Friday, November 29, 2024
Winners for the 15th Hypertension Research Awards and outstanding papers in Hypertension Research
At the general meeting of the conference held on October 13th, the Japanese Society of Hypertension (JSH) 15th Hypertension Research Awards were announced. These awards were established in 2010 and are presented to papers that have made significant contributions to the advancement of hypertension research over the past year. From among numerous original articles published in Hypertension Research, from the April issue 2023 to the March issue 2024, the editorial committee members of the Hypertension Research journal have selected three award-winning papers this year. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the recipients. Along with a recent photo of the awardees, we would like to introduce the key findings of the award-winning papers.
Hypertension Research Excellence Award
The 2024 recipient of this award was Dr. Satoyuki Ogino and colleagues from the Department of Anatomy, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Mitaka, Japan, for the paper entitled “Roles of the mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1 in the renal podocyte injury of experimental hypertensive nephropathy,” [1] is a basic research that examined the expression of Piezo1 and its signaling cascade in a glomerular effect model. This research utilized hypertensive nephropathy mice and cultured podocytes to investigate Piezo1, a mechanosensor that was a candidate for the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The research demonstrated an increase in Piezo1 expression, activation of Rac1, and the induction of expression for podocyte injury-related genes such as Pai1, Sgk1, and Mcp1. These gene inductions were found to improve with the normalization of blood pressure through the administration of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. This interesting research provides insight into how the stretch load caused by hypertension is directly involved in the mechanisms of renal injury, thereby explaining part of the reversible renal protective effects achieved through blood pressure reduction.
Dr. Satoyuki Ogino
Hypertension Research Award
This award was given to Dr. Ren Mizoguchi and colleagues from the School of Biological Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan, for their paper entitled “Impact of gut microbiome on the renin-aldosterone system: Shika-machi Super Preventive Health Examination results,” [2] is an epidemiological study that examined the relationship between gut microbiota and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). By using machine learning techniques for analysis, the study evaluated 16SrRNA sequencing of gut microbiota in conjunction with clinical data related to RAAS, revealing that gut bacterial genera such as Blautia, Bacteroides, Akkermansia, and Bifidobacterium are associated with RAAS. Further research is anticipated to explore how gut microbiota may influence racial and regional variations in salt sensitivity and whether it could serve as a target for antihypertensive therapies.
Hypertension Research Award
This award was given to Dr. Kosuke Tanaka and colleagues, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan, for the paper entitled “Secondhand smoke exposure is associated with the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study,” [3] which is an epidemiological study based on data from the large-scale prospective cohort study known as the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS), which focused on pregnant women throughout Japan. The research found that exposure to secondhand smoke for four days or more a week was associated with an over 18% increased risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension, while exposure for more than two hours a day was linked to a 27% increase in risk. This study carries significant social implications.
Dr. Kosuke Tanaka
Website: International Research Awards
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Thursday, November 28, 2024
Ontario Tech University AI experts secure funding for new cybersecurity research projects
Ontario Tech University’s cybersecurity research expertise is in the spotlight after the National Cybersecurity Consortium’s (NCC) announcement of nearly $560,000 in funding over four years for two new research projects at the university.
The Ontario Tech projects supported under this program highlight the university’s important research being conducted through the Institute for Cybersecurity and Resilient Systems, a multi-disciplinary, global centre at the university focusing on cybersecurity research, innovation, teaching, and outreach. By focusing on real-world applications, Ontario Tech is not only advancing the state of cybersecurity research but also contributing to safer, more reliable digital experiences for individuals and organizations alike.
The funded initiatives underscore the university's role as a leader in promoting technological innovation that aligns with global cybersecurity needs, ensuring resilience and proactive measures against emerging threats. Ontario Tech’s two projects are among 37 across Canada receiving a total of $22.8 million in funding this year under the NCC’s Cyber Security Innovation Network (CSIN) program.
Funded projects:
Enhancing Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Cybersecurity Through Autonomous and Sustainable AI
Funding committed by NCC: $175,294.10
Principal Investigator: Dr. Li Yang, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business and Information Technology (FBIT), Ontario Tech
Collaborators: Dr. Khalil El-Khatib, Professor, FBIT, Ontario Tech; Dr. Katarina Grolinger, Canada Research Chair in Engineering Applications of Machine Learning, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University; and Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), Ontario Tech.
