Platt Lab Mission: To fuse engineering, cell biology, and physiology to understand how cells sense, respond, and remodel their immediate mechanical and biochemical environments for repair and regeneration in health and disease, then to translate that knowledge to clinics domestically and internationally to address global health disparities.

---

ANNOUNCEMENTS and NEWS:

---

THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!
34th Annual Sickle Cell Road Race 7k Run/4k Walk - Saturday April 13th

All race proceeds support the mission of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia and its programs to serve persons afflicted with Sickle Cell Disease.

We're looking to put together a big team from Georgia Tech BME and Community
Click here either to DONATE or to JOIN our team: Gerogia Tech BME

---

BMES Outreach event featured on National Public Radio!
Interview with Dr. Platt, Dr. Nerem, and Dr. Jo and students.

High school hands-on demonstrations were led by Georgia Tech BME Undergrads, BME graduate students, and EBICS collaborating graduate students with local high school students from B.E.S.T. Academy, Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy, Benjamin E. Mays High School, Wheeler High School, South Atlanta High School, and several students from South Carolina sponsored by Clemson University's BMES Chapter.

Be sure to click LISTEN

---

New Platt Lab publication in Integrative Biology!
Personalized Predictions of Proteolytic Activity:
Potential applications for predicting disease severity




Patient specific proteolytic activity of monocyte-derived macrophages and osteoclasts predicted with temporal kinase activation states during differentiation. Keon-Young Park, Weiwei A. Li, and Manu O. Platt. Integrative Biology. In Press.

With great story by Abby Robinson of the GT Research Team
Congratulations to all!!

---

Congratulations to Platt Lab undergrad Binbin Chen for winning Best Poster Award at the
Out to Innovate 2012 Conference at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH!




Binbin was presenting his work "Quantitative Toolbox to Measure Osteoclast and Cathepsin K Activity in Orthopedic Tissues" that describes new assays and technologies we have been developing to quantify osteoclast differentiation in studies of bone loss in disease.

---

---

Platt Lab work on Cathepsin Cannibalism featured on National Science Foundation Website!


Great story written by John Toon and the team at Georgia Tech Research News - Thanks!

---

Pictures now posted from International AIDS Conference 2012 in Washington, DC.


Highlights include:
* Dr. Manu Platt and his brother Dr. Matthew Platt from Harvard University Department of Government presenting joint research project
* Ivana Kennedy and Laura Hansen presenting their research on HIV and Cardiovascular disease
* Members of Platt Lab participating in the March on Washington: Keep the Promise rally on the Mall.

Check it out! August 2012

---

CATHEPSIN CANNIBALISM

New Platt Lab publication in Journal of Biological Chemistry!

Cathepsin S cannibalism of cathepsin K as a mechanism to reduce type I collagen degradation.
Zachary T. Barry and Manu O. Platt. Journal of Biological Chemistry. published June 22, 2012.
Congratulations!

---

Ivana Kennedy working on HIV and cardiovascular disease in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ivana has been working at Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa since the end of April to study the effects of anti-retrovirals on cardiovascular disease markers in people living with HIV.

This is a part of our collaborative project with Dr. Rudy Gleason who has been in Addis Ababa since October as a Fulbright Fellow and Dr. Roy Sutliff at Emory as a part of our CNIHR grant.



Click here to see pictures of Dr. Platt's trip over to help set up a new assay and bring new supplies.
Ivana will be back at the end of June after being there for two months.

Global translational research! Trying to make a difference even when the resources are limited.

---

TWO new Platt Lab publications!

Tumor necrosis factor alpha stimulates cathepsin K and V activity via juxtacrine monocyte-endothelial cell signaling and JNK activation.
Keegan PM, Wilder CL, and Platt MO. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. In Press, 2012.

and

Sickle cell disease activates peripheral blood mononuclear cells to induce cathepsins K and V activity in endothelial cells.
Keegan PM, Surapaneni S, and Platt MO. Anemia 2012.
Congratulations to all co-authors!

