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Institute News

2021 Fishman Fund Award ceremony celebrates postdoctoral scholars

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

September 28, 2021

Cynthia Lebeaupin, Valeria Guglielmi, and Paulina Sosicka

The Fishman Fund Awards were presented on September 23, 2021, in a virtual ceremony that honored the enduring legacy of our Institute’s founders, Dr. William and Lillian Fishman.

The three exceptional winners were welcomed by Fishman Fund co-founder Reena Horowitz; co-founder designee Jeanne Jones; and 2018 award recipient Laura Martin-Sancho, who commented, “A Fishman Fund Award is more than the money—it means that someone believes in you and believes in your goals.”

Longtime supporter, Institute trustee and namesake Malin Burnham reflected on his first meeting with the Fishmans more than 40 years ago when they were setting the stage for Sanford Burnham Prebys. “The Fishmans were creating a collaborative, inspirational atmosphere for postdocs—the lifeblood of scientific enterprise. This award pays tribute to their vision that young, talented scientists hold the key to curing disease.”

Sanford Burnham Prebys CEO Randy C. Mills thanked our supporters and shared, “Fishman Fund Award winners are on a journey not only to make their mark through scientific discovery, but also to define themselves as scientific leaders. I’m excited to see the vision of better science that they will translate into reality for the benefit of patients in need.”

Reena Horowitz and the late Mary Bradley established the Fishman Fund Awards in 2001 to honor the Fishmans and advance the careers of promising young scientists. Ever since the fund was launched 20 years ago, more than 70 awards have been conferred—now worth $10,000—to support career-development activities. 

This year’s awards were presented to:

Cynthia Lebeaupin, PhD
The Lenka Finca and Erna Viterbi Fishman Fund Prize

“I’m especially grateful to be affiliated with a community that supports its postdoctoral researchers, helping us transition into the great leaders of tomorrow.”

Dr. Lebeaupin is studying how fatty liver disease progresses to liver cancer. Fatty liver disease is rapidly increasing in the U.S. and around the world—and there is no cure. Studying how cells respond to stress conditions may open new avenues to target those responses and prevent cancer. Dr. Lebeaupin, a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Randal J. Kaufman, PhD, aims to become a professor of biology in academia.

Valeria Guglielmi, PhD 
The Reena Horowitz and Mary Bradley Fishman Fund Founders Award

“Now more than ever, we need people like you who trust scientists and believe science can really make a difference in our lives.”

Dr. Guglielmi is researching nuclear pore complexes and their role in the development and activity of immune cells. This research may lead to novel treatments for health conditions caused by dysregulated immune-cell production and function. Guglielmi is a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Maximiliano D’Angelo, PhD, and her goal is to become an independent investigator to further research on the immune system.

Paulina Sosicka, PhD 
The Jeanne Jones and Kathryn Fishback Fishman Fund Prize 

“I’m very grateful and honored to receive this Fishman Fund Career Development Award. Thank you to the founders and donors who made this possible.” 

Dr. Sosicka is investigating the application of dietary supplementation to treat debilitating genetic conditions called CDGs, which are rare diseases—mainly affecting children—caused by defects in the human enzymes and proteins responsible for adding sugar molecules onto proteins and lipids. The research may also provide insights into new approaches to treat obesity and cancer. A postdoctoral associate in the lab of Hudson Freeze, PhD, Dr. Sosicka aspires to become a professor in academia in the field of glycobiology.

 

Event recording

 

Institute News

Meet the winners of the heartfelt Eric Dudl scholarship award

AuthorMonica May
Date

January 19, 2021

Jennifer Hope and Archna Ravi

Award pays tribute to postdoctoral researcher who succumbed to cancer at age 33

Eric Dudl’s lifelong dream to be a scientist was just starting to come true. He’d begun his postdoctoral research in a cancer lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys, where he was known as kind, helpful and the “go-to guy” when an unfamiliar piece of machinery arrived.

Watch the virtual ceremony honoring the winners of the Dudl scholarship award, including remarks by Eric’s family, their faculty mentors and the interim head of our National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center, Ze’ev Ronai.

