Aging Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys

Dr. Piña-Crespo earned a PhD in Pharmacology from University College London (UCL), England under the supervision of Profs. Alasdair Gibb & David Colquhoun FRS. He completed postdoctoral training as a Pew Fellow/Research Associate with Prof. Steve Heinemann in the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California. Dr. Piña-Crespo has held faculty positions as Instructor and Assistant Professor at Universidad Centroccidental, Venezuela and as Lecturer in the Biology Department at the University of San Diego, California.

Education and Training

  • Postdoctoral training (Pew Fellow/Research Associate) The Salk Institute, California
  • PhD in Pharmacology University College London (University of London), England
  • Veterinarian (D.V.M.) Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado, Venezuela

Honors and Recognition

Pew Fellow in the Biomedical Sciences

Neuroscience Discovery Research

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Targeted protein S-nitrosylation of ACE2 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Oh CK, Nakamura T, Beutler N, Zhang X, Piña-Crespo J, Talantova M, Ghatak S, Trudler D, Carnevale LN, McKercher SR, Bakowski MA, Diedrich JK, Roberts AJ, Woods AK, Chi V, Gupta AK, Rosenfeld MA, Kearns FL, Casalino L, Shaabani N, Liu H, Wilson IA, Amaro RE, Burton DR, Yates JR 3rd, Becker C, Rogers TF, Chatterjee AK, Lipton SA

Nat Chem Biol 2023 Mar ;19(3):275-283

Malene Hansen received her early training at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She received a Master’s degree in Biochemistry in 1998 and a PhD degree in Molecular Biology in 2001. During this time, Dr. Hansen worked as a trainee in several labs in the US, including the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla. After her Ph.D, Dr. Hansen trained as a postdoctoral fellow in molecular genetics at the University of California in San Francisco. Dr. Hansen received postdoctoral funding from the Danish National Research Councils as well as an Ellison/American Federation of Aging Research Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Hansen was recruited to Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in September 2007.

Awards

2017 National Postdoctoral Association Mentor Award

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Dr. Yu Xin (Will) Wang received his PhD at the University of Ottawa where he identified cellular asymmetry and polarity mechanisms regulating muscle stem cell self-renewal and skeletal muscle regeneration. He then carried out postdoctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine developing single cell multi-omic approaches to characterize the regenerative process and what goes awry with disease and aging.  

“I’ve always had a passion for science and became fascinated with how the body repairs and heals itself when I was introduced to the potential of stem cells in regenerative medicine. I was struck by the ability of a small pool of muscle stem cells that can rebuild and restore the function of muscle. My lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys aims to better understanding the repair process and harness our body’s ability to heal in order to combat chronic diseases and even counteract aging.”

Education and Training

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University School of Medicine
PhD in Cellular Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada
BS in Biomedical Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada

Prestigious Funding Awards

2020: NINDS K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award

Honors and Recognition

Governor General’s Gold Medal – Canada

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Dr. Xiao Tian participates in the Degenerative Diseases Program and the Cancer Genome and Epigenetics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys. He started his lab in 2024 to understand the fundamental biology of aging and its contribution to age-related diseases. He joined the Institute after his postdoctoral research in Dr. David Sinclair’s lab at Harvard Medical School where he co-wrote the Information Theory of Aging. He obtained his BS from Shandong University and his PhD from the University of Rochester where he worked with Dr. Vera Gorbunova.
 

Education

2018-2023: Postdoc, Harvard Medical School
2016-2018: Postdoc, University of Rochester
2010-2016: PhD, Biology of Aging, University of Rochester
2005-2009: BS, Microbial Technology, Shandong University
 

Honors and Awards

2020-2026: K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Awards, NIH/NIA
2019-2020: NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship, NASA Ames Research Center
2017: Outstanding Dissertation Award for the Natural Sciences, University of Rochester
2015: Messersmith Dissertation Fellowship, University of Rochester
2014: Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad, China Scholarship Council
2010-2014: Holtfreter Fellowship, University of Rochester
2007: Weichai Power Scholarship, Shandong University
2006-2008: Excellent Student Scholarship, Shandong University

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Reprogramming to recover youthful epigenetic information and restore vision.

Lu Y, Brommer B, Tian X, Krishnan A, Meer M, Wang C, Vera DL, Zeng Q, Yu D, Bonkowski MS, Yang JH, Zhou S, Hoffmann EM, Karg MM, Schultz MB, Kane AE, Davidsohn N, Korobkina E, Chwalek K, Rajman LA, Church GM, Hochedlinger K, Gladyshev VN, Horvath S, Levine ME, Gregory-Ksander MS, Ksander BR, He Z, Sinclair DA

Nature 2020 Dec ;588(7836):124-129

Kevin Tharp studies the interplay between mitochondrial metabolism and the physical properties of the tumor microenvironment, using genetically engineered mouse models and bioengineered human tumor models to define the mitochondrial programming unique to cancer cells in the tumor microenvironment.

His goal is to develop new therapies that block the metabolic adaptations that cancer cells use to metastasize, a major cause of cancer-associated mortality.

“I study how cells make decisions about their metabolic programming, which I expect will enable us to develop new therapeutics against metastatic tumor cells.”

Tharp previously worked as a postdoctoral scholar in the Center for Bioengineering & Tissue Regeneration at UCSF Health.

