TXBiobytes from Texas Biomed

Professor Mahesh Mohan, Ph.D. and Professor Deepak Kaushal, Ph.D., Director of the SNPRC

The newest professor at our biomedical research institute is Dr. Mahesh Mohan. His research is focused on HIV…the virus that causes AIDS. However, he’s been branching out into a new area recently: the effect of cannabinoids on the inflammation caused by this disease…and potentially other illnesses as well.

Dr. Mohan will also be a member of the Southwest National Primate Research Center on the Texas Biomed campus. He came from the Tulane National Primate Research Center in Louisiana where he worked with rhesus macaques. These animals are a good model for his research, as they can be infected with the monkey version of HIV.

Could components of the marijuana plant help patients with the many and varied symptoms created by an HIV infection? That’s one project Dr. Mohan has taken on. He would also like to find out if creating a synthetic compound could help create a new medication.

Assistant Professor Diako Ebrahimi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor Diako Ebrahimi, Ph.D., is one of the newest faculty members at Texas Biomedical Research Institute. He’s a quantitative biologist.  His job is to take massive amounts of data from different disciplines to develop new ways to research virology and cancer.

Dr. Ebrahimi joins Texas Biomed from the University of Minnesota where he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics. He is currently the principal investigator on a National Institutes of Health grant focused on Molecular Determinants of HIV Hypermutation that runs through 2020 and another study that concludes this year. For nearly 10 years, Dr. Ebrahimi has focused his research efforts on combining data and information from a variety of scientific disciplines, from chemistry and virology to cancer, genomics, evolution and bioinformatics to develop new research initiatives in viral and cancer genomics using quantitative biology.

Big data is changing the way biomedical research is conducted.

Dr. Ebrahimi received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Chamran University in Ahvaz, Iran and his Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry from Razi University in Kermanshah, Iran. He obtained his Ph.D. in Quantitative Chemistry in 2007 from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Professor Joanne Turner, Ph.D.VP for Research

As students gear up to head back to classes, public health officials and school districts encourage parents to make sure their children are up-to-date on their immunizations. A new trend called “vaccine hesitancy” has created unwarranted fear of these life-saving preventive measures. Texas Biomed scientists are working hard to create better and new vaccines….and to educate people about why following a vaccine schedule is so important to protect you, and everyone else around you, from infectious diseases.

Professor Jean Patterson, Ph.D.

Professor Joanne Turner, Ph.D., is Texas Biomed's Vice President for Research. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio.

Professor Jean Patterson, Ph.D., is a virologist.

Texas Biomed strives to create an educationally rich learning environment. As part of that initiative, 21 college and university students have spent summer 2019 interning on the campus. They are science and support staff workers. They have spent several weeks in labs and office all around the Institute.

Our bright, talented students include:

Joshua Castro -- St. Mary's University

Payan (Max) Pour -- Southwestern University

Catalina Lopez -- Barnard College

Sarah Mohamed -- Texas A&M University

Nicholas Stefek -- Texas Tech University

Lois Randolph -- UTSA

Stephanie Nordmeyer -- Texas State University

Daniel Astorga -- UTSA

Brinley Cannon -- Oklahoma State University

Morgan Christian -- Texas A&M University

Sara Cotton -- Vassar College

Sanjana Mada -- UTSA

Olivia Wise-Dent -- Cornell University

Kyle James -- UTSA

Shayna Scott -- Brigham Young University

Chrystelle Lasica -- UPVD

Lauren Carruthers -- Glasgow, Scotland

Eitienne Daadi -- University of Oregon

Jackie Ward -- Palo Alto College

Associate Professor Marcel Daadi, Ph.D.

One of the newest research projects at the Southwest National Primate Center on the campus of Texas Biomed is a study to figure out if a drug -- already approved by the Food and Drug Administration -- can help stave off unwanted cognitive problems that come with aging. Is there a way to repair damage to the cell organelles called mitochondria that become inefficient with age?

Baboon at the SNPRCCourtesy Kathy West Studios

To test this particular compound, Associate Scientist Marcel Daadi, Ph.D., will be spending the next year testing and treating senior baboons. The animals are able to take a cognitive test involving images on a screen to see if therapy with this medication can help the memory deficits and cognitive decline that monkeys (and men) experience.

As more and more people live into their 80s and 90s and beyond, they become more likely to develop age-related problems.

The William and Ella Owens Medical Research Foundation is funding the year-long study.

Thirty years ago, NIH-funded researchers began looking at particular risk factors for heart disease in the Native American population. What Texas Biomed scientists and collaborators across the country have found is impacting all of us.

