Sanford Burnham Prebys

David Brenner’s latest essay for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Community Voices Project is now live. “𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲," describes how living a vigorous life: walking, gardening and enjoying sex well into the golden years, can lead to a longer well-lived life. Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3VCsi5D.

Sanford Burnham Prebys recognized the beginning of Pride month with a Pride flag-raising event on Friday, June 7, 2024. The gathering included an opportunity for speakers in a variety of roles throughout the Institute to share comments on the meaning of the Pride flag in their lives and careers. 🏳️🌈 David Brenner, M.D., president, CEO and Donald Bren Chief Executive Chair at Sanford Burnham Prebys, opened the ceremony, saying, “I’m very proud of everyone for working together to make this a welcoming community.” Alessandra (Lale) Cecchini, Ph.D., postdoctoral associate in the lab of Alessandra Sacco, Ph.D., concluded the formal ceremony, reflecting, “This gesture speaks loudly about who we are and what we stand for in terms of valuing acceptance, unity, respect and kindness.” She added, “While we have come a long way, we still have further to go. I hope this and other diversity-related events on campus encourage you to feel safe and empowered to fully be yourself.” Learn more about the event: https://bit.ly/4bU4UXX #pride #pridemonth #dei #deib #diversity #equity #inclusion #belonging

🎓❤️ On Friday, May 31, 2024, the Sanford Burnham Prebys Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences hosted four graduates, their family members and friends as well as current students, faculty members and staff at the Institute’s campus in La Jolla for the school’s first-ever Commencement ceremony. In addition to honoring the four graduates in attendance, the event also recognized the 62 other alumni who graduated from the Institute’s graduate school in the nearly 20 years since its founding in 2006. “The faculty and community at Sanford Burnham Prebys have been tremendous and afforded me the most meaningful opportunities to learn and grow,” said Stephen Sakuma, Ph.D. ’24, during his speech on behalf of Sanford Burnham Prebys alumni. “The journey has been long and, at times, arduous, but it also has been exceedingly rewarding.” Read more: https://bit.ly/3yWww0f #graduateschool #scientificresearch 📸 Pictured from left to right are Rachael McVicar, Ph.D. ’23; James Kent, Ph.D. ’22; Monica Gonzalez Ramirez, Ph.D. ’18; and Stephen Sakuma, Ph.D. ’24.

Congratulations to Chiara Nicoletti, Ph.D., one of three winners of the Young Investigators Award at the 2024 Dysferlin Conference organized by Jain Foundation Inc. Nicoletti, a member of the Puri laboratory at Sanford Burnham Prebys, played a crucial role in analyzing and characterizing single-cell and single-nucleus gene expression in dysferlin-deficient muscle, a challenging task given the wide breadth of data. Nicoletti's efforts have led to a deepened understanding of #dysferlinopathy, a group of inherited muscle diseases characterized by progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. The conditions, for which there are no treatments or cures, are caused by a mutation in the gene that makes #dysferlin, which is important for efficient muscle repair.

Stem cell scientists: Join the next Southern California Stem Cell Seminar on June 13, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. PDT featuring Giorgia Quadrato, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California. This event is in collaboration with UC San Diego and hosted by Evan Snyder, M.D., Ph.D. Register: https://bit.ly/4bIN4Hz #stemcells

Brooke M. Emerling, Ph.D., is contributing to a revival of interest in an underappreciated set of enzymes called phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinases (PI5P4Ks). Emerling and team have now shown for the first time that PI5P4K activity is connected to the regulation of an ancient signaling system called the hippo pathway, which is found in a wide variety of organisms and is known to help human organs grow and control their size. In a study published in Science Signaling, Emerling and co-senior author Raymond Blind, Ph.D., at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, shared their findings, which open new research avenues to tackle aggressive cancers. Read more: https://bit.ly/3Vhg3wh #enzymes #PI5P4K #cancerresearch

More than 120 pancreatic cancer researchers from the West Coast traveled to San Diego from as far as Vancouver to attend the 2024 PancWest Symposium held at Sanford Burnham Prebys on May 17. The PancWest Symposium is held every two years in a different city to showcase expert scientists who are making important contributions to the field of pancreatic cancer research, including tumorigenesis, tumor progression and the discovery of novel therapeutic paradigms, such as immunomodulation and metabolic targeting. "Being a part of PancWest has been a transformative experience,” shares co-host Pamela Itkin-Ansari, Ph.D., adjunct professor in the Institute’s Development, Aging and Regeneration Program. “The exchange of groundbreaking research and innovative ideas among leading experts advanced our scientific understanding.”  “It also paved the way for new therapeutic strategies, ultimately offering hope and improved outcomes for patients battling pancreatic cancer," adds co-host Cosimo Commisso, Ph.D., director of, and associate professor in, the Institute’s Cancer Metabolism and Microenvironment Program. Read more: https://bit.ly/4dO0CD5 #pancreaticcancer #cancerresearch #tumorigenesis #tumorprogression #immunomodulation #metabolictargeting

Twelve scientists-in-training at Sanford Burnham Prebys presented research updates at The Conrad Prebys Foundation Fellows Symposium on May 14, 2024, at the Institute’s Fishman Auditorium.  The presentations were the culmination of a yearlong educational program at Sanford Burnham Prebys providing early-career scientists with workshops, mentorship and research experiences focused on how to transform research discoveries into new treatments. The Conrad Prebys Foundation provided critical funding for the program as part of the foundation’s mission to increase the diversity of San Diego’s biomedical workforce. The graduate students and postdoctoral fellows selected to participate in the program conducted projects at the Institute’s Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, the nation’s leading nonprofit drug discovery center. Read more: https://bit.ly/3V898Wd #drugdiscovery

Sreeja Roy, PhD., joined Sanford Burnham Prebys in September 2021 as a postdoctoral associate in the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program. She received one of two prestigious fellowships designed to support postdoctoral researchers in the lab of Carl Ware, Ph.D., director of the Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Center and professor in the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program. Roy’s project at the Ware lab involves making immunotherapies more effective in treating #melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. “Unfortunately, some tumors never respond to #immunotherapy treatments,” explains Roy. “Also, tumors can initially begin to shrink before becoming resistant to a treatment.” Under Ware’s direction, Roy is testing ways to enhance existing immunotherapies through the lymphotoxin-β receptor, which is found on some types of immune cells. Read more: https://bit.ly/44HLV0c

The May 10 issue of The Cancer Letter details a collaboration between Sanford Burnham Prebys and National Cancer Institute (NCI) scientists to investigate a new AI tool that may be able to match cancer drugs more precisely to patients. Authored by Sanju Sinha, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Cancer Molecular Therapeutics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys, and the NCI’s Eytan Ruppin, M.D., Ph.D., the “Trials & Tribulations” feature describes a first-of-its-kind computational tool to systematically predict patient response to cancer drugs at single-cell resolution. The Cancer Letter is a news organization and weekly publication based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on cancer research and clinical care. Read more: https://bit.ly/3ystfoW