2020 Escher Prize in Germ Cell Exposures — Announcing the 2020 Winners
We are pleased to announce two awardees of the Escher Prize in Germ Cell Exposures this year, to Cecilie Svanes, MD, PHD, professor at the Centre for International Health at the University of Bergen, Norway, and Anatoly Martynyuk, PhD, professor of Anesthesiology and Neuroscience at the University of Florida.
Dr. Svanes is a specialist in both pulmonary and internal medicine, and works as a consultant in occupational respiratory diseases at the Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital. She is currently the director of the RHINESSA consortium, a multi-center generational study with extensive biomaterial, clinical measurements and data on general characteristics, exposures and health outcomes. While there are many cohorts designed to study lifespan outcomes of exposures in adulthood or in early life, there are very limited resources for the study of exposure effects over several generations in humans; in particular data on the paternal line and the puberty time window.
Professor Svanes brought together a team of experts in a range of fields from clinical assessment and cohorts, advanced epidemiological methods and molecular epigenetics to investigate multigenerational effects in humans. The team has confirmed the potential importance of a susceptibility window in pregnancy (in the female line) and puberty (in the male line) for environmental exposures to affect phenotype across multiple generations. These studies demonstrated that young boys’ smoking before puberty is equally harmful to future offspring’s asthma as mother’s smoking in pregnancy. In addition, lung function – an important measure of overall health and longevity – was lower in offspring of smoking fathers, and obesity and fat mass was higher in offspring of fathers who smoked before puberty. They have also demonstrated that that fathers who were overweight puberty (but not if they became overweight after puberty) were more likely to cause asthma in their future offspring.
Studies in RHINESSA have also highlighted a role for an increasing range of pre-conceptional exposures from air pollution, outdoor environment and occupational exposures in determining respiratory and metabolic health. These studies provide human data to support that smoking influences health and disease of the smoker, birth weight, asthma, lung function and obesity in offspring, and asthma and lung function in grand-offspring.
In summary, Prof. Svanes has led the generation of an important body of work that has provided string evidence in humans for the potential for germ cell exposure to exogenous toxicants to plays non-genetic heritable role in the aetiology of respiratory and metabolic health.
Dr. Martynyuk is a biophysicist and neuroscientist investigating mechanisms of developmental neurobehavioral effects of exposure to general anesthetic agents. In recent years he took a daring step by investigating the heritable impacts of the commonly used halogenated anesthetic gas sevoflurane in a rat model. Although there has been considerable mammalian and human research on the direct proximal impacts of inhaled GA, that is, the impact on neurons whether young or old, there had been no studies on potential germline-mediated impacts since the publication of two small studies in 1981 and 1985 from the laboratory of Herman Turndorf, MD, at NYU Medical School.
Knowing of studies showing that abnormal hormonal exposures to germline could cause intergenerational impacts, and knowing also that GA gases can act on hormonal pathways, Dr. Martynyuk struck out to see what happened with offspring of neonatal rats, and then later, grown rats, exposed to sevoflurane. He consistently found alterations in males born of the exposed germline, both in terms of brain and behavior — findings that may have major implications for pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders and public health generally.
We are pleased to recognize these researchers' accomplishments with this award.
Dr. Svanes is a specialist in both pulmonary and internal medicine, and works as a consultant in occupational respiratory diseases at the Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital. She is currently the director of the RHINESSA consortium, a multi-center generational study with extensive biomaterial, clinical measurements and data on general characteristics, exposures and health outcomes. While there are many cohorts designed to study lifespan outcomes of exposures in adulthood or in early life, there are very limited resources for the study of exposure effects over several generations in humans; in particular data on the paternal line and the puberty time window.
