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 2009.02.10
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.
Radiation, Macrophages, and Oxidative Burst
Posted by: Ubertramp on 2008.07.04
Categories & Tags: Gamma Radiation,Macrophage,Mouse,New Results,Oxidative Burst,Radiation
Comments: None
We’ve been working with a couple of macrophage cell lines over the last few years and I thought I’d toss up some of our latest results. For those of you who don’t know, macrophages are involved in the initial response to bacterial infections (along with a bunch of other cells such as neutrophils). These particular experiments involve a macrophage cell line, J774, originally cultured from an inbred mouse strain, Balb/c.
The first thing you need to know is that J774s are a transformed cell line. Which basically means two things: 1) we can grow them in dish and 2) they ain’t normal.
