Recognising the importance and impact of Imaging Scientists: Global guidelines for establishing career paths within core facilities.

In the dynamic landscape of scientific research, imaging core facilities are vital hubs propelling collaboration and innovation at the technology development and dissemination frontier. Here, we present a collaborative effort led by Global BioImaging (GBI), introducing international recommendations geared towards elevating the careers of Imaging Scientists in core facilities. Despite the critical role of Imaging Scientists in modern research ecosystems, challenges persist in recognising their value, aligning performance metrics and providing avenues for career progression and job security.

Activated human primary NK cells efficiently kill colorectal cancer cells in 3D spheroid cultures irrespectively of the level of PD-L1 expression.

Haploidentical Natural Killer (NK) cells have been shown as an effective and safe alternative for the treatment of haematological malignancies with poor prognosis for which traditional therapies are ineffective. In contrast to haematological cancer cells, that mainly grow as single suspension cells, solid carcinomas are characterised by a tridimensional (3D) architecture that provide specific surviving advantages and resistance against chemo- and radiotherapy. However, little is known about the impact of 3D growth on solid cancer immunotherapy especially adoptive NK cell transfer.

Cardiovascular drug development: is it dead or just hibernating?

Despite the global burden of cardiovascular disease, investment in cardiovascular drug development has stagnated over the past 2 decades, with relative underinvestment compared with other therapeutic areas. The reasons for this trend are multifactorial, but of primary concern is the high cost of conducting cardiovascular outcome trials in the current regulatory environment that demands a direct assessment of risks and benefits, using clinically-evident cardiovascular endpoints. To work toward consensus on improving the environment for cardiovascular drug development, stakeholders from academia, industry, regulatory bodies, and government agencies convened for a think tank meeting in July 2014 in Washington, DC.