Professor Svanes brought together a team of experts in a range of fields from clinical assessment and cohorts, advanced epidemiological methods and molecular epigenetics to investigate multigenerational effects in humans. The team has confirmed the potential importance of a susceptibility window in pregnancy (in the female line) and puberty (in the male line) for environmental exposures to affect phenotype across multiple generations. These studies demonstrated that young boys’ smoking before puberty is equally harmful to future offspring’s asthma as mother’s smoking in pregnancy. In addition, lung function – an important measure of overall health and longevity – was lower in offspring of smoking fathers, and obesity and fat mass was higher in offspring of fathers who smoked before puberty. They have also demonstrated that that fathers who were overweight puberty (but not if they became overweight after puberty) were more likely to cause asthma in their future offspring.
Studies in RHINESSA have also highlighted a role for an increasing range of pre-conceptional exposures from air pollution, outdoor environment and occupational exposures in determining respiratory and metabolic health. These studies provide human data to support that smoking influences health and disease of the smoker, birth weight, asthma, lung function and obesity in offspring, and asthma and lung function in grand-offspring.
In summary, Prof. Svanes has led the generation of an important body of work that has provided string evidence in humans for the potential for germ cell exposure to exogenous toxicants to plays non-genetic heritable role in the aetiology of respiratory and metabolic health.
Dr. Martynyuk is a biophysicist and neuroscientist investigating mechanisms of developmental neurobehavioral effects of exposure to general anesthetic agents. In recent years he took a daring step by investigating the heritable impacts of the commonly used halogenated anesthetic gas sevoflurane in a rat model. Although there has been considerable mammalian and human research on the direct proximal impacts of inhaled GA, that is, the impact on neurons whether young or old, there had been no studies on potential germline-mediated impacts since the publication of two small studies in 1981 and 1985 from the laboratory of Herman Turndorf, MD, at NYU Medical School.
Knowing of studies showing that abnormal hormonal exposures to germline could cause intergenerational impacts, and knowing also that GA gases can act on hormonal pathways, Dr. Martynyuk struck out to see what happened with offspring of neonatal rats, and then later, grown rats, exposed to sevoflurane. He consistently found alterations in males born of the exposed germline, both in terms of brain and behavior — findings that may have major implications for pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders and public health generally.
We are pleased to recognize these researchers' accomplishments with this award.
Nominations now being accepted for 2020 Escher Prizes in Germ Cell Exposures
The Escher Fund for Autism is pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2020 Escher Prizes in Germ Cell Exposures, recognizing researchers whose work shines a light on the heritable hazards of germline exposures to drugs or other chemicals. We invite you to nominate yourself or a colleague for one of these awards. Awardees will receive a $2,500 donation to help further their endeavors through their respective nonprofit institutions, as well as a plaque reflecting the recognition.
Please help us recognize those who are breaking ground in revealing how germ cell exposure to exogenous toxicants plays a non-genetic heritable role in the etiology of certain diseases and disorders, including but not limited to neurodevelopmental disorders, metabolic disorders, reproductive and socio-sexual disorders, asthma, allergies, and cancer. Areas of research may include, but are not limited to: epidemiology, animal models, in vitro assays, genomics, epigenomics and chromatin, toxicology, reproductive biology, chemical and pharmaceutical history, medical anthropology, and public health.
Deadline to submit a nomination is November 30, 2020. To submit a nomination, simply email us: (1) name, email address and institutional affiliation of the individual making the nomination; (2) name, email address and institutional affiliation of the nominee; and (3) up to 500 words explaining the reasons you believe the nominee deserves an award, providing citations to any relevant papers.
Questions are welcome and may be directed here.
Thank you,
Escher Fund for Autism
Please help us recognize those who are breaking ground in revealing how germ cell exposure to exogenous toxicants plays a non-genetic heritable role in the etiology of certain diseases and disorders, including but not limited to neurodevelopmental disorders, metabolic disorders, reproductive and socio-sexual disorders, asthma, allergies, and cancer. Areas of research may include, but are not limited to: epidemiology, animal models, in vitro assays, genomics, epigenomics and chromatin, toxicology, reproductive biology, chemical and pharmaceutical history, medical anthropology, and public health.
Deadline to submit a nomination is November 30, 2020. To submit a nomination, simply email us: (1) name, email address and institutional affiliation of the individual making the nomination; (2) name, email address and institutional affiliation of the nominee; and (3) up to 500 words explaining the reasons you believe the nominee deserves an award, providing citations to any relevant papers.
