research

● BU Participates in the New England Pathogen Genomics Center of Excellence

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine will partner with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and six other institutions to participate in the Pathogen Genomics Center of Excellence (PGCoE) network, to help foster and improve innovation and technical capacity to better prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

Twenty-five million dollars in funding over five years will establish DPH as a regional focus for developing state public health laboratory genomics capability and epidemiologic application of genomics to public health.

Connor and his team are studying how rapid sequencing of viral genomes can be paired with contact tracing data to understand how and where disease gets spread.

• educate and train health departments on the use of genomics; and

• prepare for and respond to infectious disease threats.

“The Massachusetts COVID-19 response has relied on our many colleague laboratories, institutions, and organizations, including universities and partners in the medical, public health, and scientific community,” says DPH Assistant Commissioner Kevin Cranston, director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences. “We believe this Center of Excellence will spur new innovation and inform how we address future public health threats.”

Nationally, a total of $1.7 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan is helping to support current and future genomic surveillance. These funds include $400 million for innovation, approximately $90 million of which will support the PGCoE network over the next five years.

● Study Finds Full-Occupancy, In-Person Teaching Did Not Lead to SARS-CoV-2 In-Class Transmission at BU

One of five national recipients selected to establish a center by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the DPH also chose MIT’s Broad Institute, Harvard University, Yale University, Fathom Information Design, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Theiagen Genomics to partner in their initiative.

Leading the research is John H. Connor, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and a researcher at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories. Connor and his team are studying how rapid sequencing of viral genomes can be paired with contact tracing data to understand how and where disease gets spread. “We need a greater understanding of where transmission happens and what practices can keep people safe,” he says.

The four other regional centers designated by the CDC include the Georgia Department of Public Health, Minnesota Department of Health, Virginia Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, and Washington State Department of Health. Combined, these Centers of Excellence will serve as a network to:

• perform a landscape analysis of gaps, needs, and opportunities for genomics in the US public health system;

• pilot and implement genomics technologies and applications for public health;

SARS-CoV-2 has displayed personto-person transmission in a variety of indoor situations. This potential for robust transmission posed significant challenges to colleges and universities, where indoor learning is a focus.

Is there evidence of in-class transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on a university campus that has mandated vaccination and masking? The answer is no, according to a study in JAMA Network Open

“Going back to full-occupancy, in-person teaching at BU did not lead to SARS-CoV-2 transmission in class,” says John H. Connor, PhD, associate professor of microbiology, one of the study’s corresponding authors.

SARS-CoV-2 has displayed person-to-person transmission in a variety of indoor situations. This potential for robust transmission posed significant challenges to colleges and universities, where indoor learning is a focus.

To determine whether in-class instruction, without any physical distancing but with other public health mitigation strategies (masking, surveillance testing, enhanced air filtration, vaccinations), is a risk for driving transmission, the researchers used a blend of surveillance testing, epidemiology, and viral genomics to analyze incidences of likely transmission in more than 140,000 class meetings. Only nine instances of potential in-class transmission were even identified.

“Our reasoning was that if there was in-class transmission, then each person in that potential transmission event would have the same genome,” says Connor. “It turned out that none of the nine potential in-class transmission events was real.”

● Plus-Sized Models Rising in Presence on Social Media

With the changing societal body image in America, plus-sized models have gained in popularity and positively impacted a body-inclusive model of beauty.

“While the American standard of beauty appears to idolize extreme thinness as seen in Victoria Secret models and their diminishing body sizes, we sought to explore the impact of plus-sized models by reviewing their body size metrics and social media presence to better understand their emerging role in the current standards of beauty,” explains corresponding author Neelam Vashi, MD, associate professor of dermatology.

A total of 169 models were included in this study (159 plus-sized models and 10 mainstream models). Data pertaining to social media presence was collected for each model using Social Blade (http://socialblade.com).

Collectively, 144 plus-sized models had 51 million followers, while the top 10 highest paid mainstream models averaged 38 million followers.

