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Institute News

The Conrad Prebys Foundation fellows take center stage

AuthorGreg Calhoun
Date

May 20, 2024

Conrad Prebys Foundations fellow symposium panel of speakers

Following a year of hands-on training and scientific inquiry supported by a generous grant from the Conrad Prebys Foundation, a diverse group of early-career researchers recently presented their promising progress on translational research projects.

Twelve scientists-in-training at Sanford Burnham Prebys presented research updates at the Conrad Prebys Foundation Fellows Symposium on May 14, 2024, at the Institute’s Fishman Auditorium.

The presentations were the culmination of a yearlong educational program at Sanford Burnham Prebys providing early-career scientists with workshops, mentorship and research experiences focused on how to transform research discoveries into new treatments. The Conrad Prebys Foundation provided critical funding for the program as part of the foundation’s mission to increase the diversity of San Diego’s biomedical workforce.

Conrad Prebys Foundation fellows poster presentations“This truly has been a pioneering program at the Institute,” says Alessandra Sacco, PhD, director of, and professor in, the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys; and dean of the Institute’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

The graduate students and postdoctoral fellows selected to participate in the program conducted projects at the Institute’s  Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics (Prebys Center), the nation’s leading nonprofit drug discovery center. The Prebys Center specializes in finding new medicines for diseases with a substantial unmet medical need.

“Each participant worked with a pair of co-mentors, one in the laboratory and another in the Prebys Center,” adds Sacco. In addition to extensive mentorship, the program included educational sessions about the drug discovery process.

“This program’s multifaceted approach to training and development has been incredibly rewarding,” says Sacco. Before introducing the symposium’s first speaker, Sacco thanked Michael Jackson, PhD, senior vice president of Drug Discovery and Development at the Prebys Center and director of the Institute’s Cancer Molecular Therapeutics Program; Jessica Colomb, associate director of Administration at the Prebys Center; and all the mentors who contributed to the program’s success.

Conrad Prebys Foundation fellows poster presentationsAfter the conclusion of the fellows’ formal presentations, Lauren Mitchell, MS, program manager for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) at Sanford Burnham Prebys, moderated a discussion for fellowship awardees regarding how this training program enriched their skillset, benefited their career development and contributed to their overall sense of belonging and community, among other topics.

The symposium ended with a poster session and reception celebrating the Conrad Prebys Foundation, participants, mentors and contributors.

“I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the Conrad Prebys Foundation for this fellowship,” says Xiuqing Wei, PhD, postdoctoral associate in the lab of Lorenzo Puri, MD, director of, and professor in, the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

Wei adds, “It was a wonderful experience working with my co-mentors on an amazing translational research project.” Wei focused on methods for targeting the abnormal regulation of a key proinflammatory cytokine which is associated with muscle waste under the conditions of nerve injuries and cancer.

The Conrad Prebys Foundation fellows who presented at the symposium were:

Postdoctoral Fellows

  • Merve Demir
    Zhao Lab, Ed Sergienko co-mentor
    “Structural studies of MtCK and GCDH enzyme drug targets”
  • Alicia Llorente Lope
    Emerling Lab, Ian Pass co-mentor
    “Exploring PI5P4Kγ as a novel molecular vulnerability of therapy-resistant breast cancer” 
  • Van Giau Vo
    Huang Lab, TC Chung co-mentor
    “Identifying enhancers of SNX27 to promote neuroprotective pathways in Alzheimer’s disease and Down Syndrome”
  • Xiuqing Wei
    Puri Lab, Anne Bang co-mentor
    “Selective targeting of a pathogenetic IL6-STAT3 feedforward loop activated during denervation and cancer cachexia”

