VO LU M E 5
NUMBER 3
From Research,The Power to Cure
I n si d e
> Burnh am E du cat ion
Training Young Scientists
>B urn ham N ews
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B U r n h a m R epor t
Jo h n R eed, M. D ., Ph. D.
In Th i s Is s ue
President and CEO Professor and Donald Bren Presidential Chair
B urn h a m e d u c a t i on
Training a New Generation of Scientists
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Building a Ph.D. Program
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Students Loving Science
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The Yin and Yang of MEF2C
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Burnham Awarded $97.9 Million Screening Center Grant
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New Progress on Bone Disease
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Bacteria Studied as Potential Cancer Treatment
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Nicolas Nierenberg — In His Own Words
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Vice President External Relations
Another Way to Help Burnham
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Eliza beth Gia nini
Charitable Trusts Benefit Your Family and Charity
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Vice President External Relations
Discovery Without Boundaries
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C hr is L ee
Team Burnham News
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Vice President External Relations
A Day in the Life: Postdoc Edition
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An dre a M os er
The Spirit of Inquiry: President’s Message
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Partners in Science: Toby Cohen, Dr. Stuart Lipton, Howard Cohen
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K ristii na V uori, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Vice President for Scientific Affairs Director, Cancer Center Ka ri n Eastha m
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer B l ai r B lum
Senior Vice President External Relations Edg a r G illen wat ers
Vice President Communications Jo sh Baxt
Editor, Burnham Report G avi n & G avin Advertisi ng Inc.
Design
O n T h e Cover
Mark Dast rup Nadia Borowski Sc ott
Photography
Please address inquiries to: Dr. Cristina Pop earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at North Carolina State University and came to Burnham in June 2004 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Pop studies caspases in Dr. Guy Salvesen’s lab. Discovered in 1990, caspases are essential enzymes from the human body. Their role is to trigger cellular death when a cell is infected, injured, aged or mutated. If a caspase fails to do its job, the excess cells cannot be removed. As a result, sick cells accumulate and continue to divide, resulting most often in cancers. On the other hand, if caspase activation occurs too early, then healthy, useful cells die. This process can lead to autoimmune or neurological disorders. Dr. Pop is working to find new ways to target and regulate caspases.
jbaxt@burnham.org
Burnham Institute for Medical Research 10901 North Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, CA 92037 858.646.3100
Burnham Institute for Medical Research at Lake Nona 8669 Commodity Circle, 4th Floor Orlando, FL 32819 407.745.2000
www.burnham.org
B u r n h a m e d u c a t i on
Training a
New Generation
of Scientists
Danielle Murphy, Ph.D., at work in Dr. Sara Courtneidge’s lab.
Open today’s paper and, chances are, you will read about a significant scientific breakthrough. The article will describe what was discovered; who conducted the research; the significance of the finding and what comes next. But you won’t get the back story. A team of researchers spent long days and nights in the lab. They tested many hypotheses—some accurate, some not—for years. Slowly, they gathered data, submitted their findings to a peerreviewed journal and, after several revisions, published the scientific article.
But the back story goes deeper than that. The scientists who collaborate on these discoveries have varying degrees of education and experience. In addition to the principal investigators, who lead the projects, there are postdoctoral fellows and Ph.D. candidates who conduct the majority of the hands-on science. In return for their labor, these young scientists learn by doing and receive critical insights from senior investigators. The experience they acquire will guide their future research. Fish Story Danielle Murphy, Ph.D., has come full circle. A postdoctoral fellow in Dr.