Then, at age 32, he was diagnosed with cancer. The diagnosis only reaffirmed his passion for science, and he often returned to the lab after a long day of chemotherapy.

“One day when he was quite ill, I looked at Eric and said, ‘Why don’t you take some time off of work. Get your energy back and go back in when you feel better,’” says Jim Dudl, MD, Eric’s father, at the ceremony honoring this year’s scholarship recipients. “He immediately looked up at me and said, ‘Why would I do that? This is the best job in the world!’”

Eric underwent five rounds of chemotherapy, but the tumor was aggressive. Only nine months after the initial diagnosis, he succumbed to the cancer. He was 33.

Today, Eric’s memory lives on in the form of the Eric Dudl Endowed Scholarship Award, created by Eric’s family in 2007 to support talented postdoctoral researchers working in the cancer field. This year’s virtual event celebrated the 2019 and 2020 scholarship winners: Jennifer Hope, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Linda Bradley lab; and Archna Ravi, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Brooke Emerling lab.

“This scholarship fund is truly the best way that we can honor Eric because he was so passionate about education and supporting others,” says Bret Dudl, Eric’s brother. “The fact that he now helps other postdocs further their work to fight cancer is exactly what he would have wanted.”

Eric Lau, Robert Tinoco, And Gaurav Pathria

Where are they now? From left to right: Past Dudl Scholarship award winners include Eric Lau, now an assistant member at the Moffitt Cancer Center; Robert Tinoco, now an assistant professor at UC Irvine; and Gaurav Pathria, now a scientist at Genentech.

As in past years, each scientist was nominated by leaders at Sanford Burnham Prebys’ National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center and then selected by Institute president and Pauline & Stanley Foster Presidential Chair Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD

“These talented scientists truly pick up where Eric had to leave off,” says Barbara Dudl, Eric’s mother. “We are so grateful to the Institute for their compassion for Eric during his illness and as we worked to create this scholarship, and the scientists who are now working on discoveries that might one day save the life of someone like Eric.”
 

Jennifer Hope, PhD (Linda Bradley lab)

Tell us a little bit about your research. If all goes well, what do you hope to achieve?
I’m working to understand why the immune system, specifically T cells, seems to turn a “blind eye” to tumors—in contrast to other foreign invaders such as viruses.

Over the last few years, our studies have pinpointed one molecule that transforms T cells and can help slow, stop, and in some cases, even eliminate, tumors in mice.

My ultimate hope is that we use this information to create better cancer treatments, particularly for skin cancer (melanoma), which remains a deadly cancer. 

What does this award mean to you?
It is a great honor to have received this award, particularly because of the story behind it! We may all have different reasons for going into science and research, but one thing we all share is passion for our work. We also know how taxing cancer therapies can be on a patient’s mind, body and soul, so for Eric to have continued his work with such diligence while undergoing treatment is truly inspirational and speaks to his resilience and character.

How does this award advance your work?
With this award, I was able to travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I spent a week in the lab of a renowned T cell expert. There, I gained invaluable hands-on experience with assays that I could bring back to my lab here and have already implemented in our work. The timing of this award, which I received in 2019, was very lucky. I completed the weeklong residency in January of 2020 just before COVID-19 had taken off in the U.S.
 

Archna Ravi, PhD (Brooke Emerling lab)

Tell us a little bit about your research. If all goes well, what do you hope to achieve? 
Scientists know that rapidly growing cancer cells become desperate for nutrients and start to use alternative pathways to get “food.” It’s a bit like, “If you aren’t going to feed me, I’m going to feed myself.” I’m studying a family of proteins that controls two of these alternative pathways (autophagy and mitochondrial metabolism). If we can block two important ways a tumor “feeds” itself, we believe we can create a very effective drug that can starve a tumor.

I hope my work will ultimately lead to better cancer therapeutics, especially for triple-negative breast cancer and sarcomas. These are very difficult tumors to treat; and we need better, targeted therapies to help more people survive these cancers.

What does this award mean to you personally?
Anyone who has heard Eric’s story has been inspired by it. It’s the sort of dedication and perseverance that I hope to achieve in my career. In the face of the disease, Eric chose to continue working on something he truly enjoyed and believed in. It’s about doing what you’re passionate about no matter what hurdles are thrown your way. For my work to be recognized with this scholarship is a great honor.

