iBiology Videos

In the first lecture, Dr. Bryan King introduces the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and defines the clinical criteria that characterizes ASD. Although there is no universal drug that is used to treat ASD, there are multiple medications used in the setting of autism. King outlines the different drugs used to treat the core behavioral features of autism as well as psychiatric disorders associated with autism (e.g. ADHD and anxiety), and discusses the challenges and problems with designing clinical trials to study drugs to treat ASD, specifically with the heterogeneity of the ASD population.

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with varying degrees of airway inflammation and variable response to treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. Woodruff and Arron describe experiments to develop a biomarker to detect asthma subtypes and determine which patients are likely to benefit from anti-inflammatory treatments.

In the second lecture, Joe Arron reiterates the fact that asthma patients present with varying degrees of airway inflammation. Characterizing this heterogeneity objectively and consistently can be challenging. Arron describes how he and Woodruff, together with their collaborators, were able to determine that the serum level of a protein called periostin was a candidate predictive diagnostic biomarker for patients who might benefit from novel anti-inflammatory drugs including an IL13 inhibitor and an IgE inhibitor. Periostin is currently one of the biomarkers used to select patients for enrollment in clinical trials for two drugs candidates under development by Genentech.

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with varying degrees of airway inflammation and variable response to treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. Woodruff and Arron describe experiments to develop a biomarker to detect asthma subtypes and determine which patients are likely to benefit from anti-inflammatory treatments.

In the first of these lectures, Prescott Woodruff explains that while asthma may be episodic in nature, it is a chronic disorder characterized by airway hypersensitivity and bronchial inflammation. Although asthma is a heterogeneous disease, treatment is typically based upon clinical severity rather than the underlying molecular phenotype. Woodruff describes how he and Dr. Arron and their colleagues were able to distinguish two distinct groups of asthma patients, one of with higher levels of T helper 2 cytokines and one with lower levels, by measuring specific gene expression patterns. Patients with different levels of Th2 cytokines responded differently to inhaled steroid treatment. This finding suggests that developing biomarkers that could indicate whether patients were Th2-high or low would help guide anti-inflammatory treatment.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a life threatening condition with few effective treatment options. Preliminary studies using mesenchymal stem cells, or stromal cells, to treat ARDS have shown promise with decreased levels of bacteria in the lungs, reduced pulmonary edema and improved oxygenation. In Part 1, Dr. Calfee begins by explaining that acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, not due to heart failure. It is a condition that affects 200,000 people/year in the USA with a 30-40% mortality rate. During ARDS, there are many cellular changes with complex pathophysiology making it extremely difficult to treat. Currently, patients are treated by ventilation with low tidal volume and fluid conservative therapy as many pharmacological interventions have failed. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), however, may hold promise as a treatment.

In Part 2, Dr. Matthay provides the rationale behind treating ARDS patients with MSC. Initial studies in a mouse model of ARDS, showed that treatment with MSCs increased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial peptides in the lung, and increased phagocytosis of bacteria by monocytes. Further studies in ex vivo perfused human lungs and in sheep with severe lung injury showed that treatment with MSCs improved oxygenation and reduced pulmonary edema. An NIH/NHLBI supported phase 1 clinical trial for safety has been completed and a randomized, blinded phase 2 trial has now been initiated to test the safety and efficacy of MSC treatment in human patients with ARDS.

Manu Prakash always yearned to know the why and the how of things. As a boy in India, he spent endless hours playing outside with animals and making flammable artifacts in an abandoned lab in the basement of his home. Having the chance to explore his surroundings with open-ended curiosity, he learned to find the sublime in the mundane. Today, as a world-renowned researcher and inventor at Stanford University, he continues to be inspired by these childhood lessons, and is creating low-cost tools to empower people around the globe to go on their own journey of science and discovery.

Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez’s research on pigeons, like her life, is one of charting an original path. Her experiences as a Mexican-Italian-American woman, professor, artist and mother have provided her with fascinating and unusual perspectives to study the biology of parental behavior. And in so doing, she is redefining what it means to be a scientist.

There is ample evidence that race can be a major factor in health outcomes. But racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical and biomedical research. In this series, Dr. Esteban Burchard talks about the consequences of this underrepresentation and what does it mean for equity in research and medicine. He also explains how race is used by your doctor to make critical decisions about your health, and discusses what happens if you don’t fit neatly in one racial box, and how does this impact the medical treatment. Finally, Burchard discusses how scientific breakthroughs often come when problems are approached from different perspectives, and the importance of improving diversity and inclusion in science.

There is ample evidence that race can be a major factor in health outcomes. But racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical and biomedical research. In this series, Dr. Esteban Burchard talks about the consequences of this underrepresentation and what does it mean for equity in research and medicine. He also explains how race is used by your doctor to make critical decisions about your health, and discusses what happens if you don’t fit neatly in one racial box, and how does this impact the medical treatment. Finally, Burchard discusses how scientific breakthroughs often come when problems are approached from different perspectives, and the importance of improving diversity and inclusion in science.

There is ample evidence that race can be a major factor in health outcomes. But racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in clinical and biomedical research. In this series, Dr. Esteban Burchard talks about the consequences of this underrepresentation and what does it mean for equity in research and medicine. He also explains how race is used by your doctor to make critical decisions about your health, and discusses what happens if you don’t fit neatly in one racial box, and how does this impact the medical treatment. Finally, Burchard discusses how scientific breakthroughs often come when problems are approached from different perspectives, and the importance of improving diversity and inclusion in science.