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The threat to San Diego’s cancer research centers

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on November 10, 2011 at 1:52 pm | 0 Comments

http://beaker.sanfordburnham.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CancerCenterv2.jpg

As the U.S. Congress’ “Deficit Supercommittee” faces a November 23 deadline to cut the national deficit, the directors of San Diego’s three National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers explain why federal funding is so important to cancer research and to the local economy:

Much of San Diego’s cancer research is supported by federal funding—particularly by NCI and its parent agency, the National Institutes of Health. This support is crucial to San Diego’s economy—our city is home to the most geographically dense life-sciences research cluster in the world. From 2008 to 2010, San Diego topped every other county in the state in the amount of funding received from the NIH. In 2010, this meant $1.3 billion entered the local economy.

Read the editorial, co-authored by Sanford-Burnham’s President, Dr. Kristiina Vuori, the Salk Institute’s Dr. Tony Hunter, and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center’s Dr. Thomas Kipps, in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
The threat to San Diego’s cancer research centers

Obesity is not one condition: an interview with Dr. Steven Smith

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on October 21, 2011 at 9:28 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Steven Smith, scientific director of the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes

Dr. Steven Smith is the scientific director of the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes, a collaboration between Sanford-Burnham and Florida Hospital. In a special presentation at Obesity 2011: The Obesity Society 29th Annual Scientific Meeting, held October 1-5 in Orlando, Fla., Dr. Smith discussed some up-and-coming anti-obesity agents, how they work, and how physicians might be able to put them to use. In his talk, he emphasized the importance of better understanding the fundamental cellular mechanisms that fuel obesity. With a greater appreciation for human metabolism, Dr. Smith explained, scientists will be able to develop new medications that focus less on appetite suppression (the target of most current weight loss drugs) and more on peripheral targets such as muscle or fat.

Stem Cell Awareness Day at Sanford-Burnham

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on October 13, 2011 at 11:53 am | 0 Comments

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Brandon Nelson, manager of Sanford-Burnham's Stem Cell Research Center, welcomes visitors.

On October 5, we opened our La Jolla campus to the San Diego community in honor of Stem Cell Awareness Day. Despite the rain and wind, a number of people from the San Diego Blood Bank, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, local schools, and elsewhere dropped by to learn about stem cell research and the promise these special cells hold for discovering the root causes of disease, finding new treatments, and ultimately improving the human condition.

Cancer Research Blog Carnival #50

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on October 7, 2011 at 10:30 am | 1 comment

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Melanoma cells (image courtesy of the Courtneidge lab at Sanford-Burnham)

Welcome to the *50th* edition of the Cancer Research Blog Carnival – your monthly roundup of writing from the cancer blogosphere. The carnival is always looking for new hosts. If you’re interested, please send an email or leave a comment below to sign up. Submit your own cancer-related blog posts here.

Disclaimer: While Beaker is happy to host this month and is a big supporter of the great science blogging community, please remember the opinions expressed here belong to those who wrote them and are not necessarily supported by Sanford-Burnham researchers. Moreover, the information found here is not intended as recommendations about how to diagnose or treat illnesses. If you have a personal medical issue and need advice, please contact your physician.

Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer this week. To honor the inventor and entrepreneur, a surgeon-by-day-blogger-by-night known by the pseudonym Orac re-ran a couple of posts he originally penned in June 2009 as part of a series about Jobs’ health problems. In them, Orac discusses the medicine and science behind neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas that have metastasized to the liver and their treatment by liver transplant. Check out the blog at Respectful Insolence.

Join us October 5th for Stem Cell Awareness Day

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on September 23, 2011 at 12:14 pm | 0 Comments

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Left: Brandon Nelson, manager of Sanford-Burnham's Stem Cell Research Center, pulls stem cells out of cryogenic storage (Photo by Nadia Borowski Scott) Right: Cluster of neurons (pink) derived from stem cells.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 is Stem Cell Awareness Day, sponsored by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. To mark the occasion at Sanford-Burnham, we are opening our doors to anyone who wants to learn about the latest in stem cell research and the therapeutic potential stem cells hold for Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, joint diseases, spinal cord injury, diabetes, and more.

What: Stem Cell Awareness Day
Public tours of Sanford-Burnham’s stem cell research facility and drug discovery center
When: Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 3:00-4:00 p.m.
Where: Sanford-Burnham’s La Jolla, California campus
10901 North Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, California 92037
See map here and follow event signs to parking. Tours will begin outside Building 7.
Who: students, teachers, patients, advocates, press, and other members of the community are invited
RSVP: If you plan to attend or have any questions, please contact Heather Buschman at
hbuschman@sanfordburnham.org or 858-610-3808.

