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LSUHS building laboratory to research infectious diseases

KTAL6 - The new Biological Safety Level three laboratory is currently being built at LSU Health Shreveport. It will allow the institution to do more research on infectious diseases. According to Chris Kevil, the Vice Chancellor for Research, the idea came during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Inside Research | 2022

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LISTING OF ALL THE NEWS FROM RESEARCH THROUGHOUT THE INSTITUTION:
The Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences works throughout the year to advance cardiovascular research

Shreveport Times - Dr. Wayne Orr, Professor and Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences said, "the Center is a group of faculty members across multiple departments who work together to build a nationally competitive research group here in Shreveport."

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Data Hint COVID-19 Vax May Improve Immunotherapy Efficacy in Some

Medscape - Alexandre Malek, MD, assistant professor of medicine at LSUHS, pointed to "a growing number of preclinical studies evaluating the role of vaccines as adjunct to immunotherapy to overcome cancer resistance by converting cold tumors to hot." That research includes a study of a seasonal influenza vaccine and another of adenoviral based-vaccines.

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LSUHS LARC hosts meeting on the threat of Methamphetamine use in Northwest Louisiana

LSUHS Louisiana Addiction Research Center hosted a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 9, to discuss methamphetamine as an emerging drug threat in our region. Local law enforcement and community leaders were invited to have an open conversation and share information on drug problems in the region and determine how to raise awareness.

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man looking through microscope in laboratory

Dr. Chris Kevil’s laboratory at LSUHS has discovered that a clinically approved cyclodextrin-based drug called Sugammadex can act as a hydrogen sulfide donor that restores vasoactive hydrogen. This innovation has already gone through initial in vivo testing with promising results.

Read More about LSU Health Shreveport and CarboHyde collaborate to develop cyclodextrins for restoring sulfide in various disease conditions
LSUHS and LSUS use AI to treat Cavernous Malformations

“Medicine in general is considerably complex and neurosurgery is extremely complex, with cavernous malformations among the most difficult to manage,” said Dr. Caleb Stewart, neurosurgeon at LSUHS. LSUHS, LSUS, Ochsner Health, and collaborators in Australia are now leveraging big data science and artificial intelligence (AI) to solve this challenge and improve care for patients.

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two scientists in lab

The Louisiana Board of Regents has supported full five-year approval for the Louisiana Addiction Research Center (LARC) and Center for Emerging Viral Threats (CEVT), with the CEVT continuing to be a designated Center of Research Excellence. The Board of Regents approval follows unanimous approval of both centers by the LSU Board of Supervisors earlier this year. Both centers were previously granted provisional approval and applied for full center approval earlier this year.

Read More about LSUHS Research Centers Receive Full Authorization from LSU Board of Supervisors and Louisiana Board of Regents
Center For Emerging Viral Threats  Reaches Milestone Of Sharing 15,000 Sars-Cov-2 Sequences To Global Database

The Center of Excellence for Emerging Viral Threats’ (CEVT) Viral Genomics and Surveillance Lab has surpassed uploading its’ 15,000th sequence to GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Influenza Data). The LSU Health Shreveport CEVT team has worked tirelessly since early in the COVID-19 pandemic to sequence and track variants of SAR-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

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Research captures unfolding cardiovascular toll from meth use

A massive new study spotlights the toll methamphetamine use may take on heart health, suggesting men, people with kidney disease and those with high blood pressure are especially at risk. While researchers don't fully understand how meth use increases the risk for heart problems, they do know it creates a lot of stress on the body, shared Dr. Chris Kevil, LSUHS Vice Chancellor for Research.

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student displays research poster

KSLA12 - Researchers and scientists who have been working with LSU Health Shreveport doctors to further their education finished out their summer program on Friday, July 29. Each of these students spent the past eight weeks practicing with with state-of-the-art equipment and resources under the leadership of their certified mentors and educators.

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lady at podium outside

The Center for Brain Health at LSUHS has received a $100,000 gift to create the Noel Foundation, Inc. Endowed Professorship Honoring Dr. Robert C. Leitz, III in Parkinson’s Disease Research. It will expand the study of age-related neurodegenerative diseases and fund neurological training equipment for students studying at LSUHS. 

Read More about Noel Foundation Gives $100,000 for Parkinson’s Disease Research to LSUHS Center for Brain Health
Bill Cassidy photo

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy was instrumental in the receipt of this funding for LSUHS, which will enhance the impact of the Center for Emerging Viral Threats (CEVT) as it is able to expand significantly in the new Center for Medical Education building. Additional medical education and research opportunities will yield enhanced economic impact to the region and the state.

