Patrick Bartosch

Joining forces with the International Prostate Cancer Foundation to develop better tests

by Patrick Bartosch on May 17, 2013 at 6:01 am | 0 Comments

Drs. Perera (left) and Patel during the "A Celebration of Collaboration" ceremony on May 10

During a ceremony at Sanford-Burnham at Lake Nona on May 10, the International Prostate Cancer Foundation (IPCF) awarded Ranjan Perera, Ph.D., scientific director of analytical genomics and bioinformatics at our Lake Nona campus, $60,000 to fund a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Perera’s lab.

“Sanford-Burnham can really make an impact in the field,” said Vipul Patel, M.D., FACS, founder of the IPCF and internationally renowned prostate cancer surgeon at Florida Hospital’s Global Robotics Institute, as he acknowledged Dr. Perera’s work to identify molecular markers for prostate cancer. Given IPCF and Sanford-Burnham’s shared goal to develop better diagnoses and treatments, this postdoc grant will hopefully only be a first step in a long and mutually beneficial partnership.

Welcome to our new program director, László Nagy, M.D., Ph.D.

by Patrick Bartosch on May 14, 2013 at 6:01 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Nagy will join Sanford-Burnham at Lake Nona in October.

Please join us in welcoming the internationally renowned genomic scientist László Nagy, M.D., Ph.D., to Sanford-Burnham’s Lake Nona campus. Nagy will serve as professor and program director in our Diabetes and Obesity Research Center. He will join us in October to lead a new cross-platform research program that will help accelerate discoveries at our Orlando campus. Nagy is currently professor and head of the Center for Clinical Genomics and Personalized Medicine at the University of Debrecen Medical and Health Science Center in Hungary.

First five organizations selected for Florida Translational Research Program

by Patrick Bartosch on April 2, 2013 at 6:00 am | 0 Comments

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The Florida Translational Research Program provides Florida-based scientists with access to Sanford-Burnham's drug-discovery technology and expertise.

We announced today the selection of the first five research organizations that will participate in the Florida Translational Research Program (FTRP) to advance drug discovery in the state. The projects focus on cancer, diabetes, and obesity, and are led by scientists from the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida, the University of Miami, Scripps Florida, and a team of our own Lake Nona scientists. The Florida Department of Health and Sanford-Burnham established the FTRP as a competitive grant program that provides funding for collaborative drug discovery projects. The overall goal of the program is to translate research discoveries made in Florida laboratories into the medicines of tomorrow.

Targeting dengue fever with 60° Pharmaceuticals

by Patrick Bartosch on March 2, 2013 at 6:00 am | 0 Comments

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Structure of the human proteinase furin.

We’re partnering with 60° Pharmaceuticals to test furin, a human proteinase, as a drug target for the treatment of dengue fever, one of the most common infectious diseases in the tropics and subtropics. 60° Pharmaceuticals, a philanthropic-for-profit company focused on neglected and rare diseases, will provide funding for the first phase of our research to explore inhibitors of furin.

Partnering with Asia’s largest pharmaceutical company to find obesity treatments

by Patrick Bartosch on February 11, 2013 at 11:00 pm | 0 Comments

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Drs. Smith (TRI), Izumo (Takeda), and Kelly (Sanford-Burnham; left to right) in traditional Japanese coats at the signing ceremony for the renewed partnership

We held a special signing ceremony today at our Lake Nona, Orlando, campus to renew our research agreement with Florida Hospital and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. The renewal extends our collaboration to discover and evaluate new therapeutic approaches to obesity. The collaboration uses a research and drug-development model that creates an early feedback loop in the discovery pipeline. We and our partners expect this model will shorten the time to develop new therapeutics.

