Morgridge Institute research and expertise is garnering attention from state and national independent media. Morgridge news has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Scientific American, USA Today, National Public Radio, Mashable, Science News and many more. Here are some recent highlights.
To stop pancreatic cancer from spreading, cut out the chatter
via Massive Science
Morgridge investigator Melissa Skala shares her perspective on a promising new approach to treating pancreatic cancer in this feature from Massive Science.
‘Smart’ toilet analyzes your pee, may revolutionize personal health
via USA Today
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin think their “smart toilet” is capable of monitoring your health and discovering early signs of diseases.
China Is Using DNA from Uighurs to Predict Physical Features
via The Scientist
Morgridge bioethicist in residence Pilar Ossorio comments on the ethical perils of China’s efforts to use DNA-based technology to recognize faces — a potential weapon for racial profiling.
Pagliarini lab members attend mitochondrial disease walk, interact with patients
via UW–Madison Biochemistry
Events hosted by UMDF have enabled the Pagliarini Lab to connect with those who may directly benefit from the findings of their research: patients with mitochondrial disease.
Professor will make ‘workhorse’ microscope more powerful
via UW–Madison
Kevin Eliceiri says he has always believed that science is best done by building on the work of others and openly sharing what you have done.
The weird science behind smart toilets and your pee
via Mashable
A new, small-scale study published in Nature this month seeks to determine whether regular urine collection and analysis of the thousands of telling, changing indicators in our pee can reliably serve up information about a person’s health.
Tiny aquatic animals may combat schistosomiasis
via ScienceNews
Tiny aquatic invertebrates, once a nuisance to scientists studying snail fever, may actually hold the key to fighting the spread of the tropical disease.
Tiny Creature Could Help Prevent Devastating Parasitic Disease
via Howard Hughes Medical Institute
HHMI reports on the Newmark Lab’s discovery and purification of a substance made by rotifers that can paralyze the worms that cause schistosomiasis, a dangerous infection that affects 200 million people worldwide.
U.S. Sen. Baldwin and the scientists carrying on her grandfather’s work
via Madison Magazine
At the Morgridge Institute for Research in the Discovery Building on the UW–Madison campus, David Green’s granddaughter — U/S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin — met the scientists who are continuing his early study of metabolism science, in hopes of breakthroughs that will help treat or reverse numerous diseases.
A Note to the Nobel Prize Selection Committee
via Scientific American
As 2019 Nobel Prize announcements unfold, Morgridge CEO Brad Schwartz reflected on his all-time favorite winner. “Howard Temin represented what society expects from us and had the characteristics that make society willing to fund our work,” Schwartz wrote in Scientific American. “People want scientists who get up every morning committed to finding the truth.”
Science Festival Panels Examine Science and Society
via Wisconsin Institute for Discovery
Panels on Oct. 17 and 18 during the Wisconsin Science Festival will examine representation and inclusion in science and science in entertainment and the arts. Both afternoon panels will take place in the Discovery Building.
Illuminating Better Cancer Treatments with Light
via Wisconsin Public Television
Peter Favreau, a postdoctoral researcher at the Morgridge Institute for Research, discusses how the use of Optical Microscopy is helping to create individualized effective cancer treatments based on each patient’s tumor cells.
Test Pilot Geese, Planetary Wrecking Balls and Super AI Vision: The Week’s Best Science GIFs
via Scientific American
The Morgridge Institute’s project to capture early developmental timing of humans “in a dish” was included in The Scientific American’s “Best Science GIFs” feature. This weekly feature highlights the most amazing short video clips produced in the world of science.
Morgridge Rural Summer Science Camp extended for additional week
via The Badger Herald
The Morgridge Summer Science Camp seeks to immerse rural high school students into research and allow them to experience a larger, urban research campus.
Morgridge-Milwaukee collaboration gets statewide recognition
via Wisconsin State Journal
Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, focused his statewide business column on July 21 on a novel eye research partnership between the Morgridge Institute and Medical College of Wisconsin.
Pagliarini wins young scholar honor
via American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Morgridge Institute metabolism investigator Dave Pagliarini will receive the 2020 Earl and Thressa Stadtman Young Scholar Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). The award honors outstanding scholars with ten years or fewer of postdoctoral experience.
When Small Worlds Collide: Collaboration Behind the Microscope with Liz Haynes and Henry He
via Masters of Microscopy
Welcome to Masters of Microscopy: The People Behind the Lens, where we showcase and celebrate the individuals who are the heart of the Nikon Small World competitions. They are scientists, artists, researchers, educators and everyday curious individuals who uncover the fascinating microscopic world around us.