Read More about Senator Bill Cassidy Secures $7M Federal Appropriation for LSU Health Shreveport Center for Medical Education and Emerging Viral Threats
CCDS Feist Symposium

The Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences held their inaugural Feist Cardiovascular Research Symposium on Monday, February 7, 2022. There were talks from many of their researchers and fellows as well as two external guest speakers.

Read More about CCDS Feist Symposium
Nicholas Goeders, PhD photo

LSU Office of Research - While almost all research on addiction to stimulants (such as meth and cocaine) remains focused on dopamine and the body’s pleasure-and-reward system, a researcher at LSU Health Shreveport, Nicholas Goeders, took a different approach. Instead of reward, he looked at stress.

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Adrian Almodovar and Dr. Krista Queen, lab photo, Shreveport Times

Shreveport Times - Research Notebook: Since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic scientists around the world have been working together on critical genomic sequencing efforts to better understand how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and evolves and help guide and evaluate public health response. 

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New COVID variant found in Louisiana by LSU Health Shreveport scientists

A new variant of COVID-19 has been identified in Louisiana by scientists at the LSU Health Shreveport Emerging Viral Threats Center. LSUHS announced this month that the B.1.630 variant had been sequenced and reported by the center, though health officials believe this variant's predominance is very low and much less transmissable than the deadly delta variant.

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LSUHS Pandemic Response

LSU Health Shreveport has been on the front line fighting the COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning. The establishment of the Emerging Viral Threats lab in March of 2020 led to mass testing and vaccination sites, clinical trials in patient treatment options and viral sequencing that discovered 7 COVID-19. variants.

Read More about LSUHS Pandemic Response
Delta’s highly infectious nature positions it to outcompete new variants, scientists say

Wall Street Journal - Some virologists believe the Delta variant evolved to maximize transmissibility and that its ability to spread rapidly will eventually reach a ceiling as more of the global population gets vaccinated. “It looks like this virus is already driving a Lamborghini right now in terms of transmissibility, so I’m not sure it can get much faster,” said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at LSU Health Shreveport who is studying coronavirus genetics. Read the full article.

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LSUHS Postdoctoral Fellow receives Award from American Heart Association

Mabruka Alfaidi, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in Pathology at LSU Health Shreveport, has been selected as a recipient of an American Heart Association Career Development Award. This prestigious award supports highly promising healthcare and academic professionals in the early years of their career by funding innovative research and training to assure the future success of the awardee as a cardiovascular independent scientist.

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LSU Health Shreveport post-doctoral fellow receives Career Development Award from American Heart Association

BIZ Magazine - Celeste Y.C. Wu, PhD, post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology at LSU Health Shreveport, was awarded the American Heart Association Career Development Award receiving $231,000 in funding.

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Nicholas Goeders, PhD, LSUHS faculty and internationally renowned expert, appointed to JanOne Scientific Advisory Board

PRNewswire — JanOne Inc. (Nasdaq: JAN), a company focused on developing treatments for conditions that cause severe pain and drugs with non-addictive, pain-relieving properties, today announced the appointment of Nicholas E. Goeders, Ph.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Goeders is considered one of the world’s leaders on the role of stress in drug addiction.

Read More about Nicholas Goeders, PhD, LSUHS faculty and internationally renowned expert, appointed to JanOne Scientific Advisory Board
LSU Health Shreveport receives grant for global response to pandemic threats

Louisiana Radio Network - The objective of the grant is to strengthen global capabilities to detect and respond to pandemic threats in the future. Director for Emerging Viral Threats at LSUHS Dr. Andrew Yurochko said the award is indicative of LSU Health Shreveport’s strides in detecting variants and assisting with vaccine rollout.

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LSU Health Shreveport Receives $730,000 in NIH Funding for Sequencing of COVID-19

Red River Radio - Work by Drs. Jeremy Kamil and Rona Scott along with COBRE principal investigators Drs. Andrew Yurochko and Chris Kevil has produced and shared 2,839 full coverage SARS-CoV-2 genomes, which amounts to over 60% of the SARSCoV-2 genome surveillance from Louisiana, and 1.2 % of the total US data submitted to GISAID which is the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data.

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Rockefeller Foundation announces grant funding to LSUHS to build coalition to detect and respond to pandemic threats

The Rockefeller Foundation - LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) is receiving funding ($340,000) from the Rockefeller Foundation. This follows the announcement yesterday of LSUHS being awarded $730,000 to further its work in genomic sequencing of COVID-19 through a NIH supplemental grant.  LSUHS joins Harvard and the Broad Institute at MIT among others in the US Regional Accelerators for Genomic Surveillance.

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LSU Health Shreveport detects first reported B.1.617.2 (Indian) COVID-19 variant in Louisiana

LSU Health Shreveport has identified two cases of the novel COVID-19 variant of concern, B.1.617.2, which was first identified in India and is rapidly spreading around the world. LSU Health Shreveport sequencing also reveals that B.1.1.7, sometimes called “the U.K. variant,” remains dominant in North Louisiana, as is the case in the rest of the United States, as well. 