He completed his PhD in metabolic biology at UC Berkeley and his Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at UC Santa Cruz, where he graduated with honors and the Dean’s Award in Chemistry.

He has received meritorious funding awards from the Sandler Foundation and the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute for his postdoctoral research.

Google Scholar profile

Xueqin (Sherine) 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.

“My lab is interested in studying how DNA or the machinery that interprets it leads to the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells and concurrently, their specific vulnerabilities. Identifying these intrinsic vulnerabilities and targeting them properly is profoundly important to developing effective cancer therapies.”

Another aspect of Sun’s work is understanding how cancer cells and tumors change their circumstances and environment to improve survival, including hiding from or repressing the immune system.

“Changes to DNA itself and the way how DNA is interpreted by cells can transform normal cells into cancer cells. And transformed cells propagate by enhancing the misinterpreted DNA information, which in turn becomes the Achilles’ heel of cancer cells. Our goal is to find out how DNA information is misinterpreted in different ways and how to correct it to halt cancer.”

At Sanford Burnham Prebys, Sun and colleagues will employ a host of leading-edge tools and approaches, including functional genomics, artificial intelligence, structural biology, large-scale drug screening, and advanced imaging/spatial technologies.

Sun conducted her postdoctoral fellowship at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory under the guidance of Alea Mills, PhD, a professor at the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center at Cold Spring Harbor.

She received her PhD from Wuhan University in China.

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Dr. Sanju Sinha earned his Bachelor of Technology in Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati, India. He recently completed his postdoctoral research and PhD in computational biology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with Dr. Eytan Ruppin with a co-mentorship of Dr. Brid Ryan during his PhD His PhD was earned in a joint University of Maryland and NCI program.

“At the core of my work is the desire to make a lasting impact on patient’s lives, offering patients not just better treatment, but an opportunity to avoid the disease altogether. Sanford Burnham Prebys is renowned for its work in understanding aging and developing new drugs—two areas that are key to my research. This makes it the perfect place for what I’m hoping to achieve.”

Education

2021: PhD, Computational Biology, University of Maryland and National Cancer Institute
2016: B.Tech., Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahat

Honors and Recognition

2023: Top Five Outstanding NCI Postdoctoral Fellow 
2023: Transition to Industry Fellowship 
2021: Emerging Leaders of Computational Oncology by MSKCC. 
2020: NCI Outstanding PhD award
2020: NCI CCR milestone 
2019: NCI Fellows Award for Research Excellence 

Our Machine Learning Resources

A list of almost all the big data resources available in cancer research

Computational resources to study immune system

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Pier Lorenzo Puri earned his MD at the University of Rome “la Sapienza” in 1991. Dr. Puri completed his internship in Internal Medicine at the hospital “Policlinico Umberto I” (Rome) from 1992 to 1997, and defended an experimental thesis on the vascular effects of angiotensin II to graduate as Specialist in Internal medicine at the University of Rome “la Sapienza” in 1997. During this time he was frequently working at the Freien University of Berlin, as visiting scientist at the Deprtment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, to perform experiments of protein and DNA microinjection in cultured cells. Dr. Puri trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), in the department of Cell Biology, under the supervision of Dr. Wang, from 1997 to 2001. He was appointed as Staff Scientist at the Salk Institute (La Jolla) in 2001, and became an Assistant Telethon Scientist at the Dulbecco Telethon Institute in Rome in 2002. He was upgraded to Associate Telethon Scientist at the Dulbecco Telethon Institute in Rome since 2007 and became Senior Telethon Scientist, Dulbecco Telethon Institute, in 2012, but declined this position. Dr. Puri joined Sanford Burnham Prebys as an Assistant Professor in 2004. He has been promoted to Associate Professor in 2010 and full Professor in 2015. From 2008 to 2016 Dr. Puri served as Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego. From 2008 to 2013 Dr Puri was an Associate Member of Sanford Children’s Health Research Center. Dr Puri has been Director of the laboratory of Epigenetics and Regeneration at Fondazione S. Lucia, Roma, Italy, but stepped down this position since 2019.

Education

University of California San Diego, Postdoctoral, Department of Biology
University of Rome La Sapienza, PhD, Internal Medicine
University of Rome La Sapienza, MD, Internal Medicine
University of Rome La Sapienza, Undergraduate, Internal Medicine

Other Appointments

2020-2024: Member of the Science Advisory Board (SAB) European Commission-funded Consortium BIND (Brain Involvement In Dystrophinopathies)
2015-2019: Standing Member, NIH Study Section (SMEP)
2010-present: Member of Editorial Board of Skeletal Muscle

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Dr. Dong received his Biology Bachelor of Science degree in 1996 from the University of California, Irvine, where he was involved in molecular evolution and limb regeneration research. He earned his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2002, investigating cell/tissue identity master regulatory genes. His postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco was focused on developmental genetics of the liver and pancreas. Dr. Dong was recruited as an Assistant Professor to Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in 2008. He is a recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Award and the W. M. Keck Foundation Award, which funds the development of in vivo lineage reprogramming technologies to generate replacement cells and organs directly within a living vertebrate. 

Education

BS, Biology, University of California, Irvine
PhD, Cell & Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Postdoctoral Fellow, Genetics and Development, University of California, San Francisco

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