Interest in the development of obesity treatments remains strong, as the regulatory approval of two new obesity therapeutics in 2012 offered a proven pathway for drug candidates. “As the worldwide obesity crisis continues to escalate, we are seeing a rise in the prevalence of severe obesity—defined by BMI greater than 40—and we know that this subset of the obese population experiences increased mortality and associated diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer,” said Steven R. Smith, M.D., scientific director of the Florida Hospital – Sanford-Burnham Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes (TRI) and president-elect of The Obesity Society. “These statistics are staggering and clearly demonstrate the need to rapidly develop treatment strategies for obesity.”

Translational Research Institute establishes new research paradigm for metabolic diseases

Originally published March 27, 2012

Florida Hospital and Sanford-Burnham today celebrate the opening of the Florida Hospital – Sanford-Burnham Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes’ (TRI) new state-of-the-art facility in downtown Orlando, Fla., dedicated to the advancement of a new paradigm of personalized approaches to researching and treating diabetes and obesity.

“We are witnessing the rise of personalized medicine, most notably in cancer. Our goal at the TRI is to accelerate the advancement of personalized medicine in diabetes and obesity,” said Steven Smith, M.D., Sanford-Burnham professor and scientific director of the TRI. “We are working to rapidly expand knowledge of complex genetic and molecular causes of diabetes and obesity so that we can better define disease subpopulations. By working independently and in partnership with industry, we hope to develop therapies and treatment approaches tailored to those subpopulations. Our ultimate goal is that our discoveries will someday lead to cures for certain patients.”

Register now for Sanford-Burnham’s SLAS 2013 “Destination Drug Discovery” Satellite Symposium

by Patrick Bartosch on December 14, 2012 at 5:09 am | 0 Comments

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Sanford-Burnham's SLAS 2013 "Destination Drug Discovery" satellite symposium will take place on January 13

We’re holding a satellite symposium in conjunction with the 2013 annual meeting of the Society for Laboratory Automation & Screening (SLAS), in partnership with DisoveRx and HighRes Biosolutions. The event, Destination Drug Discovery, will feature presentations from internationally renowned scientists. The speakers will present their cutting-edge research and the application of novel technologies and approaches to advancing therapeutic drug discovery. The satellite symposium will also provide opportunities for participants to enjoy informal networking with other drug discovery experts during presentations and session breaks.

What: Sanford-Burnham SLAS 2013 Destination Drug Discovery Satellite Symposium
When: Sunday, January 13, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Where: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona, Orlando, Fla. [map]
Keynote speaker: Michel Bouvier, Ph.D., F.C.A.H.S., University of Montreal. Other speakers include Stefan Knapp, Ph.D., University of Oxford.
Who’s invited: The Destination Drug Discovery symposium is open to the public. You do not need to register for SLAS 2013 to attend.
Register: Click here
Twitter: Follow @SanfordBurnham and #SLAS2013
More info: Contact Layton Smith, Ph.D.

The whole world in one afternoon

by Patrick Bartosch on November 28, 2012 at 6:21 am | 0 Comments

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More than 100 students from around the world came together at Sanford-Burnham to discuss science and technology

On a recent fall afternoon, Sanford-Burnham looked more like a United Nations summit than a medical research institute. One hundred students attending the 2012 International Fulbright Science & Technology Conference in Orlando gathered at Sanford-Burnham to discuss research trends and professional pathways available to those pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. All of the students were recipients of Fulbright’s International Science & Technology Awards and are pursuing their doctoral studies in the United States. They came from far-away places like Algeria, Estonia, Iraq, and Nepal, and now attend renowned universities such as the University of California, Berkeley, MIT, Stanford University, and Harvard University. The group’s visit to Medical City was organized by the Lake Nona Institute.

They toured Orlando’s burgeoning life science campus known as Medical City at Lake Nona and attended a panel discussion on science and technology innovation. Drs. Dan Kelly and Sheila Collins of Sanford-Burnham, Dr. M.J. Soileau, vice president of research and commercialization at the University of Central Florida, and Dr. Jason Eichenholz, divisional technology director at Ocean Optics, led the conversation. The panelists spoke about their professional development, how interdisciplinary collaboration drives innovation, and the role of technology in health care—today and in the future.

