An interview with James Wells

ABSTRACT James (Jim) Wells is a Professor in the Division of Developmental Biology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and Chief Scientific Officer of the Center for Stem Cell & Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children's. Using both vertebrate embryos and human organoids as model systems, Jim's research focuses on the mechanisms by which gastrointestinal and endocrine organs form. Earlier this year, Jim joined the Development team as an Academic Editor. We caught up with Jim to find out more about his research career, the stem cell and organoid fields, and why he decided to get involved with the journal.

A day in the life of a Scientific Officer

Alexis De Haven Brandon is a Higher Scientific Officer for the Institute of Cancer Research. She specialises in in vivo research for drug discovery projects in oncology. Having completed a degree in Animal Science, she initially worked with research cattle in the veterinary medicine field. Moving to working with rodents in the oncology field 16 years ago, she obtained a Master's Degree in Cancer Biology through day release from her employment. Lorenza Giannella (Training Manager, Biochemical Society) spoke with her about her work.

SVITLANA VOITENKO A SCIENTIFIED SCIENTIST IN ANIMAL SELECTION

The renowned scientist and teacher of the Chief Scientific Officer of the Laboratory of the Animal Genetic Resources Bank of the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics nd. a. M.V.Zubets of National Academy of Agrarian Science Svitlana Voitenko turned 60 on November 12, 2019. Svitlana Voitenko was born on November 12, 1959 in Poltava. She graduated from the 24 th high school and zoo-engineering faculty of the Poltava Agricultural Institute.From 1977 to 2006 she worked at the Institute of Pig Breeding of the UAAS. During 1990–1993 she went to graduate school of the same scientific institution. Since 2006 he has been working as a leading researcher, since 2008 – chief researcher at the gene pool laboratory of the breeds of the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics of UAAS. In 2008, Svitlana Voitenko was appointed head of the genetic resources sector in the pig breeding of this institution. Since February 2010, Svitlana Voitenko begins her pedagogical activity as the head of the breeding and genetics of agricultural animals department of the Poltava State Agrarian Academy. From September 2019 to the present time he has been working as the Chief Scientific Officer of the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics nd. a. M.V.Zubets of NAAS. The degree of Candidate of Agricultural Sciences in the specialty "Breeding and Breeding of Animals" on the basis of the defense (1994) of the dissertation on the topic "Selection and genetic characteristics of pigs of Myrhorod breed and their use in combination with boars of the parental form". The senior scientist was awarded the academic title in 2001. In 2008 she defended her dissertation for a scientific degree on "Methods of improvement of pigs of the Myrhorod breed and preservation of her gene pool". Professor she was awarded the academic title in 2013. Professor S. Voytenko's research is aimed at developing breeding and genetic methods for improving the productivity of farm animals and controlling product quality, as well as maintaining the gene pool of small local pigs of Ukraine. Under the methodological guidance of S. Voitenko new lines and families in the Myrhorod breed were created and tested. She participated in the development of the State Standards of Ukraine.She has published about 250 scientific papers. She is active in inventing activities, has 11 patents and copyright certificates for inventions. Under the methodical guidance of S. Voitenko, 7 PhD theses are defended and another 1 graduate student is being trained. She was awarded with certificates of honor from the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, the Department of Education and Science of the Poltava Regional State Administration. The staff of the Institute sincerely congratulates dear Svitlana and wishes her good health, happiness, inexhaustible energy, relentless movement forward to new achievements and impressions!

A new platform for drug discovery

Professor Tuomas Knowles gained his PhD in biophysics from the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2007 and went on to work at Harvard University (MA, USA) before returning to Cambridge as a lecturer, gaining professorship in 2015. He is the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Fluidic Analytics (Cambridge, UK), a biotech company developing next-generation protein analysis platforms that operate under native conditions in solution. Here he speaks to Future Drug Discovery Editor Jennifer Straiton about Fluidic Analytics' new platform Fluidity One-W, discussing how it works and what benefit it can bring to the field of drug discovery.

The Glioma Elephant in The Room

Radiotherapy is the most effective treatment of glioblastoma, radical surgery and chemotherapy will help some patients. Tumour Treating Fields (TTF) is used in many countries in the developed world. Thousands of patients have been treated. Methods A survey at a neuro-oncology meeting of clinicians, scientists and charity members asking them about TTF. Results 1. 7 out of 8 clinicians did not discuss TTF with patients.: 2. The reasons being “not available”, “very expensive”, “don’t know enough”.: 3. Out of 17 non clinicians, 14 stated that TTF should be discussed with all patients.: 4. Out of 22 clinicians and non clinicians, 16 said they would consider trying to raise £200.000 for treatment from crowd funding. Discussion The report of the chief scientific officer of the department of health on brain tumours, the report of the Tessa Jowell funding, BNOS, do not discuss TTF.?why. NICE guidelines for NHS patients state “Do not offer TTF” but do not say “Do not discuss”. Conclusion Sadly, clinicians are not telling the patients about options for treatment. TTF is controversial and expensive and is now being used in several cancer treatments. The UK is one of the few developed countries that is not researching or discussing this treatment.

Roger Ward Crosskey—The Life and Contributions of an Entomologist par Excellence (1930–2017)

The life of Roger Ward Crosskey stands as a paragon of scholarly dedication to the profession of entomology. His early interests in natural history prepared him for a diverse entomological career of about 65 years. He began as a medical entomologist working on the onchocerciasis problem with the Colonial Service in Northern Nigeria, and officially transitioned to dipterology, first studying the Tachinidae as a taxonomist with the Commonwealth Institute of Entomology, and later the Simuliidae as a Senior Principal Scientific Officer (Merit) with The Natural History Museum in London. His contributions to the fight against onchocerciasis (river blindness) and to the study of Diptera, particularly the Simuliidae, are an enduring legacy. An indexed chronological listing of his 247 publications is provided, in addition to lists of the taxa that he named and the taxa named in his honor.