This project addresses the critical need for robust cybersecurity in electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, which are integral to energy and transportation networks. As EV adoption grows, traditional cybersecurity mechanisms, like intrusion detection systems (IDS), struggle to counter evolving cyber threats due to limited adaptability, high energy demands, and centralized architectures. The project will revolutionize EV charging-station security by developing autonomous, optimized, sustainable, and privacy-enhanced IDS using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including AutoML, TinyML, and federated learning techniques. These innovations will enable real-time, energy-efficient, and decentralized threat detection, ensuring network stability, protection of consumer data, and support for the expansion of clean energy solutions. By enhancing EV charging-station security, the research bolsters public confidence in EV infrastructure, aids smart city development, and supports Canada's transition to electric mobility, leading to significant economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Transformative Adversaries: Leveraging Generative Pretrained Transformers for the Development of Next-Generation Metamorphic Malware Engines
Funding committed by NCC: $382,352.94
Principal Investigator: Dr. Pooria Madani, Assistant Professor, FBIT, Ontario Tech
Collaborators: Dr. Jeremy Bradbury, Professor, Faculty of Science; Dr. Khalil El-Khatib, Professor, FBIT, Ontario Tech; and Dr. Natalija Vlajic, Associate Professor, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University.
This project will investigate how generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) models can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes to enhance future cyber defences against the sophisticated and evolving threat of in malicious code mutation. Metamorphic malware is a type of malicious software that rewrites or ‘mutates’ its code structure with each execution or system infection. The ability of metamorphic malware to preserve its malicious functionality while altering its structure makes it both stealthy and highly lethal, posing a significant challenge as it evades traditional detection methods. Recent advancements in AI, particularly GPT models (AI algorithms that teach computers to process information and create new content and ideas like a human brain would) have demonstrated remarkable potential in automating code mutation processes, raising concerns about their misuse for creating more adaptive and evasive malware. This research will help us better understand these capabilities and develop strategies to mitigate the risks, contributing to stronger, more adaptive cybersecurity defenses.
About the National Cybersecurity Consortium
The National Cybersecurity Consortium is a pan-Canadian network that supports the advancement of the Canadian cybersecurity ecosystem through research and development, commercialization, and training by driving collaboration among universities; private industry; not-for-profit organizations; provincial, territorial, and municipal governments; and other key cybersecurity stakeholders.
Funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and overseen by the NCC, the Cyber Security Innovation Network program supports research and development projects, commercialization of new technology, and training, upskilling and reskilling efforts led by Canadian organizations within industry, academia, and not-for-profit sectors.
Quotes
"The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in developing advanced malware is a stark example of how AI can be weaponized. To safeguard our future security, we must take action today."
– Dr. Pooria Madani, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business and Information Technology, Ontario Tech University
“Our work to enhance the cybersecurity of electrical vehicle charging stations is not just about safeguarding infrastructure; it is also about building trust in and encouraging the adoption of electric transportation, supporting smart cities, and contributing to Canada's clean energy future."
– Dr. Li Yang, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business and Information Technology, Ontario Tech University
Website: International Research Awards
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Wednesday, November 27, 2024
RDM researcher receives award for research shedding light on microstructural and metabolic differences in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients
Congratulations to Dr Zakariye Ashkir who received the Best Scientific Abstract Award from the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions at their Annual Conference held in Cambridge earlier this month.
Dr Ashkir’s presentation showcased key findings from his DPhil research on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM is a condition where the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, and predisposes patients to sudden cardiac death, heart failure and stroke. For his research, Dr Ashkir studied microstructural and metabolic abnormalities in HCM patients, comparing those with causative genetic mutations in sarcomeric genes (which is the cause of HCM in around 40% of patients) to those without.
Findings explain increased risk of sudden cardiac death
Using advanced cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) techniques, Dr Ashkir found that patients with sarcomeric HCM exhibited a greater cumulative burden of abnormalities, such as scarring, disarray of muscle fibers, and energy deficits, despite having similar levels of heart thickening. These abnormalities were observed at a younger age in this group and were linked to a higher risk of dangerous heart rhythm disturbances.