● Many Pain Medications Can Be Used for Spine-Related Pain in Older Adults

Spine-related pain is increasingly common in older adults. While medications play an important role in pain management, their use has limitations in geriatric patients due to reduced liver and kidney function, comorbid medical problems, and polypharmacy.

A new study finds acetaminophen is safe in older adults, but nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen) may be more effective for spine-related pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories should be used short-term in lower dose courses with gastrointestinal precaution while corticosteroids show the least evidence for treating nonspecific back pain.

Collectively, 144 plussized models had 51 million followers, while the top 10 highest paid mainstream models averaged 38 million followers.

Additionally, nerve pain medications (gabapentin and pregabalin) can be used in older persons, with caution to dose and kidney function. Newer antidepressants (duloxetine) more so than older ones (nortriptyline) can help with spine-related pain, with attention to possible sedation and dizziness. Some muscle relaxants (baclofen and tizanidine) can be used in older persons, again accounting for kidney and liver function. Opioids have limited use in common spine-related pain but can be used with caution in cases that don’t respond to treatment.

The mechanisms responsible for the underlying risk in human brain cell types have been unclear until now.

“Our findings provide a helpful medication guide for physicians to use for spine pain in an older population that can have a complex medical history,” explains study corresponding author Michael D. Perloff, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology.

● BU Researchers Untangle the APOE4 Gene, the Most Significant Genetic Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia, affecting more than 5.8 million individuals in the US. Scientists have discovered some genetic variants, such as the APOE4 allele, increase the risk for developing Alzheimer’s; however, the mechanisms responsible for the underlying risk in human brain cell types have been unclear until now.

Researchers from the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine have discovered two important novel aspects of the gene: 1) human genetic background inherited with APOE4 is unique to APOE4 patients, and 2) the mechanistic defects due to APOE4 are unique to human cells.

“Our study demonstrated what the APOE4 gene does and which brain cells get affected the most in humans by comparing human and mouse models. These are important findings as we can find therapeutics if we understand how and where this risk gene is destroying our brain,” says study corresponding author Julia TCW, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology & experimental therapeutics.

● Novel Gene for Alzheimer’s Disease in Women Identified

In a study published in Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association , researchers at the University of Chicago and Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine have identified a new gene called MGMT that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s in women.

The researchers conducted a genome-wide association study for Alzheimer’s in two independent datasets using different methods. One approach focused on dementia in a large extended family of

The researchers conducted a genome-wide association study for Alzheimer’s in two independent datasets using different methods.

Hutterites, a founder population of central European ancestry who settled in the Midwest region of the US. Hutterites are often studied for genetic determinants of disease because they have a relatively small gene pool due to their isolated, insular culture. In this study, the individuals with Alzheimer’s were all women. The second approach, predicated on evidence suggesting a link between Alzheimer’s and breast cancer, analyzed genetic data from a national group of 10,340 women who lacked APOE4 . In both datasets, MGMT was significantly associated with developing Alzheimer’s.

“This is one of a few and perhaps the strongest associations of a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s that is specific to women,” says Lindsay Farrer, PhD, chief of biomedical genetics and the study’s co–senior author.

They found that in the majority of young, healthy, and vaccinated adults, the infectious period for SARS-CoV-2 is limited, with only 17 percent remaining positive beyond five days.

● BU Researchers Examine the Infectious Periods in Vaccinated Individuals with SARSCoV-2 Omicron and Delta Variants

In January 2022, the US shifted its guidelines to recommend isolation of five days from COVID-19 symptom onset, followed by an additional five days of mask wearing.

To examine the infectious periods in vaccinated individuals with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants, researchers from Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine collected daily anterior nasal swabs for at least 10 days from a group of college students and staff for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and culture and with antigen rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) on a subset of individuals.

They found that in the majority of young, healthy, and vaccinated adults, the infectious period for SARS-CoV-2 is limited, with only 17 percent remaining positive beyond five days.

“As isolation can have a significant impact on both the economy of a country and the mental health of its citizens, it is imperative to make efforts to reduce isolation periods while simultaneously preventing infectious individuals from spreading the disease,” explains study corresponding author Tara Bouton, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine. ●