How will this award advance your work? What will you be able to achieve now? 
As a postdoctoral researcher, I’m on the threshold of a new path in my career. I plan to use the funds to “attend” conferences where I can share my work and network with people all over the world. This award really supports my career goal of becoming an independent scientist.

Anything else you would like us to know? 
For me, cancer research is not just about doing good science. It’s about ensuring that no one has to fear losing loved ones to this disease. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years back. Thankfully, she’s doing well now after surgery and chemotherapy. But that experience, and the fear that we both felt, stays with me today.

Along these lines, many people aren’t aware that the research needed to create a new drug starts at nonprofit organizations such as Sanford Burnham Prebys. The hardest part—the actual science notwithstanding—is getting the funding to carry out such research. No contribution to science is too small! Every gift increases the chances that we can find new treatments.

Read more about the Eric Dudl Endowed Scholarship Fund, or support early-career researchers, by donating to the fund. 

Institute News

Celebrating the next generation of biomedical trailblazers at the 19th annual Fishman Fund Awards

AuthorMonica May
Date

September 22, 2020

From left to right: Daniela Dengler, PhD (Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics); Chiara Nicoletti, PhD (Puri lab); Kyungsoo Shin, PhD (Marassi lab); and Marie Berenguer, PhD (Duester lab)

Four talented early-career researchers were awarded prestigious Fishman Fund Awards.

When Dr. William and Lillian Fishman founded our Institute in 1976, they knew that nurturing the next generation of scientists was just as important as advancing cutting-edge research. Today, their values live on in the form of the Fishman Fund Awards, which help exceptional postdoctoral researchers develop into scientific leaders.

On September 24, four talented early-career researchers received the prestigious award during an inspiring virtual ceremony. Generous benefactors, past award winners, and family and friends tuned into the event, which featured remarks from Institute president Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD; professor and Fishman Fund Award recipient José Luis Millán, PhD; Fishman Fund co-founder Reena Horowitz and co-founder designee Jeanne Jones.

“The Fishmans firmly believed in helping brilliant early-career postdoctoral scientists become great principal investigators,” says Ms. Horowitz, who established the Fishman Fund Awards in 2001 with her late friend Mary Bradley. “Our goal with these awards is to encourage and support these researchers in their quest for the next great medical breakthroughs, which might one day be able to save the lives of our family members, friends and neighbors.”

Fishman Fund winners undergo a rigorous selection process that includes a personal interview and a presentation to the selection committee. All winners receive a $10,000 career development award that can be used to attend workshops, network and travel to national and international conferences to learn about the latest developments in their research fields. The winner of the Fishman Fund Fellowship receives a two-year salary stipend in addition to the professional development funding.

Meet this year’s Fishman Fund Award winners

Fishman Fund Fellowship Award

Kyungsoo Shin, PhD, grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada, where he also attended Dalhousie University for his undergraduate and graduate studies. Dr. Shin works in the laboratory of Dr. Francesca Marassi, where he is advancing a potential treatment for age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 60. Dr. Shin recently showed that a protein called vitronectin is the likely cause of the pebble-like deposits in the back of the eye that underlie the disease. With this information, scientists can now work toward a treatment to prevent vision loss.

Dr. Shin’s career goal is to become an independent researcher focused on understanding how cellular membranes—gatekeepers that regulate what enters or exits a cell—are involved in disease. He hopes to mentor and inspire the next generation of scientists to advance our understanding of human biology.
 

Fishman Fund Career Development Awards

Marie Berenguer, PhD, grew up near Paris and went to school in Bordeaux. She is currently studying in the laboratory of Dr. Gregg Duester and focuses on how a compound called retinoic acid affects the way embryos are formed. Her work may open new avenues to prevent and treat birth defects.

Dr. Berenguer’s career goal is to become a principal investigator and lecturer in genetics and developmental biology. By leading her own research team, she hopes to improve our understanding of genetic diseases and lay the foundation for future therapies.