Patients can be identified and monitored earlier
These findings help explain the increased risk of sudden cardiac death in sarcomeric HCM patients. They also highlight the potential of advanced CMR techniques in identifying patients who may require closer monitoring or earlier treatment and could pave the way for more personalized risk assessment and management in HCM.
Upon winning his award, Dr Ashkir commented: ‘I’m deeply grateful for the incredible support of my supervisors—Prof. Betty Raman, Prof. Masliza Mahmod, Prof. Stefan Neubauer, and Prof. Hugh Watkins—as well as my collaborators and colleagues at OCMR.
‘I also extend my thanks to the British Heart Foundation for their funding and to the many research participants who made this work possible. This research reflects the collective effort and shared commitment of everyone involved.’
Website: International Research Awards
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Tuesday, November 26, 2024
The Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology at Cornell University has awarded Postdoctoral researcher Si Chen the 2024 Sam and Nancy Fleming Research Fellowship. This prestigious three-year fellowship supports talented young researchers who are doing cutting-edge research in basic biomedical sciences and are planning careers in biological or medical research.
“The Fleming Fellowships provide exceptional young scientists the support and freedom to pursue ambitious projects,” said Marcus Smolka, interim director of the Weill Institute and professor of molecular biology and genetics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “The 2024 recipient is a remarkable researcher. Her proposal to measure the interplay of mechanosensing and the mechanics of plant growth is highly innovative and is a great example for how science in the Weill Institute uses cell biological approaches to solve complex fundamental questions at the organismal level.”
If you ask how gene expression leads to the enormous range of plant organ shapes in nature, you're touching on one of the central questions in developmental biology: How do plant organs grow into such forms? Answering this requires a thorough understanding of plant growth and morphogenesis that involves multiple disciplines. Unraveling this mystery could one day allow us to engineer plant shapes, like designing a leaf shaped like a shopping bag.
The Fleming Fellowship will enable Chen to explore the relationships between two key players in plant growth mechanosensing — microtubules and calcium ions—and their influences on mechanical properties in Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism in plant developmental science.
“As plants grow, they experience mechanical forces,” Chen said. “Each plant cellhas a rigid wall that surrounds it and is inflated with a high internal pressure, which can be greater than the pressure in a car tire. The way a plant cell grows is by expanding its cell wall, much like blowing up a balloon—but in this case, the expansion is permanent. For plant organs to grow properly, the mechanical properties of their cell walls play a big role and must be carefully regulated. But what controls these properties?”
To help answer this question, Chen will use the Fleming Fellowship to investigate the plants’ built-in system of mechanosensing, which allows cells to feel the forces acting on them and respond by biochemical signals. These signals then influence the cell walls’ properties, and the new properties, in turn, change the forces that the plant cells feel. This creates a feedback loop that helps ensure the plant grows the right way.
“The key question that needs to be answered is: How do these processes work? And how does the interplay between mechanosensing and the cell wall’s properties influence the organ’s overall growth?” Chen said.
Chen has built an experimental system that integrates the application of force, precise force measurement, and high-resolution confocal imaging to explore this. In addition, her lab has plants with fluorescent reporters to visualize microtubules and calcium ions. With the experimental system and the fluorescent reporter plants, Chen will characterize the mechanical properties of plant tissue and how they are altered by changes in mechanosensing. The Fellowship will enable her to quantify how mechanical forces influence calcium ion and microtubules mechanosensing. This, in turn, will reveal how these influence mechanical properties, and ultimately, how the interaction between mechanosensing and mechanical properties shapes plant organs. This work will contribute to a deeper understanding of the role mechanics play in plant growth and development.
The Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, established in 2008, is an interdisciplinary hub of research in molecular biology and genetics, biomedical engineering, chemistry and chemical biology, computational biology, microbiology and plant biology.
