Latest News

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Wistar appoints new board member Cavan Redmond, accomplished biotech industry executive

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New research from The Wistar Institute shows how one protein found on the endoplasmic reticulum can serve as a target for stimulating the immune system and a more direct target for cellular death in B cell malignancies.

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Global Collaboration Contributes to Building a Pipeline of Validated Drug Targets

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P53, a tumor suppressor gene that is mutated and inactivated in the vast majority of cancers, has often been described as the “guardian of the genome” because of its protective effects against cancer. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute are also making the case for p53 as the “guardian of obesity,” having found that a variant of the gene is heavily implicated in metabolism, which may lead to obesity and the development of type 2 diabetes.

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David B. Weiner, Ph.D., appointed as Wistar Executive Vice President and Director of the Vaccine Center

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Wistar Institute - Graham Cancer Center collaboration speeds the advancement of promising lung caner diagnostic

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Researchers at The Wistar Institute have discovered how STAT3 behaves in immature myeloid cells known as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and they believe they have found the basis for a much more effective method of using STAT3 inhibitors to stop cancer progression in its tracks.

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Scientists from The Wistar Institute have shown that one gene that was once thought only to be found in the brain is also expressed in breast cancer and helps promote the growth and spread of the disease. Additionally, they showed how a version of the gene with edited RNA prevents metastasis.

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Scientists at The Wistar Institute have defined the role of how a master genomic organizer influences the behavior of these ovarian-associated dendritic cells, revealing a previously unseen way in which cancer is able to manipulate our immune system.

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Wistar and Rockland partner to release a new collection of Wistar's human melanoma cell lines

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Tara Yates appointed The Wistar Institute Director of Communications

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Scientists from The Wistar Institute, in collaboration with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University, have demonstrated that the issue of missing data can be successfully overcome using appropriate statistical methods, and as a result, they were able to show how early initiation of ART in infants preserves an expansion of naïve T-cells and allows the infant’s immune system to be properly reconstructed.

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Wistar startup to pursue new outlets for important research.

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New research from scientists at The Wistar Institute shows that p53 is able to suppress accumulated DNA damage at telomeres. This is the first time this particular function of p53 has ever been described and shows yet another benefit of this vital gene.

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By utilizing a revolutionary method that allows mice to serve as “avatars” for patients, scientists at The Wistar Institute have shown that a previously ineffective targeted drug for melanoma may actually be quite potent in halting the progression of disease in certain patients.

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In newly published research, scientists at The Wistar Institute show that continued semen exposure in sex workers sustains changes in the cervical and vaginal microenvironment that may actually increase HIV-1 resistance. This information may lead the way to better preventative strategies that block the transmission of the virus and improved designs for future HIV vaccine studies that can monitor the described changes when recruiting sex workers into vaccine trials.

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Anita Pepper appointed Wistar VP of Development and comes to Wistar from The Pew Charitable Trusts

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Our chromosomes contain all of our genetic information, and it’s up to telomeres – structures of proteins that cap off and protect our DNA at the tips of chromosomes – to preserve the vital instructions necessary for life. There are even specific molecules like TERRA (Telomeric repeat-containing RNA) that exist specifically to regulate telomeres and promote chromosome end protection. Now, a new study has found that TERRA can be found outside of cells and serve as a potentially important cell signaling molecule that induces an inflammatory response, and this activity may play an important role in the development of cancer.

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The gene SPOP is mutated in up to 15 percent of all cases of prostate cancer, making it one of the most mutated genes in the disease. However, when the gene is functioning properly, it acts as a tumor suppressor. Despite what’s known about SPOP, scientists have not been able to determine exactly how the gene is able to halt the progression of disease. Now, new research from The Wistar Institute has found how SPOP is able to halt tumors by inducing senescence, a state of stable cell cycle arrest, which means that the cells have stopped dividing and growing. With this new information, scientists may be able to design therapeutic strategies that can halt cancers caused by these mutated genes that are able to bypass senescence.

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New research from The Wistar Institute shows exactly how a known, highly selective small molecule telomerase inhibitor is able to bind with the enzyme, thus opening the possibility of developing more telomerase inhibitors that target this pocket of telomerase and could be clinically effective in a wide variety of cancer types.

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The Wistar Institute, an international leader in biomedical research in cancer, immunology and vaccines, and Spark Therapeutics, a gene therapy leader seeking to develop one-time, life-altering treatments for debilitating genetic diseases, announced today a collaboration designed to improve the durability of gene therapy treatments targeting the liver by advancing new ways to manage the immune response to treatment.

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New research from The Wistar Institute has identified an interaction between proteins that provides a pivotal role in organizing chromosomes during mitosis so that vital genetic information gets passed on safely.

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Trusted partners leverage Wistar Science.