Daniela Dengler, PhD, is from Germany, where she studied pharmacy and worked in a pharmacy for a year before she decided to pursue her PhD at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. Dr. Dengler works in the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics with Dr. Eduard Sergienko. She is searching for new drugs that bind to proteins called G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), which mediate many physiological processes in the body. More than 30% of all FDA-approved drugs act on GPCRs.

Dr. Dengler’s career goal is to become a project leader in biotech, where she wants to combine her background in chemistry with her knowledge in assay development and high-throughput screening to find drugs for unmet medical needs.

Chiara Nicoletti, PhD, grew up in Gela, in Sicily, and received her PhD at the University of Padua in northern Italy. Dr. Nicletti is in Dr. Pier Lorenzo Puri’s lab and is studying the links between genetic sequences and risk of disease. Her research will open new avenues to help clinicians practice personalized medicine—including predicting who is likely to get a disease, how to prevent it, how to treat it and perhaps even cure the condition.

Dr. Nicoletti’s career goal is to become a principal investigator, leading her own research team that focuses on integrating foundational research with everyday medical practice to improve human health.

Watch the Fishman Fund Awards ceremony, which featured remarks from Institute president Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD; professor and Fishman Fund Award recipient José Luis Millán, PhD; Fishman Fund co-founder Reena Horowitz and co-founder designee Jeanne Jones.

Learn more about the Fishman Fund, or, donate now, to support future scientific leaders.

Institute News

Meet molecular biologist Kyungsoo Shin

AuthorMonica May
Date

September 22, 2020

Kyungsoo Shin

Kyungsoo Shin is the winner of this year’s prestigious Fishman Fund Fellowship Award, which helps talented early-career researchers become scientific leaders

While growing up, Kyungsoo Shin always found himself drawn to science. Learning how the body works was endlessly fascinating to him. But it wasn’t until he was in the middle of his PhD that he became officially hooked on research.

“I was doing a long 16-hour experiment, and around 9 or 10 p.m. I started getting really positive results. I was so excited that I called my supervisors at the time,” recalls Shin. “Even though it was so late, they were just as happy as I was! That was my first introduction to how intoxicating research can be, and the power of a supportive community.”

Today, as a postdoctoral researcher at Sanford Burnham Prebys, Shin is applying his passion for discovery to an area of great need: finding a treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). No treatments currently exist for the common condition, which is the main cause of vision loss for people over the age of 60. As a new father, this research became especially meaningful to Shin.

“My son is 3 months old, and just started to smile and laugh,” says Shin. “I couldn’t imagine one day not being able to see him, or my grandchildren. If I had dry AMD, I probably wouldn’t be able to even drive to go see him. I don’t want to imagine that sort of life for anyone.”

Working with a world-renowned scientist

Shin has found a wise mentor in Professor Francesca Marassi, PhD, one of the world’s leading experts on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This technology allows scientists to see the shape of a protein, which enables rational drug design. When the job posting first appeared, Shin was writing his PhD thesis—but his supervisor told him to stop writing and apply to the position immediately. The opportunity to work with Marassi was too important.

“Learning from her has fundamentally changed who I am as a scientist,” says Shin. “Before I used to think in terms of completing projects. Now I ‘follow the science,’ which means let the data lead me to my next step.”

This approach has proved successful: Marassi and Shin recently uncovered a new drug target for dry AMD. Using NMR and other cutting-edge technologies located at the Institute, they deciphered the shape of a protein called vitronectin. Then they showed that the sticky, propeller-shaped protein likely “seeds” the formation of pebble-like structures in the back of the eye that cause vision loss.

Fishman Fund Award advances key research

Now, with the support of the Fishman Fund Fellowship Award—which provides a salary stipend and $10,000 for career development—Shin can attend scientific conferences that will help him think outside of the box and grow as a scientist. Receiving an award in honor of the Fishmans—who started the Institute after reaching mandatory retirement age—is special to Shin.

“The Fishmans were so devoted to pushing our understanding of human health that they continued their research even when they didn’t have to,” says Shin. “To receive a fellowship that is named after such inspirational and honorable people is truly an honor. I have a great sense of responsibility to advance research that will have a positive impact on humanity, and could one day benefit my son or his children.”