Attendees will tour our Stem Cell Research Center and meet scientists who are turning stem cells into other cell types that can be used to replace diseased or damaged tissue in heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and more. Visitors will have the chance to look through a microscope at cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) that are able to beat even in a laboratory dish. We will also take visitors to the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, where stem cells and robots are being used to discover new medicines by modeling diseases in a dish.

Check out more Stem Cell Awareness Day events taking place throughout California, the U.S., and the world or read more about Sanford-Burnham stem cell research on our blog.

A visit from Congressman Duncan D. Hunter

by Kristina Meek on September 2, 2011 at 8:58 am | 0 Comments

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CEO Dr. John Reed (left) and Congressman Duncan D. Hunter

Sanford-Burnham often welcomes public figures or community leaders onto its campuses to share the work taking place at the Institute. Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, U.S. Representative for California’s 52nd congressional district, expressed his gratitude at having drug discovery illuminated for him during a recent visit to the Institute’s La Jolla campus.

During his tour, Congressman Hunter met with Brandon Nelson, manager of the Stem Cell Core, one of Sanford-Burnham’s valuable Shared Resources. Nelson presented some recent advances in stem cell biology, including how researchers are using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to generate heart and nerve cells. With this tool, scientists are able to model diseases in a dish and test potential new medicines. Congressman Hunter even took a look at beating cardiomyocytes (heart cells) under a microscope.

Developments to Watch: New frontier in Alzheimer’s disease

by Communications Staff on August 24, 2011 at 10:26 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Evan Snyder (right) interviews Dr. Stuart Lipton in Medscape's "Developments to Watch"

Medscape, a physician-oriented website run by WebMD, visited Sanford-Burnham’s La Jolla campus this summer to record interviews with researchers from both Orlando and San Diego for a new online video program called Developments to Watch. The talk show-like discussions are hosted by Dr. Evan Snyder, who directs the Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology Program at Sanford-Burnham. The first episode, A New Frontier in Alzheimer’s Disease, is now available. In the video, Dr. Snyder speaks with Dr. Stuart Lipton, director of the Del E. Webb Center for Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research, about his work on Alzheimer’s disease. They discuss what new findings—and potential treatments—are on the horizon and how they might impact patients.

A user name and password are required to access Medscape, but the site and content are free. New installments will be added monthly.

Watch the video, then come back here to let us know what you think!

For more about our research on Alzheimer’s disease, check out these blog posts:
Getting to the root of Alzheimer’s disease
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Earlier
New Partnership Targets Brain Conditions
Safely Treating Alzheimer’s Disease
Saying NO to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases

Sanford-Burnham CEO meets with FDA Commissioner

by Communications Staff on August 22, 2011 at 4:49 pm | 0 Comments

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Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA commissioner

Sanford-Burnham CEO Dr. John Reed met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg last month at the FDA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland to discuss the FDA’s new initiatives in innovation. The meeting was a great opportunity to exchange ideas on how to make the process of reviewing new drug applications more effective and efficient—in other words, how to get more new medicines to the people who need them.

Dr. Hamburg was appointed as the 21^st FDA commissioner by President Obama and assumed her new role in May 2009. She brings a fresh perspective to the FDA and a commitment to improving the organization’s performance. The FDA is the regulatory authority that determines how new medicines, diagnostics, and medical devices will be tested on humans. They set the performance and safety criteria required for commercialization in the United States.

Save the Date: Third Annual Rare Disease Symposium

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on August 12, 2011 at 4:18 pm | 0 Comments

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Gianna Dragatto, a young patient with a rare disease called Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG), hopes to see you at Sanford-Burnham's 3rd Annual Rare Disease Symposium on February 24, 2012.

Dr. Eric Green, keynote speaker (photo by Maggie Bartlett)

What: 3^rd Annual Sanford-Burnham Rare Disease Symposium
Where: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif.
When: February 24, 2012
Keynote speaker: Dr. Eric Green, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the NIH

Sanford-Burnham’s successful series of Rare Disease symposia is based on the concept that treatment of rare diseases requires participation and exchange among all stakeholders—scientists, physicians, affected patients and their families, support groups, granting agencies, industry, and philanthropists.

This year’s event, organized by Dr. Hudson Freeze, will focus on Glycosylation-Based Disorders: Discovery, Patients, and Progress Toward Treatments.

Save the date now. Program and registration information will be available soon. In the meantime, video and media coverage of last year’s event are available here.

