And he thinks he’s found the underlying ailment: ‘the sitting disease.’”

Click here to read the full Star Tribune article.

Mayo and U of M researchers on Tuesday unveiled their health and wellness mobile lab at the Minneapolis headquarters of home-keeping products company Caldrea.”

Click here to read the full Finance & Commerce article.

In case you missed some of the reporting or want to revisit the stories, here is a recap of the week’s
coverage:

• Paula Deen announces she has Type 2 diabetes.
• David Etzwiler named Executive Director of Decade of Discovery and was mentioned in the Post Bulletin article, “The Decade” names executive director.
• MPR launches “The Burden of Diabetes; The Hope for a Cure,” a series of reports led by reporter Lorna Benson focused on diabetes in Minnesota. The package highlights the Decade of Discovery and talks to several U of M and Mayo Clinic researchers, doctors and patients.
  • In addition to feature stories running during “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered”, content on MPR’s web site includes text from the stories and additional audio content featuring Meri Firpo, Victor Montori, Betsy Seaquist and Alexandra Carlson.
  • The MPR series was picked up by other news sites across Minnesota, including the Winona Daily News, Austin Daily Herald and Fargo Forum.
• KARE 11  featured a story on diabetes in Minnesota this week that included an interview with Dr. Seaquist and information about the mission and work of the Decade of Discovery.
• On Thursday, MPR hosted a live chat with Dr. Rizza from Mayo Clinic and Dr. Lisa Chow from the University of Minnesota about the latest research and practices in diabetes prevention and care of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, with real-time questions and answers from Minnesotans across the state.
• Finally, Dr. Seaquist and Dr. Rizza talked Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes – the scope of the disease, its impact, and the most promising avenues of research – this morning on MPR’s “Midmorning with Kerri Miller.”

Special thanks and recognition to the doctors, researchers and staff  the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic for taking the time to spread the word of Decade of Discovery via these important and impactful media opportunities.

It was an exciting week for those of us involved in the Decade of Discovery and the Minnesota Partnership, and we look forward to additional opportunities to share the promise of our work with each other and all Minnesotans!

In his role, Etzwiler will lead the operations of the Decade. Central to Etzwiler’s responsibilities will be strategy development and execution. Additionally, Etzwiler will engage stakeholders inside and outside of the Decade’s partner institutions, Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota.

The former vice president of community affairs and executive director of the Medtronic Foundation, Etzwiler is recognized by his peers as a leader in business, government, and philanthropy. During his tenure at Medtronic, he led the foundation through a nearly five-fold annual operating increase and established it as a global leader in patient-centered care. Etzwiler also spearheaded Medtronic’s first corporate citizenship initiative and subsequent ranking on Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s Top 100 list.

With an education capped by a master’s in public policy and J.D., Etzwiler’s counsel has been sought as a professional and as a board member. Prior to Medtronic, Etzwiler led state-wide reform efforts in domestic violence, served as interim executive director of a human service and mental health center, and was a member of the executive team of The Family Partnership – a support and advocacy organization for children and families. He has served on numerous boards including the National Urban Fellows, the Sexual Violence Center, the Minnesota Private Colleges Council, and the Children’s Theatre Company. He is a member of the Council on Foundation’s board of directors, chairs its Global Committee, co-chairs the 2012 Task Force on the Future of Corporate Philanthropy, and is the immediate past chair of the Council’s Corporate Committee.

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Read more about the award-winning projects and their researchers by accessing the news release here.

“We continue to be impressed by the efforts of the researchers at Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota to find ways to work together on projects that have a strong chance one day to improve people’s health while also strengthening the state’s economy,” says Eric Wieben, Ph.D., Partnership director for Mayo Clinic. “By combining the skills and resources of the state’s two largest research institutions, we’re able to create research opportunities that might not otherwise be possible.”

“The projects being funded this year represent some of the best science anywhere, and encompass innovative approaches to some of the most important health issues in Minnesota,” says Tucker LeBien, Ph.D., Partnership director for the University. “The research performed by these teams could ultimately impact the lives of many Minnesotans and citizens beyond our borders.”

Founded in 2003, the Minnesota Partnership is a collaborative initiative among Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota and the state of Minnesota. Every year it awards two-year grants for select projects in which Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota researchers combine forces to conduct research that neither institution would be able to do on its own. The goal is to develop findings that will attract continuing support from federal or private sources, or by developing intellectual property that may eventually be marketed. To learn more about the Partnership, visit its website at www.minnesotapartnership.info.