Sanford Burnham Prebys is grateful to the generous Fishman Fund donors who make the career development awards possible. Learn more about the Fishman Fund, or donate now, to support future scientific leaders.

Institute News

Prestigious Forbeck Scholar Award granted to Sanford Burnham Prebys cancer researcher

AuthorMonica May
Date

December 23, 2019

Brooke Emerling, PhD, headshot

Breast cancer expert Brooke Emerling, PhD, an assistant professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys, has been named a Forbeck Scholar by the William Guy Forbeck Research Foundation.

This prestigious award recognizes early-career cancer researchers for their achievements, research and dedication to the field. As an award winner, Emerling receives rare access to several three-day “think tank” events featuring the world’s top cancer clinicians and scientists.

“My goal is to create therapies that help more breast cancer patients survive cancer,” says Emerling. “The opportunity to discuss my ideas and research with the absolute leaders in my field is incredible and only accelerates my work toward that end.”

Emerling is working to find treatments for triple-negative breast cancer, which is treatable only with standard surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The lack of specific treatments means that it has a mortality rate three times higher than the other types of breast cancer. Emerling is working to find a personalized medicine that blocks several proteins she identified that allow the triple-negative breast cancer to grow, called PI5P4Ks.

The William Guy Forbeck Research Foundation was established in 1985 by George and Jennifer Forbeck in honor of their son, who succumbed to a rare childhood cancer at age 11. Today the foundation promotes advances in cancer research through collaboration. The foundation began the Forbeck Scholar award as a way to recognize early-career cancer researchers with great future promise. Past Forbeck Scholar award winners hail from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Broad Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and other top-tier institutes.

Institute News

Sanford Burnham Prebys scientists win two American Cancer Society awards

AuthorMonica May
Date

October 1, 2019

Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD, Jorge Moscat, PhD, and Maria Diaz-Meco, PhD

Innovation and Collaboration of the Year Awards

The San Diego cancer community—including oncologists, oncology nurses, radiologists, cancer researchers and their friends and family—gathered on September 22 to celebrate progress made in reducing cancer deaths and recognize exceptional individuals and institutions at the inaugural American Cancer Society’s Celebration of Cancer Care Champions in San Diego.

More than 40 finalists were selected, including Sanford Burnham Prebys professors Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD, who received the Innovation of the Year award for his team’s creation of a new model for studying a brain tumor that commonly arises in infants; and Jorge Moscat, PhD, and Maria Diaz-Meco, PhD, who received the Collaboration of the Year award for their partnership with clinicians at Scripps Clinic who uncovered a novel way to potentially identify a deadly form of colorectal cancer.

Nominations were reviewed by an independent review committee composed of representatives from 10 leading healthcare and research institutions, including Celgene, Kaiser Permanente, Rady Children’s Hospital, Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center, Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health and more. (Note: Members of the review committee did not score nominations for their own institutions.)

Read on to learn more about our award-winning research:

Innovation of the Year: A new model for studying brain tumors that strike infants
Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD, a professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys and program director of the Joseph Clayes III Research Center for Neuro-Oncology and Genomics at the Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, was honored for his development of a novel mouse model of a pediatric brain tumor called choroid plexus carcinoma. This tumor most commonly arises in infants under the age of one who are too young to undergo radiation treatment. Until now, drug development has been hindered by the lack of models that could help researchers better understand the cancer. Wechsler-Reya and his team have already used the model to identify potential drug compounds that may be therapeutically useful.

Collaboration of the Year (tie): Novel biomarkers to help detect a deadly colorectal cancer 
Sanford Burnham Prebys professors Jorge Moscat, PhD, and Maria Diaz-Meco, PhD; and Scripps Clinic clinicians Darren Sigal, MD, and Fei Baio, MD, were recognized for their successful collaboration. Together, the researchers revealed that loss of two genes drives the formation of the deadly serrated form of colorectal cancer—yielding promising biomarkers that could identify the tumor type. This insight could lead to the development of a diagnostic test to identify serrated colorectal cancer, a hurdle that previously limited our understanding of this deadly cancer type and the development of effective treatments. The research also identified a combination treatment that has treated the cancer in mice.