Sara Courtneidge’s lab, Dr. Murphy briefly visited San Diego during high school to learn about marine biology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As it turns out, she learned that she wasn’t very interested in marine biology. Fast forward a few years and, having completed her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Murphy is conducting basic biological research at Burnham—on fish. The zebra fish the lab uses are primitive vertebrates and excellent models to study how cancer spreads throughout the body (metastasis). Dr. Courtneidge notes that cancer cells don’t invent anything new; they just steal the traits they need from other
cells. The lab is particularly interested in how certain cancer cells mimic processes generally seen in utero. As our bodies develop and different cells are created, they must migrate to their appropriate places in the body. But once this migration is complete, bone, nerve and other cells lose their ability to move about. Dr. Murphy is studying how cancer cells reacquire this early ability to migrate through the body. “Tumor cells do things they were only supposed to do in development,” says Dr. Murphy. “Somehow, that mechanism gets turned on again.” Dr. Murphy’s work has impressed many people, both
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B u r n h a m e d u c a t i on
in and outside of Burnham. She recently received a threeyear grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to continue her work in the Courtneidge lab. The highly competitive ACS grant is unique because the grantees are selected by both scientists and the donors who fund it. “It’s exciting that people in the community helped select my proposal,” says Dr. Murphy. “It provides me steady funding, but it also gives me a track record. It shows that I can get funding for my work.” Br i d g ing t he G ap Dr. Murphy has been eager to study cell migration and metastasis, and Dr. Courtneidge’s lab is an ideal
The
Fishman Award
It’s not an uncommon dilemma: start your career or get more schooling. If you go the career route, you earn more money in the short term but can ultimately lose earning power. If you opt for schooling, you have to be poor a little longer. There are more than 200 postdoctoral fellows at Burnham, and while they
Principal investigator Dr. Hudson Freeze confers with Lars Bode, Ph.D.
place to do that. However, she is experiencing the same long-term problem faced by most postdocs: What will I do after my fellowship? While the postdoc period provides a wonderful opportunity to be mentored by leading scientists, it’s only temporary. Fellows
are gaining experience and training at one of the world’s premier scientific institutions, their salaries don’t go very far. These economics can crimp their career development, as attending conferences, taking outside classes or even buying a personal computer can be beyond their budgets. Fortunately, for a few select postdocs, the Fishman Award Fund can help. The Fishman Fund was created by Mary Bradley and Reena Horowitz to honor Burnham founders Dr. William and Lillian Fishman. Each year, the fund committee reviews applications and
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must figure out what role they want to play in the science world, while making sure they acquire the skills—both scientific and administrative—that will help them when they leave Burnham. “Only 12 to 15 percent of postdocs will go on to become
Fishman Award winner Lutz Tautz, Ph.D.
makes $5,000 grants to select Burnham postdocs to help with their career development. Lutz Tautz, Ph.D., is a staff scientist in Dr. Robert Rickert’s lab, where he is developing ways to get beneficial molecules inside cancer cells. For Dr. Tautz, the Fishman
professors,” says Huong Huynh, Ph.D., program coordinator for the Office of Postdoctoral and Graduate Training. “The rest go into consulting, corporate research and development, scientific writing or other areas. We try to give them a good understanding of what jobs are available.” But for postdocs who wish to remain in the lab, this can be an awkward transition. Faculty spots are highly competitive and there are few intermediate options. “Moving from postdoc to independence can be very challenging,” says Lars Bode, Ph.D., a researcher in continued on page 12
Award he received in 2006 was a great help. “The award pays for things you probably couldn’t have done otherwise, like a conference or a computer. But what I think is much more important is the recognition you get. It can really help your career.” The Fishman Fund Award reception will be held on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at Burnham. For more information, or to contribute to the fund, contact Chelsea Jones at cjones@burnham.org or 858-795-5239.
B u r n h a m e d u c a t i on
Building a
Ph.D. Program Graduate students are nothing new at Burnham. Ph.D. candidates from UCSD and other universities have worked in our labs for many years. But in Spring 2006, the Institute created its own graduate program, giving researchers an excellent venue to further their education and providing Burnham with a new source of innovative young scientists.
“In many ways, graduate students complete a lab,” says Guy Salvesen, Ph.D., director of Scientific Training. “Grad students are often more willing to take risks and pursue research where the outcome is in doubt.” The Burnham Ph.D. program features two tracks: Molecular Medicine and Integrated Life Sciences. Molecular Medicine is a more traditional biology program, while Integrated Life Sciences marries biological studies with chemical, physical and engineering disciplines. Though there are a small number of classes, students receive most of their instruction through one-on-one interactions with principal investigators (PIs).
