Sanford Burnham Prebys

Michael Alcaraz, a fourth-year graduate student in the Sanford Burnham Prebys Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, was selected as the 2024 recipient of the Melvin and Phyllis McCardle Clause Scholarship. The McCardle Clause Scholarship was established in honor of Phyllis McCardle Clause after her long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The award supports graduate student education in age-related neurodegeneration within the Institute’s graduate school. Alcaraz conducts research in the laboratory of Peter Adams, PhD, the director of the Cancer Genome and Epigenetics Program, with a focus on the mechanisms of aging. With support from the scholarship, Alcaraz will be investigating the fundamental connections between aging and the increased risk of AD, the most common cause of dementia. “I am very excited about being chosen for this scholarship,” said Alcaraz. “I'll be gaining mentorship opportunities from researchers in neuroscience that complement my lab’s focus on aging. Read more: https://bit.ly/3Zojp34

Chiara Nicoletti, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate at Sanford Burnham Prebys, was selected as the first recipient of the Fishman Fund Cynthia Schwartz Shenkman Research Excellence Award.🥇 Nicoletti studies epigenetic patterns in skeletal muscle development and disease in the laboratory of Pier Lorenzo Puri, MD, director of the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program. Chiara’s accomplishments since joining Sanford Burnham Prebys and the Puri lab in 2018 include her work on dysferlinopathy, a rare form of muscular dystrophy. In collaboration with the laboratory of Jyoti K. Jaiswal, MSc, PhD, at Children’s National Research Institute in Washington, D.C., she developed an atlas mapping how the disease causes changes in the transcription of genes in skeletal muscle. This compendium follows the disease progression of dysferlinopathy at the single-cell level. Read more: https://bit.ly/47G34Jj

Stem cell scientists: Join the next Southern California Stem Cell Seminar on September 12, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. PDT featuring Dennis Clegg, Ph.D., of UC Santa Barbara. This event is in collaboration with UC San Diego and hosted by Evan Snyder, M.D., Ph.D. Register: https://bit.ly/3XG955h #stemcells #stemcellresearch

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Humans have long been fascinated by automata, objects that can or appear to move and act of their own volition. While the power of our imagination has largely preceded the available technology for feats of automation, many scientists and engineers throughout history succeeded in creating automata that were as amusing as they were examples of technical mastery. Fast forwarding to the modern age in the life sciences, the mechanization of certain tasks in the scientific process has been critical to increasing the accessibility of the latest biomedical research techniques and making current drug discovery methods possible. One of the many drug discovery projects aided by automation at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics focuses on the national epidemic of opioid addiction. Michael Jackson, PhD, and his collaborators are developing a completely new class of drugs for addiction that works by targeting a receptor on neurons called neurotensin 1 receptor or NTSR1, that regulates dopamine release. Funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse will help Jackson and the research team complete preclinical studies on a compound in this new class of drugs and initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate its safety in humans. Read more: https://bit.ly/3XwtUjr #automation #drugdiscovery

Congratulations to Sanford Burnham Prebys President and CEO David Brenner, who received last night the 2024 Director of the Year award in the category of “companies in transition” from the Corporate Directors Forum, a San Diego-based network of top executives. The award was presented in ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency in La Jolla. Brenner, who became president and CEO of Sanford Burnham Prebys in September 2022, was honored for his bold and dramatic vision of the institute as a 21st century leader in biomedical research. Read more: https://bit.ly/4dPgZ1T

🔬 Thinking of earning your PhD in Biomedical Sciences? The Sanford Burnham Prebys Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is now accepting applications for our PhD program! Apply today and start your journey towards a rewarding career in research and discovery. 📌 Link to Application: https://lnkd.in/gxSst-vi #phdjourney #gradschool #graduateschool #biomedicalscience

Sanford Burnham Prebys is thrilled to announce the appointment of Sandy Liarakos as our new vice president of philanthropy. With over 15 years of senior leadership experience in biomedical research and a deep-rooted knowledge of the Mesa, Liarakos joins us from a distinguished career that includes pivotal roles at UC Davis, UC San Diego, San Diego State University, Point Loma Nazarene University, Scripps Health Foundation and Sharp HealthCare. Her expertise and visionary approach are sure to drive our philanthropic efforts forward. We are excited to welcome Sandy to our team. Read more: https://bit.ly/4g0QaZT 

𝗦𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? In addition to classic laboratory tools such as glassware and pipettes, many biomedical researchers now often need advanced computational techniques to analyze the results of their studies. For every scientist pictured with a petri dish, we should imagine others writing code or sending instructions to a supercomputer. In some cases, scientists are testing whether computers can be used to simulate the experiments themselves. Computational tools such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to help scientists improve data inputs, create scenarios and generate synthetic data by simulating biological processes, clinical outcomes and public health campaigns. In the Sanford Burnham Prebys Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, scientists are using simulation-based techniques to more effectively and efficiently find new potential treatments. Read more: https://bit.ly/3AGgzw1 #artificialintelligence #computationalbiology

Congratulations to Dr. Chiara Nicoletti, Ph.D. (postdoc in Dr. Lorenzo Puri's lab) for being the inaugural recipient of the Fishman Fund Cynthia Schwartz Shenkman Research Excellence Award! The award is given to a Sanford Burnham Prebys postdoc for their outstanding biomedical research contributions and demonstrated track record of research excellence. Dr. Nicoletti studies epigenetic patterns in skeletal muscle development and disease. Her postdoctoral work has been supported over the years by an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship, a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) postdoctoral fellowship, a Pilot Grant from the San Diego Nathan Shock Center, a Fishman Fund Career Development Award, and most recently by a Young Investigator Award from the Jain Foundation Inc. Among her many research achievements is the development of the first high-resolution map of DNA contacts in skeletal muscle and the characterization of these contacts at the epigenetic level, which will pave the way towards the development of personalized medicine tools for muscular dystrophies patients. Learn more about the Fishman Fund Awards: https://lnkd.in/gEq5ary2

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have revealed a new secret regarding senescence, a cellular state similar to sleep that is more likely to affect aged cells. This drowsy condition is known to provide health benefits under certain conditions while also potentially causing collateral damage. The research team published results on August 22, 2024, in Molecular Cell, describing a new connection between the inflammation caused by senescent cells and a protein involved in the process of winding up six feet of DNA tightly enough to fit into the nuclear center of cells. The scientists defined how this protein influences the increase in inflammation when our cells slip into a state of slumber. By detailing this process, the authors may have uncovered a new opportunity to find drugs that can promote healthy aging by preventing or reducing chronic inflammation from the collection of too many senescent cells as we get older. Read more: https://bit.ly/3SXhIph #agingresearch #senescence