School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD)

Research Highlights

UB research scientists and doctors have made important and internationally recognized contributions to medical science, including patents, discoveries and treatment advances.

Avonex

2/9/12

The drug most prescribed to people with relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Bedside Emergency Ultrasound

2/9/12

Trauma-patient evaluation that revolutionized emergency room care in the U.S.

BioBlower

2/9/12

Air sterilization technology that destroys everything from pollen to airborne pathogens.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

12/5/11

Discoveries made by UB researchers have fundamentally altered our understanding of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Computer-Assisted Total Knee Replacement

2/9/12

A more precise method for aligning instruments, cutting bone and placing knee implant components.

DNA Repair Captured in Real Time

12/5/11

A UB microbiologist was the first to film a DNA motor protein “unzipping” a double-strand of bacterial DNA in real time.

Dual Radiation Targeting System

2/9/12

A UB medical student and professor invented technology used worldwide to increase surgical accuracy while reducing radiation exposure.

Infasurf

2/9/12

Lung surfactant therapy administered to premature babies to assist breathing in the first critical hours after birth.

Internal Pacemaker

2/9/12

The first successful implantable pulse generator—and the lithium battery used to extend its longevity.

Lippes Loop

2/9/12

The first double-S intrauterine contraceptive device, and the standard against which other IUDs came to be compared.

PKU Test

2/9/12

Infant screening to detect phenylketonuria, a genetic disorder that can cause severe mental retardation.

Partial Liquid Ventilation

2/9/12

UB researcher developed a technique to treat respiratory distress syndrome in extremely premature infants, increasing their chance of survival.

Portable Patient Ventilator

2/9/12

A medical device that introduces into hospital intensive care units the same powerful and effective method of anesthetizing patients that works so well in the operating room.

Simulator for Robotic Surgery Training

2/9/12

One of the world’s first simulators to closely approximate the “touch and feel” of the da Vinci™ robotic surgical system.

SmartPill

2/9/12

An ingestible diagnostic-sensing capsule that measures how the gastrointestinal tract is functioning.

Traffic Light Diet

2/9/12

A diet widely prescribed by pediatricians today to counteract childhood obesity.

Researcher Spotlight

Bacterial Pathogenesis

3/7/12

Thomas Russo, MD, is internationally known for his work with strains of E. coli that cause infections outside the intestine and result in morbidity worldwide due to pneumonia, urinary tract infections and meningitis.
Copper and Iron Transport

8/31/11

Daniel Kosman, PhD, studies how organisms acquire and metabolize iron and copper, intrinsically toxic metals essential to cellular respiration and oxygen transport. One of his goals is to develop antifungal drugs to treat infections in humans.
Diabetes

4/13/12

Suzanne Laychock, PhD, is investigating the cellular mechanisms regulating insulin secretion in pancreatic cells. Her group has used pancreatic cells in primary culture to develop in vitro systems that mimic aspects of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Ion Channel Structure-Function

3/7/12

Kenneth Blumenthal, PhD, is an expert in protein structures. He researches structure-function relationships in ion channels using naturally occurring toxins as probes of ion transport and gating processes. One of his goals is to design drugs directed at the target channel.
Brain Function and Disease

3/7/12

Gabriela Popescu, PhD, is studying NMDA receptors in the brain, which are involved in synaptic development, plasticity, memory and learning, as well as in pathologies such as stroke, neurodegeneration, chronic pain, addiction, schizophrenia and epilepsy.
Molecular Parasitology

4/13/12

Noreen Williams, PhD, studies parasitic protozoans, including Trypanosoma brucei, which causes African sleeping sickness, transmitted by the tse-tse fly; and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas’ disease, transmitted by the reduviid bug.

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Core Facilities

Standard DNA Sequencing

4/24/12

Carries out Sanger sequencing on a fee-for-service basis on instrumentation that typically provides reads of >600bp.
Molecular Interactions

4/24/12

Allows investigators to analyze the kinetics of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions.
Gene Targeting and Transgenics

4/24/12

Provides transgenic approaches for the systematic dissection of the genetic, molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms underlying complex biological processes.
Biochemistry Stockroom

4/24/12

Supplies the school and affiliated research programs with biochemical reagents.
Stem Cell Engraftment and In Vivo Analysis

4/24/12

Engrafts stem cells into mice and other model systems; quantifies cell engraftment, migration and differentiation, and analyzes the behavior consequences of neural engraftment.
Next Generation Sequencing and Expression

4/24/12

Offers high-throughput, next-generation sequencing and gene-expression analysis services, including 3’-expression, miRNA, exon and gene arrays.
Positron Emission Tomography

4/24/12

Utilizes advanced PET radiopharmaceuticals/tracers and the latest PET/CT imaging technology to explore a wide variety of clinical and research questions.
Proteomics/Mass Spectrometry

4/24/12

Identifies proteins in cell or tissue extracts using several different liquid chromotography/mass spectrometry based approaches.
Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy

4/24/12

Provides facilities and technical assistance for processing and analyzing samples using electron microscopy.
Stem Cell Culture, Banking and Training

4/24/12

Maintains and banks stem cells, and provides stem cells and training to interested researchers.
Clinical Flow Cytometry

4/24/12

Provides multiparameter flow cytometry services for clinical diagnosis and follow-up, and to basic and clinical researchers.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Generation

4/24/12

Helps investigators generate induced pluripotent stem cells from human skin fibroblasts using lentiviral vectors.
Confocal Microscopy/Cellular Imaging

4/24/12

Contains a Zeiss LSM-510 Meta NLO laser scanning confocal microscope attached to a Zeiss-inverted microscope upgraded to multiphoton capability.
Protein Production and Crystallization

4/24/12

Supports automated crystallization trials in a 1,536-well format, providing a key step in determining atomic scale molecular structures.
Health Sciences Instrument Shops

4/24/12

Fabricates custom equipment and repairs and modifies instruments to researchers’ needs.
Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting

4/24/12

Hosts analytical fluorescence-activated flow cytometers/cell sorters (FACS) and a state-of-the art high-speed cell sorter.
Stem Cell Sequencing/Epigenomics Analysis

4/24/12

Characterizes and identifies epigenetic and transcription signatures of stem cells and their derived progeny using Next-Gen sequencing.
Histology Core

4/24/12

Performs all procedures related to tissue preservation and histological analysis, including training on cryostat use and other protocols.
X-Ray Photoelectron Emission Microscopy

4/24/12

Houses a transmission electron microscope as well as light microscopes; consults with investigators and assists with equipment operation.
Proteomics/Maldi-Tof

4/24/12

Allows identification of differentially expressed proteins via peptide mass fingerprinting.
Toxicology Research Center

4/24/12

Analyzes xenobiotics and other metabolites, and supports OSHA-sponsored educational activities.

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Research Highlights

Research and Facilities