Predoctoral Fellows

  • Michael Alexander Alcaraz
    Adams Lab, Steven Olson co-mentor
    “Activating the NAMPT-NAD+ axis in senescence to target age-associated disease”
  •   Shea Grenier Davis
    Commisso Lab, Steven Olson co-mentor
    “Examining PIKfyve as a potential therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer” 
  • Aditi Pedgaonkar
    Deshpande Lab, Ed Sergienko co-mentor
    “SGF29 as a novel therapeutic target in AML” 
  • Patrick Hagan
    Cosford Lab, Ian Pass co-mentor
    “Discovery and development of novel ATG13 degrading compounds that inhibit autophagy and treat non-small-cell lung cancer” 
  • Texia Loh
    Wang Lab, Ed Sergienko co-mentor
    “Investigating the role of HELLS in mediating resistance to PARP Inhibition in small-cell lung cancer” 
  • Michaela Lynott
    Colas Lab, TC Chung co-mentor
    “Identification of small molecules inhibiting ATF7IP-SETDB1 interacting complex to improve cardiac reprogramming efficiency” 
  • Tatiana Moreno
    Kumsta Lab, Anne Bang co-mentor
    “Identifying TFEB/HLH-30 regulators to modulate autophagy in age-related diseases” 
  • Utkarsha Paithane
    Bagchi Lab, TC Chung co-mentor
    “Identification of small-molecule enhancers of Honeybadger, a novel RAS/MAPK inhibitor”
Institute News

Sanford Burnham Prebys’ Shadow Day supports diversity and inclusion in STEM education

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

November 20, 2023

Caroline Kumsta speaking to STEM Shadow Day students in her lab

Creating an inclusive environment in STEM is crucial for ensuring a broad range of perspectives and ideas, ultimately contributing to the advancement of scientific research and innovation.

This month, Sanford Burnham Prebys’ DEI Education & Training Committee hosted more than 20 high school and college students from historically underrepresented backgrounds for a day of lab tours and workshops. The event was sponsored by the San Diego MESA alliance, and faculty, staff and current trainees came together to help make the event possible.

“The sponsorship by the San Diego MESA Alliance demonstrates the collaborative efforts between organizations to support diversity and inclusion in STEM education,” said Paula Checchi, PhD, administrator in the Institute’s Office of Education, Training and International Students and leader for our DEI Committee. “Such partnerships play a vital role in breaking down barriers and providing resources to underrepresented students to overcome challenges in pursuing careers in science and technology.”

STEM Shadow Day at Sanford Burnham Prebys serves as a model for other institutions seeking to enhance diversity in STEM fields. By actively engaging with students from underrepresented backgrounds and providing them with meaningful experiences, the Institute is contributing to a more inclusive and equitable future in science and research.

After the opening comments from Checci and Alessandra Sacco, Ph.D, Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Director and Professor of the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys, high school students attended a workshop on networking skills and mentorship. Meanwhile, college students divided into groups and went on guided tours of labs across campus, where they saw firsthand how researchers are solving pressing problems in medicine.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to go into a biomedical research career,” said Owen Kelly, a high school student at High Tech High in Chula Vista. Kelly “Coming here and seeing how things really are in laboratories is very cool—it makes me even more excited to think about a future in science.”

The event ended with a networking lunch followed by a poster session, featuring work by graduate students and alumni of this summer’s SPARK internship program—a six-week, fully paid internship open to high schoolers from San Diego and Imperial Counties.

“Diversity is a huge resource, especially in scientific research,” Sacco said. “If you’re asking questions nobody has the answer to, and everybody in the room is from the same background with the same mindset, you’re less likely to less likely to find creative answers. Diversity enriches the scientific discussion, and we’re all part of the same research community.”

Institute News

Scientific leaders of tomorrow present at 2023 Annual Trainee Symposium

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

September 22, 2023

People at 2023 Trainee Symposium poster session

An accomplished group of early-career researchers including postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and staff scientists showcased their work at Sanford Burnham Prebys’ 22nd Annual Trainee Research Symposium on Thursday, September 21st.

After introductory remarks by Sanford Burnham Prebys Professor Guy Salveson, PhD, former dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the scientists gave 20-minute podium presentations about their research, which were judged by a panel of Sanford Burnham Prebys faculty and staff.

Speakers included:

  • Patrick Hagan (Graduate Student, Cosford Lab)
  • Alessandra Cecchini, PhD (Postdoctoral Associate, Sacco Lab)
  • James Kent, PhD (Postdoctoral Associate, Osterman Lab)
  • Theophilos Tzaridis, MD (Postdoctoral Fellow, Adams Lab)
  • Jimmy Massenet, PhD (Postdoctoral Associate, Puri Lab)
  • Merve Demir, PhD (Postdoctoral Associate, Sergienko Lab/CPCCG)
  • Guillem Lambies Barjau, PhD (Postdoctoral Associate, Commisso Lab)
  • Michaela Romero (Graduate Student, Colas Lab)

After the first session of presentations, a keynote speech for the symposium was given by UC San Diego Professor Gene Yeo, PhD professor at UC San Diego titled, “Challenges and opportunities in RNA biology for understanding and treating human diseases.” Dr. Yeo is a leader in developing technology and algorithms to explore how RNA-binding proteins influence RNA processing and how dysfunction is associated with human disease.

