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Institute News

2017 Fishman Fund Award Ceremony celebrates postdoctoral scholars

AuthorHelen I. Hwang
Date

September 20, 2017

2017 Fishman Fund Ceremony with Malin Burnham, Dr. Kristiina Vuori, Armi Williams, Reena Horowitz, Dr. Jose Luis Nieto Torres, Dr. David Sala Cano, Dr. Michael J. Stec, Jeanne Jones, Greg Lucier

More than 100 supporters of Sanford Burnham Prebys (SBP) Fishman Fund Awards came out to honor this year’s Fishman Fund Award recipients: David Sala Cano, PhD, Michael J. Stec, PhD, and Jose Luis Nieto Torres, PhD, at the Sanford Consortium on Tuesday evening.

Malin Burnham, SBP’s Honorary Board Trustee, spoke about SBP exemplifying collaboration as part of its DNA. He also said that of all the organizations he works with, he gets the most satisfaction from being involved with SBP. Dr. Torres received the award and Fishman Fund medallion from Burnham, while Torres’ parents watched on with pride. They flew in from Spain, visiting the United States for the first time.

Fishman Fund co-founders and SBP supporters Reena Horowitz and Jeanne Jones led the ceremonies as they spoke about the founding of the Fishman Fund Award in 2001. The Fishman Fund Career Development Awards have grown from a $1,500 allowance to $10,000 stipends for each recipient so they can attend workshops, network and travel to national and international scientific conferences to learn about the latest developments in their research fields. The generosity of Fishman Fund donors enables such important career advancement opportunities for future scientific leaders.

Greg Lucier, former SBP board member and CEO of NuVasive, Inc., also spoke on the topic of “we versus me,” emphasizing the importance of teamwork. SBP supporters Dr. Andrew Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm, and Armi Williams, Fishman Fund Advisory Board member and former SBP trustee, presented Fishman Fund awards and medallions to Drs. Stec and Cano, respectively.

This year’s recipients gave short presentations on their work, each of which dealt with aging, including muscle stem cells, muscle regeneration and autophagy (body’s ability to eliminate waste and recycle). Read more about their work below.

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2017 Fishman Fund Awardees:

David Sala Cano, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Alessandra Sacco, PhD, is working on muscle stem cells. He focuses on muscle wasting, a major health problem that leads to poor quality to life, and is associated diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cancer and aging. He is working on identifying new targets for drugs that may prevent skeletal muscle degeneration.

Dr. Cano comes to La Jolla from a small town of Abrúcies, Spain. He holds degrees from the University of Barcelona, including a BS degree in biochemistry, a MS degree in physiology and a PhD in biomedicine. His goal is to become a principal investigator in an academic setting, combining his passion for research and teaching.

Michael J. Stec, PhD, focuses on understanding the mechanisms regulating stem cell function and skeletal muscle regeneration; he is also in the laboratory of Alessandra Sacco, Ph.D. He aims to develop novel therapies for improving muscle function in aged and diseased individuals.

Dr. Stec hails from Whippany, New Jersey. He holds a BS degree in health and exercise science from the College of New Jersey, a MS degree in exercise science from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in pathobiology and molecular medicine from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Ultimately, his career goal is to obtain a position in the biotech industry.

Jose Luis Nieto Torres, PhD, is a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Malene Hansen, PhD He conducts research on autophagy—a process our bodies use to eliminate cell waste by recycling debris into usable sources of energy. Our bodies need to be able to eliminate debris that accumulates over time and make new components for proper functioning. Autophagy declines with aging, and is associated with many age-related diseases.

Dr. Torres joined SBP from Palencia, Spain. He obtained his BS degree in biochemistry and biology from the University of Salamanca and MS and PhD degrees in molecular biology from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. In the future, Dr. Torres aims to become a principal investigator of his own lab in an academic setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Institute News

Reena Horowitz honored at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

AuthorHelen I. Hwang
Date

December 13, 2016

Kristiina Vuori, Ph.D, and Reena Horowitz

During a special end-of-the-year gathering, Reena Horowitz was honored for her hard work and dedication to Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP). Held in the Fishman Auditorium at SBP, friends and staff thanked Horowitz with a bouquet of flowers, applause and a speech from Kristiina Vuori, PhD, president of SBP. Vuori thanked Horowitz for being a “leading ambassador for the Institute.”

