BRIght Futures

Seed money supports gifted scientists so they can strategize for success
Researchers lives can be filled with uncertaintyat least when it comes to funding. They spend their days conducting time-consuming experiments and wrestling with reams of data, all to tackle critical questions that could change medicine.

Bright Ideas,

How important is cigarette smoking to developing rheumatoid arthritis? Could something in the body called a sodium-magnesium transporter be a biomarker for type 2 diabetes? Might huge amounts of vitamin D or fish oil reduce the risk of getting lupus?

But without funding, these important projects come to a screeching halt. Leaders at the Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) of Brigham and Womens Hospital recognize that federal monies fluctuate and competition for awards is fierce. Creative approaches that might get left by the wayside need the foresight of thought leaders in private philanthropy, explains Jacqueline Slavik, PhD, BRI executive director. Our BRIght Futures Fund, supported both by the hospital and our generous donors, seeds biomedical research and bolsters the passionate people who make the life sciences their lifes work. BRI researchers are eligible for BRIght Futures Awardsof up to $50,000for innovative, exploratory lines of study that may be too risky for prime-time grant funding. Some young researchers may be transitioning out of a postdoctoral fellowship to start their own labs, while others may have submitted a competitive grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but only narrowly missed approval. Some researchers could be launching a career and a family simultaneously; others may need funds to bridge the gaps between the conclusion of one grant and the beginning of the next. The BRI BRIght Futures Fund targets our best and brightest scientists so they can continue to reach conclusions that alter how medicine is practiced.

By Noelle shough BRI BRIght Futures Fund

photos: Jeff Thiebauth, larry Maglott

Support a scientist!
If you are interested in supporting a researcher through the BRIght Futures Fund, please contact Kim Lubin in the Development Office at 617-424-4223 or klubin@partners.org.

Jose R. Romero, PhD

Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH

The making of a scientist

Jose R. Romero, PhD, has spent his entire scientific career at BWH. I started here at the Brigham in the 80s as an undergraduate student from the University of Puerto Rico. Ive had great support my whole time here from a lot of people, he says. Last year, Romero was continuing his work looking at possible biomarkers that would help physicians further classify type 2 diabetes. Special transporters move ions across the cell membrane to maintain proper levels of sodium, magnesium, and potassium in the body. Romero is examining how these transporters might alter the level of magnesium in the blood, which could adversely affect someone with type 2 diabetesor even cause the diabetes in the first place. Romero was unsuccessful in his original research grant application to the NIH but he got holdover funding from the BRI. The money allowed us to complete additional experiments, propose some new things, and we resubmitted and got a significantly better score, he explains. As BRINK went to press, he had one NIH grant funded, with a second highly likely to obtain financial backing as well. But the BRI BRIght Futures Fund did more than give Romero a second chance at his grant. Just as critical, it allowed me to interact with [BWH cardiologist] Dr. Rich Lee, who gave me a lot of interesting pointers to hone my idea, says Romero.

Romero praises the support of Lee and other great mentors hes had during his BWH career. The BRIs structure encourages collaboration, making it easier for scientists to share ideas and results across disciplines. Also noteworthy, the BRI led Romero to prestigious awards to support another passion of histraining and mentoring minority students in translational medical research. Romeros mentoring has even been recognized by a nomination for the Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School.

School. When the grants ended, it would leave herand her research teamhigh and dry. Thanks to funding from the BRI, she was able to continue her research without pause. As it turned out, I only needed the BRI bridge funding for three months, and then three new grants came through, she says. Now Costenbader has her hands full. In addition to her other research, shes examining an early indicator of RA called telomere shortening. Picture telomeres as the ends of your chromosomes, protecting you from mutations and genetic damage throughout your lifetime. Though long when you are born, telomeres get ever shorter as you age, Costenbader explains. Women have longer telomeres than men do, which may explain why women live longer. Certain things drive telomere shortening; in particular, inflammation does, she says. And its been shown that people with RA have shorter telomeres. Im looking at which comes firstthe inflammation or the RA or the telomere shortening. Armed with that information, Costenbader could make a real difference in treatingor even preventing this autoimmune disease. l

Filling the grant gaps

Even while she was still a medical student, Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH, found autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in which the bodys immune cells attack healthy cells, intriguing diseases. I wondered, Why do predominantly young women get these rare diseases? Why are they more prevalent in non-Caucasians? And why are they so much more severe in some people? Costenbader focuses on the complex recipe of genetic factors and environmental exposures for better understanding both lupus and RA. However, she was a victim of ill-timing when it came to research grants. Last year, I had two grants finish up in June. I was writing new grants like crazy, but I was also on a private training program at Harvard Medical

[Opposite page) Located at the ends of this chromosome are telomeres, which protect you from genetic damage and mutation. As you age, these telomeres shortenbut they may also shorten as a result of inflammation.

BRINk 10 > BRIghT Ideas, BRIghT FuTuRes

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