Website: International Research Awards
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Monday, November 25, 2024
Saturday, November 23, 2024
National Science Foundation Awards Morgan State University Nearly $3 Million in Research Grants To-Date in FY25
BALTIMORE — In what is amounting to a banner year for Maryland’s designated Preeminent Public Urban Research University, faculty researchers at Morgan State University are on pace to reach Morgan’s annual goal of $100 million in awarded research grants and contracts. The National Science Foundation (NSF), a longstanding catalyst for groundbreaking research across the U.S. higher education landscape, granted Morgan more than $2.9 million in funding to initiate new research and further existing research in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Bolstered by support from the NSF and many other agencies, Morgan has amassed more than $77 million in research grants and sponsored projects to-date.
The NSF funding received thus far supports nine diverse initiatives and drives essential innovation in microelectronics, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity, STEM education equity, career readiness and mobility accessibility.
The awarded projects reflect Morgan’s commitment to advancing technology, education and social equity. The grants will support faculty in developing cutting-edge solutions and programs addressing pressing national and global challenges, positioning Morgan as a STEM- and innovation-driven research leader.
“Federal support from agencies such as the National Science Foundation that funds research at our nation’s colleges and universities is much more than simply an investment in science, particularly at our HBCUs. It’s an acknowledgment of the need for diverse scientific perspectives that our faculty- and student-led research bring to the scientific community,” said Willie E. May, Ph.D., vice president for the Division of Research and Economic Development (D-RED) at Morgan. “We are on track to this becoming, by far, Morgan’s best year ever for securing new research awards and engaging in the meaningful investigative studies that they support. We look forward to continuing to broaden Morgan’s research capacity to support our nation’s competitiveness agenda as well as critical local, state and federal needs.”
The NSF investment represents a portion of Morgan’s active grants and contracts this fiscal year, moving the university significantly down the path toward its annual research award and research expenditure goals. Through sustained support and new partnerships, Morgan is poised to expand its research impact and contribute further to workforce development, particularly in underrepresented communities.
“We are honored to receive these NSF grants that not only affirm the caliber of our faculty’s research but also propel us closer to achieving R1 status in the next cycle of Carnegie classifications,” added Hongtao Yu, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs at Morgan. “This support enables our dedicated researchers to deepen their exploration of critical scientific questions while fostering an environment where students actively participate in cutting-edge discovery.”
Website: International Research Awards
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Friday, November 22, 2024
PhD Student Soonbong Lee Wins Two INFORMS Awards for Research on Refugee Resettlement Process
Soonbong Lee, a doctoral student in operations, was honored for his use of operations research to improve the refugee resettlement process at this year’s annual meeting of INFORMS (the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) in Seattle.
A paper co-authored by Lee, Professor Vahideh Manshadi, and several other scholars, “Dynamic Matching with Post-Allocation Service and its Application to Refugee Resettlement,” won the Michael H. Rothkopf Junior Researcher Paper Prize, which recognizes the best paper on auctions or market design by a young researcher. It also won the annual MSOM Student Paper Competition, which honors an outstanding paper in the field of operations management.
Each year, American resettlement agencies place tens of thousands of refugees in new homes across the country. However, these agencies often struggle to predict where individual refugees are most likely to find employment without stretching local service providers beyond capacity. Lee and Manshadi worked with Kirk Bansak of the University of California, Elisabeth Paulson of Harvard Business School, and Rad Niazadeh of the University of Chicago to create an algorithm that helps agencies make these decisions efficiently and strategically.
The new algorithm uses a machine-learning model to predict the employment outcomes of refugees with certain characteristics (like country of origin, language skills, gender, and age) in different locations. Rather than basing suggestions on outdated information on how many and what kind of refugees are arriving, the algorithm also takes into account the composition of the current year’s refugee pool when making assignments, learning the arrival pattern from week to week and improving its placement suggestions over time. When Lee and his co-researchers tested their algorithm on data from a major U.S. resettlement agency they collaborated with, they found that the algorithm improves employment outcomes and average backlog among local service providers by 50% and 30%, respectively.
Lee, a fourth-year PhD student, came to Yale after earning a B.S. in applied statistics, a bachelor of business administration, and a master’s degree in management science from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. He researches the design and operation of online matching platforms, with a particular focus on nonprofit and public-sector applications.
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