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WaNPRC Scientists May Have Colorblindness Cure

University of Washington reseachers team with biotech firm to cure colorblindness. — Jay and Maureen Neitz of the University of Washington have teamed with a California biotech firm to cure 10 million Americans with colorblindness.

For the more than 10 million Americans with colorblindness, there’s never been a treatment, let alone a cure, for the condition that leaves them unable to distinguish certain hues. Now, for the first time, Jay and Maureen Neitz of the University of Washington have teamed with a California biotech firm to develop what they say may be a solution: a single shot in the eye that reveals the world in full color.

The husband-and-wife scientists, who have studied the vision disorder for years, have arranged an exclusive license agreement between UW and Avalanche Biotechnologies of Menlo Park. Together, they’ve found a new way to deliver genes that can replace missing color-producing proteins in certain cells, called cones, in the eyes.

“I don’t think there’s any question that it will work,” said Maureen Neitz, 57, a UW professor of ophthalmology.

New Colorblindness Treatment

The new treatment — which may be tested in humans within two years — could be a boon for the 1 in 12 men and 1 in 230 women with color-vision deficiency.

The trouble occurs when people are born without one or more of the three types of color-sensing proteins normally present in the cones of the retina. The most common type is red-green colorblindness, followed by blue-yellow colorblindness. A very small proportion of the population is completely colorblind, seeing only shades of gray.

Because they can’t perceive certain colors, they see hues in muted or different shades than people with normal vision.

Brian Chandler, 38, of Seattle, said he first noticed he was colorblind in seventh grade, when he started getting C’s and D’s on drawings in science class.

“I was coloring green stuff brown and brown stuff green,” recalled Chandler, a traffic-safety engineer.

Read entire article from Seattle Times newspaper.

UW Researchers Look for Best Way to Diagnose Tuberculosis

World Tuberculosis Day recognizes the continued impact of tuberculosis (TB). More than 9 million people worldwide fell ill with TB in 2013 and 1.5 million died. — An oral swab is obtained from a monkey owner in Bangladesh to test for the presence of M.Tuberculosis DNA by WaNPRC researcher, Lisa Jones-Engel.

By Kevin Kwong
The Daily

Annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) commemorates March 24 as World Tuberculosis Day in recognition of the continued impact of tuberculosis (TB), a widespread, and in many cases, fatal disease. By their estimate, more than 9 million people worldwide fell ill with tuberculosis in 2013 and 1.5 million died.

“The human impact of the disease is very much in our minds right now,” Gerard (Jerry) Cangelosi, an infectious disease researcher at the UW, said on World TB Day 2015. “In our field, numbers mean a lot. And for TB, the numbers are staggering.”

Cangelosi is one of many researchers worldwide working on ways to reduce tuberculosis’ health impacts. In collaboration with other researchers at the UW and the South African TB Vaccine Initiative (SATVI), Cangelosi hopes to develop an alternative method to diagnose TB.

The oral swab PCR (OSP) test aims to directly detect the disease-causing agent rather than the body’s response to it, like in current TB tests.

In OSP, samples taken with a swab from the inside of the cheek is analyzed for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA. This is thought to be indicative of infection.

Diagnosing Tuberculosis

Currently, TB is generally diagnosed by obtaining and testing sputum, a thick mucus coughed up from the lungs of sick individuals. However, researchers say sputum testing is not optimal for detecting individuals with TB early. Not everybody infected with M. tuberculosis becomes sick. In most cases, the bacteria is latent in infected individuals.

“The only time that transmission takes place is between when the TB becomes active and when it is diagnosed,” Cangelosi said. “If the case-finding can be done earlier in the process, we can more readily prevent transmission and the disease.”

Read full article at DailyUW.com.

WaNPRC Study Examines Safety of Pediatric Vaccines, Such as MMR

No Neurodevelopmental or Behavioral Deficits Found in Vaccinated Non-Human Primates

Critical study of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) pediatric vaccine shows no harm to neurodevelopment, cognition or behavior in vaccinated nonhuman primate infants. Five-year case-control study by researchers at the Washington National Primate Research Center is published as United States sees measles resurgence.

The study results appeared last week in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The study of infant macaques compared the safety of different child-immunization schedules. The study included the schedule from the 1990s, which involved several thimerosal-containing vaccines. Some animals instead received a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which does not contain thimerosal, and some received a saline injection. Another group of animals were vaccinated following the current pediatric immunization schedule.

