the Year: Apollo Neuroscience, Inc.

Apollo Neuroscience is a spinout from the University of Pittsburgh that began in 2018. The company has developed a wearable device and software platform technology that delivers patented vibration patterns, Vibes, that are scientifically shown to increase resilience, helping you to relax, sleep well, focus and stay energized by sending gentle sound waves to any location on the body. The Apollo Technology is based on the research of David Rabin and Greg Siegle from the Department of Psychiatry between 2014-2018. Kathryn Fantauzzi joined the team as an entrepreneurship mentor to help lead it to an award from the Innovation Institutes First Gear commercialization program. The team also received a top prize in the Michael G. Wells Student Healthcare Competition as well as the second-place prize in the inaugural Performance Innovation Tournament. The team placed as a finalist in the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh) in 2016 sponsored by CTSI, only to receive the grand prize at PInCh 2017. Since spinning out in 2018, Apollo Neuroscience has successfully produced and marketed the Apollo wearable, selling more than 100,000 units to date. Apollo Neuroscience continues to be headquartered in Pittsburgh.

Small Business of the Year Award (Less than $1 million in revenue): Stories Like Me

Stories Like Me is an independently owned bookstore and community hub promoting equality, equity and inclusion. Its mission is to be the most comprehensive resource for diverse, accessible and empowered childrens literature and to share the stories of the world with a focus on generating empathy and peace through books. It recently opened a new physical bookstore at 4381 Murray Ave. in Pittsburghs Greenfield neighborhood.

Regional Business of the Year Award ($1 million+ in revenue): 84 Lumber

Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, 84 Lumber is the nations leading privately held supplier of building materials, manufactured components, and industry-leading services for single- and multifamily residences and commercial buildings. 84 Lumber is nationally certified through the Womens Business Enterprise National Council as a woman-owned and -operated business. It was named one of Americas largest private companies in 2018 by Forbes and a top workplace in the greater Pittsburgh region in 2018 by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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Celebration of Innovation recognizes those making an impact - University Times

University of Minnesota researchers recently led successful efforts to build the first genome for Pallass cat (Otocolobus manul), a small wild cat native to central Asia known for its grumpy facial expression. The cat, which faces growing challenges from climate change, habitat fragmentation, and poaching, had no available genetic resources to help with conservation prior to this study.

The study, published in NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics, was led by Nicole Flack, a doctoral candidate in the College of Veterinary Medicine, along with Christopher Faulk, a professor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences.

The researchers used blood samples from Tater, a 6-year-old Pallass cat who lives at the Utica Zoo in New York, to construct a high-quality diploid nuclear genome assembly, a representative map of genes for the species.

The study results include confirmation that the Pallass cat is more closely related to certain wild cat species and less related to house cat species than some previous studies have suggested.

An allele-specific methylation analysis the first of its kind in cats also sheds light on how gene expression is regulated in mammals through a process called genomic imprinting. Mammals inherit two copies of each gene from their parents; usually these copies are equally active, but imprinted genes have chemical tags that turn off one copy. These findings pave the way to a deeper understanding of growth, development and hybridization among cat species, which could have important implications for genetic diversity and conservation.

The genomic resources the study produced provide a comprehensive genetic reference for conservation efforts working to track the health of wild populations and optimize breeding programs for cats in captivity.

Im hopeful our work will help with Pallass cat conservation. Genetic diversity is a key factor in the health and trajectory of animal populations, but its difficult to study without anything to compare to, said Flack. Our reference genome will be useful for monitoring the health of the Pallass cat population, both in captive breeding programs and in the wild.

These resources will enable future research not only on Pallass cat, but on the health, disease and physiology of house cats and other species even translational work to humans. This is particularly true of the assessment of allele-specific methylation, because imprinting is a unique feature of genes shared across mammals, and has significant implications for our understanding of human growth and development. But it has been chronically understudied because of the limitations of existing technology limitations that nanopore sequencing overcomes.

Our small team was able to provide Taters high-quality diploid cat genome including epigenetic information while using minimal financial and lab resources, said Faulk. We hope to serve as a model for conservation and sequencing projects from pathogens to people, especially by low-resource groups on limited budgets.