Questions are welcome and may be directed here.
Thank you,
Escher Fund for Autism
Escher Prizes in Germ Cell Exposures — Announcing the Inaugural Winners (2019)
APRIL 2019 — Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations for the 2019 inaugural Escher Prizes in Germ Cell Exposures, recognizing researchers whose work shines a light on the heritable hazards of germline exposures to drugs or other chemicals. We were incredibly grateful to receive so many high quality submissions, and wish we could have conferred awards on all the worthy contenders. We are very pleased to announce the recipients:
Andrea Gore, PhD, and David Crews, PhD, UT Austin
Recent studies from these researchers demonstrate that exposure of rats in utero to hormone-disrupting chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the fungicide vinclozolin impacted the fetal germ cells with adverse consequences for brain and behavior of offspring (Krishnan et al, 2018; Gillette et al, 2018). Dr. Crews was among the first researchers to examine heritable impacts of hormone-disrupting chemicals, ascertaining behavioral abnormalities in offspring, (eg, Crews et al, 2007) and Dr. Gore has been a leader in the field of neurobehavioral effects of developmental exposure to such chemicals.
David Katz, PhD, Emory University
Dr. Katz has conducted pioneering research on how histone methylation can be inherited through germ cells, affecting traits in the offspring (Katz et. al, 2009). He discovered a reprogramming mechanism that when defective can give rise to an autistic like phenotype in mice (Wasson et al, 2013). His work provides a mechanism through which insults could be passed to the offspring, by interfering with maternal reprogramming.
Emanuela Balestrieri, PhD, University of Rome
Dr. Balestrieri demonstrated in mice that gestational valproic acid can result in neurodevelopment deficits in offspring of exposed germ cells, including altered endogenous retrovirus (ERV) activity (eg, Cipriani et al, 2018). High levels of ERV expression paralleled an autistic-like phenotype. She is investigating how ERV expression could be considered biomarkers in pregnant women’s blood, potentially useful for early diagnosis and intervention.
Honorees receive a $2,000 donation in support of their work, and a commemorative plaque. The award program will resume in 2020 and will be announced in this newsletter. Our sincere thanks to all the wonderful researchers who further our understanding of germline-exposure-induced pathogenesis.
Andrea Gore, PhD, and David Crews, PhD, UT Austin
Recent studies from these researchers demonstrate that exposure of rats in utero to hormone-disrupting chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the fungicide vinclozolin impacted the fetal germ cells with adverse consequences for brain and behavior of offspring (Krishnan et al, 2018; Gillette et al, 2018). Dr. Crews was among the first researchers to examine heritable impacts of hormone-disrupting chemicals, ascertaining behavioral abnormalities in offspring, (eg, Crews et al, 2007) and Dr. Gore has been a leader in the field of neurobehavioral effects of developmental exposure to such chemicals.
David Katz, PhD, Emory University
Dr. Katz has conducted pioneering research on how histone methylation can be inherited through germ cells, affecting traits in the offspring (Katz et. al, 2009). He discovered a reprogramming mechanism that when defective can give rise to an autistic like phenotype in mice (Wasson et al, 2013). His work provides a mechanism through which insults could be passed to the offspring, by interfering with maternal reprogramming.
Emanuela Balestrieri, PhD, University of Rome
Dr. Balestrieri demonstrated in mice that gestational valproic acid can result in neurodevelopment deficits in offspring of exposed germ cells, including altered endogenous retrovirus (ERV) activity (eg, Cipriani et al, 2018). High levels of ERV expression paralleled an autistic-like phenotype. She is investigating how ERV expression could be considered biomarkers in pregnant women’s blood, potentially useful for early diagnosis and intervention.
Honorees receive a $2,000 donation in support of their work, and a commemorative plaque. The award program will resume in 2020 and will be announced in this newsletter. Our sincere thanks to all the wonderful researchers who further our understanding of germline-exposure-induced pathogenesis.