“This comprehensive study of infant primate development, including analyses of learning, cognition, and social development, indicated that vaccinated primates were not negatively affected by thimerosal, and developed normally,” says lead investigator Laura Hewitson of The Johnson Center for Child Health and Development in Austin, Texas, and affiliate investigator at the WaNPRC.

What is Measles?

Measles is a highly contagious and fast spreading virus that is easily avoided with immunization, typically at 12 months of age. Measles can be deadly for infants and immune-compromised individuals. One out of 1,000 people with measles will develop inflammation of the brain, and about one out of 1,000 will die. It is recommended that anyone not already immunized against measles get immunized at this time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 644 cases of measles in 2014 and 125 so far this year. The CDC declared measles eliminated in the US in 2000. Recent resurgence is due in part to past false information that started an anti-vaccination movement.

What is Thimerosal and How is it Used?

Thimerosal is a mercury-containing compound. For decades it was employed to keep multi-dose vials of vaccines free from contamination by germs and bacteria. Concerns emerged in the 1990s about thimerosal’s potential to harm children’s brain development. In response, the Food and Drug Administration in 2001 recommended that manufacturers remove or reduce to trace amounts the thimerosal in pediatric vaccines – with the exception of multi-dose vials of inactivated flu vaccine.

Where was Study Conducted?

The study was conducted at the WaNPRC with pregnant female rhesus macaques provided by the California National Primate Research Center.

The WaNPRC performs critical biomedical research leading to new advances in science and medicine. WaNPRC researchers are working to develop effective vaccines and therapies for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases as well as new advances in genetics, neuroscience, vision, and stem cell biology and therapy. The WaNPRC directly supports the National Institutes of Health’s mission to translate scientific advances into meaningful improvement in healthcare and medicine.

Center Scientists Bring STEM-Based Educational Field Course to Native American Youth

Randy Kyes conducts annual educational field course with Native American Youth. For 25 years, Prof. Randy Kyes, in partnership with his international colleagues, have conducted annual educational field course focusing on conservation biology and global health for university students and professionals in countries around the world. Now Kyes and his colleagues provide a similar program to local students at Chief Leschi Tribal School in Puyallup, Washington.

“Given the growing national calls for greater STEM-based education field courses in the U.S., and a desire to engage and inspire our own ‘local’ indigenous youth, we have begun to expand our training programs here at home for students in the tribal secondary schools,” says Kyes.

Kyes along with colleague Dr. Pensri (“Elle”) Kyes conducted their first “mini” field course two years ago at the Quilluete Tribal School in La Push, Washington. The course was entitled “College-Prep Field Course in Conservation Biology & Global Health: At the Human-Environment Interface.” Now in June, 2014, the pair conducted the second college-preparatory field course for 14 middle and high school students at the Chief Leschi Tribal School. The field course is modeled after their successful university-level field courses and is designed to give students a “big picture” of the close relationship between environmental and global health.

The three-day educational field course consists of daily lectures and related field and lab exercises. Lecture material is presented at an advanced level to expose the students to college-level lectures. Students are introduced to topics such as conservation biology, field study methods, management and conservation strategies, primatology, aquatic bioindicators, the human-wildlife interface, issues in global health, animal research and translational science. Polly Olsen, Community Relations Director of the UW Indigenous Wellness Research Institute along with UW undergraduate Cassie Halls also partnered in the recent field course providing lectures and hands-on demonstrations of local ethnobotany and traditional medicines.

Based on the success of these initial college-preparatory educational field courses, Kyes plans to expand this outreach education program to other tribal schools in the area.

Prof. Randy Kyes leads the Washington National Primate Research Center’s Division of Global Programs, is Director of the UW Center for Global Field Study, and Research Professor in Psychology. Dr. Elle Kyes is a WaNPRC affiliate scientist for global field study.

Animals and Your Health at PAWS on Science

The Washington National Primate Research Center, Division of Global Programs hosted an exhibit entitled “Animals and Your Health” at UW’s annual science festival “PAWS-on-Science” April 4th – 6th 2014 at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.

The exhibit provided information for children (K-12) on methods used to study animals in the wild and included hands-on activities with some of the equipment and techniques used by researchers in the field. Children had opportunities to learn about radio telemetry, trap cameras, bio-indicator species, and biological sample collection.