“It’s a little challenging to have structured classes that fit the stem cell person and also fit the bioinformatics person, so we have four basic classes that all students take to give a basic core. But then the tutorials are individualized for them,” says Huong Huynh, Ph.D., program coordinator for the Office of Postdoctoral and Graduate Training. For the students, the flexibility of the program and the time in the lab are ideal. “The graduate program will help improve my ability as an independent scientist capable of designing and executing experiments that could answer pivotal biological questions,” says Philip McQuary, a graduate student who splits time between Dr. Malene Hansen’s and Dr. Dieter Wolf ’s labs. Both labs study how organisms
Grad student Philip McQuary instructs Preuss School interns. More on page 4.
specific proteins in both aging and cancer. For McQuary, these parallel lab experiences are a great asset. “I get to work with different tools and new approaches, which in turn helps me move my research project forward.” A Scientific B uffet Johanna Samuelsson investigates epigenetics in Dr. Manuel Perucho’s lab. Geneticists study how changes in DNA sequences modify how DNA functions. Epigeneticists study how DNA function can
“One of the great things about this program is the tutorials in different subjects,” says Samuelsson. “We can meet with pretty much any PI we want. We’re speaking with scientists who are experts in their area. It’s very personalized, and I think more valuable than being in a class with 25 people.” In addition, grad students can supplement their knowledge with courses in bioinformatics (using applied math, statistics and computer science to solve biological problems), stem cells, drug discovery and other disci-
“One of the great things about this program is the tutorials in different subjects.”
function when specific proteins are knocked out (removed). However, their research differs in a number of ways, including the organisms: Dr. Hansen studies C. elegans, a tiny worm, and Dr. Wolf studies S. pombe, fission yeast. Using two model organisms, these labs hope to better understand the role of
change—without any sequence changes. Samuelsson is particularly focused on what genes are turned on and off in cancer tumors. She spends the majority of her time conducting research in Dr. Perucho’s lab but is also encouraged to seek out other PIs to gain new expertise.
plines. These types of courses are often not available at other institutions. At present, Burnham has nine Ph.D. students, and will gradually expand to 36. The program is undergoing a rigorous accreditation process, which should be completed in the next three to five years.
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P r e u s s In t ern s
Loving Science
Students
Preuss School Students Spend a Week at the Burnham Institute Vanessa Pacheco scrutinizes worms.
“Becoming a scientist is somewhat like learning to drive. You study the DMV rules but to become a driver you must get behind the wheel.” — Lillian Fishman, co-founder, Burnham Institute for Medical Research
In early July, nine students from the Preuss School came to the Burnham Institute for Medical Research to do some serious work. They were outfitted with lab coats and safety glasses, given tutorials from world-class scientists and set up in labs around Burnham. Their goal: learn about science by conducting hands-on research. The results were amazing. “To see actual tumors. To look at living things and see them react. That was really cool,” said Jesus Burboa.
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Burboa and his classmates spent five days at Burnham as part of an ongoing collaboration between Burnham and Preuss to improve access to science education for underserved students. It’s an ideal match, as Burnham is committed to science education and Preuss students come from low income families which have lacked educational opportunities. L earn ing By Doing Each day began in a small conference room with a scien-
tist providing a brief overview of their research and how the students would participate. Following the lecture, the students would head over to the lab to get down to business. Research topics changed each day, exposing students to DNA, robotics, tumors and even worms. As any parent might guess, the worms were a strong favorite. C. elegans, a tiny (1 millimeter) round worm is often used to study basic biological functions. In this case, Malene Hansen,
P r e u s s In t ern s
Ph.D., uses C. elegans to study aging. She has found that, by “knocking out” certain proteins, she can increase the worms’ average lifespan from 20 to 40 days. Naturally, observing the worms is a critical part of the research, and that’s exactly what the students were asked to do. How do the animals move? How big are they? Do all the animals on the plate look the same? If you have identified a mutant worm, what gene could be mutated and how would it work? The Preuss students worked their way through these questions,
taking studious notes. For some, it was the first time looking through a microscope, and they were riveted by the view. “Dude, check this out,” cried Vanessa Pacheco to her lab partner, Romyn Sabatchi. They took turns watching the worms move, eat and make baby worms. Passing by, Dr. Hansen encouraged them to draw what they’d seen. Pacheco and Sabatchi worked on crude sketches, taking full advantage of the opportunity to do “real research.”
“We get to know what it feels like to be researchers,” said Sabatchi. “We learn and observe and practice. I especially like the hands-on part. We get to do things rather than just watch.” Proud M oment s At the end of the week, the students were honored at a small luncheon. They were joined by parents, researchers and Preuss School and Burnham officials, including Wain Fishburn who, along with Peter Preuss, helped fund the internships. Each student took a turn describing what the week meant to them. “I’ve never known science could go so far,” said Kimberly Hin.
