Susan Davis, U.S. Representative for California’s 53rd congressional district (D-San Diego), visited our Institute in April and met with several members of the faculty and SBP President Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD Davis, a strong advocate for increasing the NIH budget to advance scientific discoveries, has a long history of supporting initiatives on diabetes and cardiovascular health.
Davis was following up on an invitation for a tour of our campus from Chris Larson, PhD, vice president, drug discovery at SBP. Larson sits on the Board of Directors for the Southern California Chapter of the American Diabetes Association and meets regularly with Davis regarding issues related to diabetes care and research.
Pamela Itkin-Ansari, PhD, adjunct professor at SBP met with Davis and shared her research on implanting small encapsulation devices that contain pancreatic islet cells as an approach to treat type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. The work has now progressed to international clinical trials, which impressed Rep. Davis.
As a teenager, Davis worked as a counselor at a camp for diabetic children—most of whom have type 1 diabetes. The experience led to a lifelong interest in improving the health and welfare of diabetic patients, both type 1 and type 2.
“Congresswoman Davis’ visit went really well,” says Larson, who organized a tour of the Prebys Center, showcasing the high-throughput drug discovery capabilities of the facility. “She was especially keen to learn how our automated technology can screen hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds to find future drugs.
“It was an honor to host Congresswoman Davis, and she and her staff are most welcome to visit anytime,” says Larson.