These projects received funding from the Partnership: Novel Tissue Engineering of Patient-Specific Islet Cells for Diabetes Therapy – $648,645
Jonathan M.W. Slack, Ph.D., F.Med.Sci, University of Minnesota; and Yasuhiro Ikeda, D.V.M., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. More than 180 million people worldwide have the disease, and approximately $170 billion of Medicare funding is spent on diabetes-related issues. The cost to Minnesota is estimated to exceed $2.5 billion annually.

One new method for treating diabetes is an islet transplant. Islets are clusters of cells found in the pancreas. Islets secrete hormones, including those that regulate glucose (blood sugar) levels. In some types of diabetes the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells, preventing the body from controlling blood sugar levels. In an islet transplant, insulin-producing cells are taken from the pancreas of a deceased organ donor and grafted into a patient. Unfortunately, the supply of islets is limited and patients who get the procedure must take anti-rejection medication for the rest of their lives.

This study proposes using induced pluripotent stem cells, which are similar to embryonic stem cells but can be grown from adult tissues to create insulin-producing cells that can be used for islet transplants. This approach would solve the problems of limited supply and rejection because patients provide their own cells to produce the new islets. If successful, this approach could limit the need for transplants.

This project supports the “Decade of Discovery,” the Partnership’s initiative to optimally treat and, ultimately, cure Type I and Type II diabetes. The goal is to be able to treat all diabetes symptoms at the end of 10 years and in the next 15 years develop a cure for the disease using cellular and genetic tools.

Microfluidic Neurotechnology for Neuronal Survival and Regeneration – $799,516
Sang-Hyun Oh, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and Moses Rodriguez, M.D., Mayo Clinic

What if it was possible to stop the loss of neurologic function caused by diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer’s disease? Or, better yet, can we reverse the neurological damage caused by such diseases?

Neurons, or nerve cells, have axons: long fibers that send outgoing messages from those cells. This research project will study the signaling process of the axons, and how the use of key antibodies may positively impact those axons and protect the neurons to improve neurologic function. The long-term goal is to produce antibodies that can be used to treat multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and even spinal cord injuries and strokes.

Cancer Drug Target Discovery from Genetic Interactions – $915,508
Chad Myers, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and Dennis Wigle, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Minnesota and in the United States, with more than a half-million cancer deaths nationwide in 2007. With that in mind, researchers will explore an exciting new avenue for cancer treatment called “synthetic lethality.” This approach targets the disruption of cancer cells through mutation of genes. Synthetic lethality is achieved when two genes are mutated to cause the death of a cell, where neither gene, mutated alone, could cause this to occur. This project will seek to discover genetic mutation combinations that will target and destroy cancerous cells while leaving noncancerous cells intact. The goal is to eventually create as many as 20 new drug candidates.

Function of Patient-Specific iPSC-derived Endothelium – $718,002
Robert Simari, M.D., Mayo Clinic; and Dan Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Vascular disease — any condition that harms blood flow — impacts millions of people each year in the form of heart attacks, strokes and other major health problems. This study will focus on treating vascular disease through the generation of new endothelial cells. These cells line the walls of the circulatory system and aid in blood flow. By creating new endothelial cells in patients whose cells are dysfunctional, proper blood flow — or at least improved blood flow — may be restored. Long term, this research could lead to new treatments for heart disease and other vascular disorders.

Development of Antibodies for the Detection of Topoisomerase I- and Topoisomerase II-DNA complexes – $434,252
Scott Kaufmann, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic; and Daniel Harki, Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Being able to rapidly and simply determine if a cancer treatment was working could not only help assure that patients are on the right track in their fight with the disease, but also could be used to screen new potential cancer drugs. Building on previous research, this study aims to develop new ways to monitor how a particular therapy is working for a patient by recognizing the effect of the treatment at a genetic level. Focusing on topoisomerase — enzymes vital to the proper function and stabilization of DNA — researchers will produce antibodies that can assess if DNA stabilization has taken place in tumor cells after drugs have been administered. Success could mean improved treatments for breast, ovarian, lung and colon cancer.

Rochester/Minneapolis, Minn. — The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics announced today the launch of Decade of Discovery. Building on the University of Minnesota’s and Mayo Clinic’s well-established strengths in diabetes research and treatment, the initiative will work to make transformational discoveries to end diabetes through research, broad penetration of best practices, treatment, intervention and prevention.

“Currently, one of every three Medicare dollars is spent on diabetes-related treatment in our country with at least $2 billion spent here in Minnesota,” said Robert Rizza, M.D., Executive Dean of Research at Mayo Clinic, endocrinologist and globally-recognized diabetes researcher. “When we look at the quality of life impact of diabetes combined with an annual price tag of $170 billion each year nationally, elevating and expediting Minnesota’s ability to tackle this disease is not only the right thing to do, it is a health and economic imperative.”

