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News and Announcements, Press Releases, Research Stories

Biomedical Sciences Research Center Will Focus on Developing Much-Needed & Affordable Antiviral Drugs

Biomedical Sciences Research Center Will Focus on Developing Much-Needed & Affordable Antiviral Drugs

The Center for Translational Antiviral Research has been established in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University to fill the gap for developing affordable, much-needed antiviral drugs that will reduce severe viral diseases and meet the threats imposed by existing and newly evolving viruses.

News and Announcements, Research Stories, Second Century Initiative

On the Front Lines

On the Front Lines

Georgia State University faculty have joined the race to unravel how novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) operates and find effective treatments.

Faculty members are attacking the questions from the biomedical standpoint through work by virologists in the university’s Institute for Biomedical Sciences, epidemiological expertise through the School of Public Health, disease detector investigators through the Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics, and more.

These researchers include faculty of the university’s Second Century Initiative (2CI), the predecessor program to the Next Generation Program, which seeks to build excellence in research and scholarship. Christopher Basler and Gerardo Chowell, both hired under 2CI, are making significant contributions to virology and epidemiology respectively.

News and Announcements, Press Releases, Research Stories

Georgia State University Joins Project To Address Statewide Climate Impacts

Georgia State University Joins Project To Address Statewide Climate Impacts

Georgia State University has joined the Georgia Climate Project (GCP), a statewide consortium working to improve understanding of climate impacts and solutions in Georgia.

The GCP includes colleges and universities across the state who are bringing their strengths in research and teaching to improve understanding of the physical, economic and social impacts of climate change in Georgia, and the choices the state has for the future.

News and Announcements, Press Releases, Research Stories, Second Century Initiative

2CI Professor Finds That More Than Half of Metro Atlanta Homeless Youth Suffer Human Trafficking

2CI Professor Finds That More Than Half of Metro Atlanta Homeless Youth Suffer Human Trafficking

More than half of the homeless youth in metro Atlanta have experienced human trafficking, with minority and LGBTQ youth being more likely to be forced into working against their will, according to a study by Georgia State University sociology professor Eric Wright, a Second Century Initiative faculty member.

“Our data suggest that, at least among the homeless, they’re more likely to be trafficked for their labor and less frequently for commercial sexual exploitation,” said Wright, the principal investigator of the project. “Only one out of four youth were engaging in sex work of some sort, trafficked or otherwise. The vast majority of youth trafficking experiences involved a wide range of different kinds of labor trafficking.”

“They tend to be black or African American, more often are LGBTQ youth, and tend to be youth who have been in the juvenile justice or foster care system previously,” Wright said.

News and Announcements, Research Stories

Researchers Isolate Gut Bacteria That Can Prevent And Cure Rotavirus Infection

Researchers Isolate Gut Bacteria That Can Prevent And Cure Rotavirus Infection

The presence of specific microbiota, or microorganisms that live in the digestive tract, can prevent and cure rotavirus infection, which is the leading cause of severe, life-threatening diarrhea in children worldwide, according to a new study by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

The findings, published in the journal Cell, may explain why rotavirus causes severe, life-threatening disease in some people and only mild disease in others. It could lead to possible treatments and preventive measures for rotavirus infection. There are no existing treatments for rotavirus besides administering fluids to avoid dehydration.

Feature Stories, News and Announcements, Press Releases, Research Stories

Researchers Find Building Mutations Into Ebola Virus Protein Disrupts Ability To Cause Disease And Activates Protective Immunity

Researchers Find Building Mutations Into Ebola Virus Protein Disrupts Ability To Cause Disease And Activates Protective Immunity

Creating mutations in a key Ebola virus protein that helps the deadly virus escape from the body’s defenses can make the virus unable to produce sickness and activate protective immunity in the infected host, according to a study by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

The mutated virus even works as a vaccine to protect animals from infection with the virulent Ebola virus, researchers said.

The study suggests that VP35, a protein that enables Ebola virus to block early immune responses to infection, is critical for virulence and is a potential drug target. The findings are published in the journal Cell Reports.

The study’s coauthors include faculty hired under the university’s Second Century Initiative (2CI).

News and Announcements, Press Releases, Research Stories, Second Century Initiative

Georgia State University Neuroscientists to Investigate Neural Markers of Mental Illness

Georgia State University Neuroscientists to Investigate Neural Markers of Mental Illness

Neuroscientists at Georgia State University are using large-scale imaging analysis to study how symptoms associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression relate to changes in the brain. The researchers say they hope to yield new diagnostic classifications, uncover potential new treatment targets in the brain and identify which patients may benefit from those treatments.

The team, led by the Second Century Initiative’s Jessica Turner, professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Vince Calhoun, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and director of the Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), will examine two so-called “negative” symptoms, anhedonia (loss of pleasure) and asociality (loss of interest in social engagement), in patients with schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder. The work is supported by a five-year, $5 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

News and Announcements, Press Releases, Research Stories, Second Century Initiative

Early-Season Hurricanes Result In Greater Transmission Of Mosquito-Borne Infectious Disease, Study Shows

Early-Season Hurricanes Result In Greater Transmission Of Mosquito-Borne Infectious Disease, Study Shows

The timing of a hurricane is one of the primary factors influencing its impact on the spread of mosquito-borne infectious diseases such as West Nile Virus, dengue, chikungunya and Zika, according to a study led by Georgia State University, including a professor from the university’s Second Century Initiative.

Gerardo Chowell, a professor of mathematical epidemiology in the School of Public Health, along with his colleagues, found that in the aftermath of this type of extreme weather event, the mosquito population often booms in the presence of stagnant water. At the same time, the breakdown of public and private health infrastructure can put people at increased risk of infection.

News and Announcements, Next Generation Round 3, Research Stories

Next Gen Center Researchers Identify Strategies to Help Bystanders Prevent Sexual Violence Against Women

Next Gen Center Researchers Identify Strategies to Help Bystanders Prevent Sexual Violence Against Women

Young men can successfully intervene in peer groups to prevent sexual violence against women if they appeal to a shared sense of morality, according to a study led by a Georgia State University psychology researcher.

“There’s a new focus, especially on college campuses, on studying bystander intervention in preventing sexual violence,” said psychology professor Dominic Parrott, director of Georgia State’s Center for Research on Interpersonal Violence (CRIV). “This was a chance to see what people do to intervene and what actually works. Our experiment allowed us to see what happens and why.”

CRIV is an outgrowth of the Interpersonal Violence Initiative, a research area supported under the third round of the Next Generation Program.

News and Announcements, Research Stories

Next Gen/2CI Research: Microbiota & Colon Cancer

Next Gen/2CI Research: Microbiota & Colon Cancer

Exposure to microbiota, or microorganisms such as bacteria, in the early stages of life plays a crucial role in establishing optimal conditions in the intestine that inhibit the development of colon cancer in adulthood, according to a study led by Georgia State University.

The research team explored how being exposed to microbiota in utero and in the weeks after birth contributed to the development of colitis-associated cancer in mice later in life. Until now, the effects of prenatal and early postnatal microbial exposure on adult health and disease outcomes have received relatively limited research focus. The findings are published in the journal Cancer Immunology Research.

The research team includes faculty supported by the Second Century Initiative (2CI), the predecessor of the Next Generation Program.