Following closing remarks from Sanford Burnham Prebys CEO David A. Brenner, MD, a poster session was held where more than 25 early-career scientists were given the chance to present their work.

A panel of judges selected the poster of Cynthia Lebeaupin, PhD (Kaufman Lab) for the top prize. Dr. Lebeaupin’s research focuses on how fatty liver disease—an increasingly prevalent health condition—leads to liver cancer.

Cynthia Lebeaupin, PhD headshot in lab

Winner of the judges’ selection for “Best Podium Talk” was awarded to Michaela Romero for her presentation, “Novel role of proteoglycan sulfation as a barrier to direct cardiac reprogramming.”

Michaela Romero headshot

The event also featured the presentation of Sanford Burnham Prebys’ Mentor of the Year Award to Alessandra Sacco, PhD, who was recently named the new dean of the graduate school.

Aaron Havas presenting Alessandra Sacco with Mentor of the Year award

Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s Symposium, and a special thank you to the staff at the Office of Education, Training, & International Services (OETIS) for organizing the event.

Institute News

Peter Adams named Mentor of the Year at 21st Annual Research Trainee Symposium

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

September 23, 2022

Peter Adams receives the Mentor of the Year Award from Marie Berenguer

Peter Adams, PhD, has been named Mentor of the Year, a new honor from the Institute’s Office of Education, Training and International Services (OETIS) and the Postdoctoral Training Advisory Group (PTAG).

trainees and posters​

Trainees present their research to peers and faculty at the
poster session

The award was based on nomination letters submitted by postdocs and graduate students on the Sanford Burnham Prebys campus, and the winner was selected by a committee of PTAG members. The award was announced on September 22 at the 21st Annual Trainee Research Symposium.

“Professor Adams creates an environment that supports his postdocs in pursuing their research projects by motivating his trainees to experience new techniques, take on challenging projects and help them to decide the direction in which they want to move forward,” said postdoctoral associate Marie Berenguer, who presented the award to Adams. “He helps his trainees expand their professional networks and further develop their technical and transferable skills. Every trainee from the Adams lab submitted an abstract for this year’s Annual Trainee Research Symposium, a sign of Peter’s commitment to their training.”

Adams Lab​
The Adams lab

In his comments when accepting the award, Adams spoke to his mentoring philosophy: “Some of you have asked me, ‘What’s the most important thing in a student or a postdoc?’ What I’ll say is that the most important thing is to take ownership of your project, so my mentoring strategy is, in a way, to put the burden on you. But I can only put that burden on you if you can rise to it and take that on, and clearly you do. You do a great job, so that makes my life very easy.”

Reading from nomination letters submitted by postdocs, Berenguer added, “Your positive vision and passion for science, your willingness to collaborate and help, and your kind personality were highly praised and stated as the major reason that you are a one-of-a-kind mentor who has positively impacted your lab members and also many other researchers across Sanford Burnham Prebys.” 

trainees and faculty enjoying refreshments​
Trainees and faculty enjoy refreshments during a break

In addition to the award presentation, the day consisted of opening remarks from Hudson Freeze, PhD, and Alessandra Sacco, PhD; presentations by graduate students and postdocs from labs across the Institute; and a keynote presentation from Principal Investigator Karissa Sanbonmatsu, PhD, from Los Alamos National Laboratories, about her work in epigenetics. President and CEO David Brenner, MD, delivered closing remarks, which were followed by a poster session.

“Mentoring is one of the most important things senior faculty can do to advance the careers of their students and postdocs,” said Brenner during his comments. “It’s such a pleasure to join you all for this symposium today.” 