Project funding was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Norn Group, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.

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About the College of Veterinary MedicineThe University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine affects the lives of animals and people every day through educational, research, service, and outreach programs. Established in 1947, the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine is Minnesotas only veterinary college. Fully accredited, the college has graduated over 4,000 veterinarians and hundreds of scientists. The college is also home to the Veterinary Medical Center, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, the Leatherdale Equine Center and The Raptor Center. Learn more at vetmed.umn.edu.

About the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences The University of Minnesotas College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) strives to inspire minds, nourish people, and sustainably enhance the natural environment. CFANS has a legacy of innovation, bringing discoveries to life through science and educating the next generation of leaders. Every day, students, faculty, and researchers use science to address the grand challenges of the world today and in the future. CFANS offers an unparalleled expanse of experiential learning opportunities for students and the community, with 12 academic departments, 10 research and outreach centers across the state, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the Bell Museum of Natural History, and dozens of interdisciplinary centers. Learn more at cfans.umn.edu.

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U of M researchers map the genome of the world's grumpiest cat - UMN News

This article has been reviewed according to ScienceX's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

by Chongqing Medical University

Credit: Gang Wang from Ruijin Hospital, affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting tens of millions of people worldwide, and it is the most common cause of dementia. Early-onset AD is typically associated with mutations in the genes APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2, leading to a more aggressive form of the disease with atypical symptoms. In contrast, the newly discovered "Shanghai APP" mutation has been linked to LOAD, which affects a larger population of AD patients.

In a study published in Genes & Diseases, researchers from Ruijin Hospital, affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and other three teams detected the Shanghai APP mutation in a Chinese patient who developed memory decline in his mid-70s. Neuroimaging techniques confirmed the presence of widespread amyloid deposition, a key hallmark of AD.

Using molecular dynamics simulation and in vitro experiments, the team found that the E674Q mutation led to increased processing of APP and production of amyloid , a toxic protein linked to AD. Additionally, the biochemical aggregation experiments suggested that the E674Q peptide exhibited higher aggregation than the wild-type peptide, especially the formation of filaments that hinged several fibrils.

To further investigate the mutation's effects in vivo, the researchers introduced the E674Q mutant APP gene into the hippocampi of two-month-old mice using adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene transfer. The study revealed that the E674Q mutation resulted in impaired learning behavior and increased pathological burden in the mouse model, demonstrating its pathogenic role in AD.

The E674Q substitution exhibited a strong amyloidogenic effect, and, to the researchers' knowledge, it is the only known pathogenic mutation within the amyloid processing sequence causing LOAD. This finding is significant, as it may open up new avenues for understanding the development of LOAD and lead to more effective treatments for patients suffering from this form of Alzheimer's disease.

The discovery of the novel Shanghai APP mutation provides a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the molecular mechanisms underlying LOAD. Further research into the effects of the E674Q mutation is essential to explore the potential development of targeted therapies or interventions that may slow or halt the progression of AD.

By understanding how this specific mutation contributes to the onset and progression of LOAD, scientists may be able to devise new strategies for preventing or treating this devastating disease, ultimately improving the quality of life for tens of millions of patients and their families.

More information: Yongfang Zhang et al, E674Q (Shanghai APP mutant), a novel amyloid precursor protein mutation, in familial late-onset Alzheimer's disease, Genes & Diseases (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2023.02.051

Provided by Chongqing Medical University

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Researchers discover novel 'Shanghai APP' mutation in late-onset Alzheimer's disease - Medical Xpress

BioLegend Founder Gene Lay makes transformational gift to address steep rise in cancer and other immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases

BOSTON, May 10, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brigham and Womens Hospital, a founding member of Mass General Brigham, today announces a historic $100 million gift from eminent biotechnology entrepreneur Gene Lay, MS, DVM, founder and CEO of BioLegend, Inc., through the Laygend Foundation. The landmark giftthe largest in the Brighams historywill establish The Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation of Brigham and Womens Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), also a founding member of Mass General Brigham, and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Vijay Kuchroo, DVM, PhD, an immunologist and principal investigator at the Brigham, will serve as inaugural director of the institute, which will be located at and administered by the Brigham. Arlene Sharpe, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Immunology at HMS, and Ramnik Xavier, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology at MGH, will serve as the institutes vice directors.