Growing transplantable arteries from stem cells
via FierceBiotech
Blood banks have been vital in medical care since the early 1900s, and now a team of scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Madison, Wisconsin, wants to take the concept a step further.
Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics’ $21 million plant is significant for regenerative medicine
via BizTimes
A new Madison stem cell manufacturing plant could have a significant impact on the Wisconsin medical landscape and the field of regenerative medicine, along with the local economy.
Faculty receive WARF, Kellett, Romnes awards
via UW–Madison
Dave Pagliarini, associate professor of biochemistry and director of the Morgridge Institute for Research’s Metabolism Theme, studies mitochondria — ubiquitous organelles essential for cellular metabolism. His lab integrates classic biochemistry with large-scale methodologies to systematically define the functions of uncharacterized mitochondrial proteins and to establish the detailed mechanisms that drive disease-related mitochondrial pathways.
Morgridge scientist named a ‘cool science image’ winner
via UW–Madison
Congratulations to Jiaye “Henry” He, a member of the Huisken Lab, for his second straight winning entry in the UW–Madison annual “Cool Science Image” awards.
Twice as nice: Skala earns pair of fellow honors
via Biomedical Engineering, UW–Madison
Melissa Skala, principal investigator at the Morgridge Institute for Research, has earned recognition in 2019 as a fellow of both the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and SPIE, an international society for optics and photonics.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
via Chan Zuckerberg Science Initiative
Imaging of molecules, cells and tissues is central to biomedical research and clinical practice, allowing scientists to understand and identify disease. Yet progress in the imaging field has been slowed by inadequate software and limited sharing of advanced microscopy methods. The CZI Imaging Scientists program aims to move the field of imaging forward by increasing collaboration between biologists and technology experts and improving the imaging tools that scientists use.
The Role of the Student Engineer in Medicine and Innovation
via Xconomy
In a March 18 Xconomy opinion piece, Morgridge Fab Lab Director Kevin Eliceiri describes how a trifecta of engineering training, clinical experience and entrepreneurship is putting Wisconsin students in a great position for future success.
How to get young scientists thinking about ethics? Cartooning, say UW researchers
via The Cap Times
A biomedical research institute is prompting young scientists to think about the ethics of their research — not through a rulebook or a lecture, but with a cartooning contest.
Seeing things more clearly, thanks to campus-wide microscopy effort
via UWMadScience
Give most kids a basic microscope and a leaf or a drop of pond water, and they are in awe of the, well, microscopic patterns and organisms they can now see. Give a cell biologist a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and they can understand how structures within cells are organized – and how changes in the structures contribute to diseases.
Conferences are Important for High School Students—Youth Apprentices and STEM Professional Development
via Promega Connections
Isabel Jones, Verona Area High School senior and second year YA, who works at the Morgridge Institute for Research, presented a scientific poster at one conference and spoke on a panel at another.
Scientists, ethicists slam decisions behind gene-edited twins
via Ars Technica
“There’s been very broad consensus that we shouldn’t be doing CRISPR on embryos yet.” Morgridge Institute bioethicist Pilar Ossorio speaks out about recent news of first human gene-edited babies.
UW researchers, doctors trying to better predict preterm birth
via Wisconsin State Journal
Preterm births — which can lead to infant death or disability — are on the rise, accounting for nearly 400,000 of the country’s 4 million annual births. But doctors have a hard time figuring out which pregnant women are likely to deliver early.
Lunchroom leftovers make for an ‘eye-opening’ science project
via Wisconsin State Journal
This year the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers and the Wisconsin Science Festival are partnering on a Statewide Science Challenge open to all K-12 schools. The 2018 challenge is called “Lunchroom Leftovers” and student teams are conducting detailed analyses of food waste in their school cafeterias.
Scientists seek to improve quality control for genome editing therapies in the eye
via UW–Madison
As gene editing therapies for macular degeneration and other visual disorders work their way into clinical trials, the University of Wisconsin–Madison is on the forefront of research into making sure they are safe and effective.
How microscopes are opening a door into an invisible universe brimming with life — Genius Moments
via Mashable
Meet Dr. Elizabeth Haynes and Jiaye “Henry” He. Their tiny zebrafish video just won first prize in the annual Nikon Small World in Motion Competition. It basically selects the coolest movies or time-lapse photos taken through a microscope.
Partnerships between universities, private sector working across Wisconsin
via Wisconsin Technology Council
At the UW–Madison, the progress of the Morgridge Institute for Research is another example. Partly financed with a $50-million gift from John and Tashia Morgridge of Cisco Systems fame, the private- non-profit biomedical research center is focused on novel strategies to improve human health.