Institute News

Gearing up for summer internships

Authorjmoore
Date

April 13, 2016

Header image

Scientific staff at SBP’s Lake Nona campus are excited to welcome this year’s crop of high school interns in June. The highly competitive program—one of very few in Florida to offer such extensive hands-on research—received 48 applications from students for seven coveted slots. The majority of the academically talented, highly motivated students have taken advanced science coursework at area schools including Edgewater, Winter Park, Jones, East River, Trinity Prep, Timber Creek, Dr. Philips, Boone, Seminole and many others.

“We hope to provide transformative experiences—to immerse students in real, modern research using sophisticated techniques,” said Peter Crawford, MD, PhD, associate professor and director of the Cardiovascular Metabolism Program, who will oversee the internship program this year.

The interns will be involved in cutting-edge projects such as:

  • Analyzing levels of thousands of types of fat molecules to identify possible biomarkers of early Alzheimer’s disease
  • Using chemical profiling and mouse models to understand the metabolic origins of diabetes and heart disease
  • Large-scale production of recombinant proteins using bioreactor systems

In their two to four weeks at SBP, trainees will work one-on-one with staff scientists and postdocs. In addition to lab training, they’ll be exposed to research from across the Institute through weekly seminars and discuss their work in lab meetings.

 

This involvement in the scientific community helps summer interns gain a lot more than knowledge of how to do experiments. Past intern Christina Lee, now a sophomore at UCLA preparing for medical school, reflected that she acquired “an invaluable perspective on how quickly the scientific community is moving forward.”

“What surprised me most in the lab,” said intern Mitchell Thomas, “is the unwavering motivation researchers have. Though some procedures are very time consuming and may not work the first time, they continue on.”

Appreciating the pace of scientific progress and the rigors of laboratory research will be a great benefit for these students, who plan to pursue life science careers. The 50 SBP Lake Nona internship alumni are now pursuing higher education at such prestigious universities as Duke, Stanford, the University of Florida, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Institute News

Mirco Guigli graduates SBP’s PhD program, will continue project at Vala Sciences

Authorjmoore
Date

March 18, 2016

Header image

Mirco Guigli, who defended his PhD thesis on February 25, represents another success for SBP’s graduate program. He not only developed a prototype microscope that has generated commercial interest, but has a clear plan for his future—he will join Vala Sciences to continue this work.

Guigli knew before coming to SBP that he intended to work in industry, which made him a good fit for the laboratory of Jeffrey Price, MD, PhD, an associate professor here and president and CEO of Vala. Price’s lab develops high-performance imaging technologies to support drug screening.

When asked how he decided on SBP for his graduate training, Guigli explained, “Jeff contacted me and suggested I come back to his lab to do a PhD—I had done an internship with him in 2009 as part of my masters program. I was actually pretty happy where I was, working as an electrical engineer designing a dialysis machine for a company in Italy, but I was 25 and had nothing to lose.”

His background in engineering was helpful for Guigli’s project, in which he designed, built, and adapted software for a microscope that offers a promising alternative to confocal microscopy. This system offers similar resolution to confocal, but takes up much less space and uses less intense illumination, allowing imaging of biological processes in real time.

This high resolution is possible because the microscope employs structured illumination, in which portions of the specimen are illuminated in sequential complementary grid patterns. While this approach has already been employed in commercially available microscopes, the key to this new system is the use of a digital micromirror (also used in IMAX projection) to control which parts of the specimen are illuminated. Because digital micromirrors are not microscopic, they’re easier to synchronize with image collection, which could make this microscope faster than what’s currently available.

While this project, focusing on technology rather than biology, is unusual for SBP, Guigli greatly values the knowledge he gained. “I was basically learning what a protein was at age 27. My fellow students, who mostly had experience in biological research, were really helpful. As we were discussing our projects over beers, they really wanted to help me understand their work. From those discussions, I also got a feel for biology as a whole, since they’re working on everything from HIV to muscle regeneration to Alzheimer’s.”

Institute News

Sanford-Burnham commends summer 2014 high-school researchers

Authorrbruni
Date

July 24, 2014

Header image

On July 18, eleven students from The Preuss School UCSD celebrated the completion of an intensive two-week summer research program with a poster symposium and luncheon at our La Jolla, Calif., campus. The Preuss School is a unique, charter middle and high school for low-income, highly motivated students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college. Continue reading “Sanford-Burnham commends summer 2014 high-school researchers”