Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Study identifies strategy to help women climb the academic ladder

More women are choosing science careers, yet women are notoriously underrepresented in senior academic positions—often because they abandon their careers due to pessimism about advancement. New research suggests that putting more women in decision-making roles on the teams that organize symposia could offer a simple, effective step forward.

7 Jan 2014

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center receives $90M in new financial support from Ludwig

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, along with five other elite academic institutions, will share an unprecedented total of $540 million in new financial support from Ludwig Cancer Research, on behalf of its founder Daniel K. Ludwig. Announced today, the gift is among the largest publicly recorded gifts to cancer research made by a private organization, bringing the total funding to date for Ludwig Centers and endowed professorships at the six institutions to $900 million.

7 Jan 2014

Loyola's Surgery Department ranked 18th in NIH medical school funding in 2013

The Surgery Department of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine ranked 18th in the nation in National Institutes of Health medical school funding in 2013, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

7 Jan 2014

MD Anderson, Pfizer to advance development of immune-based treatment for cancer

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Pfizer will collaborate in the development of immune-based approaches to cancer treatment, the first such agreement made through MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program immunotherapy platform.

6 Jan 2014

FDA grants orphan drug designation for DiaVacs' type 1 diabetes mellitus therapy

DiaVacs, Inc. announced today that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation for the company's type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) therapy.

6 Jan 2014

Astellas, ClearPath announce strategic partnership to develop vaccine for infectious diseases

Astellas Pharma Inc. (Astellas) and ClearPath Development Company (ClearPath) announced today a strategic partnership to form a portfolio of development companies focused on vaccines targeting infectious diseases.

6 Jan 2014

Dysfunction in MADD gene in mice causes fasting hyperglycemia

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that dysfunction in a single gene in mice causes fasting hyperglycemia, one of the major symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Their findings were reported online in the journal Diabetes.

5 Jan 2014

Penn researchers receive PCORI awards to develop, expand health data network for patients, researchers

Two teams led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have been approved for funding awards by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

31 Dec 2013

Elementary school administrator donates healthy kidney to total stranger

Terie Cota, an elementary school administrator from Santa Maria, Calif., describes herself as an "average 56-year-old woman." She has been married 34 years, is the mother of four sons and grandmother of two little girls. But there is nothing average about Terie Cota because she chose to do something few others would think to do: She donated one of her healthy kidneys to a total stranger.

28 Dec 2013

Cancer immunotherapy named 2013 Breakthrough of the Year by journal Science

Detect. Destroy. Remember. The mantra of the immune system's relentless campaign against infectious invaders and the body's own abnormal cells finally is applying to cancer in meaningful ways.

28 Dec 2013

Streptococcus biofilms persist on objects, surfaces in daycare center for longer periods after cleaning

Numerous scientific studies have concluded that two common bacteria that cause colds, ear infections, strep throat and more serious infections cannot live for long outside the human body.

27 Dec 2013

Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discovery

The results of the largest international study to date into the genetic basis of rheumatoid arthritis shed light on the biology of the disease and provide evidence that large-scale genetic studies can assist in the identification of new drugs for complex disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.

26 Dec 2013

FDA extends PDUFA Priority Review action date for UC indication of Takeda's vedolizumab

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., today announced that the United States Food & Drug Administration has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act Priority Review action date for the ulcerative colitis indication of Takeda's investigational biologic, vedolizumab.

24 Dec 2013

Study explores how genetic sequencing can help fight new strains of flu

Published in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, senior author, Associate Professor Katherine Kedzierska from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology said that being able to predict which patients will be more susceptible to the emerging influenza strain, will allow clinicians to better manage an early intervention strategy.

24 Dec 2013

Study finds link between genes affected by testosterone and antibody responses to influenza vaccine

A new study has identified a link between certain genes affected by testosterone and antibody responses to an influenza vaccine. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that testosterone levels may partially explain why men often have weaker responses to vaccines than women.

24 Dec 2013

Variation in oxytocin receptor gene influences face recognition skills, study finds

New findings suggest the oxytocin receptor, a gene known to influence mother-infant bonding and pair bonding in monogamous species, also plays a special role in the ability to remember faces. This research has important implications for disorders in which social information processing is disrupted, including autism spectrum disorder. In addition, the finding may lead to new strategies for improving social cognition in several psychiatric disorders.

24 Dec 2013

Eating more peanuts during pregnancy associated with lower risk of peanut allergy in offspring

Women need not fear that eating peanuts during pregnancy could cause their child to develop a peanut allergy, according to a new study from Boston Children's Hospital published online Dec. 23 in JAMA Pediatrics.

24 Dec 2013

European Commission approves update of Erbitux to treat patients with RAS wild-type mCRC

Merck Serono, the biopharmaceutical division of Merck, today announced that the European Commission has approved the Type II variation to amend the Erbitux(cetuximab) product information, updating the indication for Erbitux to the treatment of patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

23 Dec 2013

Engineered immune cells show antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers

Engineered immune cells, called CARTmeso cells, designed to direct antitumor immune responses toward tumors that carry a protein called mesothelin, showed antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers that had not responded to prior treatments, according to a study published in Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

22 Dec 2013

TB-causing bacteria appear to mask their identity to avoid recognition by infection-killing cells

TB-causing bacteria appear to mask their identity to avoid recognition by infection-killing cells in the upper airways. The bacteria call up more permissive white blood cells in the deeper regions of the lungs and hitch a ride inside them to get into the host's body.

20 Dec 2013

Immunology News and Research

Latest Immunology News and Research

Study identifies strategy to help women climb the academic ladder

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center receives $90M in new financial support from Ludwig

Loyola's Surgery Department ranked 18th in NIH medical school funding in 2013

MD Anderson, Pfizer to advance development of immune-based treatment for cancer

FDA grants orphan drug designation for DiaVacs' type 1 diabetes mellitus therapy

Astellas, ClearPath announce strategic partnership to develop vaccine for infectious diseases

Dysfunction in MADD gene in mice causes fasting hyperglycemia

Penn researchers receive PCORI awards to develop, expand health data network for patients, researchers

Elementary school administrator donates healthy kidney to total stranger

Cancer immunotherapy named 2013 Breakthrough of the Year by journal Science

Streptococcus biofilms persist on objects, surfaces in daycare center for longer periods after cleaning

Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discovery

FDA extends PDUFA Priority Review action date for UC indication of Takeda's vedolizumab

Study explores how genetic sequencing can help fight new strains of flu

Study finds link between genes affected by testosterone and antibody responses to influenza vaccine

Variation in oxytocin receptor gene influences face recognition skills, study finds

Eating more peanuts during pregnancy associated with lower risk of peanut allergy in offspring

European Commission approves update of Erbitux to treat patients with RAS wild-type mCRC

Engineered immune cells show antitumor activity in two patients with advanced cancers

TB-causing bacteria appear to mask their identity to avoid recognition by infection-killing cells

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