Lake Nona Impact Forum: partnerships are key for health care innovation

by Patrick Bartosch on November 6, 2012 at 5:10 am | 0 Comments

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Sanford-Burnham's John Reed (right) with Margaret Anderson of FasterCures (left) and Vicki Seyfert-Margolis of the FDA at the Impact Forum.

In our last blog post about the Lake Nona Impact Forum, we focused on technology as an enabler of the health care of the future. Today’s post will be about the importance of partnerships and collaboration in the quest to make health care more efficient, affordable, and accessible. Already, it seems like there’s an extensive amount of collaboration happening in the field. Pharmaceutical companies partner with nonprofit research institutes like Sanford-Burnham to advance drug discovery, health technology companies collaborate with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop novel prostheses, and medical schools partner with hospitals to better educate the physicians of the future. But as we learned during talks and panel discussions at the Impact Forum, collaboration will become even more important in the near future.

As Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson, said during his speech, “No one is going to solve the world’s health care problems alone.” We need to work together to innovate health care solutions that make an impact.

Lake Nona Impact Forum: health care technology of the future

by Patrick Bartosch on November 3, 2012 at 11:00 am | 0 Comments

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Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky spoke about health as a strategic investment at the Lake Nona Impact Forum

More than 100 health care leaders from across the country came together last week for the first Lake Nona Impact Forum. The Forum was initiated by the Lake Nona Institute to create an opportunity for industry leaders to exchange ideas on ways to accelerate the impact of health innovation. Speakers included Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, and Cavan Redmond, CEO of WebMD, among others.

Sanford-Burnham’s CEO, Dr. John Reed, moderated a panel that discussed the obstacles and opportunities in accelerating health innovation, which included Vicki Seyfert-Margolis, Senior Advisor for Science, Innovation and Policy at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Margaret Anderson, Executive Director at FasterCures.

A recurrent theme throughout the three-day event was the impact of technology on health care. J&J’s Gorsky spoke about health being a strategic investment for businesses, communities, and our planet.

“Health care and how it is being delivered is the biggest challenge of our generation,” he said. “And technology is an important aspect of that.”

Dr. Sheila Collins receives Novo Nordisk Diabetes Innovation Award

by Patrick Bartosch on November 2, 2012 at 7:58 am | 0 Comments

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The Novo Nordisk award will help fund Dr. Collins' (above) research into how hormones made in the heart act on fat cells.

Sheila Collins, Ph.D., professor in the Metabolic Signaling and Disease Program at Sanford-Burnham at Lake Nona, was awarded a Novo Nordisk Diabetes Innovation Award of $975,000 over two years. The program period will begin on January 1, 2013. The grant will help Collins and her team conduct research into how hormones made in the heart act on fat cells to regulate metabolic processes that can stimulate energy expenditure and weight loss.

The Novo Nordisk Diabetes Innovation Award Program was launched in 2011 and is very competitive, with more than 100 proposals submitted for funding this year. The goal of the award program is to translate science into new therapies, helping diabetes and obesity patients receive better treatment and increase their chances of living more rewarding lives.

Steven Smith named president-elect of The Obesity Society

by Patrick Bartosch on October 25, 2012 at 5:24 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Steven Smith was appointed president-elect of TOS in September

Steven R. Smith, M.D., co-director of translational research at Sanford-Burnham and scientific director of the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes (TRI), recently began his term as president-elect of The Obesity Society (TOS), following the organization’s September meeting. As the leading scientific society dedicated to the study of obesity, TOS is committed to encouraging research into the causes and treatment of obesity, and to keeping the medical community and public informed of new advances.