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LSUHS new discovery for Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia

KTAL/KMSS - A team of scientists and clinicians at LSU Health Shreveport made a groundbreaking discovery for Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia. Dr. Karen Stokes said the new finding could be extremely impactful on Alzheimer’s disease because it will allow doctors to detect the disease early and monitor the progression better.

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LSUHS Researchers Lead Identification of New Biomarker for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD)

The rise in the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is becoming a national health crisis, identifying and treating its underlying causes is a critical health challenge. A team of scientists and clinicians at LSUHS had their groundbreaking findings published in the prestigious “Alzheimer’s & Dementia, The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association”. 

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brain cell image

Los Angeles Times - Scientists have found that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is capable of infecting two types of brain cells — neurons and astrocytes. Scientists have been trying to understand why and how it causes these issues in the brain, said study leader Diana Cruz-Topete, a molecular endocrinologist at LSU Health Shreveport.

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New Faculty Spotlight - Dr. Changwon Park

Associate Professor, Dr. Changwon Park is a new addition to the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. The major effort of his lab is to decipher the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms as to the successful generation of the cardiovascular constituents, namely endothelial, endocardium, cardiomyocytes, and hematopoietic cells that share the multipotent cardiovascular progenitors, FLK1 (also known as VEGFR2) expressing cells.

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COVID Variant Hunter: Even Vaccinated Should Keep Wearing Masks

NBC CT - LSU Health Shreveport Virologist Jeremy Kamil told NBC Connecticut Investigates that halting their spread will require other measures. Kamil was among a team of researchers that discovered seven new COVID-19 strains, known as "variants," aside from the variants first identified in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil. 

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Dr. Xiao-Hong Lu looks through microscope in lab

Dr. Xiao-Hong Lu’s research team will use the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at Brookhaven National Laboratory to simulate cosmic radiation in space vehicles and on the Martian surface to determine if long-term exposure to radiation causes adverse consequences to the brain.

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The vaccines are working. That's why we shouldn't panic about variants.

NBC News - "There are certain variants that are more transmissible, and we have strong data on that, but the thing people should take away from the variant story is just: Don't let your guard down," said Dr. Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport.

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COVID-19 variants

KTBS3 -  A researcher at LSU Health Shreveport has co-authored a study about seven new variants of the COVID-19 virus that appear to have originated in the U.S. The variants appear to have originated in the U.S. But Jeremy Kamil, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at LSUHS, said it is not a cause for panic.

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Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco Use at a Young Age Can Cause Premature Heart Problems

People who start using substances at a younger age have worse health outcomes over the long term, which requires “a nationwide education campaign on the potential long-term damage being done to the cardiovascular system in patients with substance use disorders,” writes Dr. Anthony Orr, Director of Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences at LSUHS.

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‘We’re in the dark’: The U.S. is way behind on testing for dangerous COVID variants

Fortune.com - Even the type of sequencing done in the U.S. has been lacking, some experts say, with much of the effort focused on finding cases of the U.K. variant, rather than casting a wider net for any variant, including ones not previously identified, said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport.

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scientist in lab

Bloomberg.com - Even the type of sequencing done in the U.S. has been lacking, some experts say, with much of the effort focused on finding cases of the U.K. variant, rather than casting a wider net for any variant, including ones not previously identified, said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at LSU Health Shreveport. “It’s the Wild West,” he said. “Every state, city, county is doing its own thing. It’s a bunch of random cats and no one is trying to herd them.”

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Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine vial

KSLA 12 - Dr. Robert Rhoads, professor and emeritus chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Shreveport, developed key components of the mRNA over years of work. The vaccine uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, which essentially provides instructions to the body on how to fight the novel coronavirus.

Read More about Technology developed at LSU Health Shreveport played key role in COVID-19 vaccine development
COVID-19 vaccine arrives at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport

KSLA 12 - “It is gratifying to see LSU Health Shreveport’s contributions to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through licensing of a LSUHS patent to BioNTech for mRNA-stabilizing cap analogs and in serving as the only north Louisiana vaccine trial site. Additionally our numerous COVID-19 clinical trials are providing access to novel therapies reflecting the benefit of having an academic medical center in our community,” shared Dr. G.E. Ghali, Chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport.

Read More about COVID-19 vaccine arrives at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport
video clip image

KSLA 12- “If the EVT Lab had not existed, quite frankly, I think we’d be in a much darker place here in the northern part of the state,” said Dr. Chris Kevil, vice chancellor of research and one of the leading minds behind creation of the lab. “The EVT Lab has been fundamental in our ability to monitor COVID infections in patients out in this community."