Award Winning Videos Reveal The Weird And Beautiful Microscopic World
via Forbes
This week, Nikon announced the winners of the 2018 Nikon Small World in Motion contest. First prize went to Elizabeth Haynes and Jiaye “Henry” He of the University of Wisconsin–Madison for their mesmerizing time-lapse video of a zebrafish embryo growing its sensory nervous system over the course of 16 hours.
Award-Winning Microscopic Video of Growing Zebrafish Embryos Is Mesmerizing
via Gizmodo
A glowing, branching web slowly grows more and more tiny connections, with thin white tendrils reaching in to a black void. It looks like a fractal art piece. But in fact, it’s someone’s science research—the developing nervous system of a zebrafish embryo.
Trio of Morgridge Institute medical researchers to speak at Sept. 25 Innovation Network luncheon
via Wisconsin Technology Council
Three scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research will describe what brought them to Madison and how breakthroughs in medical engineering, regenerative biology and medical imaging will help save lives at the Tuesday, Sept. 25 Tech Council Innovation Network luncheon meeting in Madison.
Pushing toward personalized pancreatic cancer treatments
via College of Engineering
Melissa Skala and Paul Campagnola, a professor of biomedical engineering at UW–Madison, hope to make inroads toward improved drug therapies through a two-year National Institutes of Health Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant.
UW Carbone Cancer Center Study to look for ways to personalize therapy in colorectal cancer
via School of Medicine and Public Health
The study will use optical imaging techniques developed by Melissa Skala, a co-investigator at the Morgridge Institute, to monitor the evolution of 3D cancer tumor cultures over time.
HOSA students tackle tough subject
via Wisconsin State Journal
Dane County high school students visited the Skala Lab to tackle pancreatic cancer, the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in Wisconsin.
New imager identifies tissue types during surgery
via University of Wisconsin
OnLume, a spinoff from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is continuing to develop its system for identifying tissue types during surgery. The company’s technology causes chemical labels to glow in the operating room.
Cryo-EM Expert Elizabeth Wright Joining Biochemistry to Direct New Facility
via UW Biochemistry
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Biochemistry will welcome Elizabeth Wright in July as a faculty member and director of the department’s newly established cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) facility.
Mentoring, done right
via College of Engineering
A good mentor can make all the difference for finding the right career path. For biomedical engineering graduate student Amani Gillette, that difference was so striking that she wanted to give back to the mentored research program that had been critical for homing in on her own professional niche.
New course brings storytelling techniques to science
via University of Wisconsin
A new course teaches early-career scientists how to communicate their work outside of the lab, and is designed to turn real research into engaging stories, visuals and presentations.
Morgridge ‘titans’ of healthcare
via Madison Magazine
Morgridge’s own James Thomson (founder of Cellular Dynamics) and Rock Mackie (founder of Tomotherapy) are listed among the top nine “healthcare titans” fueling the Madison economy.
WARF announces annual grant figures and Innovation Award winners
via University of Wisconsin
At a ceremony honoring several of the year’s most outstanding inventions, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) announced that it has granted the Morgridge Institute for Research $19 million in grants for the 2017-18 academic year.
New 3D imaging technique for future precision medicine toolbox
via College of Engineering
For an illness like cancer, doctors often turn to computed tomography (CT) scans for a more definitive diagnosis, based on reconstructing a 3D organ from multiple 2D image slices. At the molecular level, such 3D scans could become an important part of precision medicine: a future of tailoring treatment decisions to each patient’s unique cellular features.
Study Shows HPV Works Across Cellular Borders to Drive Cervical Cancer
via School of Medicine and Public Health
Human papillomavirus (HPV) and the hormone estrogen are both linked to the development of cervical cancers, but how they work together has remained unclear. A new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers shows how the combination of two factors influences the local cervical environment and drives the progression of cancer development.
Quality and collaboration, not growth, should drive research institutions
via STAT
The crux of the problem is that, over the years, many leaders of research institutions have treated research as a volume business and focused more on money and operational size than on the discovery of new knowledge.
With heart cells, middle schoolers learn the hard lessons of science
via UW–Madison
The students are among a group of 12 in a Madison Metropolitan School District program called the Middle School Science Cohort, a program geared for students with a propensity for science and math. The setting is a teaching lab at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, most likely the only place in the country — if not the world — where adolescent learners conduct real science using the kinds of stem cells on the front lines of modern biology.