But beyond the wow factor of being immersed in cutting-edge research, the students came away knowing that science could be a very real career path. For Vanessa Pacheco, who has relatives
C. elegans
with autism and Down’s Syndrome, the time in the lab confirmed that she wants to continue her scientific studies. “I live with it (disease) every day,” said Pacheco. “After being here and witnessing the science first-hand, it’s definitely something I’m interested in.”
Romyn Sabatchi puzzles over her notes.
Dr. Malene Hansen helps Preuss students with their project.
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B u r n h a m ne w s
The Yin and Yang of MEF2C
Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D.
Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Del E. Webb Neuroscience, Aging and Stem Cell Research Center at Burnham, has been studying the MEF2C protein for many years. MEF2C is a transcription factor. In other words, it talks to specific genes and tells them when to turn on. The effect of MEF2C can be dramatic, as shown in two studies recently published by Dr. Lipton’s lab.
In one study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers for the first time used MEF2C to genetically program embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain. The research, an important step toward developing new treatments for stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions, showed that mice afflicted by stroke exhibited tangible therapeutic improvement following transplantation of these cells. None of the mice formed tumors, which had been a major setback in prior attempts at stem cell transplantation. “We found that we could create new nerve cells from stem cells using MEF2C, transplant the cells effectively
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and make a positive difference in the behavior of the mice,” said Dr. Lipton. “These findings could potentially lead to new treatments for stroke and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.”
engineered to lack MEF2C protein in neural stem cells had smaller brains, fewer nerve cells and showed behaviors similar to those seen in humans with a form of autism called Rett Syndrome. This work represents the first direct link between a developmental disorder of neural stem cells and the subsequent onset of autism. “There’s a yin and yang to this MEF2C protein,” says Dr. Lipton. “We’ve shown that MEF2C induces embryonic stem cells to become neurons. We’ve also shown that knocking out MEFC2 in the brain results in mice with smaller brains, fewer neurons and reduced neuronal activity. The commonality is the protein’s association in making new neurons. This could be very important for the field of autism spectrum disorders and
This could be very
important for the field of autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disorders of the brain. The team included Drs. Lipton, Zhen Li, Scott McKercher and investigators from The Scripps Research Institute. Clue s to Rett Syn drome Another important study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that mice
other developmental disorders of the brain.” Collaborators included Drs. Hao Li, Shu-ichi Okamoto, Nobuki Nakanishi and Scott McKercher of Burnham, as well as Dr. Amanda Roberts from The Scripps Research Institute and Dr. John Schwarz from the Albany Medical Center.
B u r n h a m ne w s
Robotic screening systems will help Burnham find active compounds that could become a new generation of medicines.
Burnham Awarded $97.9 Million Screening Center Grant Burnham has been awarded a prestigious six-year, $97.9 million Molecular Libraries Probe Production Centers Network (MLPCN) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant will support Burnham’s comprehensive small-molecule screening and discovery center—one of only four such centers in the nation. The Institute was selected from among some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious universities and medical research institutions.
“The magnitude of this achievement should not be underestimated,” said John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Burnham President and CEO, Professor and Donald Bren Presidential Chair. “It is a testament to the wonderful collaborative culture that we have established at Burnham. And it validates the decision we made in 2002 to emphasize drug discovery and chemical genomics as cornerstones of our 10-year plan.” For the past three years, Burnham has participated in the pilot phase of the Molecular Libraries Screening Centers Network initiative. During that
period, Burnham was among the top-performing centers in the nation, setting the stage for the MLPCN grant to move Burnham’s Center for Chemical Genomics (BCCG) into production. MLPCN centers have been created to enhance chemical screening and discover the critical active chemical compounds that could become the next generation of medicines. With large collections
companies when it comes to taking the fruits of great basic research and translating them into compounds that could become the prototype medicines of tomorrow,” said Dr. Reed. Burnham’s new facility in Lake Nona (Orlando) Florida, set to open in Spring 2009, will greatly expand BCCG capabilities with a pharmacology core facility and an ultra-high throughput screening system that can screen more than two million chemical compounds each day. The new facility was made possible with a $350 million incentive package from the state of Florida, along with support from Orange County, the city of Orlando and the Tavistock Group. “The new NIH grant positions Burnham squarely at the center of our nation’s efforts to improve human health,” said Dr. Reed. “We will be working in collaboration with researchers across the country to convert their medical
The new NIH grant positions Burnham squarely at the center of our nation’s efforts to improve human health. of chemicals (called chemical libraries) and robotic systems for high-throughput screening, scientists can increase the pace of discovery. “We will have the capabilities more commonly found in large pharmaceutical
discoveries into new opportunities for improved therapies and maybe even cures. We are honored by the trust placed in us by the NIH and for the opportunity to share our capabilities with the nation’s medical research community.”