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Science…under the Tuscan sun

by Faculty Contributor on July 21, 2011 at 2:24 pm | 0 Comments

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Harrison Ford plays a glycobiologist in the movie Extraordinary Measures.

In the movie Extraordinary Measures, Harrison Ford plays a glycobiologist.

If brides and grooms can have destination weddings, then scientists should be able to have destination research conferences. These types of conferences are increasingly popular as opportunities for scientists to experience fun locales while also interacting and exchanging ideas with a relatively intimate group of expert colleagues. The Gordon Research Conferences have been trendsetters with this format since the 1930s, sponsoring scientific meetings on a variety of topics at sites within the U.S. Starting in 1990, Gordon Conferences have been held in more exotic foreign locations, including Italy, Switzerland, Japan, England, Hong Kong… and even Texas.

Earlier this summer, Dr. Hudson Freeze, program director in Sanford-Burnham’s Sanford Children’s Health Research Center, chaired the Gordon Conference on Glycobiology in Lucca, Italy. 170 glycobiologists from around the world gathered to hear about exciting new developments in the science of carbohydrates (sugar molecules) and the complex molecules like proteins and lipids whose properties are influenced by incorporation of carbohydrates. Once a rather understudied area of biology, glycobiology has been transformed by the realization that carbohydrates mediate many of the key molecular interactions that govern cellular function. Meeting topics included the effects of sugar modifications during development, the role of carbohydrates in normal adult physiology and the involvement of carbohydrates in tissue engineering and repair, including their importance in stem cell biology.

Why are we so fat?

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on July 11, 2011 at 2:33 pm | 0 Comments

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New report shows the percent of the population considered obese has increased over the past two decades.

A new report released by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation held dire news about the state of America’s obesity epidemic. The report, aptly named “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011,” revealed several eye-opening statistics. Here are a few:

• Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 15 percent. Now every state does.
• Today, 12 states have obesity rates over 30 percent. Four years ago, only one did.
• Since 1995, diabetes rates (long associated with obesity) have doubled in eight states. Then, only four states had diabetes rates above six percent. Now, 43 states have diabetes rates over seven percent, and 32 have rates above eight percent.

To understand why the nation’s weight problem has ballooned over the past two decades, obesity researchers are increasingly looking to our environment. The Orlando Sentinel interviewed obesity expert Dr. Steven R. Smith, Sanford-Burnham professor and scientific director of the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes (TRI), a collaboration between Florida Hospital and Sanford-Burnham. He said:

“Our genes haven’t changed that much in thousands of years, but we have seen a rapid change in the environment, and that has interacted with our genetic propensity toward obesity.”

Join us for a congressional briefing on Alzheimer’s disease

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on July 8, 2011 at 3:25 pm | 1 comment

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The United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.

What: Congressional Briefing on Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Therapeutic Advancements, Innovations and Treatments

CHI-The California Healthcare Institute and the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) invite you to a congressional briefing that will facilitate a dialogue about Alzheimer’s disease research. This program will include an overview of advances stemming from California’s and New Jersey’s life sciences sectors, with an expert panel discussing current research and drug development, as well as future discoveries, followed by a brief question and answer session.

When: July 14, 2011, 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Where: Capitol Visitor’s Center, Congressional Meeting Room South, Washington, D.C.

Why: According to a 2011 report released by the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 5.4 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and someone develops the disease every 69 seconds. The United States, like many other countries, has an aging population with nearly one in five residents reaching the age of 65 or older by 2030. Additionally, in 2010, 14.9 million family members and friends provided 17 billion hours of unpaid care to those living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias — care valued at approximately $202 billion. With the imminent increase in dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions — and without a cure — the development of new innovations and treatments remains all the more critical to assist in improving the quality of life for those affected. CHI members Genentech, Pfizer, Sanford-Burnham and University of California, Irvine and HINJ members Merck, Lundbeck, Bayer and Pfizer are all working to advance important new studies and therapeutics.

Who:
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)

David Gollaher, Ph.D., President & CEO, CHI
Dean J. Paranicas, President & CEO, HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ)
Joseph Hammang, Ph.D., Senior Director, Worldwide Science Policy, Pfizer
Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Del E. Webb Center for Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
Bob Nelson, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Lundbeck Research USA
Wayne Poon, Ph.D., Director, UCI MIND Brain Bank and Tissue Repository
Kimberly Scearce-Levie, Ph.D., head of in vivo neurobiology at Genentech Inc.

