People Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Sanford Burnham Prebys

Category: People

Institute News

Aspiring scientists tackle big data at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

AuthorGuest Blogger
Date

June 24, 2016

Molony Astore

Growing up, Courtney Astore was inquisitive about science and technology. So when she had the opportunity to participate in middle school science fairs, she jumped at the chance. In high school, Astore’s research in behavioral and social science, medicine and elaborate statistical algorithms led to her being a finalist at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair three times.

Today, as an incoming sophomore at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Astore is majoring in Biotechnology with a focus on Bioinformatics. Together, with her lifelong friend Rebecca Elsishans at the University of Florida, she plans to launch a start-up company called Enasci-x that will use genetic analysis to aid in vaccine development.

Executives at UCF’s business incubator contacted Leslie Molony, PhD, senior director of Business Development for Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute’s (SBP)  Lake Nona campus to inquire about providing  training to aspiring scientists enrolled in the National Science Foundation- iCorps™ funded  LaunchPad program.

The LaunchPad program fosters entrepreneurial research designed to help the commercialization of technology. Molony guided Astore and Elsishans in the biological science and business aspects of forming a start-up for their first product-in-development called Genes4Vaccines.

Her students received guidance on a top-level list of ‘how-to’s’

  • how to understand protein structures
  • how to generate data that can lead to new drug discovery
  • how to define new products and commercialize them
  • how to develop business plans and ‘pitching’ strategies

 

“Courtney and Rebecca are phenomenal young women who are very eager to understand how the medical research process—vaccine discovery–can lead to commercial products,” said Molony.  “They have great potential to become software service providers, or to use their talents to discover new vaccine targets that may lead to partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.”

“In terms of where we are today and how we’ve been able to map out what we need to do, we couldn’t have done any of this without Dr. Molony,” said Astore. “Her drug discovery background and business development expertise have opened our eyes to the potential of what we can accomplish, and what we need to do to get there. We know our next big steps are to finalize our minimum value product, get data validation in the lab and then attract investors.”

Big data for medical research, adds Molony, is a growing niche in the field of infectious disease where vaccine and therapy needs arise quickly and unexpectedly.

To augment her student’s training, she connected Astore with Fraydoon Rastinejad, PhD, professor in SBP’s Center for Metabolic Origins of Disease at Lake Nona who offered her a summer internship where she’ll be collecting data and analyzing human disease databases.

“Dr. Rastinejad is one of the most renowned researchers in the field, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with him.  My internship will give me a deeper base of scientific knowledge to advance my research,” said Astore. “To work hands-on in his lab, analyzing data that recognizes patterns and clues to disease development is a dream come true.”

This post was written by Jackie Kelvington

Related:
Genes4Vaccines – UCF I-Corps

 

Institute News

Krissa Smith, former postdoc, now research program manager at Susan G. Komen

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

June 24, 2016

Krissa Smith

Krissa Smith, PhD, was a postdoc in the laboratory of William Stallcup, PhD, professor in our NCI-designated Cancer Center, from early 2010 to late 2011, where she studied the impact of blocking blood vessel growth on breast cancer development. She now manages the scientific review of grant applications for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

What’s your job like— what do you do every day?

Over the five years I’ve been with the Komen Foundation, I’ve moved up from assigning grant applications to review committees to overseeing the whole grant review team. We awarded an incredible amount— over $40 million in funding last year. Since our review committees include patient advocates, I help train them in how to effectively understand and evaluate which proposals are the most promising.

Another important role of my job is finding effective ways to communicate the great work our scientists are doing. Every step forward is a combined effort, so it’s a priority for us to help the community understand how each step leads to the next and the progress that has been made. There are so many ways to communicate in today’s world that the opportunities are endless!

What drew you to this job?

I actually would never have thought of grants management as a career goal, but someone I knew from graduate school worked for Komen and encouraged me to apply. Since then I’ve realized how working with a non-profit gives me opportunities that are more than I hoped for. Not only do I keep up with the cutting edge of research, but I also feel like I’m making a difference—the science can’t get done without funding.

What else do you enjoy about your work?

I have never been bored! I wasn’t sure what administration would be like on a day-to-day basis, but I’ve worked through a lot of rewarding challenges. Plus, it’s nice to be the one giving out the money instead of working so hard to apply for grants!

What advice do you have for current postdocs looking for a job?

Keep up your connections. People have a way of ending up in surprising and sometimes influential places. You might be surprised at how the diverse careers of your friends from grad school and your postdoc may increase your job options and perspective.

How has your work at Komen changed you?

I’ve come to embrace pink more than I ever thought I would! I’ve also gained a deeper appreciation for including patients as part of the funding process—their perspective is really valuable.

How has your scientific training impacted your life outside your career?

Some time ago I felt lumps on my dog’s chest—and given my background I suspected tumors. It turns out I was right. The good news is that they were surgically removed and she didn’t need further treatment. Breast cancer really does affect everyone in some way – I was just surprised to have it impact my dog!