“This exhibit is intended to demonstrate the close relationship between humans and the environment and how animals can provide the first indication of a decline in environmental health and the related implications for global health” said Randy Kyes, Research Professor and Head of the Division of Global Programs at the WaNPRC.

“One of the exhibit activities that is always a real hit is a hands-on demonstration of primate fecal sample collection to look for intestinal parasites,” Kyes said. “Of course no real fecal samples are used, but the fake ‘pooh’ attracts a lot of interest.”

This is the third year the Division has participated in this STEM-based educational outreach festival. The exhibit was also staffed by Dr. Pensri Kyes, Affiliated Scientist in the Center for Global Field Study and volunteer with the Division of Global Programs and Dr. Entang Iskandar, Visiting Scientist from the Primate Research Center at Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia.

Researcher Wins SPARK Competition Prize ‘Reimagining’ Chemistry Set

Prototype Toy Allows Kids to See Effects of Body’s Electrical Signals

SPARK Competition prize awarded to Robijanto Soetedjo, MD, PhD, for prototype toy allowing kids to explore electrical signals from the human body. Dr. Soetedjo created platform while trying to explain his research to his own children — Dr. Soetedjo is a neuroscientist with the University of Washington and Washington National Primate Research Center. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Society for Science & the Public awarded Dr. Soetedjo a second place prize worth $25,000 for their Science, Play and Research Kit (SPARK) challenge to reinvent a chemistry set for the 21st century.

Dr. Soetedjo developed a toy set that children can experiment with to see the effects of the electrical signals produced by their muscles, their hearts, and even their brains. Electrodes are attached to a part of the body, such as the forearm, and to another device that shows them the effects of their electrical signals. For example, by tightening a hand grip, the child can turn on a light, spin a propeller, control a motor or (through an audio amplifier) emit a sound. The toy set can also interface with a range of computer devices and helps opens up the space of neuroscience and biofeedback as areas for children to explore in play.

SPARK Competition

The SPARK Competition focused on science beyond chemistry, challenging the nation’s most creative minds to develop projects and ideas that will encourage imagination and interest in science and technology, inspiring today’s children – often through immersive play and learning through doing. Many of today’s scientific innovators – including Moore Foundation and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore – attribute their early fascination with science to their childhood chemistry sets. Yet, the chemicals in these classic sets are now illegal and replacement sets often lack elements of excitement and wonder. The competition sought to elicit new catalysts that could foster the persistent curiosity and creativity that lead to longer term engagement in science and engineering, as well as to put a spotlight on the importance of experiences that ensue from unscripted exploration and tinkering.

“As a whole, these [SPARK] winners conveyed an exciting variety of ways to get kids hooked on science and engineering,” said Paul Gray, PhD, interim president of the Moore Foundation.

One hundred twenty-five entries were received in the competition, which awarded a total of $136,000 in prize money. Sixteen projects were selected for recognition. View a full list of the winners. Entries went through several rounds of judging by groups of independent evaluators selected for their scientific, engineering or education expertise.

Read more about Dr. Soetedjo’s award-winning home invention in an article from the Seattle Times published April 9, 2014.

This is a personal project for Dr. Soetedjo and no state-funded time was
spent working on this personal endeavor.

PBS Films at WaNPRC

Three-part series, “Your Inner Fish” films at Washington National Primate Research Center. The show traces more than 350 million years of human evolution to show how human bodies have taken shape. PBS show is based on a book by paleobiologist Neil Shubin, who also hosts the series.

Your Inner Fish

Your Inner Fish is a scientific adventure that takes viewers from Ethiopia to the Arctic Circle on a hunt for the many ways that animal ancestors shaped our anatomical destiny. Shubin has spent much of his life searching for the deep pedigree of Homo sapiens. Using both the fossil record and DNA evidence, he traces various parts of our body’s structure to creatures that lived long, long ago. Along the way, he makes it clear that we can thank our fishy origins for many human characteristics.

The final episode in the series, “Your Inner Monkey,” was filmed in part at the Washington National Primate Research Center’s Infant Primate Research Laboratory. While at our facilities the crew captured the outstanding research of Drs. Tom Burbacher, Kim Grant, Jay Neitz and Maureen Neitz.

