October 12, 2022 | Volume IV, Issue 20

Janssen-Heininger Examines Regulating Oxidation Reactions to Treat Lung Disease

Oxygen is critical for the chemical reactions our cells need to survive. The conversion of oxygen to water via oxidation-reduction reactions, or redox—the transfer of electrons from one substance to another—in our cells, is central to basic functions, including metabolism and respiration. Specialized catalysts that function during metabolism and respiration turn oxygen into oxidants, chemical substances that react with other cellular molecules, including proteins. 

Eradicating Polio: UVM Vaccine Trials Aim to End Disease’s Historical Journey

A Rutland, Vermont physician described the first outbreak of polio in the United States in 1894. Then, in 1980, it was declared eradicated in the United States. Now, 42 years later, the fear of polio has returned to the region.

In the past several months, cases of polio have been reported in New York, the United Kingdom, and Israel, underscoring the need for safer and more effective vaccines. Over the past nearly two years, University of Vermont Vaccine Testing Center researchers have been conducting trials on two experimental polio vaccines poised to help accomplish global eradication.

Polio remains endemic in only two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – where wild type (not vaccine-derived) poliovirus infections are still occurring.

Like SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, poliovirus is an RNA virus. It infects the nervous system, which is why infected persons experience paralysis. But polio is eradicable, says Jessica Crothers, M.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and lead investigator on the polio vaccine trials, “because it is a human reservoir disease, meaning that it does not naturally infect animals other than humans.”

The first of the two trials, launched at UVM in 2021, was a first-in-human Phase I study of a novel Oral Polio Vaccine (nOPV1,3). Enrollment for that study recently ended and the second trial, which is a modified version of the injectable polio vaccine, launched this fall. Both aim to reduce shedding of the virus into the environment, which then puts unvaccinated individuals at risk of infection.

Read the full article.

A Reflection from Dr. Patti O'Brien: The 25th Annual Women's Health & Cancer Conference

The University of Vermont Cancer Center hosted the 25th annual Women's Health and Cancer Conference at UVM's Davis Center on September 30. In celebration of the event's 25th anniversary, Patti O'Brien, M.D., a retired Larner College of Medicine faculty member who organized the first conference in 1997, provides a reflection on the founding and evolution of the conference over the past two-and-a-half decades. Watch the video.

In recognition of Dr. O'Brien's contributions, the Courtney and Victoria Buffum Family Foundation established the Patti O’Brien, MD Women’s Health and Cancer Fund to support the conference every year through a $1 million endowment. The Buffam Foundation board of directors awarded this grant to honor the late Vicki Buffum, whose advocacy aimed to help women and cancer patients get support in every way possible.

Pictured above: Video image of Dr. O’Brien speaking at the Women’s Health and Cancer Conference. 

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