 

Institute News

Cosimo Commisso explains cancer metabolism on NIH website

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

June 7, 2016

Cosimo Commisso, PhD

The most deadly of all cancers are driven by mutations in a family of genes known as RAS. In a new article on the website for the National Cancer Institute’s RAS Initiative, Cosimo Commisso, PhD, assistant professor in SBP’s NCI-designated Cancer Center, discusses how the metabolism of cancer cells might be different in different parts of solid tumors.

The RAS Initiative is a collaborative effort to explore innovative approaches for attacking the proteins encoded by mutant forms of RAS genes, which drive 30% of human cancers.

Institute News

SBP researcher receives NIH Outstanding Investigator Award to study deadly pathogens

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

June 7, 2016

Francesca Marassi

Francesca Marassi, PhD, professor in SBP’s NCI-designated Cancer Center, has been awarded an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). The $4 million grant is to study how proteins on the surface of pathogens promote virulence by mediating the first-line interactions with human host cells. The project has important implications for biology and medicine.

“Our initial focus is on a protein called Ail (attachment invasion locus) that is expressed on the outer membrane of Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague,” said Marassi. “The Y. pestis bacterium is highly pathogenic, spreads rapidly and causes an extremely high rate of mortality. Ail is critical for suppressing the human immune defenses and for promoting bacterial invasion”

Although it is sensitive to some antibiotics, the potential use of Y. pestis as a biological weapon has led to its classification as a Tier 1 Biothreat Agent – a designation used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to identify pathogens and toxins that can be misused to threaten public health or national security.

“The emerging threat of bacterial drug resistance makes our work particularly important,” added Marassi. “We will be using a technology called NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) to determine the three-dimensional structure of Ail and examine how it associates with its human protein partners. Visualizing these biomolecular complexes helps us understand how pathogens engage their human host, and advances our ability to design effective drugs and vaccines for bacteria and viruses,” added Marassi.

Institute News

2016 Faculty Retreat highlights research advances, awards and promotions

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

May 20, 2016

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The 2016 Faculty Retreat, held May 11-12, attracted more than 70 SBP scientists wanting to learn more about their colleagues’ latest discoveries, explore collaborations and socialize in beautiful Carlsbad, Calif.

The two-day event included seven sessions covering the scientific themes and disease areas on which much of the Institute’s research is focused:

Metabolism—Chair: Timothy Osborne Epigenetics—Chair: Robert Wechsler-Reya Proteostasis—Chair: Rolf Bodmer Cancer—Chair: Garth Powis Neurological Disorders—Chair: Barbara Ranscht Immunomodulation—Chair: Carl Ware Metabolic Disorders—Chair: Sheila Collins

Special kudos to Duc Dong, PhD, for receiving this year’s “WOW” award. Dong, an assistant professor in the Human Genetics Program, presented his novel approach to generating insulin-producing beta cells to treat diabetes. The talk, titled, “Replacement of beta cells by direct in vivo trans-differentiation,” explained his work using zebrafish as a disease model to uncover ways to reprogram non-pancreatic cells within a living vertebrate to become beta cells. “WOW” stands for Wonderful Original Work and is an SBP Faculty Retreat tradition awarded by vote.

Congratulations to Julio Ayala, PhD, who was officially promoted at the retreat to associate professor in the Integrative Metabolism Program. Read more about Ayala’s efforts to advance treatments for diabetes here.

The keynote presentation was given by David Brenner, MD, vice chancellor of Health Sciences and dean of its School of Medicine at UC San Diego. Brenner’s presentation, “Fibrosis: The final common pathway in chronic injury,” gave SBP scientists a clinical perspective on cutting-edge research in prevention, causes and future treatments for fibrosis associated with liver disease.

The retreat was organized by Lazlo Nagy, MD, PhD, professor and director of the Genomic Control of Metabolism Program and Bas Baaten, PhD, assistant professor in the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program.

And it couldn’t have happened without the superb support from Esther Minotti, research administrative specialist who coordinated the show.

Institute News

Why the “Biggest Losers” don’t win

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

May 12, 2016

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Following a recent publication on the long-term effects of participation in TV’s “Biggest Loser” competition, Steven Smith, MD, professor in SBP’s Integrative Metabolism Program and director of the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes at Florida Hospital, was interviewed by NBC WESH TV Orlando reporter Amanda Ober. Smith explained why nearly all of the “Biggest Losers” regained large proportions of the weight they had lost, and sometimes even more. Continue reading “Why the “Biggest Losers” don’t win”

Institute News

SBP presents at American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting

AuthorKristen Cusato
Date

May 10, 2016

Cosimo Commisso, PhD and Jorge Moscat, Ph.D

Deputy Director of the NCI-designated Cancer Center, Jorge Moscat, PhD, and Cosimo Commisso, PhD, assistant professor in the Center, presented at the AACR conference in New Orleans.