“The Obesity Society is focused on education, research, and action to reverse the obesity epidemic and to help all Americans achieve better health,” says Smith. “Society is plagued by this epidemic that threatens our health and burdens our health care delivery system. In my new role, I look forward to helping educate the public, fellow clinicians, and policy makers about the impact of obesity. It is also imperative that we advocate for increased research funding in parallel with ongoing efforts to improve health through nutrition and physical activity.” At Sanford-Burnham and the TRI, Smith and his team hope to “crack the code” of obesity and provide more individualized, tailored approaches to treatment and prevention.

Dwight Towler to lead Sanford-Burnham’s Cardiovascular Pathobiology Program

by Patrick Bartosch on October 17, 2012 at 5:15 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Towler will join Sanford-Burnham as professor and director of the Cardiovascular Pathobiology Program

We’re pleased to announce that Dwight A. Towler, M.D., Ph.D. is joining Sanford-Burnham’s Lake Nona, Orlando campus as professor and director of our Cardiovascular Pathobiology Program. As program director, Towler will lead the Institute’s research into fundamental and early translational aspects of cardiovascular biology, physiology, and disease. Before joining Sanford-Burnham, Towler was the Ira M. Lang Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Lipid Research at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. He will formally assume the position at Sanford-Burnham in November 2012.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Towler, a world-renowned endocrinologist and vascular biologist, to the Institute,” said Sanford-Burnham at Lake Nona scientific director Daniel Kelly, M.D. “At Washington University, Dr. Towler conducted extensive research into the cardiovascular effects of type 2 diabetes, which is a key research area within the Diabetes and Obesity Research Center at Sanford-Burnham.”

Celebrating Science in Washington, D.C.

by Patrick Bartosch on September 6, 2012 at 8:48 am | 0 Comments

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A Celebration of Science is a three-day event highlighting the economic and social benefits of scientific research

Beginning tomorrow, scientists of all backgrounds will come together in Washington, D.C., for the first Celebration of Science event, organized by the Milken Institute and FasterCures. The three-day event (September 7-9) will highlight the economic and social benefits of scientific research and honor scientific achievements that are improving lives around the world.

The event will include panels and presentations, activities on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and a working meeting on accelerating innovation in the biosciences. During an evening event at the Kennedy Center on Saturday, the organizers will honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science.

NIH director Francis Collins calls for continued funding of basic medical research

by Patrick Bartosch on September 5, 2012 at 5:51 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Francis Collins makes a compelling case for continued funding of basic medical research (Photo by National Institutes of Health)

In an editorial for Science, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), makes a convincing case for continued funding of basic medical research. In the editorial, Dr. Collins writes that the NIH will continue to support basic research, which it defines as systematic study directed toward fuller knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications in mind. According to the article:

“In this time of severe budget constraints, Americans need to know that today’s basic research is the engine that powers tomorrow’s therapeutic discoveries,” says Dr. Francis Collins. “They need to know that basic research is the type of science that the private sector, which requires rapid returns on investment, cannot afford to fund. They need to know that, because it is impossible to predict whence the next treatment may emerge, the nation must support a broad portfolio of basic research.”
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Joining forces with the International Prostate Cancer Foundation to develop better tests

Welcome to our new program director, László Nagy, M.D., Ph.D.

First five organizations selected for Florida Translational Research Program

Targeting dengue fever with 60° Pharmaceuticals

Partnering with Asia’s largest pharmaceutical company to find obesity treatments

Top 10 most-read blog posts of 2012: #9

Translational Research Institute establishes new research paradigm for metabolic diseases

Register now for Sanford-Burnham’s SLAS 2013 “Destination Drug Discovery” Satellite Symposium

The whole world in one afternoon

Lake Nona Impact Forum: partnerships are key for health care innovation

Lake Nona Impact Forum: health care technology of the future

Dr. Sheila Collins receives Novo Nordisk Diabetes Innovation Award

Steven Smith named president-elect of The Obesity Society

Dwight Towler to lead Sanford-Burnham’s Cardiovascular Pathobiology Program

Celebrating Science in Washington, D.C.

NIH director Francis Collins calls for continued funding of basic medical research

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