Now, Texas Biomed has received a 7-year, $3 million dollar grant to continue working on the Strong Heart Study of American Indians (SHS). Shelley Cole, Ph.D., Associate Professor and co-lead of the Population Health program at Texas Biomed, will direct the Strong Heart Study Genetics Center and Chair the Strong Heart Study Steering Committee.

Associate Professor Shelly Cole, Ph.D. (left of sign), is part of a team of Strong Heart Study investigators from around the country.

Participants in the study come from 12 different tribes in 3 different regions: Arizona, Oklahoma, and North and South Dakota. Data and samples collected over the past four decades are a treasure trove of information for researchers. All results from the study receive tribal approval before they are released.

The Native Americans also benefit from being involved in the research. For Raymond Roy Almanza -- a member of the Comanche Tribe from Oklahoma -- being a part of the Strong Heart Study was more than just an opportunity to help scientists understand his ethnic group's health issues. It helped his health.

Courtesy Strong Heart Study

"Because of my participation in the study, I found out I had high levels of blood sugar. I found out I had diabetes. The people at the Strong Heart Study caught the situation before it became a serious threat to my health," Almanza said.

“We really want to find culturally appropriate ways of improving American Indian health,” Cole stressed. “It’s not going to be the same approaches taken with the community at large in the U.S. As a human geneticist, I know that we really need to have information on all human population groups to make wise decisions about how to handle public health issues.”

Heath Nevill records behavior of baboons at the SNPRC.

Texas Biomed is home to one of only seven National Primate Research Centers in the country. We house more than 2,000 nonhuman primates including baboons, rhesus macaques and marmosets. Besides veterinarians and technicians, the Southwest National Primate Research Center also employs animal behaviorists.

Much of the animal behaviorists’ time is spent observing the animals, recording their behavior and gathering data.  If observation alone isn’t enough, sometimes animal behaviorists use recordings.

Director of Behavioral Services, Corrine Lutz, Ph.D., and nonhuman primate Lab manager of the Behavioral Services group, Heath Nevill, talk about taken care of research animals. Both say it's their passion.

Corrine Lutz, Ph.D., and Heath Nevill work wit the Behavioral Services Department.

Zika VirusCourtesy: NIH Image Gallery

What’s the latest buzz about Zika? The mosquito-borne virus is still infecting people around the globe -- even in the U.S. -- and putting unborn babies in particular at risk. Texas Biomed has just won a grant from the federal government to test two different ways of immunizing pregnant women. The idea is to prevent transmission of the infectious disease from expectant woman to her child.

Zika has been around for decades, but the virus roared into the headlines when it caused a spate of terrible birth defects in Brazil four years ago.

While Texas Biomed is providing the nonhuman primate animal models and the expertise in virology for this project, partners in New York are looking at other aspects of a possible Zika vaccine.

Professor Jean Patterson, Ph.D., is the Principal Investigator on the project at Texas Biomed.

Marmosets are small New World monkeys from South America. © Clem Spalding 210-271-7273

Marmosets are a useful biomedical research animal model that is growing in popularity with researchers. The monkeys' small size and shorter life span make it an easier model to work with, in some cases, than larger nonhuman primates. Texas Biomed currently has more than 350 of these squirrel-sized monkeys.

UT Health San Antonio and the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies have just signed an animal care and joint research agreement with Texas Biomed. The new collaboration involved moving dozens of marmosets from the UT Health campus into a newly-renovated facility that is part of the Southwest National Primate Research Center on the Texas Biomed campus. The new home for marmosets can house up to 550 of the research animals, making it the largest marmoset colony in the U.S. dedicated to aging and infectious disease research.

Corrina Ross, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Corinna Ross, Ph.D., talks about the projects these animals are involved with and the challenges researchers face when trying to find answers to complex human health questions.

Enrichment specialists at Texas Biomed celebrate BRAD by treating the research animals to Fiesta munchies.

We owe many ways to treat and prevent disease to biomedical research, but none of our scientific discoveries would be possible without teamwork—that is, teamwork between scientists and research animals.

BRAD celebrates the many contributions of research animals to human health.

Biomedical Research Awareness Day (BRAD) was created by Americans for Medical Progress to educate students and the public on the importance of biomedical research and the humane use of research animals. Animals play a huge role in making biomedical research possible by serving as effective models for human ailments. Without the teamwork between scientists and animals, and the dedication of those who care for research animals, we would not be able to serve the world’s health needs.

In observance of BRAD, Texas Biomed’s Veterinary Technicians Joseph Roberts and Martin Carias, Staff Scientist Olena Shtanko, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor Ian Cheeseman, Ph.D., explain why biomedical research is critical to keeping both humans and animals healthy.