Institute News

18th Annual Fishman Fund Award ceremony celebrates the next generation of biomedical trailblazers

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

September 23, 2019

2019 Fishman Fund Award winners, left to right: Jennifer Hope, PhD, Aaron Harvas, PhD, Mafalda Loreti, PhD

Three talented early-career researchers were presented with a prestigious Fishman Fund Award at the annual ceremony on September 19. More than 100 generous benefactors, past award winners and family and friends joined the celebration held at the Sanford Consortium. The awards honor the Institute’s founders, Dr. William and Lillian Fishman.

Reena Horowitz, who along with her close friend Mary Bradley established the Fishman Fund Awards, welcomed the audience and shared how the Fishmans truly believed that young researchers need a boost from time to time—and that these awards do exactly that. Recipients who are selected from a pool of Sanford Burnham Prebys postdocs use the $10,000 stipend to attend workshops, network and travel to national and international conferences to learn about the latest developments in their research fields. 

“The young researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys make discoveries that have an impact in San Diego as well as helping advance science and health around the world,” said Horowitz. “The Institute motto could not ring truer: From Research the Power to Cure.”

Professor Hudson Freeze—one of the very first Fishman Fund Award winners and now director of the Institute’s Human Genetics Program—shared how his nearly 40 years of research has established him as a magnet for a global community of families seeking treatments for rare childhood diseases. He encouraged this year’s winners to take advantage of working in a world-class research center and to pursue meaningful research that will open new avenues to improve human health.

Jennifer Hope, PhD, was presented with the Lenka Finci and Erna Viterbi Fund Prize by Horowitz and Institute supporter Judy White. Dr. Hope works in the laboratory of Professor Linda Bradley, where she is studying cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive the development of T cells that attack cancer. Jennifer’s career goal is to become an independent investigator focused on research to promote patient responsiveness to cancer therapies.

Mafalda Loreti, PhD, was presented with the Jeanne Jones and Kathryn Fishback Fund Prize by Fishman Fund co-founder designee Jeanne Jones and longtime Institute supporter Sam Horowitz. Dr. Loreti is studying the mechanisms that promote muscle growth and repair in the laboratory of Associate Professor Alessandra Sacco. Her career goal is to become an independent researcher in an academic setting, where she will explore the biology of muscle pathologies and approaches to improve muscle health.

Aaron Havas, PhD, received the Reena Horowitz and Mary Bradley Fishman Fund Prize from Horowitz and Institute supporter Doreen Schonbrun. Dr. Havas works in the lab of Professor Peter Adams, where he studies how aging affects gene regulation. His career goal is to work in the biotech industry exploring drugs that target the process to promote healthy aging.

Since the fund’s inception in 2001, 64 prizes have been awarded. Every other year, a 24-month fellowship that provides salary support is given to a deserving postdoc. The fellowship was awarded in 2018, so it will be given again at next year’s ceremony.

The generosity of our Fishman Fund donors enables the tradition of providing career advancement opportunities. On behalf of all of us at Sanford Burnham Prebys, we thank you for your support.

Institute News

AACR selects Sanford Burnham Prebys scientist as NextGen Star

AuthorMonica May
Date

April 4, 2019

Cosimo Commisso, PhD, Sanford Burnham Prebys

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has named Cosimo Commisso, PhD, assistant professor in Sanford Burnham Prebys’ NCI-designated Cancer Center, as a NextGen Star. 

The program strives to increase the visibility of early career scientists at the organization’s annual meeting—one of the year’s largest gatherings of cancer researchers—and to support their professional development and advancement. The 2019 AACR Annual Meeting was held from March 29 to April 3 in Atlanta and attracted more than  21,000 scientists and clinicians. 

As a NextGen star, Commisso was featured on AACR’s website and was invited to give a presentation during a special “NextGen Star” session. He also presented in a session titled, “Features and Functions of the Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment.” Both talks were well attended.

Commisso’s presentations focused on pancreatic cancer, a deadly and difficult-to-detect tumor. Less than 10 percent of people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are alive five years later. More than 56,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 and its incidence is on the rise. Pancreatic cancer is on track to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. next year, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. New studies have linked military service to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, perhaps due to exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange.