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B u r n h a m ne w s
New Progress on
Bone Disease Researchers, led by José Luis Millán, Ph.D., have demonstrated the first successful use of enzyme replacement therapy to prevent hypophosphatasia (HPP), a primary skeletal disease of genetic origin, in mice. This discovery lays the foundation for future clinical trials for HPP patients.
HPP is a rare, heritable form of rickets (softening of the bones) caused by mutations in an alkaline phosphatase gene (TNAP), which is essential to deposit minerals in developing bones and teeth. Dr. Millán tested the hypothesis that, when administered from birth, a bone-targeted form of this alkaline phosphatase would ease HPP skeletal defects. The Millán laboratory created a soluble form of human TNAP with a strong attraction to bone tissue. The treated mice maintained
José Luis Millán, Ph.D. with Manisha Yadav, Ph.D.
a healthy growth rate and normal bone mineral density in the skull, femur and spine. In fact, complete preservation of skeletal and dental structures was observed after 15 days, and bone lesions were still not seen after 52 days of treatment.
This study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Enobia Pharma, Inc., and the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Bacteria
Studied as Potential Cancer Treatment
Injected bacteria accumulate in tumors and can sometimes cause them to regress. Taking this idea a step further, Drs. Markus Loeffler and John Reed created a genetically modified, less dangerous strain of Salmonella to express FasL, a protein that can
help the body kill cancer cells. Although FasL is toxic when injected into the bloodstream, Drs. Loeffler and Reed hypothesized that bacteria might be used to safely deliver this protein to tumors.
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John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D.
In the study, the team injected mice carrying breast and colon tumors with FasLexpressing Salmonella bacteria. Following the treatment, tumor growth was substantially inhibited in the mice. These preclinical results raise the possibility that using attenuated bacteria to deliver
FasL into tumors may be an effective strategy for some cancers. The research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
G i f t s t h a t m a k e a D i fferen c e
research accomplish. The ripple effects from these discoveries can create long-term societal changes. Hopefully, looking back in ten or fifteen years, I will see how my investments helped create real change and feel really good about it. Nicolas Nierenberg is Chairman and Chief Architect at Actuate Corporation, a software engineering firm he founded in 1993. He is also a technology investor. Nierenberg is a Burnham Board of Trustees member and immediate past chair.
N i c ol a s N ierenberg
In His
Own Words Nicolas and Caroline Nierenberg have been strong Burnham supporters since 2002.
Before I became involved with Burnham, I thought that donor money covered the majority of research costs—buying equipment, paying salaries, etc. But I soon learned that the system is really quite different, that almost all support comes from grants.
For me, the “grant model” is really attractive. I come from an entrepreneurial, venture capital background and, as someone who is not an expert in research, it’s important to have confidence that my philanthropic gifts are being used wisely. The grant model helps ensure good stewardship because granting
organizations, like the National Institutes of Health, do such a careful job of vetting the research. Grant applications need to be incredibly detailed. They’re kind of like business plans on steroids, and I appreciate that kind of accountability. That being the case, what is the donor’s role in advancing biomedical research? From what I’ve observed at Burnham, I believe one important role for donors is to provide startup funds. Research labs are like small businesses. They need to get seed capital to get their research going. With this seed money, researchers can get a project started, hire lab staff and get the preliminary results they need to seek grant funding. I’m a computer guy, so I have a particular interest in
supporting bioinformatics, which is using computers to model molecules and biological processes. With these models, researchers can make better projections on which compounds will be effective against disease. I think that’s the future of experimental biology. Starting with a small amount of seed money from me, Andrew Viterbi and others, Burnham’s young bioinformatics program has brought in at least ten times that amount in grant money. And I think that 10:1 ratio can be found throughout Burnham. I don’t know anywhere else you can get that kind of return on investment. But the biggest leverage you get is the impact Burnham’s research has on society. That’s what investments in basic
The Basics on Bioinformatics New technologies have created an exponential increase in the amount of information we have on biological systems. Instead of studying single genes or proteins, we can now examine entire genomes and families of proteins. But in order to truly benefit from this information, we must find ways to interpret it. The Bioinformatics and Systems Biology program at Burnham is a leader in creating mathematical and computational tools to help us digest this information and create new models to better understand biological processes and how to influence them.
