Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Disease 2021

The 9th biennial conference titled “Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Diseases” was hosted virtually, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in collaboration with the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Alpha-1 Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy. The event was held from July 12th through 15th, 2021 with a pre-conference workshop held on July 9th. As in previous years, the objectives remained to review and discuss the status of active research areas involving stem cells (SCs), cellular therapeutics, and bioengineering as they relate to the human lung. Topics included 1) technological advancements in the in situ analysis of lung tissues, 2) new insights into stem cell signaling and plasticity in lung remodeling and regeneration, 3) the impact of extracellular matrix in stem cell regulation and airway engineering in lung regeneration, 4) differentiating and delivering stem cell therapeutics to the lung, 5) regeneration in response to viral infection, and 6) ethical development of cell-based treatments for lung diseases. This selection of topics represents some of the most dynamic and current research areas in lung biology

Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Disease 2021

The 9th biennial conference titled "Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Diseases" was hosted virtually, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in collaboration with the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Alpha-1 Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy. The event was held from July 12th through 15th, 2021 with a pre-conference workshop held July 9th. As in previous years the objectives remained to review and discuss the status of active research areas involving stem cells, cellular therapeutics, and bioengineering as they relate to the human lung. Topics included: 1) technological advancements in the in situ analysis of lung tissues, 2) new insights into stem cell signalling and plasticity in lung remodelling and regeneration, 3) the impact of extracellular matrix in stem cell regulation and airway engineering in lung regeneration, 4) differentiating and delivering stem cell therapeutics to the lung, 5) regeneration in response to viral infection, and 6) ethical development of cell-based treatments for lung diseases. This selection of topics represents some of the most dynamic and current research areas in lung biology. The virtual workshop included active discussion on state-of-the-art methods relating to the core features of the 2021 conference, including in-situ protemics, lung-on-chip, iPSC-airway differentiation, and light sheet microscopy. The conference concluded with an open discussion to suggest funding priorities and recommendations for future research directions in basic and translational lung biology

Differential West Nile Fever Ascertainment in the United States: A Multilevel Analysis

We evaluated the completeness of West Nile fever (WNF) surveillance within the U.S. public health system. We surveyed laboratory and surveillance programs on policies, practices, and capacities for testing, confirmation, and reporting (collectively called ascertainment) from 2003 through 2005. We calculated syndrome ascertainment ratios by dividing WNF counts by neuroinvasive disease counts; separately, we performed multilevel modeling. Jurisdictions were more likely to ascertain at least one WNF cases per West Nile neuroinvasive disease case when ≤ 1 testing restrictions existed (odds ratio [OR] = 7.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3–46.4), when conducting ≥ 4 activities to enhance reporting (OR = 9.3, 95% CI = 1.6–54.8), and when ≥ 5.0 staff per million residents were dedicated to arboviral surveillance (OR = 6.4, 95% CI = 1.0–40.3). Ascertainment of WNF was less likely among Blacks (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.31–0.99) and Hispanics (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.48–0.98) than among Whites. Ascertainment was more complete when testing and reporting were enhanced, but differentially incomplete for minorities