M A K I N G G R E AT S T R I D E S
RESEARCH
A remora fish readies to feed and skim along a whale body. Photo credit: Stanford University, Cascadia Research Collective and Journal of Experimental Biology
International Study Uncovers Secret Surfing Life of Remoras
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ticking to the bodies of sharks and other larger marine life is a well-known specialty of remora fishes (Echeneidae), accomplished through super-powered suction disks on their heads. But now, NJIT researchers have led a study that has fully documented the “suckerfish” in hitchhiking action below the ocean’s surface, uncovering a more refined skill set the fish uses for navigating intense hydrodynamics aboard a 100-foot blue
whale (Balaenoptera musculus). In the Journal of Experimental Biology, an international research team, studying the complex fluid environments of blue whales off the California coast, describes successfully capturing the first-ever continuous recording of remora behavior on their host, using advanced biosensing tags with video-recording capabilities. Brooke Flammang, assistant professor of biology at NJIT and the study’s corresponding author, calls the recording “incredible,” as little has been known previously “about how remoras behave on their hosts in the wild over any prolonged period of time.” The study shows remoras successfully hitchhike aboard baleen whales more than
30 times their size by selecting the most flow-optimal regions on the whale’s body to stick to, such as behind the whale’s blowhole and dorsal fin, where drag resistance for the fish is reduced by as much as 84%. The researchers also discovered remoras can freely move around to feed and socialize even as their whale host hits burst speeds of more than 5 meters per second, by utilizing surfing and skimming behaviors along special low-drag traveling lanes that exist just off the surface of the whale’s body. The team is using their new insights into the remora’s preferred low-drag attachment locations to better inform how they might tag and track whales in studies to come. n
NJIT is designated an R1 research institution, for “Very High Research Activity,” by the Carnegie Classification®. Removing a Roadblock in the Genetic Therapy Revolution
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ell and gene therapies represent a new frontier in the already complex world of biotechnology. However, the distribution and adoption of these promising therapies are hindered by significant manufacturing challenges. NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) has launched a new ultramodern facility to help the industry overcome these challenges. The facility does business as “BioCentriq.” The scientists and engineers at BioCentriq work directly with biopharmaceutical companies to perfect their manufacturing processes, 6 2020 President’s Report
develop their processes for scale-up and produce supplies for their preclinical testing and clinical trials. BioCentriq was formed in collaboration with technology providers, biopharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies and economic development organizations. Its business model allows for the client’s own scientists and engineers to work alongside BioCentriq experts to foster stronger collaboration and faster technology transfer. Cellular and genetic therapies work by delivering cells or genetic material that have been engineered to elicit a therapeutic effect in a patient, such as reprogramming the body’s immune system to detect and fight certain types of cancers, neurological disorders and other autoimmune diseases. This approach may also be used to fight infectious viruses.
The challenges in developing and manufacturing these drugs consistently and at the necessary scale have slowed their entry to the market and made them cost-prohibitive. BioCentriq aims to speed up the production of these medicines while maintaining clinical safety standards and reducing costs. Cell and gene therapy work requires a highly trained workforce. To address current shortages in manufacturing talent, NJIT offers a 30-credit professional master’s program in cell and gene therapy, and BioCentriq provides customized training for biotechnology companies. n Left: BioCentriq Senior Vice President and General Manager Haro Hartounian at the company’s South Brunswick, N.J., facility, where NJII scientists work with drug developers to streamline the processing of new cell and gene therapies.
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