In Vuori’s speech, she explained how Horowitz became involved with the Institute through her friendship with her neighbor Lillian Fishman. Dr. William T. Fishman and his wife, Lillian Fishman, founded SBP forty years ago. “Reena’s friendship with Lillian provided the Institute with a champion in the community, as well as the development of two of SBP’s institutional programs, the Fishman Fund Awards and the Group of 12 & Friends. Reena co-founded and has managed both of these extraordinary programs for over a decade,” said Vuori.

To nurture the careers of future scientific trailblazers at SBP, the Fishman Fund was established by SBP supporters Mary Bradley and Reena Horowitz to honor the founders of the Institute, Dr. William and Lillian Fishman. Over 55 postdoctoral students have been supported by the Fishman Fund, which awards postdoctoral fellowships and career development grants.

Horowitz co-founded G12 & Friends, a lecture and get-together with friends hosted monthly at SBP. What started out as Horowitz, Lillian Fishman and a few friends has ballooned into a group that usually draws over 100 guests, curious about a wide range of topics from science, medicine and the arts.

The celebration was an occasion to thank Horowitz for being a passionate supporter of SBP’s scientific programs within the community.

To find out more about the Fishman Fund and how to support it, click here.

Institute News

SBP supporters Dr. Tom and Cindy Goodman host SBP’s postdocs for the holidays

AuthorHelen I. Hwang
Date

December 9, 2016

Fishman Fund winners at the Goodmans for the Holidays

For the last ten years, Cindy and Dr. Tom Goodman have a tradition of inviting Fishman Fund winners, past and present, for a holiday celebration. “It’s a delight to see everyone in a social setting – listening, learning and sharing.” Conversations range from the latest and greatest on melanoma research to cultural discussions about what Thanksgiving is about.

The Goodmans have been supporters of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) and the Fishman Fund for the last decade or so. Every year, they’ve invited the winners of the Fishman Fund to their own home to share a holiday dinner. Cindy Goodman’s family always had a tradition of having students over for big meals when she was growing up in Ohio. She wanted to continue the tradition here with SBP’s community.

The Fishman Fund provides funding for exceptional postdoctoral researchers with a Fishman Fund Fellowship and Fishman Fund Career Development Awards. Founded in 2001, the Fishman Fund was established by SBP supporters Mary Bradley and Reena Horowitz, to honor the Fishmans. In 2010, Jeanne Jones became the co-founder designee. SBP introduced the Fishman Fund Awards in honor of the Institute’s founders, Dr. William and Lillian Fishman. So far, the Fishman Fund has funded over 55 postdoctoral researchers.

Recently, the families of four Fishman Fund recipients went to the Goodmans’ home to share Thanksgiving dinner. Fishman Fund awardees Stefan Grotegut, Melanie Hoefer, Petrus de Jong, Bernhard Lechtenberg and Jia (Zack) Shen all enjoyed a holiday celebration with the Goodmans. Former Fishman Fund winner Karthik Bodhinathan also called from the Boston area, where he now works for a pharmaceutical company, after spending six holidays with the Goodmans.  In fact, they’ve grown so close that they met Bodhinathan’s sister on a trip to Singapore.

The appreciation we feel “magnifies in unexpected ways,” says Cindy. This year, there were 16 people in their home, including children, ranging from age 1 to 8 years old. The Goodmans made turkey, potatoes and cranberry sauce for some guests who’ve never enjoyed such a feast before.

For Shen and his family, it was their first American Thanksgiving and he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. “We really enjoyed the fantastic Thanksgiving dinner at Cindy and Tom’s home. The house was so cozy. Cindy and Tom just treated us like family members. During the dinner, we talked about life in San Diego, my plans for the near future and the funny things about my baby Olivia. Also, we had nice conversations with the other winners’ families. And all of us gave our thanks to Goodman family. It was a wonderful evening!”

“I would be delighted if others opened their houses and hearts to one student or family,” says Cindy Goodman. Their experiences have been so delightful that she hopes someone else will also gain from the gift of sharing as the Goodmans have benefitted for the last decade.

For more information about the Fishman Fund, click here.