A Conversation with Dr. Jean Wilson, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School

Dr. Jean Wilson from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, speaks here with Ushma Neil of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). Dr. Wilson was the editor-in-chief of the JCI between 1972 and 1977. Before retiring, Dr. Wilson's research centered on both cholesterol metabolism and steroid hormone action and laid the groundwork for understanding male/female genital development. His studies of testosterone biology led to the first medical therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Ushma S. Neill obtained her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University studying pulmonary mechanics and used her Marshall Sherfield Postdoctoral Fellowship at Imperial College, London, to study vascular permeability. After 2 years as an editor at Nature Medicine, she joined the JCI in March 2003 as Executive Editor. In May 2012, Ushma became Director of the Office of the President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation is a top-tier venue for critical advances in biomedical research. The JCI has a 2011 Impact Factor of 13.069 and a 5-year Impact Factor of 15.430, placing it second in the category of Medicine, Research and Experimental. This along with free access to all of its research articles makes the JCI a prestigious, high-impact venue for authors seeking the broadest audience for their most important work.

The journal is headed by Editor in Chief Dr. Howard Rockman and an Editorial Board of peer scientists at Duke University Medical Center, the University of North Carolina, Duke-NUS, and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute whose depth and experience ensure fair and competent peer review.

Journal of Clinical Investigation: A Conversation with Paul Marks by Ushma Neil

Paul Marks is recognized as a leader in the cancer field and as a world-class scientist, clinician, and administrator. He served as president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) between 1980 and 1999 after serving as the dean (1970–1973) and vice president for Medical Sciences (1973–1980) of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S).

Marks led the discovery, testing, and recent approval of SAHA (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid), the treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. SAHA and other histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are now undergoing trials for a broad array of cancers.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation is a top-tier venue for critical advances in biomedical research. The JCI has a 2011 Impact Factor of 13.069 and a 5-year Impact Factor of 15.430, placing it second in the category of Medicine, Research and Experimental. This along with free access to all of its research articles makes the JCI a prestigious, high-impact venue for authors seeking the broadest audience for their most important work.

The journal is headed by Editor in Chief Dr. Howard Rockman and an Editorial Board of peer scientists at Duke University Medical Center, the University of North Carolina, Duke-NUS, and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute whose depth and experience ensure fair and competent peer review.

Ushma S. Neill obtained her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University studying pulmonary mechanics and used her Marshall Sherfield Postdoctoral Fellowship at Imperial College, London, to study vascular permeability. After 2 years as an editor at Nature Medicine, she joined the JCI in March 2003 as Executive Editor. In May 2012, Ushma became Director of the Office of the President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Journal of Clinical Investigation: A Conversation with Francis Collins by Ushma Neil

Ushma Neil of the Journal of Clinical Investigation continues her Conversations with Giants in Medicine with Francis Collins, a scientist who needs little introduction to the biomedical community. After getting his PhD in Physical Chemistry at Yale, and his medical degree at the University of North Carolina, Collins zeroed in on genetics as his area of concentration, and is noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes, and later his leadership of the International Human Genome Project, which culminated in April 2003 with the completion of a finished sequence of the human genome. Since August 2009, Collins has served as the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation is a top-tier venue for critical advances in biomedical research. The JCI has a 2011 Impact Factor of 13.069 and a 5-year Impact Factor of 15.430, placing it second in the category of Medicine, Research and Experimental. This along with free access to all of its research articles makes the JCI a prestigious, high-impact venue for authors seeking the broadest audience for their most important work.

The journal is headed by Editor in Chief Dr. Howard Rockman and an Editorial Board of peer scientists at Duke University Medical Center, the University of North Carolina, Duke-NUS, and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute whose depth and experience ensure fair and competent peer review.

Ushma S. Neill obtained her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University studying pulmonary mechanics and used her Marshall Sherfield Postdoctoral Fellowship at Imperial College, London, to study vascular permeability. After 2 years as an editor at Nature Medicine, she joined the JCI in March 2003 as Executive Editor. In May 2012, Ushma became Director of the Office of the President of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Fibrocell CEO David Pernock on Fibroblasts and LAVIV; Other Projects in the Works

Fibrocell Science, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: FCSC) is a biotechnology company focused on developing autologous cell therapies for aesthetic, medical and scientific applications. Fibrocell Science is committed to advancing the scientific, medical and commercial potential of autologous skin and tissue, as well its innovative cellular processing technology and manufacturing excellence.

The company makes LAVIV (azficel-T), a groundbreaking new way to rejuvenate skin. LAVIV is the first and only FDA-approved treatment that uses a patient’s own collagen-producing cells (fibroblasts) to improve the look of smile lines. LAVIV is available exclusively through Fibrocell-trained, board-certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons. An ever growing list of practicing dermatologists and surgeons is available at MyLaviv.com. 

In a recent video interview, Fibrocell CEO David Pernock explains more about what a fibroblast is and how the company's process works: 

“The fibroblasts that we have reside directly under the dermis of the skin and what they're responsible for is the production of collagen and other growth factors, which help to support the skin." He explains that when we age, our number of fibroblasts diminishes. As a result, the skin looks thinner and wrinkles appear.

