DISCOVERIES

March 2024

Xueqin Sun seeks to illuminate the underlying causes of cancer

Growing up in China, the world’s second most populous country at 1.425 billion people, Xueqin “Sherine” Sun, Ph.D., says she was acutely aware of the presence of cancer and its consequences. Almost one-quarter of new cancer cases each year occur in China, and one in three deaths.

“I have seen the enormous disability, suffering and mortality caused by cancer. As it becomes more prevalent globally, I believe that almost everyone has or will experience cancer at personal level, in their families or among friends. I’ve lost many relatives and friends to cancer and I have always been curious about what is cancer, why people get cancer and why we cannot treat cancer like other curable diseases?"

As a new assistant professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys faculty, Sun seeks to better understand the genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of cancers, using genome editing technologies, animal and patient-derived models, and other tools to develop more effective cancer therapies.

Angela Liou tackles pediatric brain tumors head-on

Despite improvements in treatments, survival rates among children with brain and central nervous system (CNS) cancers are decidedly mixed, ranging from close to 100% to almost zero five years after diagnosis.

Angela Liou, M.D., who recently joined the faculty at Sanford Burnham Prebys as a physician-scientist, is acutely aware of the numbers.

“I’m motivated by my passion for cancer research, my drive to improve care for my patients and the dismal prognosis of most malignant brain tumors despite advances in cancer treatment, said Liou. “I have taken care of many children who have died from CNS tumors and each child instilled in me an urgency to find effective therapies."

Liou, who will divide her time between conducting research in the lab of Peter Adams, Ph.D., director and professor in the Cancer Genome and Epigenetics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys and practicing pediatric oncology and hematology at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, studies the biological and epigenomic origins of CNS tumors in children.

What makes a pathogen antibiotic-resistant?

Antimicrobial resistance is a story of constantly moving parts and players. With every new or tweaked antibiotic or antimicrobial drug, the targeted pathogens begin the evolutionary dance of acquiring resistance, prompting researchers to constantly develop workarounds or entirely new classes of medicine.

Understanding the underlying mechanisms of acquired antimicrobial resistance is critical to the fight, a case of knowing one’s enemy. In a new paper published March 2, 2024 in npj Antimicrobials and Resistance, part of the Nature Portfolio, researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys, working with Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, describe how two notable pathogens—Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii—employ distinctly different tools to fend off antibiotic attack.

Science in Pictures

In this confocal image of a breast organoid, contractile myoepithelial cells (blue) are shown crawling on secretory breast cells. Myoepithelial cells are present in mammary, sweat, lacrimal and salivary glands where they help regulate flow of fluids. Image courtesy of Jakup Sumbal, Masaryk University, Czech Republic.

Events

Sharing science and stories at Rare Disease Day Symposium

The Sanford Burnham Prebys Rare Disease Day Symposium brought patients, families, physicians, scientists, industry experts and advocates together with a focus on congenital disorders of glycosylation.

Sanford Burnham Prebys, in partnership with CDG CARE and the Sanford Children’s Health Research Center, hosted a Rare Disease Day Symposium in San Diego from March 1-3, 2024. The goal of the event was to share the latest scientific developments from researchers studying congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG), and to foster new perspectives, ideas and collaborations to accelerate the creation and implementation of better therapies and treatment plans for those living with CDG.

Melanoma’s mysteries revealed at Sanford Burnham Prebys

The Institute’s NCI-designated Cancer Center hosted the open house on Wednesday, March 20. It provided an opportunity for community members to meet scientists who seek to better understand melanoma and use this knowledge to improve treatment and prevention.

The event was sponsored by the center’s Community Advisory Board, an eight-member committee that focuses on advocacy, education and community engagement, as well as providing Cancer Center leaders and members with the perspectives of patients, survivors and their loved ones.

Test your mettle with Pedal, ride with Team Sanford Burnham Prebys

Sanford Burnham Prebys is gearing up for Padres Pedal the Cause, an annual fundraising race that invites participants to cycle, spin, run or walk to support cancer research in San Diego. The event will take place on Saturday, April 7, 2024.

Philanthropy

Join us

Please join Sanford Burnham Prebys as a partner in discovery. Our world-class research programs are dedicated to finding cures for human disease to help individuals and their families. Your gift helps our scientists advance medical research to save lives.