Welcome to Our Blog
Thank you for visiting our website. We are a relatively small lab with big ideas. We are part of a much larger group of investigators known collectively as the LLUMC Molecular Radiation Biology Laboratories. It is our hope that this website will educate, communicate, and incite scientific debate. As the PI of our little group, I hope to post our data and discuss potential mechanisms, consequences, and countermeasures. With a bit of luck we'll all learn something. The links to the left include our merry band as well as collaborating investigators and laboratories. The links to the right include our archive and blogroll. The banner above will always bring you back to the main page page. Take a look around and please feel free to leave a comment on our blog (try to keep it civil and constructive) or shoot us an e-mail. - Michael " Ubertramp " Pecaut
Lab Update
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2009.04.12
Categories & Tags: Gamma Radiation,Grant,Low Dose Radiation,Microgravity,NASA,New Publication,Protons,Radiation,Space Shuttle,T cell
Comments: None
It’s been a couple of months since the last update, so it’s about time. We have some good news and some bad news. The bad news first. My NASA grant was turned down for funding. I haven’t seen the review yet, so I’m not sure why. Nor do I know who or what actually DID get funded. Guess we’ll have to see.
Ironically (or coincidentally, I haven’t decided which), we received the acceptance letter from JAP for our third immune publication from the last shuttle flight on the same day. The reviewers were pretty rough on us, though. It bounced back and forth three times before they finally accepted it. Farnaz was pretty excited as this was her first publication. Woot! Now all she has to do is finish her dissertation and graduate. Hahaha. It’s still an Epub ahead of print, so I don’t have a reprint. Give it a few weeks. Read More..
Lab Update
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2009.02.10
Categories & Tags: Department of Energy,Grant Proposal,High-Energy Iron Radiation,Immunity,Microgravity,Mouse,NASA,NIH,New Publication,Radiation,Space Shuttle
Comments: None
Well, I’ve been on and off vacation for the last month or so. But a lot has been going on since my last update.
First, the bad news. Both NIH and DOE have turned down my grant proposals. I will probably try to resubmit the NIH grant this summer once I figure out how to address some of the reviewer concerns. I gotta keep remembering that being a scientist requires a thick skin and a short memory when it comes to rejection. Good thing I’m showing signs of early onset Alzheimer’s. Hah!
I still haven’t heard back from NASA regarding my Mice In Space proposal. I’m not sure what is holding it up. My guess is the recent economic issues have made spaceflight an even more difficult prospect than usual. Plus, they may be trying to work out a way to blend two or more proposals together. Given the lack of funds for science in general, this is probably harder than it sounds.
We also haven’t heard from LLU regarding our NMTB grant proposal. Seems LLU got a lot more proposals than they expected and they are having a harder time deciding who gets what. They may also be debating cutting the funding cap in order to fund more individual projects. I have no idea.
On to the good news. Read More..
Update on NIH and NASA grant proposals
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.10.27
Categories & Tags: Grant Proposal,Low Dose Radiation,Mouse,NASA,NIH,Radiation,Russian Space Agency,Space Shuttle
Comments: None
You may recall that we submitted a grant proposal to NASA a few months ago to fly an immune experiment on board the Russian Bion M1 rocket. We proposed to fly mice for about a month and then challenge the mice with live E. coli about three days after landing. We also had a second aim that included using a transgenic mouse model (NOX2 or gp91phox knockout). Unfortunately, NASA and the Russian Space Agency could not come to an aggreement on the flight and the project was changed. Now, the flight will likely occur on the space shuttle in February 2010. We were fortunate enough to be one of five proposals invited into the scientific defnition phase. Basically, we were asked to rewrite our proposals to meet the new requirements (e.g. smaller sample size, shorter flight time, different launch/landing site, etc.) and we’re thrilled to get this far. The new due date is Nov 19th.
The news for our NIH proposal is less good. In this proposal we were focusing on the low dose radiation patients receive for bone marrow transplants and the long term immune and behavioral consequences. Unfortunately, the proposal was returned without a score. We’re still waiting on the review.
Update from the Lab
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.09.06
Categories & Tags: BioServe Space Technologies,Brookhaven National Laboratory,Grant,International Space Station,NASA,New Publication,Politics,Russian Space Agency,Space Shuttle
Comments: 1
We’ve been pretty busy in the lab lately. We had yet another publication appear in PubMed, sent off multiple publications to journals for review, and ran a couple of big experiments. On top of that, I moved to a new house, so I’ve been less than useful in the lab for the last couple of months.
The publication in PubMed is from one of our earlier studies investigating the effects of radiation on the ability to respond to an immune challenge. In this case, it was a secondary challenge – meaning, we challenged the mice twice. Once immediately after irradiation. And once several weeks later. In essence, we were checking to see if radiation altered the development of basic immune memory. Here’s the abstract:
CU to Fly Shuttle Experiments to ISS
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.06.03
Categories & Tags: BioServe Space Technologies,Current Events,International Space Station,Microgravity,Space Shuttle,University of Colorado
Comments: None
It looks like my old lab at CU, BioServe Space Technologies, has just signed an agreement with NASA to fly experiments on all of the remaining shuttle missions to the International Space Station. Congratulations!
I’m not sure what they are planning for experiments except that they will likely be biological in nature. They’ve flown on dozens of flights so far with experiments ranging from plant physiology to bacterial resistance to antibiotics to full-blown mouse and rat experiments. I was lucky enough to be involved with experiments in each of those categories while I was there. You’d be amazed by what they can do with a test tube.
“Studies suggest space flight can result in the suppression of the immune system of both humans and animals, and previous studies have shown microgravity can alter growth rates, virulence, drug resistance and gene expression in microorganisms like salmonella,” said Stefanie Countryman, BioServe business manager and coordinator of education outreach.
Hmmm. I wonder if they’ll be looking for a bioengineer who knows a little about immunity and radiation. Psssst. Louis, have your people call my people.
Thanks to Sam & Angela Smith for the heads up.
