Ed and Eimear took part in a STEM camp sponsored by UW ISCRM down at WF West High School in Chehalis the week of August 4th. Over 90 HS students heard from the Kelly/Yeung labs about "New Approach Methodologies for Medical Research". About two dozen ISCRM members took part in this annual event including Kelly Lab alumni in the group photo: Dr. Chris Arian (ISCRM post-doc in Young lab) and Mickey Ruiz (Pharmacology graduate student in Chavkin lab). 

Her poster was titled "iPSC-derived primordial germ cell-like cells: A tool for the future of reproductive research" 

His talk was titled "Mechanistic Toxicology of Ochratoxin-A in the Proximal Tubule"

Her poster is titled: Effect of Cadmium Exposure and Akkermansia muciniphila Supplementation on the Expression of Drug-Processing Genes in Mouse Liver

Our lab is passionate about sparking curiosity and excitement in high school students by opening our doors and minds to them. Through interactive lab tours and engaging discussions about our ongoing research projects, we aim to make science and discovery feel real, tangible, and within reach. By showcasing the practical applications of classroom concepts and offering a glimpse into the collaborative nature of research, we hope to inspire students to explore STEM pathways and see themselves as future scientist. 

We have had the honor of hosting four lab tours in the past year!

Maria recently gave a presentation at PANWAT about a pilot project on analyzing liver drug-processing-gene expression in mice who were treated with cadmium, supplemented with the probiotic Akkermansia muciniphila, or both at the same time. A. muciniphila is an emerging probiotic which has been previously found to prevent cadmium-induced memory deficits in mice when co-administered with cadmium. Due to the interest in the neuroprotective properties of A. muciniphila, it is important to study its impact on the liver and drug-processing genes to assess the potential for drug-drug interactions. In this pilot study, cadmium was found to up-regulate a number of drug-processing genes, and some of them appeared to partially normalize with A. muciniphila co-treatment, the mechanism of which requires further investigation.

In this “Behind the Papers” post, written by Dr. Edward Kelly, he describes the challenges faced to modify the kidney MPS perfusion system from a terrestrial lab to the ISS-NL for our two successful launches in 2019 (CRS-17) and 2022 (CRS-22) as well as the experimental results from CRS-17.

Published in Social Sciences and General & Internal Medicine: LINK

 Dr. Ed Kelly and Brad Hansen attended the ISCRM Fellows Symposium together. Where Brad presented a brief intro to their research project. It’s a yearlong fellowship where Brad will focus on stem cell derived testis models.

Yousif successfully defended his Master's Thesis, which evaluated long term kidney microphysiological system function and response to toxicants.

Pictured:

1) Keemia and Mei present their work

2) Mahi with her graduate mentor, Brad

3) Angela with Dr. Ed Kelly 

4) Angela with her graduate mentor, Anish

Kidney disease researchers at the University of Washington will use a multimillion-dollar federal grant to advance drug-development platforms that would reduce reliance on animal tests in the production of future medications. 

 “The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 permits the use of alternative approaches to animal testing for predicting drug safety prior to initiation of trials in humans,” said Kelly. “As a toxicologist, being able to use alternative technologies to animal testing is an important advancement, with respect to the 3Rs of toxicology: reduce, refine and replace animal testing.”

Alternatives named in the Modernization Act include microphysiological systems such as organoids and organs-on-chips, he added. “Our group has developed kidney models for both alternatives and with this funding we propose to qualify the models to meet FDA regulatory requirements.”

Read more about this exciting new development HERE!

This NIH grant has been awarded to Pharmaceutics faculty members, Drs. Kelly, Unadkat, Wang, and Arnold, in order to start the Transporter Elucidation Center (UWTEC). The research goals of UWTEC are to identify, quantify and characterize solute carrier (SLC) and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in the human placenta and developing gut. This work will lead to better understanding of drug uptake and exposure to the developing fetus and infants. 

Dr. Kelly featured in a documentary discussing alternatives to animal testing.

Watch the documentary HERE.