PBS Films at WaNPRC

During this episode, Shubin delves into our primate past. He travels from the badlands of Ethiopia, where the famous hominid skeletons “Lucy” and “Ardi” were found, to a forest canopy in Florida, home to modern primates. En route, he explains how many aspects of our form and function evolved. We learn that a genetic mutation in our primate ancestors conferred humans’ ability to see in color — but it was an advantage that led to a decline in our sense of smell. The shape of our hands came from tree-dwelling ancestors for whom long fingers made it easier to reach fruit at the tips of fine branches. Shubin concludes by tracing the evolution of the human brain — from a tiny swelling on the nerve cord of a wormlike creature, to the three-part architecture of a shark’s brain and the complex brain of primates. As Shubin observes, “Inside every organ, gene and cell in our body lie deep connections with the rest of life on our planet.”

Visit www.pbs.org/your-inner-fish to find air dates of this PBS series in your area. The site also includes classroom materials for further discussion.

Researchers hope to protect against HIV-like outbreak

By Bobbi Nodell and Kristen Woodward
UW Health Sciences | UW Medicine Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Researcher of HIV-like outbreak says Asian rhesus macaques to continue to thrive in human-altered habitats — Asian rhesus macaques, unlike many other species of primates, are going to continue to thrive in human-altered habitats, according to UW researcher Lisa Jones-Engel. Photo: Lynn Johnson

Throughout Asia, humans and monkeys live side-by-side in many urban areas. An international research team from the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Jahangirnagar University has been examining transmission of a virus from monkeys to humans in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most densely populated countries.

The scientists have found that some people in these urban areas are concurrently infected with multiple strains of simian foamy virus, including recombinant strains — those from more than one source — originally detected in the monkeys.

“These Asian rhesus macaques are Darwinian superstars,” said Lisa Jones-Engel, a primatologist with the Washington National Primate Research Center and the project leader. “They are very responsive to change and, unlike many other species of primates, they are going to continue to thrive in human-altered habitats.”

Could Simian Foamy Virus be Next HIV-Like Outbreak?

Simian foamy viruses, which are ubiquitous in nonhuman primates, are retroviruses that exhibit high levels of mutation and recombination – a potentially explosive combination.

In a paper published Sept. 4 in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infections, the scientists characterize the simian retroviral strains that are being transmitted between species and provide a glimpse into the behaviors of humans and monkeys contributing to the infections.

By analyzing what is happening at the human-primate interface, the researchers hope to protect humans from another deadly outbreak similar to HIV. They focus on Asia because that continent has witnessed the emergence of several infectious diseases in the past decade. Asia also has a volatile combination of a population that is increasingly mobile and with a compromised immune response living in proximity with animals.
A man with a performing monkey.

In the study, researchers collected biological samples from a group of nomadic people who travel throughout Bangladesh with their performing monkeys. The research team found that transmission of simian foamy virus between species occurred most commonly through bites.

In the study, researchers collected biological samples from hundreds of people and macaques in five urban sites, as well as from a group of nomadic people who travel throughout Bangladesh with their performing monkeys.

Read the full article from UW Today.

Fulbright Specialist Grant Awarded to Randall Kyes

WaNPRC Scientist Receives Fullbright Specialist Grant

Dr. Randall Kyes awarded with Fullbright Specialist grant. Kyes is a Core Scientist at the WaNPRC and Research Professor in Psychology and Adjunct in Global Health is the Director of the Center for Global Field Study with the University of Washington. Kyes will travel to Indonesia at the end of June for a one-month program that involves giving lectures and conducting short training programs focusing on “conservation biology & global health – at the human-environment interface.” During the program, Kyes will work with colleagues at the Univ. of Indonesia in Java; Hasanuddin Univ. and Tadulako Univ. in Sulawesi; and Andalas Univ. in Sumatra. This award extends the collaborative partnerships that were established during a special Fulbright recharging program conducted by the Univ. of Washington in the Fall of 2012 that involved hosting 14 senior scholars from Indonesia.

PBS Documentary Crew at WaNPRC

PBS films at Primate Center — PBS host, Neil Shubin, holds an infant macaque after learning proper handling procedure. The toys in the foreground were used in object permanence testing.

PBS/BBC-based TV production company and evolutionary biologist, Dr. Neil Shubin film at Washington National Primate Research Center. The crew captured the outstanding research of Drs. Tom Burbacher, Kim Grant, Jay Neitz and Maureen Neitz.

Primate Center researchers, research technicians and animal care staff worked with Center Programs and UW Medicine Strategic Marketing & Communications personnel to accommodate the filming while maintaining normal operations.

Although we won’t see the resulting documentary for some time, the Primate Center received laudatory feedback from the author, producer and film crew.