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P h i l a n t h r o p y up d a t e s
Another Way to Help Burnham Burnham recently received a significant grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand the Burnham Center for Chemical Genomics and accelerate the hunt for new medicines (see page 7). While that money will help us run a larger drug discovery effort, there’s always more we can do. Here are three items from our “wish list” that will enhance our ability to identify the next generation of treatments.
64 Channel Pipettor
$1,400
Used for drug discovery experiments, this instrument quickly dispenses small amounts of reagent (chemicals that cause a reaction). It fills the gap between robotics, which require significant set-up time, and single pipettors, which can cause repetitive stress injuries when overused.
Charitable Trusts Benefit Your Family and Charity
Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) are a popular and tax-friendly way to support biomedical research at Burnham. CRTs allow you to convert highly appreciated securities or real estate into income for life, or joint
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life with your spouse, without incurring capital gains tax when the asset is sold. When the trust ends, the asset passes to Burnham.
The B urnham Repor t | www.burnham.org
Interactive Computer
$8,000
This large monitor and computer will be the Screening Center’s communications hub. The system will improve efficiency by providing project tracking and touch-screen scheduling for the many sophisticated instruments in the facility.
Modeling Software
$15,000
One way to attack a disease is to interfere with the proteins that help cause it. This software uses powerful computer modeling to determine which chemical compounds, of millions available, may interact with a disease-causing protein. This information helps the center focus on the compounds most likely to have therapeutic impact.
But there is another, lesser known type of trust called a Charitable Lead Trust (CLT). A CLT allows you to deliver immediate benefits to Burnham. The CLT holds your gift of appreciating assets in the trust, pays income to Burnham for a period of years and then returns the remaining principal to you or, more commonly, to your children and grandchildren. A CLT can provide significant estate and financial planning benefits. If you are in a high earnings period and concerned about a high tax liability, redirecting income
to charity for a period of time makes sense. Also, if you are facing a high tax year, need a deduction but don’t want to part with a valuable asset, a CLT may be the right tool. Always seek advice from independent financial, legal and tax advisors. To request the article “Charitable Lead Trusts: A Good Time to Give,” by Richard P. Rojeck, CFP, or to learn more about how you can support medical research through Planned Giving, contact Patricia Fuller at pfuller@burnham.org or 858-795-5231.
P h i l a n t h r o p y up d a t e s
Annual B urnha m Instit ut e for M edical Res earc h G al a
“This evening was absolutely the most elegant affair in San Diego history.” —Ann Campbell, San Diego Opera, on the 2007 Gala
Join us at the opulent Grand Del Mar on November 15, 2008 for the 7th Burnham Gala: DISCOVERY WITHOUT BOUNDARIES. Co-chairs Sue Raffee and Rick Barrett and Robin and Hank Nordhoff have mapped out an elegant evening of fine dining and dancing to Society Beat. There will also be a rapid auction to advance research into cancer, as well as infectious and inflammatory, neurodegenerative and childhood diseases, by funding talented young scientists and
specialized research equipment. The Gala sold out early last year, so get your seats now. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Jocelyn Wyndham at 858-795-5216 or jwyndham@ burnham.org. Special thanks to presenting sponsors Betsy and Papa Doug Manchester and title sponsors Malin and Roberta Burnham and Invitrogen.
