Biomedical Odyssey

Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Conceptual graphic of mRNA, vaccines and biotechnology

Reading and Writing the Immune System

August 5, 2021

What will be the next advance in immunology? Speculations on reading and writing the immune system from neuroscience Ph.D. candidate JJ Kim.

Jeong Jun Kim ⋅ Perspectives in Research Autoimmune Disease, biotechnology, immunology, immunotherapy ⋅

A 3D render of DNA modification.

Cancer and the Mutation Paradox

May 10, 2019

It has long been known — thanks largely to work by Johns Hopkins’ own Bert Vogelstein — that cancer is a disease generally caused by an accumulation of genetic mutations. This is sometimes referred to as the somatic mutation theory.1 This hypothesis states that each time a cell divides and grows, there are opportunities for […]

Pavan Shah ⋅ Perspectives in Research Cancer, gene mutation, immunotherapy ⋅

A 3D illustration of a cancer cell and lymphocytes.

Solving the CAR-T Conundrum

October 11, 2018

The development and commercialization of cancer immunotherapies, a class of treatments that fights cancer by fortifying the immune system, has advanced at a rapid pace. Prior to 2017, most cancer immunotherapies were composed of antibodies that selectively flag cancer cells for destruction by other cells in the immune system. In mid-2017, the FDA approved Kymriah […]

Roshan Chikarmane ⋅ Perspectives in Research cancer treatment, immunotherapy ⋅

A 3D illustration of virus and antibodies.

The Link Between Metabolism and Anti-Tumor Immunity: Implications for Glioma Therapy

September 19, 2018

As a callow biochemistry student, I often grappled with the onerous task of memorizing metabolic pathways. Gradually, however, I came to appreciate the underlying simplicity: Complex macromolecules are broken down to the same simple molecule. Metabolism is the workhorse of the cell — efficiently mining nutrients for energy, shunting surplus nutrients to build cellular structures, […]

Priya Pai ⋅ Perspectives in Research cancer treatment, glioma, immunotherapy, study ⋅

antinodies cancer iStock 583734272

A Novel Cancer Immunotherapy Unveiled: Y-Traps

March 23, 2018

The human immune system is composed of a diverse array of cells, which collectively work to exterminate pathogenic entities in the body. Yet this system is able to recognize host, or self, tissues as “friendly” through a variety of so-called immune checkpoint signals. Many cancer types — including melanomas and breast cancers — exploit this […]

Roshan Chikarmane ⋅ Perspectives in Research Cancer, immunotherapy ⋅

Success Follows When Biomedical Engineering and Immunology Collaborate

May 13, 2016

Kaitlyn Sadtler, a freshly minted Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins’ Cell and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program and Jennifer Elisseeff, Ph.D.,  recently had her thesis work published in Science, where she demonstrated the necessity of the adaptive immune system in fostering a pro-healing response following biomaterial implantation to provide scaffolding for cell growth and tissue repair. Extracellular […]

davidwilson ⋅ Perspectives in Research Biomedical Engineering, immunotherapy ⋅

Cancer Immunotherapy: The Next Breakthrough Gains Footing

March 5, 2015

What do faulty brakes on a car and cancer cells have in common? For one, cancer cells have found ways to evade checkpoints that the body’s cells use as brakes to stop them from dividing out of control. By this same analogy, the accelerator in a cancer cell is always pushed to the floor, and […]

Paul Sirajuddin ⋅ Perspectives in Research cancer drugs, immunotherapy ⋅

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