He continues,

"What we do, through a revolutionary process - actually the first and only of its kind in the world - is to take a small sample of skin from a patient, separate the fibroblast cell, [and] reproduce hundreds of millions of fibroblast cells directly from the patient for reintroduction underneath the skin." 

View the full video below.

See Wikipedia.com for more information on fibroblasts. 

Fibrocell is currently working on other applications for LAVIV, including acne scarring, restrictive burn scars, and vocal cord scarring. The company also has several additional projects in the works, including a personalized skin care cream as a complimentary sale to LAVIV as well as a stem cell program with UCLA and Mit. The company has announced an exclusive license with UCLA on Dermal Cell Research, and a research collaboration with MIT. 

For more information on Fibrocell, see the company's August 2012 Investor Presentation below. 

Fibrocell science investor-presentation-august_2012 from UpGraded Strategies

Fibrocell Science Inc. Initiates Private Stock Sale, Partners with Intrexon Corp. - $FCSC

Fibrocell Science Inc. (OTC: FCSC) has initiated a private stock sale in order to raise $45 million. The sale is restricted to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. The company has also formed a partnership with Intrexon Corp., a Blacksburg, Virginia-based synthetic biology company, to further develop its laViv cell therapy technology.

The Exton, Pa., company said the private stock sale involves a select group of institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals, including NRM VII Holdings, a Third Security affiliated fund.

Fibrocell’s laViv launched in 2011 to remove wrinkles. It extracts and multiplies a patient’s collagen-producing cells, then re-injects those cells into the patient. To date, laViv is the only FDA-approved cell therapy technology in aesthetic dermatology. Read more here. 

In a video about laViv’s FDA approval, CEO of Fibrocell Science Inc. David Pernock says,

“Our FDA approval meant the world to our company. What we’re able to do with this support … is offer people a very natural way to correct their nasolabial folds - smile line wrinkles - and not use any synthetic products or mass-produced products—ours is 100 percent made for the patient, specifically for you. It’s a big deal for the company and a big deal for the patients.”

See the full video below.

Film Annex's Recent Guest, Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz, Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz is an American physician-scientist best known for his work with G protein-coupled receptors as well as the recent recipient of the the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Back in April, Lefkowitz visited the Film Annex studios for an interview as part of the Journal of Clinical Investigation's Conversations with Giants in Medicine video series. He was joined in the JCI interview by Dr. Joseph Goldstein and Dr. Michael Brown, the duo that won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine for their discovery of the LDL cholesterol receptor and its role in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.

In a NYTimes article about the prize, Lefkowitz was taken aback by the news: "I wear earplugs when I sleep, and so my wife gave me an elbow," he said. "And there it was, a total shock and surprise, as many before me have experienced." The win apparently changed Lefkowitz's plans for the day. "I was going to get a haircut," Dr. Lefkowitz said, "which if you could see me, you would see is quite a necessity, but I’m afraid that’ll probably have to be postponed."

You can watch Dr. Lefkowitz's JCI interview in the video below.

Interview with Chairman of UCSF Department of Medicine Dr. Lloyd Hollingsworth Smith, Jr.

Dr. Llloyd Hollingsworth Smith Jr., a Harvard University alumnus and chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, visited Film Annex’s studio for an interview with executive director of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Dr. Ushma Neill. The visit was part of the video series, Conversations with Giants in Medicine, which interviews Nobel Prize winners and renowned scientists and is produced in collaboration with JCI and hosted on its Web TV.

In the video, Smith discusses being chairman of the University of California’s medical school since the early 1960s. The university has the highest standards in patient care, teaching and research. Smith recalls medical school in Boston when he was 19 years old, as well as his experiences with the Navy as a young man.

“The remarkable thing was that the Pearl Harbor happened while I was a freshman [at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.], and this remarkably altered the career and aspirations of all of us at that age,” Smith said. “I was 17 at the time and we were, quickly, later that year taken into uniform and told if we could be admitted into medical school, the Army—or Navy, in my case—would send you to whichever institution you were admitted to.”

He also spoke about getting the first artificial kidney to work in military medicine during the Korean War.

View the full interview below. 

Interview with Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Harold Varmus

Dr. Harold Varmus, the current Director of the National Cancer Institute, visited our studio for an interview with JCI's Executive Editor Dr. Ushma Neill, as part of the Conversations with Giants in Medicine video series. Those videos, produced in collaboration with the Journal of Clinical Investigation and hosted on their Web TV, show interviews with Nobel Prize winners and renown scientists.

After talking about what led him to the scientific field, Dr. Varmus reviews his productive career and accomplishments in science and medicine. He also describes his research in cells and cancer treatment that resulted in a Nobel Prize win.

Prior to his work as the Director of the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Varmus worked as the Director of the National Institutes of Health from 1993 to 1999 and the President of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from 2000 to 2010. He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine with Michael Bishop in 1989. This prize meant recognition of their discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes, which allows us to understand and treat cancer and know how cells live and grow today.

Photo credit: National Cancer Institute.