"I have always been fascinated by the immune systems ability to heal the body," says Lay. "And Ive had a longstanding relationship with and respect for the scientists in the Harvard medical community, who played an instrumental role in my career. With this gift, I am bringing together the best scientific minds I know to translate research discoveries into therapies for immune-mediated diseases rooted in chronic inflammation."

With a philanthropic investment of $100 million, the new institute will leverage the collective strengths of Boston and HMS-affiliated immunology and biomedical experts and their collaborations with some of the worlds most distinguished scientists. Kuchroo will lead day-to-day operations, convening core and affiliated faculty and trainees around three central platforms: basic science, translational science, and technology. The primary areas of research will include basic understanding of immune-mediated diseases, aging, and cancer and translation of this knowledge to the development of new immunotherapies. In addition, the Gene Lay Institute will provide substantial training opportunities for students and fellows to support immunology innovators of the future.

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"We are honored to receive this historic and visionary gift from Dr. Lay, who is deeply committed to solving an emerging trend in medicinethe rise of chronic inflammation associated with increased levels of disease and suffering," says Robert S.D. Higgins, MD, MSHA, president of the Brigham and executive vice president of Mass General Brigham. "This will amplify our ability to improve the quality of patients lives across the country and around the world. Were thrilled to be part of this pivotal moment in the field of medicine."

"During the past several decades, the astounding rise in inflammatory diseases has made it increasingly clear that chronic inflammation is a root cause of many diseasesnot only allergies and autoimmune diseases, but also cancer and neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases," says Kuchroo. "This transformative gift and investment will allow some of the best immunologists of our time to address this epidemic head-on and build new knowledge to promote basic understanding for preventing and treating immune-mediated diseases."

Adds George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, dean of HMS, "As weve seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, collaboration across institutions, disciplines, and modes of scientific inquiry is key to addressing our most confounding scientific and medical challenges. Were deeply grateful for this opportunity to convene the best immunologists in the world to bring solutions to patients and families."

Lay is the founder of San Diego-based BioLegend, now part of Revvity, Inc., which is a global life sciences and diagnostics company. BioLegend focuses on the development and production of high-quality antibodies, proteins, and assays for cellular immunity, inflammation, cancer, stem cells, and other reagents required for research and diagnosis. Since its founding in 2002, BioLegend has expanded its reach across the globe, with research and development facilities in Taiwan and Japan, as well as subsidiaries in Taiwan, Japan, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and France. Lay continues to give back to the scientific community while pursuing his dream of cultivating more expertise in Taiwan, the country where he was born.

About Brigham and Women's Hospital

Brigham and Womens Hospital is a founding member of Mass General Brigham and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. With nearly 1,000 inpatient beds, approximately 50,000 inpatient stays, and over 2.6 million outpatient encounters annually, clinicians across the Brigham provide compassionate, high-quality care in virtually every medical and surgical specialty to patients locally, regionally, nationally and around the world. An international leader in basic, clinical, and translational research, Brigham and Womens Hospital has nearly 5,000 scientists, including physician-investigators, renowned biomedical researchers and faculty supported by nearly $750 million in funding. The Brighams medical preeminence and service to the community dates to 1832, with the opening of the Boston Lying In, one of the nation's first maternity hospitals designed to care for women unable to afford in-home medical care. Its merger with the Free Hospital for Women resulted in the Boston Hospital for Women in 1966. In 1980, the Boston Hospital for Women, the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and the Robert Breck Brigham Hospital officially merged to become Brigham and Womens Hospital. With nearly 21,000 employees across the Brigham family including the Brigham and Womens Physicians Organization and Brigham and Womens Faulkner Hospital that rich history is the foundation for our commitment to providing superb care for some of the most complex cases, pursuing breakthroughs in biomedical research, training the next generation of health care providers, and serving the local and global community.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230510005276/en/

Contacts

Jessica Pastore 617-874-6346

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Historic $100 Million Gift to Brigham and Womens Hospital to Establish Institute of Immunology and Inflammation of the Brigham, Massachusetts General...