RSVP to Caitlin Doyle at doyle@chi.org or (202) 974-6323

Coming soon: Medscape’s “Developments to Watch”

by Kristina Meek on July 1, 2011 at 7:08 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Evan Snyder (right) interviews his colleague, Dr. Steven Smith, on the Medscape set.

Dr. Evan Snyder interviews his colleague, Dr. Steven Smith, on the Medscape set.

Last week, Sanford-Burnham’s Fishman Auditorium, on the Institute’s La Jolla campus, was transformed into a temporary television studio. It was hardly recognizable under the bright lights and set dressing. Medical website Medscape recorded interviews with three Sanford-Burnham researchers for a new video series called “Developments to Watch.” The talk show-like discussions were hosted by Dr. Evan Snyder, who directs the Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology Program at Sanford-Burnham. Dr. Snyder is both a medical doctor who regularly sees patients and a scientist who conducts research in his own lab – the perfect person to help explain how discoveries made today might one day help patients.

Medscape is part of the network of sites run by WebMD. With this newest video series, Sanford-Burnham scientists will be providing expert commentary and information to help keep Medscape’s audience – primary care physicians, specialists and other health professionals – up-to-date on the latest medical research and what it means for their patients.

Witnessing the birth of a new scientific field

by Heather Buschman, Ph.D. on June 14, 2011 at 1:04 pm | 1 comment

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Dr. Arthur Olson, of the The Scripps Research Institute, shared this image, which models the complement of proteins and other molecules in blood serum. Dr. Olson's lab uses animation techniques normally found in blockbuster movies to make these sophisticated models. Image courtesy of TSRI's Molecular Graphics Laboratory.

Each year, Sanford-Burnham’s annual symposium features a different topic. Past years have focused on infectious diseases, RNA biology and other disciplines. This year, however, the 33^rd annual meeting introduced an entirely new scientific field: Structural Systems Biology.The June 7 symposium was opened with a welcome from Dr. Adam Godzik, director of Sanford-Burnham’s Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Program and one of the meeting’s co-organizers. “When I tell people I am a biologist, they think of organisms,” he said, showing a picture of zoo animals and wildflowers. “But I actually work on the parts.” With that, he flipped to cartoons of genes and proteins.

Structural Biology generates data related to the physical shape of these individual proteins– how they’re folded, how they form complexes with other proteins, what they look like in 3D. That information helps answer questions about how proteins perform their duties –facilitate chemical reactions, carry molecular signals in and out of cells, control cellular movements, etc. Understanding a protein’s structure and function helps identify its role in human health and disease, as well as its potential as a therapeutic target.

But, as Dr. Godzik went on to explain, these individual components all exist as part of a system. They are each a “node” in a network that controls an aspect of cellular behavior – turning genes on and off, communicating with other cells, metabolizing nutrients or performing any number of other processes. Systems Biology focuses on all these components and the interactions among them. Scientists in this field aim to create meaningful models capable of quantifying and predicting these complex cellular processes.

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Discovering the future

by Josh Baxt on June 9, 2011 at 7:56 am | 0 Comments

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Dr. Anthony Tether, Dr. Michael Jackson, Duane Roth and Greg Lucier

What will the future look like? On June 5, four research experts and around 200 guests gathered at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines to answer this question. The event, Sanford-Burnham’s annual President’s Circle reception, brought together Dr. Anthony Tether, former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Greg Lucier, chairman of both Life Technologies and the Sanford-Burnham board of trustees and Dr. Michael Jackson, vice president of Drug Discovery at Sanford-Burnham and was moderated by Duane Roth, CEO of CONNECT. Together, they shared their thoughts on how research will impact human health in coming years.

DARPA has been a key part of the United States’ technological success for 50 years. The agency was created after the first Sputnik launch, an event that shocked the American public and led to new approaches to research. “DARPA was initiated to create technological surprise,” said Dr. Tether.

The threat to San Diego’s cancer research centers

Obesity is not one condition: an interview with Dr. Steven Smith

Stem Cell Awareness Day at Sanford-Burnham

Cancer Research Blog Carnival #50

Join us October 5th for Stem Cell Awareness Day

A visit from Congressman Duncan D. Hunter

Developments to Watch: New frontier in Alzheimer’s disease

Sanford-Burnham CEO meets with FDA Commissioner

Save the Date: Third Annual Rare Disease Symposium

Science…under the Tuscan sun

Why are we so fat?

Join us for a congressional briefing on Alzheimer’s disease

Coming soon: Medscape’s “Developments to Watch”

Witnessing the birth of a new scientific field

Discovering the future

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