World-renowned scientists and diabetes experts from Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota will lead the Decade to Discovery research teams. The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics has been recognized many times by independent review committees, including the National Institutes of Health, for its groundbreaking progress in diabetes research and treatment.

“The demographic, health and economic challenges we face demand transformational approaches to how we treat and address diseases in our country,” said Frank Cerra, M.D., senior vice president for health sciences at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center and Dean, University of Minnesota Medical School. “Ending diabetes is an ambitious goal but failing to build on Minnesota’s existing strengths has far more risks than declaring our commitment to ultimately curing the disease. It’s time to be bold and this Partnership is ready for the challenge.”

The Decade of Discovery will be guided by an Oversight Committee comprised of respected global, national and local leaders from medical research, business/bio-business, civic leadership, philanthropic interests, disease advocacy groups and other impacted communities. The Oversight Committee will be co-chaired by Peter Agre, M.D. and Vance Opperman. Agre is a Nobel Laureate and Minnesota native currently serving as Board Chair with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and as director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. Opperman is President and CEO of Key Investments, Inc., a private investment company and serves on the board of directors for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.

“No other state can come close to the strength Minnesota offers in diabetes research,” said Agre. “Minnesota is uniquely positioned to succeed in this initiative, in large part, because of the partnership between Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. With Mayo’s standing as the leading center of endocrinology research and the University’s significant investments in the science of regeneration, investing in Minnesota’s globally-recognized expertise in diabetes is the key to reaching the ultimate goal of finding a cure to disease.”

“Putting our state in the position to end diabetes is Minnesota’s 21st century opportunity given the role that biomedical research and commercialization will play in the future of our economy,” added Opperman. “When we look to the future, the vitality of Minnesota’s economy will depend on our ability to invest in high-growth, value-added industries such as biotechnology. This initiative represents a world of medical and economic potential for Minnesota.”

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the State of Minnesota. To learn more about the Partnership, go to www.minnesotapartnership.info.

ROCHESTER/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Minnesota Partnership is helping scientists bring obesity research to the people of the state. An obesity research “laboratory on wheels” — complete with the latest equipment — is one of two groundbreaking infrastructure projects recently awarded. The other is state-of-the-art technology to advance genomic studies with zebrafish, a highly versatile animal model for studying genetic aspects of cancer and many other fatal diseases.

The motor home-sized laboratory is the brainchild of James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, and Robert Jeffrey, Ph.D., University of Minnesota epidemiologist. Their plan is to bring obesity research to people in the workplace, to schools and to underserved populations. The lab will be equipped with equipment to measure calorie expenditure, body mass and fat content indexes, and to collect survey data. Nearly 30 ongoing research studies at Mayo and the University could benefit from the mobile lab. The infrastructure award for this project is $900,000 over two years.

The technology that will help genetic researchers pinpoint causes of inherited disease is called ZFN. That stands for zinc finger nuclease technology, a special type of enzymes that can be customized to accurately cut DNA sequences of interest. This “molecular scissors” is valuable in modifying cells for research studies. Researchers Daniel Voytas, Ph.D., at the University of Minnesota, and Steven Ekker, Ph.D., at Mayo Clinic, will develop this gene-targeting resource with facilities at both institutions. The ZFN capability will allow sourcing at a fraction of the cost from outside suppliers. The $1 million award will underwrite the platforms, which potentially could benefit at least 18 current research projects at the two institutions.

Minnesota Partnership competitive infrastructure grants are awarded annually, based on funding from the Minnesota legislature. As with all Partnership awards, the proposals must reflect true collaboration, show the value of the project and demonstrate that it is an initiative that could not be accomplished by either institution alone.

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the State of Minnesota. To learn more about the Partnership, go to www.minnesotapartnership.info.

ROCHESTER/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is awarding nearly $5.4 million in state–funded research support to six research teams. This new round of scientific exploration will provide initial support for research on cancer, neurological diseases, heart disease, gastrointestinal conditions and nanotechnology that could impact a range of diseases.

“Once again, the scientific community at our two Minnesota institutions has developed creative and innovative plans of study, and we’re excited at the potential impact of this research on behalf of improved health and an improved economy,” says Mark Paller, M.D., Partnership program director at the University of Minnesota.

“These six projects reflect some of the best science and scientific minds in Minnesota. All of these projects have a strong likelihood of succeeding and advancing to the bioscience marketplace,” explains Eric Wieben, Ph.D., Partnership program director at Mayo Clinic.

Applications for the projects were requested last fall from University and Mayo Clinic researchers. Each research proposal has a principal investigator from each institution and must be a project that could not be completed by either organization on its own. Funding is for two years, with the goal of developing intellectual property or attracting additional research support from federal government or private sources.

