community outreach Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys
Institute News

Zebrafish, C. elegans, neurons and…tacos?

AuthorKristen Cusato
Date

March 9, 2017

The spotlight was on all of these things at the Festival of Science & Engineering’s Think, Drink, Science event on March 7th at the Quartyard in Downtown San Diego.

Postdocs, scientists and grad students from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) shared their research with non-scientists who went from table to table to learn about the good work that happens in our labs.

SBP postdocs explain their research

For two hours, some really good questions were asked and answered in a casual, yet inspiring environment.

Thanks to Deborah Pre from CPCCG, Keith Gates from the Dong lab, Lindsay Ward-Kavanagh from the Ware lab, Jose Nieto Torres from the Hansen lab, Suzanne Rohrback from the Chun lab, and grad student Pavel Ryzhov.

Lindsay Ward-Kavanagh discusses her work on immunotherapy

And thanks to sponsor Biocom, who asked SBP to showcase some of their up and coming science stars.

Institute News

Showing kids why mutants matter at the STEM Expo

AuthorJessica Moore
Date

March 7, 2017

Want to see some mutant worms? If you do, you’re like the hundreds—or possibly thousands—of children and their parents who visited the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) booth at the STEM Expo, held Saturday, March 4 to kick off the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering.

Those families got to watch live C. elegans—tiny worms used at SBP to study the biology of aging—move under a magnifying glass. By comparing normal worms to mutants that don’t move as well, they learned about how a single change to DNA can have a huge impact on how a whole body works. Scientists from the lab of Malene Hansen, PhD, associate professor at SBP, who provided the worms, explained how mutations in the same gene also cause human diseases like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which involves hyperflexible joints and skin.

They also had the chance to use virtual reality headsets to look at the shapes of proteins—the machines that make things happen inside cells—and how they can change as a result of a mutation. The 3D visualization tool was created by the lab of Adam Godzik, PhD, professor and director of the Bioinformatics and Structural Biology Program at SBP. Researchers from Godzik’s group told visitors about how they use similar computer modeling to find new mutations that could be important in cancer.

Kids left the SBP booth with temporary DNA tattoos on their hands (or sometimes their faces), mini lab coats personalized on the spot so they could pretend to be scientists at home and, maybe, a newfound interest in biology, thanks to the enthusiasm of the Institute’s many volunteers.

Institute News

SBP supports opening of stem cell exhibit at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

Authorjmoore
Date

January 29, 2016

Pamela Itkin-Ansari, PhD, adjunct assistant professor in the Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program at SBP, participated in the grand opening event for the Super Cells exhibit at the Fleet on Jan. 28. She served as an expert on the current understanding of stem cells, answering questions and explaining what stem cell researchers do. Continue reading “SBP supports opening of stem cell exhibit at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center”