June 2010
BIOTECH PARK NEWS
UNOS Rededicates National Donor Memorial, Presents First Award of Excellence; First Lady of Virginia Among Featured Speakers
In a poignant ceremony held the evening of June 21, UNOS rededicated the National Donor Memorial on the grounds of its headquarters. Participants from the national OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors meeting and UNOS staff welcomed a number of guests, including several participants from the national advisory committee that guided the design of the memorial in 2003. “A number of the people who gave their time and talents for the development of the memorial took part in its groundbreaking, but they haven’t been able to see it in its final form,” said UNOS Executive Director Walter Graham. “We are honored to welcome them back, representing the hundreds of thousands of people personally touched by the experience of organ and tissue donation.”
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Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. Announces Addition of CYP2C19 Genetic Testing
Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc., a leader in disease state management, announced its new capability to run the CYP2C19 genetic test. “Cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) enzyme is involved in the liver’s metabolism of several important drugs,” said G. Russell Warnick, Chief Scientific Officer at HDL, Inc. and editor of the Handbook of Lipoprotein Testing. “Most notable of those drugs is Plavix® (clopidogrel) an anti-blood clotting medication. Clinicians considering Plavix® as a possible preventative therapy for patients should first have their CYP2C19 test results.”
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Trade Names: Health Diagnostic Laboratory
Tonya Mallory knew years before she founded Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc. that she wanted to open a lab that would help in treating patients with certain diseases. “Through personal experiences with my family, I learned that patients need to be health advocates. I came up with a niche area that I thought would be beneficial for patients,” said Mallory, company president and CEO. “What we do is more of a partnership with physicians. We educate them on what advanced testing can be done.” A fully accredited lab, Health Diagnostic Laboratory offers a comprehensive panel of tests to help physicians personalize patient treatment.
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Virginia Life Science Investments, LLC Invests in Faneuil Medical, Ltd
Virginia Life Science Investments, LLC (VLSI) recently invested in Faneuil Medical, Ltd, the holding Company of OrthoKinematica Ltd, creator of the Cerkinetic™ TDR implant. OrthoKinematica recently achieved the CE Mark and will begin marketing and sales activities of their proprietary cervical TDR device in the European Union and Canada, in addition to other countries in which the CE Mark is accepted by local health authorities.
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NEWS and RESEARCH at VCU
VCU Medical Center to Study Use of Progesterone in Acute Traumatic Brain Injury
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are gearing up to participate in a nationwide study of the use of progesterone, a hormone that occurs naturally in the body, to treat patients with an acute, severe traumatic brain injury. The National Institutes of Health Phase III clinical trial, called ProTECT III, is being conducted at 17 institutions across the United States. The VCU Medical Center is the only participating hospital in Virginia.
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Researchers Identify Key Enzyme in Melanoma Cell Development
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have discovered a mechanism by which an enzyme regulates gene expression and growth in melanoma cells, a finding that could someday lead to more effective drugs to attack cancers and make them more treatable. Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, is highly resistant to current therapeutic strategies for reasons that are not well understood. New research at VCU suggests that an enzyme discovered in 2003 might be used to target a specific genetic component that helps to regulate gene expression and defends melanoma cells against treatment.
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VCU Student Selected to Attend the 2010 Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates
The National Science Foundation has appointed a Virginia Commonwealth University graduate student to a U.S. delegation traveling to the 60th annual meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany. Thomas Reich, a graduate research assistant in the VCU Department of Chemistry, is the third VCU student to receive this honor. Reich will visit the island city of Lindau from June 27-July 2, where he will represent VCU and have the opportunity to interact with Nobel laureates, learn more about their research and other aspects of their careers, as well as share news of his research with other young scientists from around the globe.
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VCU and VCU Medical Center Launch Multimedia Broadcast Studio
Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Health System announced today new technology that will give media live or taped interview access to some of the world’s leading physicians, specialists and researchers for breaking news, features or trend expertise. VCU has completed installation of the broadcast-quality, VideoLink ReadyCam system, a remotely or locally controlled camera technology that uses fiber optics to connect to VideoLink’s headquarters in Boston. From there, experts in VCU’s studio, located on the university’s MCV Campus, can be routed to virtually any location.
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