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the State of Minnesota. To learn more about the Partnership, go to www.minnesotapartnership.info.

The awards will fund research for these projects:

New Generation Oncolytic Adenovirus for Refractory Cancers — $957,093
Masato Yamamoto, M.D., Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and John Morris III, M.D., Mayo Clinic

The goal of this project is to develop viral constructs that will have clinical impact on such cancers as prostate, breast, pancreatic, esophageal and lung and bring them to the threshold of clinical trials.

Towards Gene Therapy of Friedreich Ataxia and Other Mitochondrial Diseases — $904,102
Michael Koob, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and Grazia Isaya, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

This team has developed technology to engineer the mitochondrial genome in mammals and wants to use it to develop a gene therapy for Friedreich ataxia, a genetic neurodegenerative disease that causes muscle paralysis in the lower extremities.

Small Molecule Screens for Selective Growth Inhibitors in a Yeast Model of Familial Paraganglioma — $723,690
Gunda Georg, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and Jim Maher, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

The goal is to develop novel drugs that would stop small neuroendocrine tumors from becoming malignant cancers.

Cell Therapy of Cardiac Arrhythmias — $828,040
Robert Tranquillo, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and Douglas Packer, M.D., Mayo Clinic

This team aims to discover cell–based therapies for arrhythmias and develop them for treating cardiac patients.

High–Resolution Nano–LAMP Microarrays to Measure the Binding Strength of Therapeutic Human Natural Auto–Antibodies on Target Cell–Surface Antigens — $1,078,000
Sang–Hyun Oh, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and Moses Rodriguez, M.D., Mayo Clinic

The goal is to develop a nano–device to measure binding strength of antibodies on the surface of cells. The technique could impact multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injuries.

Hydrogen Sulfide: From Toxic Molecule to Therapeutic Agent — $895,000
Michael Levitt, M.D., University of Minnesota; and Joseph Szurszewski, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic

The goal is to develop sulfide–based drugs to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

ROCHESTER/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Medical scientists in Minnesota are focusing their expertise on a pest that destroys soybeans. The goal of the Minnesota Partnership team is to develop an insecticide that is safe for humans but will kill the soybean aphid, a bug that’s been ravaging Minnesota crops. Their findings appear in the journal Public Library of Science — PLoS One.

“We’ve shown in the laboratory that we’re 99 percent effective in inhibiting a key enzyme in two aphids, one that damages soybeans,” says Stephen Brimijoin, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic researcher on the team. “This means we should be able to stop the insect without harming other animals or humans because the target we’re hitting is selective to the aphid.”

Dr. Brimijoin collected soybean aphids from demonstration plots at the University of Minnesota Extension facility in Rochester and isolated the key enzyme in the aphids, while Yuan–Ping Pang, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic co–investigator, characterized the molecular structures of the target area.

“We’re reporting the development of a small molecule that blocks nearly all acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the greenbug and the soybean aphid, but without inhibiting AChE in humans,” says Dr. Pang. “Now we need to see how well that translates to the field.” Overseeing that phase will be David Ragsdale, Ph.D., an entomologist at the University of Minnesota and another co–investigator. The researchers estimate that phase of the project will begin in a few weeks.

“Our organization is excited about this project and closely awaiting the outcome,” says Gene Stoel, research chair, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. “This is a great example of how Minnesota’s medical and agriculture sectors can work together for everyone.”

Currently, no insecticide can counter the soybean aphid, according to Dr. Brimijoin. Various aphid species adapt to organophosphate insecticides and those chemicals can often prove toxic to birds and humans. Instead of targeting serine, as has been the case for decades, the small molecule developed by Dr. Pang focuses on a novel cystine target called Cys289, to which aphids and other insects cannot develop a resistance. Only 6 micromoles in size, the molecule caused “irreversible inhibition” in the greenbug. It had the same impact on the soybean aphid, though that data was too recent to include in the article.

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics has been funding research aimed at disease for five years. The soybean aphid research shows the broader benefits of modern genomic and molecular science in Minnesota’s top medical research institutions. It also demonstrates an expansion from treating or curing patients to preventing diseases through proactively improving environmental health.

Additional audio and video resources, including excerpts from an interview with Dr. Brimijoin describing the research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog.

Other support for the soybean aphid research came from the U.S. Army, the University of Minnesota/Mayo/IBM Collaboration Seed Grant Program and Mayo Clinic. Co–authors of the PLoS One article are Sanjay Singh, Yang Gao, T. Leon Lassiter, and Rajesh Mishra, Ph.D., all of Mayo Clinic; and Kun Yan Zhu, Ph.D., of Kansas State University.

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the State of Minnesota. To learn more about the Partnership, go to www.minnesotapartnership.info.