“I’ve seen the Institute grow from just five employees to the more than five hundred we have today,” said Professor José Luis Millán, Ph.D., who emceed the event. Millán joined the Institute in 1977, just one year after its founding. “What is important for [the Institute] now, as we reach middle age, is to reflect on our successes as we move forward into the next decades of our life.”

Longtime supporters of the Institute also attended to express their gratitude to the employees. They included Malin Burnham, Nina Fishman, and Debbie Turner, partner of the late Conrad Prebys.

Brooke Emerling, Ph.D., has been awarded a new grant from the NIH to continue her work on cellular signaling in cancer. The four-year, $2.3 million project aims to accelerate the development of new therapies for a range of cancers, particularly metastatic breast cancer.

“This work has great potential to help people, and we’re grateful that this new funding will help us do the research we need to do so we can make that happen,” says Emerling. 

Cynthia Lebeaupin, Ph.D., was recently awarded the 2022 Fishman Fund Fellowship, a postdoctoral award unique to Sanford Burnham Prebys.

“It’s an honor to have been selected for such a prestigious award from the Institute," says Lebeaupin. "The resources and people at Sanford Burnham Prebys are incredible, and I’m happy to be able to continue my research here.” 

Assistant Professors Ani Deshpande, Ph.D., Brooke Emerling, Ph.D., and Charles Spruck, Ph.D., were recently promoted to associate professors. They are all innovative leaders in our Institute's NCI-designated Cancer Center who have made notable contributions to cancer research.

“By supporting LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented groups, institutions signal that they are open to different viewpoints and people, which is crucial,” says postdoctoral fellow Luca Caputo, Ph.D. “Having a celebration such as the Pride flag ceremony here at Sanford Burnham Prebys helps us support LGBTQ+ scientists at the Institute and beyond.”