Medical Thought Leaders

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News Medical's "Thought Leaders" series is a selection of articles written by national and international experts and trusted advisers in health and medicine. All the articles are written by experts who have been invited as recognised leaders in their fields to provide a "state of the art" contribution.

Epigenetics and women’s health research: an interview with Professor Steve Conlan, Swansea University

Our research into gynaecological oncology focuses around understanding mechanisms of how genes are regulated or how they become dysregulated in a disease; and also the effects that has on the surface of the endometrium and also the function of the ovaries...

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 24 Feb 2015

Neurodegenerative disease research using NMR: an interview with Christian Griesinger

Christian Griesinger, director of the NMR-based Structural Biology department at the Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, talks about his research into neurodegenerative diseases using NMR to examine the dynamics of disordered proteins.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 23 Feb 2015

Sugar intake and tooth decay: an interview with Professor Nigel Pitts

Globally, dental caries (the technical term for tooth decay) is the most prevalent non-communicable disease, affecting 80% of the global population. Healthy teeth support overall well-being, while dental caries can contribute to high levels of pain and anxiety, as well as leading to other medical problems.

18 Feb 2015

Applying NMR to biological problems: an interview with Professor Arthur Palmer

Our current focus is on areas in protein folding, molecular recognition by proteins and also enzyme catalysis. NMR spin relaxation is one of the very powerful techniques in NMR for studying conformational dynamics in proteins or chemical kinetic processes.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 17 Feb 2015

Changes in moles and skin cancer: an interview with Dr Anjali Mahto, Consultant Dermatologist & British Skin Foundation Spokesperson

Melanoma is the 5th most common cancer in the UK and its incidence is continuing to increase since the mid-1970s. Cancer Research UK reports that its rates have increased more rapidly than any of the current ten most common cancers in males and females. Whilst some of this may be attributed to better surveillance and earlier detection, the real problem lies with sun-seeking behaviour and exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

16 Feb 2015

NMR and inhibiting HIV: an interview with Professor Michael Summers

Michael Summers is the Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In this interview, he tells us about his work investigating the structure of large RNAs using NMR spectroscopy.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 9 Feb 2015

Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation: an interview with Professor Peter Hajek

The electronic cigarette has been invented by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik in 2003. The rise in electronic cigarettes (EC) popularity was initially a grass root phenomenon. EC are estimated to be at least 95% safer than cigarettes and they appeal to smokers who cannot or do not want to stop smoking, but who want to reduce the risks smoking poses to their health.

5 Feb 2015

Genomics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC): an interview with Professor Thomas J. Giordano

There are two types of thyroid cells and therefore there are two broad types of thyroid cancer. Medullary carcinoma is derived from parafollicular or C cells, whereas follicular cells give rise to several types of thyroid cancers.

4 Feb 2015

Using NMR to study influenza and TB: an interview with Dr. Tim Cross

In this interview, Tim Cross, Director of the NMR and MRI programs at the National High Magnetic Field Lab (NHMFL) in Tallahassee, Florida, talks about his research into protein structures in viruses and bacteria, and how the findings will affect medical research into disease prevention.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 3 Feb 2015

Bronchial thermoplasty for severe asthma: an interview with Dr. Rob Niven

Internationally, severe asthma is defined as anybody who is on maximum therapy, which has no measurable side effects, but still have symptoms of persistent asthma. In the UK, that effectively means people who require oral steroids for their asthma two or more times a year.

27 Jan 2015

NMR in cancer research: an interview with Andy Byrd

My research these days is generally classified as structural biology, although as I trained in chemistry. I specialize in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) applied to biological problems. Our lab is very interested in studying mammalian proteins, particularly systems involved in cancer, in order to try to understand mechanisms to provide that information for our collaborators, and for the general knowledge of the community as well.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 26 Jan 2015

Modelling the biological mesoscale: an interview with Professor Art Olson

The biological mesoscale range includes biological structures that range from 10 to 100 nanometers (billionths of a meter). Structures in this size range include viruses, cellular organelles, large molecular complexes, and any other internal cellular environments within that range.

18 Jan 2015

Kidney failure predictors in adolescents: an interview with Dr. Per-Ola Sundin

Diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases as well as obesity are some of the markers of risk for kidney failure that we are aware of in adulthood. Markers of risk prior to adulthood for subsequent chronic kidney disease resulting in kidney failure are less well described.

11 Jan 2015

Using HIV drugs to treat AMD: an interview with Dr Mark Young

NRTIs are compounds which were originally developed in the 1960s as anti-cancer agents. They are similar in structure to the bases which make up DNA, and it was hoped that they would interfere with DNA replication in fast-growing cancer cells, slowing down or stopping tumour growth.

7 Jan 2015