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The enzyme PI3K appears to be exploited in almost every type of human cancer, making it the focus of considerable interest as a therapeutic target. However, PI3K inhibitors have only shown modest clinical activity. Now, new research The Wistar Institute shows that treatment with PI3K inhibitors alone may actually make a patient’s cancer even worse by promoting more aggressive tumor cell behavior and increasing the cancer’s potential of spreading to other organs.

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Viruses like influenza have the ability to mutate over time, and given that the flu vaccines administered during the 2014-2015 season were largely ineffective at preventing the spread of the flu, it appears the virus that recently circulated had taken on mutations not accounted for when last year’s vaccine was developed. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute identified specific mutations that influenza recently acquired to escape the current vaccine design.

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Scientists at The Wistar Institute have found a protein that circulates in the blood that appears to be more accurate at detecting non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) than currently available methods used for screening.

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Wistar Institute scientists have identified how a specific variant of a key protein complex found in human cells called condensin can reorganize a cell’s genetic architecture in such a way as to promote senescence, making it an important facilitator in a cell’s anticancer ability.

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The Wistar Institute and London-based global charity Wellcome Trust announce that they have signed a follow-on funding agreement in support of ongoing research and development of a new class of drugs useful for treating cancers associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

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Wistar and Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center advance biomedical science one partnership at a time

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In recent years, research has shown that cancerous cells have a different metabolism – essential chemical and nutritional changes needed for supporting the unlimited growth observed in cancer– than normal cells. Now, scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified a way that cells can reprogram their metabolism to overcome a tumor-suppressing mechanism known as senescence, solidifying the notion that altered metabolism is a hallmark of cancer progression.

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In the last several years, targeted therapies – drugs that directly impact specific genes and proteins involved in the progression of cancer – have been approved for a wide variety of cancers, including melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute have discovered one way in which melanoma becomes resistant to a particular form of targeted therapy, and understanding this phenomenon may lead to a new melanoma target or prompt new designs of these treatments.

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Philadelphia-based biomedical research institute research The Wistar Institute and Boston-based life sciences company Kerafast, Inc. partner to offer educational opportunities for Wistar postdoctoral fellows and to distribute Wistar reagents through Kerafast's online platform.

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The Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis (JKTG) Foundation awarded The Wistar Institute a $1.1 million grant to create The Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Breast Cancer Research Consortium at The Wistar Institute. The Consortium will support the highly synergistic, multidisciplinary research projects of three Wistar scientists dedicated to advancing breast cancer research.

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Researchers in the laboratory of Rugang Zhang have discovered a target for ovarian clear cell carcinoma, a very difficult-to-treat form of the disease.

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A study led by researchers at The Wistar Institute has shown that targeting both PI3K and the mitochondria within these cancer cells can dramatically improve the effectiveness of targeted therapy and significantly reduce the chances of developing resistance.

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Gabrilovich and fellow investigators demonstrated what is happening at a cellular level that allows for chronic inflammation to cause a variety of cancers.

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Kazuko Nishikura, Ph.D., receives Macula Vision Research Foundation grant for groundbreaking research to find new treatments for macular degeneration.

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Wistar’s newly-created team of technology development professionals are in place to connect scientists’ research with translational science opportunities to form partnerships that will accelerate groundbreaking discoveries in medicine.

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Luis J. Montaner—noted HIV/AIDS expert—receives endowed professorship.

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Elyse Hoffmann promoted to Wistar director of donor relations and special events.

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New findings show how an inactivating polymorphism in the TLR5 Gene that occurs in more than one out of 15 people, plays important role in progression of luminal breast cancer and ovarian cancer

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Russel E. Kaufman steps down as the Wistar Institute President & CEO and Dario C. Altieri, Wistar Cancer Center Director, named new CEO.

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In a newly published study, Paul Lieberman and his lab report how this aggressive virus known for cold sores can manipulate the protective ends of our chromosomes to replicate and spread.

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Wistar's Ken-ichi Noma, Ph.D., wins the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust grant.

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Wistar and Penn scientific alliance, which has worked together for past 16 years, was announced as winners by GlaxoSmithKline of the 2014 Discovery Fast Track Challenge.

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On Dec. 16, Wistar Institute Emeritus Professor Dr. Stanley A. Plotkin receives the Hamdan Award at the Dubai International Conference for Medical Sciences.

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The Wistar Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Heather A. Steinman, Ph.D., M.B.A., as Vice President for Business Development and Executive Director, Technology Transfer, a newly created position with a pivotal leadership role in revitalizing Wistar’s technology commercialization activities.

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Wistar researchers have identified a new mutation in the H1N1 influenza virus that made it easily transmitted in middle-aged adults--those who should be able to resist the viral assault--during the 2013-2014 influenza season. .

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The Robert and Penny Fox Tower expands Wistar's biomedical research ability with state-of-the-art labs and equipment, and enhances the Institute's culture of collaboration and 'team science.'

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While developing an important cancer drug, Wistar scientists discovered that mice without the TRAP-1 protein live healthier longer lives, with fewer tumors and signs of aging.