Fostering innovative research collaborations that address unmet clinical needs was the impetus behind a new team science workshop series launched by Northwestern’s Chemistry of Life Processes Institute (CLP). The inaugural CLP-Feinberg Convergence Workshop, held on September 14, featured lightning talks by CLP faculty researchers and Feinberg physician-scientists who covered topics ranging from immunobiology and cardiovascular disease to organ transplantation and kidney diseases. CLP faculty speakers shared a number of innovative technologies for biomedical discovery, including top-down proteomics, nanoscale imaging methods, and a novel high-throughput platform for cell profiling.
“We want to workshop some ideas that might lead to new outcomes, share unique and differentiated technologies, and find places where we can foster new transdisciplinary collaborations to improve patient lives,” said CLP and Northwestern Proteomics director Neil Kelleher, PhD (Molecular Biosciences, Chemistry, Medicine) who moderated the program.
Rex Chisholm, Associate Vice President for Research at Northwestern, kicked off the workshop with welcoming remarks. The first half of the program led by Feinberg’s Department of Medicine Chair Douglas Vaughan, MD (Cardiology) featured faculty presentations by Satish Nadig, MD, PhD (Organ Transplantation), Alfred George, II, MD (Pharmacology), Daniela Ladner, MD, MPh (Organ Transplantation), and a Q&A moderated by Susan Quaggin, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension).
The second half featured the research programs and innovative technologies of CLP faculty members Vadim Backman, PhD (Biomedical Engineering, Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics), Joshua Leonard, PhD (Chemical and Biological Engineering), Shana Kelley, PhD (Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics), followed by a discussion moderated by Karl Scheidt, PhD (Chemistry and Pharmacology).
Afterwards, Nadig, Ladner and Quaggin shared some thoughts about the workshop and their research collaborations with CLP.
Improving transplant surgery outcomes
Nadig, the director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center and Chief of Organ Transplantation in the Department of Surgery in the Feinberg School of Medicine, joined CLP to broaden his perspective on how to attack problems related to organ transplantation.
“This idea of giving a bazooka instead of a targeted approach to prevent an organ from rejecting is always a challenge that we face in our clinical world,” says Nadig, the Edward G. Elcock Professor of Surgical Research and Professor of Surgery. “Anti-rejection medication can cause cancers, repeated infections, and diabetes. It can even cause long-term effects on the organs they are trying to protect.”
To better understand early predictors of transplant rejection, Nadig has begun a new research project with Kelleher to pinpoint the various types of proteins, or proteoforms, that contribute to organ rejection. He is also collaborating with CLP member YouYang Zhao, PhD, to investigate nanotherapeutic delivery of gene editing in organ transplantation.
The issue is the tissue
In addition to performing kidney and liver transplants, Ladner, Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of Research and Innovation in the Department of Surgery, performs hepatobiliary surgeries and surgeries on patients with kidney disease. She also conducts health service, epidemiological and risk prediction research.
“What I find interesting is combining what’s usually not been combined. For our clinical care, I think that’s what really brings things forward,” says Ladner, a member of the Comprehensive Transplant Center. “When you talk with the basic scientists like Neil [Kelleher], who is a world leader in top-down proteomics, they tell me the issue is the tissue.”
Among other areas like cancer, Ladner is interested in identifying the predictors of cirrhosis decompensation. Her group is collaborating with Kelleher to use top-down proteomics to determine potential markers in patients with the condition.
“It’s been a fantastic opportunity to do translational work, especially for those of us who are involved in clinical trials and clinical research,” says Ladner. Many solutions, such as the early rejection markers, are applicable to different kinds of organ transplantations, she explains. “That’s what I also find really compelling. If you have people who do cardiovascular investigations, there’s a significant amount, I can assure you, that would apply to transplant in one way or another. That’s the beauty in bringing together people who are usually not sitting in one room. Northwestern is great at making these connections. The Convergence Workshop was central to what we’re trying to do.”
Identifying new treatments for kidney diseases
“Some of the biggest barriers to developing new treatments for kidney diseases is the development of specific delivery mechanisms and biomarkers,” says Quaggin, the Charles Horace Mayo Professor and Chief of Nephrology and Hypertension and director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular and Renal Research Institute. “We’re going to have to think outside of the box.”
Quaggin, who is also the director of the George M. O’Brien Kidney Core Center (NU GoKidney), is preparing to partner again with CLP on a renewal grant for the center. Developing and identifying new treatments for patients with kidney disease are a big priority.
“What’s so great about the Convergence Workshop is that we just don’t know what we don’t know,” says Quaggin, the Charles Horace Mayo Professor and Chief of Nephrology and Hypertension in the Department of Medicine. “Even though I’m a bench researcher, there are activities going on at CLP and on the Evanston campus that, honestly, we never dreamed about. I think that’s where the opportunities come—bringing together people who are thinking about problems in very different ways. I think there’s an opportunity to catalyze discovery in that way.”
Quaggin looks forward to deepening her work with fellow CLP faculty members like Kelleher, Shana Kelley, PhD (Chemistry), and Evan Scott, PhD (Biomedical Engineering) to identify new cell-specific biomarkers and delivery mechanisms.
“CLP was one of the reasons I came to Northwestern,” says Quaggin. “I wasn’t looking to leave Toronto, but I spent a day up at CLP, met Neil and others and I was just blown away by the possibilities. I saw an opportunity to really expand research to advance kidney health.”
Quaggin still believes very strongly in the Institute. “Every recruit I bring, or try to bring to Northwestern, who is a researcher, I have them visit CLP. We worked very closely with CLP on the first O’Brien Center proposal and I’m excited about the renewal. I think it is going to lead to much closer collaborations.”
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by Lisa La Vallee