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Focus Fund and MD Anderson Launch Investment Fund to Support Investigational Cancer Therapies

The Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is excited to be a part of the Cancer Focus Fund to bring the latest new cancer clinical trials to our community," said Dr. Chris Kevil, Vice-Chancellor for Research at LSU Health Shreveport. "We are confident our clinical trial facilities, coupled with expanded patient access to clinical trials across north and central Louisiana in partnership with Ochsner Health, will yield promising results for all citizens of Louisiana.

Read More about Focus Fund and MD Anderson Launch Investment Fund to Support Investigational Cancer Therapies
LSU Health Shreveport Leads Louisiana  in COVID-19 VIRAL GENOME SEQUENCING

The Emerging Viral Threat (EVT) Lab at LSU Health Shreveport has now sequenced a total 651 Louisiana SARS-CoV-2 virus genomes making them the largest contributor to date of genetic data on SARS-CoV-2 in the state. SARS-CoV-2, which is short for ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2,’ is the virus that causes COVID-19, and viral genome sequencing is contributing to a worldwide effort to fight the ongoing pandemic.

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Dr. Rajib Gupta - LSU Health Shreveport

Dr. Rajib Gupta, shares "COVID-19 is an ongoing pandemic which has affected over 12 million people across the globe. Manifestations in different organs systems are being reported regularly. Renal biopsy findings in hospitalized COVID-19 patients presenting solely with acute kidney injury have recently been described in published literature in few case reports. We describe the kidney biopsy findings of two patients who had recent diagnoses of COVID-19 and presented with new-onset nephrotic syndrome."

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Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist Explains Why New Study in New England Journal of Medicine May Point To Nitric Oxide as Successful Treatment For COVID-19

Keith Scott, MD, MSc, FCCM, Professor and the clinical trial's Principal Investigator for the nitric oxide trials at LSU Health Shreveport says, "Teasing out the influence of naturally produced NO on this process is difficult. What I am very encouraged about is the demonstration of virus in the endothelial cells of the lung tissue."

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News story by WBRZ-2 with update on clinical trials

WBRZ News - “We know a lot of these things work, we just don’t know when they work the best. And that’s what we’re trying to figure out really right now is when, how much and where. And that’s the confusing part of this whole disease. It’s nothing like we’ve ever seen, nothing like medicine has ever seen,” Dr. Keith Scott said.

Read More about Researchers say more time, data will determine if nitric oxide therapy is effective against COVID-19 (opens in new window/tab)
Donating Plasma

MyArkLaMiss.com - Scientists at LSU Health Shreveport continue to have a significant impact on the fight against COVID-19 in Louisiana with their latest achievement being able to offer serology testing to support the Convalescent Plasma Therapy clinical trial and help identify ideal plasma donors.

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LSU Health Shreveport doctors begin Nitric Oxide trial for COVID-19

“What we’re so excited about is this, it’s FDA approved. Almost any hospital of any size already has a ventilator, already has the gas and if this is something that does work it could start being applied immediately,” said LSUHS Professor, Keith Scott, MD.

Read More about How Nitric Oxide can help coronavirus patients as clinical trial gets underway at LSUHS (opens in new window/tab)
WWL News image of coronavirus

Research from LSU Health Shreveport has shown that nitric oxide is a strong protector against tissue hypoxia. “It’s just really a raging phenomenon that occurs in the lung and if we can just calm that down a little bit and allow the body’s natural systems to come in an heal it, that’s the real goal,” said Scott.

Read More about LSU Health Shreveport testing if inhaled nitric oxide can fight COVID-19 (opens in new window/tab)
Dr. Ghali video about COVID-19 efforts on KTAL News

“Certainly we’ve ramped up our testing,” Dr. G.E. Ghali, LSUHS Chancellor, said. “We’ve increased our capacity by 60 percent right off the bat of number of ICU beds that we have.” The increased testing is thanks to the new Emerging Viral Threat Lab that can provide results in less than 48 hours, freeing resources.

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Dr. Yurochko in the lab

The Shreveport Times reached out to Professor Andrew Yurochko, Carroll Feist endowed chair of viral oncology and department vice-chair of microbiology and immunology, LSUHS, with the Emerging Viral Threat lab which began processing COVID-19 samples last Wednesday.

Read More about Why are so many people testing positive in Caddo/Bossier? LSUHS Expert provides answers (opens in new window/tab)
Scientists working in lab

Having an academic medical center is a “gem” touted frequently throughout north Louisiana and beyond. While many in the nation are fearful of having appropriate access to testing and quality care during the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to LSU Health Shreveport, north Louisiana is infinitely better positioned than most communities to face Covid-19.

Read More about LSU Health Shreveport continues mission to Teach, Heal and Discover

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