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Got the Flu? It May Be Because of Your Genes

Genetic factors may explain why some people get sick and others avoid infectious diseases.  When flu season strikes, why do some people get sick, some get by without even a slight cough, and an unfortunate few land in the hospital with a severe illness?   We’ve long known that a complicated mix of factors — from age and stress to environment and illness history — can impact whether we get sick and how long it takes to recover. Now a growing area of research, aided by advances in human genome...

How Human 'Gene Knockouts' Are Pointing the Way to New Medicines

As more people sequence their genomes, scientists are studying genetic mutations in hopes of identifying new treatments. 
Since the human genome was first sequenced 15 years ago, the field of genetic research has exploded, according to Morten Sogaard, vice president and head of Genome Sciences & Technologies at Pfizer, who also oversees Human Genetics, Computational Biomedicine, Computational Target Validation and Diagnostics research. “Drug discovery has always been painstaking, in large part...

Bodily Functions Explained: Itch and Scratch

Meant to remove invaders, either infectious or simply irritating, a scratch is human skin’s first line of defense.It happens every day. An irritant — a speck of dust, bit of errant clothing fiber, a tiny bug, perhaps — triggers nerve receptors on the skin to send an alert to the brain: “There is something foreign and potentially dangerous that needs to be removed. Now.”Receptors on specialized nerve cells translate that alarm message into “itch,” then specialized nerve fibers speed the itch...

Tapping Coding Virtuosos to Solve Research Challenges

Medical researchers turn to crowdsourcing in the coding community to crack DNA data challenges. In 2014, a team of Pfizer scientists faced a data bottleneck. While conducting a study to find genetic variations that could increase a person’s risk of developing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) — a group of lung diseases that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis — they collected millions of data points. With their best available software at the time, it took up to ten hours to...

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This Scientist's Life: David Gray

Meet David Gray, a Senior Director in Pfizer’s Neuroscience Research Unit at Kendall Square, Cambridge, and expert in medicinal chemistry leading a team developing a potential first-in-class Parkinson’s disease treatment. "Science is a series of baby steps all strung together to make strides," says David Gray. The most powerful thing ever uttered to Gray by a person with Parkinson’s was a simple plea: Hurry. And Gray and his team of scientists are trying to do just that. "My connections...

Consumer DNA Kits Give Research a Boost

At-home DNA tests are driving patient participation in research. DNA kits can trace more than your ancestry. They’re also helping medical research. Patients with lupus and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) recently became a pivotal part of studies without ever stepping foot in a clinic or hospital, thanks to a collaboration formed between Pfizer and the genetic testing company 23andMe. The mission: find genetic clues that may someday lead to more precise treatments. The method: mail in saliva...

6 Views of a Neuron by Golgi and Cajal

Two groundbreaking scientists stain cells, uncover the intricate secrets of the nervous system, and elevate scientific discovery to fine art.   In 1872, Camillo Golgi accepted a job as the chief medical officer at the Hospital for the Chronically Sick at Abbiategrasso, Italy. It is here — ensconced in a tiny kitchen he had converted into a makeshift laboratory — that he created what he would call the “black reaction.” It was a method of staining that was able to capture even the most delicate...

Scientists Mimic Human Organs on Microscopic ‘Chips’ That Enable Drug Testing

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Female Pioneers: Meet the Biochemist Who Tackled One of TB’s Great Mysteries

Florence Seibert was an early pioneer in applying physical chemistry techniques to biomedical problems. American Florence Seibert developed a reliable test for TB, which has helped saved millions of lives. In the early 1900s, tuberculosis, a bacteria that settles in the lungs and eats them away, continued to be among the deadliest diseases, killing one in seven people in the U.S. and Europe. Before the turn of the century, German scientist Robert Koch had discovered tuberculin, which is...

Getting Life-Saving Medicines Over the Brain’s Security Wall

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The Rare Skin Cancer You May Not Know

A CT scan showing a large Merkel cell tumor near the skull. An aging and highly sun-exposed population, plus an increasing number of immune problems, may be causing a rise in a rare cancer related to the skin’s touch receptors called Merkel cell carcinoma.Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but aggressive skin cancer that forms in the top layer of the skin near the nerve endings that sense touch. It’s a quick-growing cancer that can be hard to treat if it spreads to other parts of the body, or metastasizes. In the U.S., there are about 2,500 new cases...

This Scientist's Life: Mera Tilley

What makes a great scientist? In 2016, the National Academy of Sciences posed that question in a survey of top U.S. scientists, finding that the character traits most valued among their peers are honesty (64%), curiosity (60%), perseverance (34%), and objectivity (21%). “The end goal is to affect lives," says Mera Tilley. For those of us outside the lab, the people and personalities driving today’s leading innovations remains largely unknown. To better get to know some of the faces behind...