Commisso is working to halt pancreatic cancer growth by studying the way cells internalize nutrients, called macropinocytosis. In this process, cells extend their membranes to capture nutrients in their surrounding environment—similar to how humans swallow a pill by encasing it in water. 

“We’ve discovered that pancreatic tumors that have a mutation in the RAS gene—which occurs in almost all cases—fuel their growth by kicking macropinocytosis into overdrive,” says Commisso. “By halting macropinocytosis, essentially cutting off the cancer cells’ fuel supply, we hope we can develop effective, much-needed treatments for pancreatic cancer.”

In his NextGen Star presentation, Commisso detailed how macropinocytosis is dialed up or down depending on nutrient availability. Studies performed by Szu-Wei Lee, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Commisso laboratory, indicate that RAS-mutated pancreatic tumors use two forms of macropinocytosis—one that is “always on” (constitutive) and another that is nutrient dependent.

“Uncovering the molecular differences between these two pathways could yield personalized targets that selectively target pancreatic cancer cells,” says Commisso. “In addition to pancreatic tumors, new evidence shows that lung, prostate and bladder cancers highjack macropinocytosis to keep growing. This means our work in pancreatic cancer may also lead to new treatments for these other tumor types.”

Watch Dr. Commisso explain his lab’s focus

View the full list of the NextGen stars 

Interested in keeping up with SBP’s latest discoveries, upcoming events and more? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Discoveries below.

Institute News

Ze’ev Ronai wins Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Melanoma Research

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

November 10, 2016

Ze've Rovai

Ze’ev Ronai, PhD, chief scientific advisor at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Research Institute (SBP) and professor in its NCI-designated Cancer Center, is the 2016 recipient of the Society for Melanoma Research’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors “an individual who has made major and impactful contributions to melanoma research throughout their career.”

Ronai is being recognized for his significant contributions to melanoma research that are advancing understanding of this deadly form of skin cancer and could lead to new treatments. His studies on ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-induced changes that promote melanoma showed how they rewire signaling networks. A major discovery from those inquiries was that one player in that rewiring, a protein called ATF2, can switch from its usual tumor-preventive function to become a tumor promoter. Work by the Ronai lab also mapped how ATF2 contributes to melanoma development, and identified specific factors involved in melanoma response to therapy and metastatic potential.

In mapping the landscape of melanoma signaling, Ronai’s lab also uncovered the important role the enzyme PDK1 plays in melanoma development and metastasis. More recently, Ronai’s studies identified a mechanism underlying resistance of melanoma to BRAF inhibitor therapy, paving the road for a new clinical trial. Integral to Ronai’s research are translational initiatives, including the development of SBI-756, a small molecule that disrupts the complex that initiates protein synthesis and prevents melanoma resistance when combined with BRAF inhibition.

Ronai and his team also study how cancer cells thrive under harsh conditions, such as lack of oxygen or nutrients. That line of research has produced important insights into cancer heterogeneity and its capacity to drive the survival of the select few cancer cells that are resistant to therapy and able to metastasize. Ronai’s studies of proteins that control stress responses, such as Siah and RNF5, have furthered understanding of these processes and identified new targets for future therapies.

Ronai’s record of scientific accomplishments was recognized by the National Cancer Institute with an Outstanding Investigator Award, a seven-year grant that allows recipients to pursue projects of unusual potential. Ronai’s unique focus on how gene activity changes in cancer promises to continue establishing new paradigms for how cancers develop and respond to therapy.

About the Society for Melanoma Research

The Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) is an all-volunteer group of scientists dedicated to finding the mechanisms responsible for melanoma and, consequently, new therapies for this cancer. SMR contributes to advances in melanoma research by catalyzing collaborations among basic, translational, and clinical researchers, carrying new technology-based discoveries from bench to bedside and back.

About melanoma

The incidence of melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer, is rising at one of the fastest rates of all cancers in the U.S. Melanoma can strike people of all ages and is the most common form of cancer among young adults ages 25 to 29.

Institute News

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

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

April 28, 2016

Header image

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”