Dear colleagues and friends,
SBP scientists are continuing to push the frontiers of biomedical research through discoveries about the cellular and molecular underpinnings of intractable diseases. This month’s highlights include new findings that illuminate potential new treatment avenues for inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, muscular dystrophy, and more. We also congratulate SBP faculty José Luis Millán, Ph.D., and Tao Long Ph.D., on their recent awards for outstanding contributions to science.
We are excited to welcome breast cancer researcher Svasti Haricharan, Ph.D. as the newest member of the Institute’s faculty, and Anna Barker, Ph.D., co-director of the Complex Adaptive System Initiative and professor at Arizona State University, to our Board of Trustees. Jim Blair, Ph.D. and Bill Gerhart have been elected to serve as chair and vice chair of the Board of Trustees, respectively, bringing experience in science and industry that ensure our continued success toward advancing discoveries to benefit human health.
Looking ahead, we hope you will join us for our next SBP Insights community event on October 25 focused on the latest breakthroughs in breast cancer research and care, as well as our annual fundraising gala in November to support further critical advances in biomedical research.
I hope you enjoy this issue.
Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D.
President
Pauline and Stanley Foster Presidential Chair
|
|
Solving the gut inflammation puzzle
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an umbrella term for a number of gut disorders—including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease—remains a clinical challenge. Current treatments don’t work for all patients, and many stop working over time. Despite their different responses to treatment, all IBD patients share a commonality: intestinal inflammation. Now, Ze’ev Ronai, Ph.D., and his team have identified the molecular “lock” that keeps inflammation in check, yielding potential therapeutic targets for IBD.
|
|
Malicious brain cell identified
Brain inflammation underlies many disorders, including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Now, Jerold Chun, M.D., Ph.D., and his team have discovered a new type of brain cell that is the first to spring into action in a neuroinflammatory disease setting. Dubbed immediate early astrocytes, or ieAstrocytes, developing therapies that target these cells could offer new approaches for treating neuroinflammatory diseases.
|
|
How muscle cells journey to the dark side
Answers to treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) could lie in better understanding muscle repair—which resembles a delicate cellular dance choreographed by fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs). Now, Lorenzo Puri, M.D., and his team have identified makers on FAPs driving the DMD symptoms, meaning they could be targeted for drug development.
|
|
Sarcolipin tricks muscle into using more energy, burning fat
Ever wonder why you burn fat and heat up when you exercise, or why your body shivers when you’re cold? Muthu Periasamy, Ph.D., and his team have shown that sarcolipin, a small peptide only found in muscles, is recruited during exercise or cold exposure and increases muscle energy expenditure and fat oxidization. This finding could lead to treatments for metabolic disorders such as obesity.
|
|
Trustees of SBP elect new Board leadership, welcome Board member
Past vice chair James C. Blair, Ph.D., current partner at Domain Associates, has been elected chair of SBP’s Board of Trustees. William Gerhart, current Board member and chairman and CEO of Bernoulli Pharma Holdings and CEO of Respivant Sciences, will serve as Board vice chair. Additionally, Anna D. Barker, Ph.D., co-director of Complex Adaptive Systems-Biomedicine; and professor, School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU), has been appointed to the Board.
|
|
Breast cancer researcher Svasti Haricharan joins SBP
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer for American women: More than 40,000 women in the U.S. die from breast cancer each year. Haricharan, who arrives from Baylor College of Medicine, is working to uncover how women with estrogen-positive breast cancer develop resistance to hormone-based therapies—which occurs in one-third of patients who receive these treatments.
|
|
Fishman Award Ceremony honors postdoctoral scholars
More than 100 supporters of SBP came out to celebrate this year’s Fishman Award recipients: Usue Etxaniz Irigoien, Ph.D.; Koen Galenkamp, Ph.D.; Laura Martin-Sancho, Ph.D.; and Ee Phie Tan, Ph.D., at the Sanford Consortium on September 20. Named for SBP’s founders, Dr. William and Lillian Fishman, the annual awards recognize extraordinary postdocs and provide funding to help boost their science careers.
|
|
17th Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium highlights
The next generation of scientific leaders gathered to attend the 17th Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium—an event that highlights the talent of SBP’s young scientists. Unlike most symposiums that are specific to a field or scientific topic, the short talks and posters from more than 50 presenters represented the variety of science taking place at SBP—everything from heart disease to hair growth.
|
|
Biocom recognizes SBP scientist
Tao Long, Ph.D., has been named a 2018 Life Science Catalyst by Biocom, the association representing the California life science industry. This annual award celebrates up-and-coming individuals who are making a lasting and positive mark on Southern California’s life science industry prior to their 40th birthday.
|
|
SBP scientist honored by American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
José Luis Millán, Ph.D., has received the 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Lawrence G. Raisz Award for his outstanding achievements in preclinical and translational research. Millán’s pioneering research led to the first-ever FDA-approved drug for a rare soft bone disease, hypophosphatasia (HPP).
|
|
SBP Insights: Breast Cancer
SBP Insights brings together a scientist, physician and cancer survivor to share their unique perspectives on current disease treatments and promising research. Our goal is to inspire ideas, discussions and connections that may ultimately improve patients’ lives. We hope you can attend this interactive panel discussion on October 25, 2018.
|
|
SBP's Annual Gala
This year’s annual gala, themed “The Copacabana,” will take place on November 3, 2018. Honorary co-chairs Roberta Burnham, Jeanne Herberger and Debbie Turner are planning an unforgettable evening, featuring delicious food, phenomenal drinks and, of course, incredible music and dancing—all in support of groundbreaking biomedical research at SBP.
|
|
Catalyst Club
Become part of a special community of SBP supporters by joining our new monthly giving club. You will also receive a beautiful, sleek black SBP Catalyst Club tote bag, perfect for your everyday needs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