---

Binbin Chen wins Goldwater Scholarship!
Platt lab undergrad Binbin Chen selected as a recipient of the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the premier academic award given to mathematics, science and engineering undergraduates.
Congratulations Binbin!

---

Congratulations to Philip Keegan for being selected for the Whitaker International Summer Program Grant! He will go to Johannesburg, South Africa to work at the University of Witswatersrand to continue studies on HIV and cardiovascular disease. This grant is funded by Whitaker International Program.

---

Congratulations to undergraduate researcher LaDeidra Monet Roberts for being selected for the Whitaker Undergraduate Program Award for Fall 2012 for her proposed study in France this coming fall! This Scholarship is funded by Whitaker International Program and the Institute of International Education

---

Platt Lab with a few affiliates, including Dr. Platt's mom, participated in the 33rd Annual Sickle Cell Road Race
Saturday April 14, 2012

Click here for pictures

---

Platt Lab Dodgeball team takes on Georgia Tech undergraduates!
Team captain and coach Daniel Clough sees improvement week to week, and promises a win with new strategy. Pictures here!

---

Dr. Platt's recent trip to Johannesburg, Africa to test HIV blood for biomarkers of adherence to antiretroviral drug regimens featured on College of Engineering homepage.

---

Congratulations to Binbin Chen and Sindhuja Surapaneni for being selected for Georgia Tech
President's Undergraduate Research Awards for Spring Semester! (Nov 2011)

---

Congratulations to Dr. Platt for being 1 of 5 selected for the Keystone Symposia Fellows Program
This highly unique, research-driven, diversity-centered program educates early career scientists regarding the inner workings of the life sciences community and provides a venue for high-level interaction with established and leading scientists nationally and globally. The Fellows Program provides context, understanding and insight regarding the development of high-powered research meetings, utilizing shadowing experiences with scientist organizers and key Keystone Symposia staff members. These experiences allow for learning how the research agenda is set, how to engage in high-level discourse on research topics and how to broaden perspectives in life science research. (Nov 2011)

---

New Platt Lab publication accepted into Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics!

"Manipulating substrate and pH in zymography protocols selectively distinguishes cathepsins K, L, S, and V activity in cells and tissues" Catera L. Wilder, Keon-Young Park, Philip M. Keegan, Manu O. Platt (Nov 2011)

---

Welcome new faces to Platt Lab: Dr. Idy Akinsanmi, Dr. Usman Saeed, Terrance White, and Saranya Karthikeyan. Check them out on the People page

---

Paintball and Annual Dinner pictures now up on the Photos page! Check them out...

---

New Platt Lab publication accepted in collaboration with the Segura Lab at UCLA in Integrative Biology!

"VEGF internalization is not required for VEGFR-2 phosphorylation in bioengineered surfaces with covalently linked VEGF." Sean M. Anderson, Bhupinder Shergill, Zachary T. Barry, Eleana Manousiouthakis, Tom T. Chen, Elliot Botvinick, Manu O. Platt, M. Luisa Iruela-Arispe, Tatiana Segura (July 2011)

---

New Platt Lab publication accepted into Journal of Translational Medicine!
"Multiplex Zymography Captures Stage-specific Activity Profiles of Cathepsins K, L, and S in Human Breast, Lung, and Cervical Cancer." Binbin Chen and Manu O. Platt (July 2011)

---

Congratulations to Jerald Dumas for being awarded the FIRST Postdoctoral Fellowship!! (May 2011)

---

Return of the Platt Lab FELLOWSHIP EXPLOSION!! Congratulations to Catera Wilder for being awarded an
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship! AND a Ford Foundation Fellowship

That makes 5 out of 5 NSF Fellows for the Platt Lab. AMAZING!    (April 2011)

---

Congratulations to Binbin Chen for winning SECOND PLACE from the College of Engineering at the UROP Spring Research Symposium this April! Great job Binbin. (April 2011)

---

Congratulations to Dr. Platt for being chosen for the 2010 NIH Director's New Innovator Award!

Press release: Pediatric Stroke Prediction: $1.5M Grant Funds Research Aimed at
Reducing Strokes in Children with Sickle Cell Disease (Oct 2010)