NMR Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys

Tag: NMR

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

SBP researcher receives NIH Outstanding Investigator Award to study deadly pathogens

AuthorSusan Gammon
Date

June 7, 2016

Francesca Marassi

Francesca Marassi, PhD, professor in SBP’s NCI-designated Cancer Center, has been awarded an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). The $4 million grant is to study how proteins on the surface of pathogens promote virulence by mediating the first-line interactions with human host cells. The project has important implications for biology and medicine.

“Our initial focus is on a protein called Ail (attachment invasion locus) that is expressed on the outer membrane of Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague,” said Marassi. “The Y. pestis bacterium is highly pathogenic, spreads rapidly and causes an extremely high rate of mortality. Ail is critical for suppressing the human immune defenses and for promoting bacterial invasion”

Although it is sensitive to some antibiotics, the potential use of Y. pestis as a biological weapon has led to its classification as a Tier 1 Biothreat Agent – a designation used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to identify pathogens and toxins that can be misused to threaten public health or national security.

“The emerging threat of bacterial drug resistance makes our work particularly important,” added Marassi. “We will be using a technology called NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) to determine the three-dimensional structure of Ail and examine how it associates with its human protein partners. Visualizing these biomolecular complexes helps us understand how pathogens engage their human host, and advances our ability to design effective drugs and vaccines for bacteria and viruses,” added Marassi.

Institute News

Leading cardiometabolic researcher to join SBP

Authordrobison
Date

November 5, 2015

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The cardiovascular researcher who pioneered visualizing the function of the human heart using the most powerful magnetic resonance available will soon join SBP’s Florida campus. E. Douglas Lewandowski, PhD, will become professor in the Cardiovascular Metabolism Program and director of Cardiovascular Translational Research starting December 2015. He is among the most preeminent investigators in the world who specialize in the metabolic basis of heart failure, including ischemic heart disease and diabetic cardiomyopathy.

“Doug Lewandowski’s pioneering work has unveiled new concepts and therapeutic strategies aimed at improving the treatment of heart failure, a worldwide health problem. He will continue this work at SBP, leading an innovative bench-to-clinic research program at SBP and the Florida Hospital Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes (TRI-MD). His recruitment is transformational for our translational research efforts in the cardiovascular arena,” said Daniel P. Kelly, MD, Tavistock Distinguished Professor and scientific director, Center for Metabolic Origins of Disease at SBP Lake Nona.

Lewandowski’s contributions to understanding metabolic pathways and fuels that may protect against the high-morbidity, -mortality, and economic health burden of heart failure are recognized as among the most rigorous and field-advancing. He is renowned in the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to visualize and measure metabolic activity in the intact beating heart in health and disease. His expertise in medical imaging techniques involves manipulation of metabolic activity in the ailing heart with pharmacological agents and targeted gene manipulation.

He will hold a joint appointment at Florida Hospital as senior principal investigator at the TRI-MD. He views the partnership between SBP’s basic research and the TRI’s clinical investigations as an attractive and effective research model that will accelerate the translation of the fundamental mechanisms of heart disease and therapeutic targets toward patient-based studies to identify new treatments, therapeutics, and cures.

“With Lake Nona’s emphasis and existing expertise in cardiometabolic disease, I feel that I can immediately contribute to team science approaches to elucidate fundamental mechanisms of heart and metabolic disease. My focus will be to translate findings in SBP’s laboratories to human studies of the metabolic basis of heart disease at the TRI,” said Lewandowski. “It is this partnership that I anticipate will be a game changer in the way I will be able to implement the translation of my laboratory investigations, and I find this very, very exciting.”

Prior to joining SBP, Lewandowski held the position of professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, in the Department of Medicine, and director of the Program in Integrative Cardiac Metabolism at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Previously, Dr. Lewandowski spent a decade on the faculty at Harvard Medical School with hospital appointments at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass.

Institute News

Sanford-Burnham welcomes two new scientists to Lake Nona

Authorpbartosch
Date

October 29, 2014

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We’re excited to announce that we have recruited two cardiometabolic experts to our Medical City campus in Lake Nona (Orlando), Fla. Peter A. Crawford, MD, PhD, and Andre d’Avignon, PhD, join our Cardiovascular Pathobiology Program from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. The increasing density of local scientists and clinicians in Orlando is accelerating the growth of the region’s bio-medical industry, promoting both economic development and the quality of health care. Continue reading “Sanford-Burnham welcomes two new scientists to Lake Nona”