TGen Talks

TGen’s Scientific Technology Assessment Research Team (START) supports the research faculty by bringing new technology into the labs to help answer today’s most pressing research questions. 

  When the current tools for measuring DNA or proteins or cellular structure aren't sufficient, START scouts the technology landscape for companies that are developing new methods that can, often by partnering to beta test the technology. And that means TGen gains early access … but only after the START lab vets the technology through rigorous testing at a biological level.

  Stephanie Pond, Ph.D., Vice President of Emerging Technologies and head of TGen's START program, joins TGen Talks to discuss START. She explains how technologies make the cut, and the avenues by which new technologies hit the START radar. She also discusses a recent collaboration between TGen and Bay Area start-up, Deepcell (see related story Going Deep), who developed a system focused on cell imaging and cell sorting that allows researchers to predict how cells will function based on how they look.

Episode 45 - Dr. Michael Berens by TGen

For our final episode of TGen Talks in 2021, our host, Karie Dozer, sat down with TGen North Director, Dr. David Engelthaler, who has led TGen’s research into COVID since day one.

  Dr. Engelthaler shares his thoughts on Omicron … what we know, what’s left to learn, and why it’s spreading so fast. 

  While it may be a bit early to predict how Omicron will play out in the U.S., it appears to follow trends seen with other variants and is on pace to replace Delta as the most dominant variant, which may not be all bad news, particularly if it produces symptoms that are milder than its predecessors.

  Dr. Engelthaler also discusses which states seem to be hit the hardest, how that changes week-by-week, immunity against Omicron for the fully vaccinated, and how a strong cellular immunity helps prevent serious illness. 

  All this and more in just eighteen minutes on TGen Talks.

Genomic analysis of a cancer tumor is fairly common these days. Researchers sequence and compare a patient’s non-cancerous DNA with their tumor DNA to identify changes that may allow a patient to receive medicine that specifically targets those changes. But what happens when the tumor comes back? Has the tumor changed? And if so, how?

These were questions that intrigued TGen Assistant Professor Floris Barthel, M.D. In particular, his latest research focuses on the effects of radiotherapy on the cancer tumor. What is different in the DNA of the first tumor compared to the normal DNA, and what is different in the DNA of the second tumor compared to the first tumor? How does treatment affect the DNA of these tumors over time?

On this episode of TGen Talks, Dr. Barthel discusses how his work has shown that radiotherapy, while highly beneficial, appears to create breaks in the DNA and instead of dying, the cancer cell repairs itself, which alters the tumor make-up upon recurrence. He cautions there is still much to discover, but if successful, it could help identify those relapsed patients resistant to further radiotherapy and allow treating physicians to suggest an alternate course of treatment.

At the Center for Rare Childhood Disorders, it's all about the kids. Center staff dedicate themselves to finding a diagnosis and possible treatments for disorders so rare that many may not even have a name.  

  In episode 42 of TGen Talks, we go inside the Center with Clinical Director Keri Ramsey, who talks about the parents and kids who come to the Center for answers, and how TGen scientists are solving as many of these medical mysteries as possible ... some years after the search began through a special program that brings cold cases to the forefront and offers renewed hope to families in search of answers.

For TGen’s Dr. Matt Huentelman, leveraging today’s technology to rewrite the playbook on research recruiting and reimagine the scientific landscape involves attracting people to genomic studies in a whole new way. Leaning on a riff from the Doobie Brothers, Huentelman wants to take it to the streets.

The Internet — in one form or another — has been around since the late 1960s, yet it’s only been within the last decade or so that scientists have taken advantage of online platforms to recruit for and drive large-scale research studies. For Huentelman, his MindCrowd study was among the early adopters and today has recruited over 160 thousand participants. But, not wanting to stop there, he believes the next iteration involves mobile laboratories that bring the science to a town and neighborhood near you.

This month, on TGen Talks, Dr. Huentelman addresses his latest efforts with MindCrowd, plus his drive to understand aging and age-related diseases through a process he refers to as precision aging. And not just for some.

Studying diverse populations remains critical to fully understanding aging and how it effects all walks of life and all aspects of society — from urban to rural and everywhere in-between. Is a mobile lab visit in your future?

The range of emotions a Helios Scholar at TGen experiences — from application through the program’s end — shifts dramatically as the summer unfolds. The end result, however, is one of accomplishment.

2021 marked the 15th year of TGen’s flagship internship program that has seen nearly 600 alumni gain often career-defining exposure to biomedical research and medicine by working alongside TGen faculty and staff.

In episode 40, TGen Talks host Karie Dozer sits down with three Helios Scholars from the class of 2021 who share their summer of science as they discuss what they've learned and how they'll put that training to use as they move forward in their careers.

The range of emotions a Helios Scholar at TGen experiences — from application through the program’s end — shifts dramatically as the summer unfolds. The end result, however, is one of accomplishment.

2021 marked the 15th year of TGen’s flagship internship program that has seen nearly 600 alumni gain often career-defining exposure to biomedical research and medicine by working alongside TGen faculty and staff.

In episode 40, TGen Talks host Karie Dozer sits down with three Helios Scholars from the class of 2021 who share their summer of science as they discuss what they've learned and how they'll put that training to use as they move forward in their careers.

With the Delta variant of COVID-19 garnering worldwide attention, it begs the question: When will the pandemic end? This month, on Episode 38, we circle back with David Englethaler, Ph.D., Director of TGen's Pathogen and Microbiome Division, more commonly known as TGen North, for an update on all things COVID-19 related. How much longer will we be dealing with COVID-19? Do we really know where COVID came from? Will we need vaccinations against COVID for years to come? Dr. Engelthaler answers these questions, and also explains how TGen is working with local and state health officials to track variants of COVID-19 — and posting that information freely on Arizona COVID-19 Sequencing Dashboard— and how we’re preparing for the next pandemic.

Hearing the words you have cancer comes as a shock. Hearing that your child has cancer is almost unimaginable. And when you learn that it is a rare form of brainstem cancer known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma or DIPG — a central nervous system cancer that forms from glial cells, the supportive tissue of the brain and spinal cord that affects less than 300 children per year — the questions become endless.  

  Joining TGen Talks is Dr. Michael Berens, professor and director of TGen’s Cancer and Cell Biology Division and head of the Glioma Research Laboratory, whose research efforts focus on conducting genomic profiling of tumors to increase the understanding of DIPG at the genomic level and developing techniques to monitor how tumors are responding to treatment.  

 Brain tumors are now the most common cause of cancer related death in children younger than 15 years of age today, with DIPG accounting for nearly 80 percent of all brain stem cancer cases.  

  Dr. Berens talks about liquid biopsies and the efforts to rewire a misbehaving gene and what influence it could have on regaining control in the body’s cells. He also talks about the real hope in terms of pushing on the boundaries of the disease and explains his mantra “most best days.” It’s worth a listen.