Moscat presented at the session titled “Metabolic Interplay between Tumor and Microenvironment.”

“Cancer cells have to adapt their metabolism to survive nutrient deprivation and several stress conditions in their tumor microenvironment. For this they put in motion a process called autophagy whereby they get rid of toxic intracellular molecules and organelles and generate nutrients that allow them to survive,” said Moscat.

“Central to this process is a protein called p62 that was discovered in collaboration with my SBP colleague Maria Diaz-Meco. This protein is upregulated in, for example, liver cancer, whose mortality has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, in marked contrast to many other neoplasias that have shown a significant decrease in mortality.

“We presented new compelling data from human patients, mouse models and cell culture studies demonstrating that inactivation of p62 in cancer liver cells dramatically reduced the incidence and aggressiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, p62 is a novel and potentially actionable therapeutic target in liver cancer,” added Moscat.

Moscat said he was impressed at AACR by the number and quality of research studies linking the possibility of treating patients by a combined strategy of targeting cancer metabolism and the immunological tumor microenvironment.

He also spoke to ecancer.tv, an online provider of oncology news, about his research. Watch the video here.

Moscat is co-chair of a symposium on related research in cancer metabolism to that will be held June 22-23 at SBP’s La Jolla campus.

Commisso’s presentation was featured in a special session on pancreatic cancer that aimed to stimulate opportunities for collaboration between Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-AACR grantees and others in the field.

“The research that I presented was focused on a novel drug target in pancreatic cancer discovered recently by my lab,” said Commisso.

“We have found that an ion transporter that regulates pH homeostasis is critical to pancreatic cancer cell survival. This previously uncharacterized transporter plays a role in maintaining amino acid supply in tumor cells that harbor a mutation in the oncogene known as Ras, which is mutated in >90% of pancreatic tumors.

“Our future work is focused on exploring the role of this transporter in preclinical models and developing new approaches to inhibit this druggable target,” added Commisso.

He called the AACR meeting “a remarkable opportunity for cancer researchers to come together and share their exciting discoveries.”  Dr. Commisso also said it was a good opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends to develop and nurture scientific collaborations, to create, progress and build.

Commisso will also present at the 2016 PancWest Symposium in September at the Moores Cancer Center at UCSD.

Institute News

Doug Lewandowski, PhD, elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

April 28, 2016

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The director of Translational Cardiovascular Research at SBP’s Lake Nona campus was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). E. Douglas Lewandowski, PhD, was one of 33 scientists selected to become a AAAS fellow in the Section on Medical Sciences, recognizing his “distinguished contributions to fundamental aspects of cardiac metabolism and their implications for heart disease.” Continue reading “Doug Lewandowski, PhD, elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science”

Institute News

Monika Schneider, former SBP postdoc, now a health policy analyst in DC

Authorjmoore
Date

April 26, 2016

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This is part of a series on what past SBP postdocs are doing now.

Monika Schneider, PhD, was a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Sumit Chanda, PhD, professor and director of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program, from 2012-2014, where she studied how the immune system recognizes and clears HIV. After serving as a science policy advocate at the American Association of Immunologists, she recently took a position with the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy.

What’s your job like— what do you do every day?

In my current position, I develop policy solutions to issues that affect drug development and health care. My duties include research to identify the main players, current policy, and gaps in knowledge or process; convening meetings with relevant stakeholders; and writing up reports on recommended policies and pathways for implementation.

What do you enjoy most about it and why?

I really enjoy learning new things, and here I get to learn about what has to happen after discovery of a drug at a research institution before it can be marketed. I also get to make an impact on how drug development is prioritized and paid for.

What do you hope to accomplish in your career?

It’s the same as what initially drew me to science in general and immunology in particular: helping to reduce the suffering caused by disease. I hope to develop policies that will result in smarter, faster, and less costly drug development.

What did you gain from your postdoc experience at SBP? 

I really appreciated the translational aspect of much of the research at SBP. I also feel that during my time as a postdoc, I learned how to do team science. Having multiple projects, and collaborators that were on the other side of the country, really strengthened my organizational and project management skills. 

How did you find your first job after your postdoc? Was it challenging?

I found my first job through a job posting site. It was not challenging for me mostly due to good timing and fit—the organization’s leadership knew my references. However, I believe that my involvement in student government and the SBP Science Network (SBP-SN) gave me a leg up.

Were you looking specifically for jobs in science policy?

No, I was also considering scientific program management and medical writing. I really enjoy discussing science (I always liked lab meetings) and technical writing, so I was looking for positions where I could serve as a liaison between scientists and government, business interests, or the public.

What do you miss most and least about San Diego?

I miss the plethora of breweries, Mexican food, and, of course, the friends I made while living there. I do not miss sitting in traffic to get to work (I take the metro now) or the lack of leafy trees and grass.