Team Burnham News Want to be part of Team Burnham’s efforts to raise support for advanced biomedical research? You don’t need to be a Burnham employee, a scientist or even a good runner. All you need is the desire to have fun while helping a great cause. This winter, the team will be running the Walt Disney World half and full marathons on January 10 and 11, 2009. Team Burnham members receive personalized training from certified running coaches; hotel accommodations and round-trip air
transportation; race entry and a unique opportunity to help fight disease. Now is a great time to sign up. The half marathon is already closed to the public but open to Team Burnham members. For more information, contact Chelsea Jones at 858-795-5239 or teamburnham@burnham.org or visit the Team Burnham page at www.burnham.org/ teamburnham. Go to YouTube.com and search for “Team Burnham” to view photos of last year’s event.
www.burn ham. org/teamburn h am
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B u r n h a m e d u c a t i on
Tr a i ni ng a Ne w Generat ion of Sc ien t i st s continued from page 2 Dr. Hudson Freeze’s lab. Dr. Bode studies glycans, complex sugar chains that are abundant in human breast milk but not in infant formula. How they are synthesized and what they actually do is somewhat mysterious. Dr. Bode hopes to resolve some of the mystery and help us understand why breastfed infants are protected from certain diseases. Dr. Bode’s work could enhance our understanding of how babies benefit from breastfeeding. The research has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health, which has awarded him a new type of grant (called a K99/ R00 Pathway to Independence Award) designed to help young researchers transition from postdoc to independent investigator. “This new funding mechanism is fantastic and was desperately needed to help scientists in their early careers find a path to independence,” says Dr. Bode of the five-year grant. “The K99 will help me continue my work at Burnham for the short-term and give me more leverage as I look for a permanent faculty position.”
Unfortunately, these transitional grants are few and far between, so postdocs must work diligently to make the jump to independence. Still, it’s important for postdocs to “be in the moment” and gather
up all the scientific knowledge they possibly can during their training period. “As a postdoc you want to get training in a very wide spectrum of scientific backgrounds and methods,” says Dr. Bode. “For that, Burnham is ideal. The core facility system provides support and training in so many tools and techniques. You name it, it’s here. Burnham provides an excellent environment for postdoctoral training.”
The core facility system provides support and training in so many tools and techniques. You name it, it’s here.
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The B urnham Repor t | www.burnham.org
A Day in the Life:
Postdoc Edition
By Carol Curchoe, Ph.D.
I work with human embryonic stem cells in Dr. Alexey Terskikh’s lab, a responsibility I take very seriously. Each day, I come to the lab eager to solve a tiny problem that may one day combine with other researchers’ discoveries to alleviate suffering. The goal of my research is to coax stem cells into becoming specific types of neurons. I have tried to convince the cells that this is in their best interest. A typical day consists of me “feeding and watering” my garden of stem cells. Once a week, I transCarol Curchoe, Ph.D. plant them so that they have room to grow. I take a group of particularly good-looking cells and suspend them in media that allows them to become neural progenitor cells, precursors to the neurons I want. After a few days, the cells are semi-specialized. They can form any type of nervous system component but can no longer form liver, lung or pancreas cells. My next task is to ask them to become so specialized that they can do only one thing. The neurons I hope to make will not cure Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s or repair a severed spinal cord; instead, they may one day replace damaged nerves outside the brain and spinal cord—the nerves that provide us with touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing. Will my cells have accepted my guidance and become the mature neurons of the peripheral nervous system? I am searching for the evidence—a protein named Peripherin. I finish staining my cells, center my slide and fiddle with the microscope’s focus knobs. I switch from white light to the ultraviolet light that will excite any fluorescent molecules that have stuck to my cells. Fine crimson filigrees of neural process extend before my eyes, and I feel elated. Finally, my cells have done what I asked of them! I frantically snap the pictures that will prove their existence. For today, at least, success. Dinner will wait.
B u r n h a m e d u c a t i on
The Spirit of Inquiry If you distill science to its most basic properties, it really comes down to asking questions and developing creative ways to find answers. Granted, Burnham uses some of the world’s most sophisticated technologies to find these answers, but those technologies are only as good as the people who use them. One of Burnham’s defining strengths is the quality of our investigators. Our full time and adjunct faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and other colleagues create a critical mass for scientific inquiry. The quantity and, more importantly, the quality of scientific papers we produce, year in and year out, speaks volumes about the talent of our people. Though we don’t often trumpet this fact, Burnham is an educational institution. It would be difficult to overestimate the impact this has on the research we conduct. Our postdoctoral fellows and graduate students are here because they have made a lifelong commitment to medical research. It’s not an easy path. As they progress through their training period, they wear many hats: students, teachers, innovators, leaders and workers. Much of the day-to-day lab work is conducted by our dedicated fellows and graduate students. Their energy helps fuel the science. Another great strength at Burnham is our multidisciplinary approach to science, which I like to call a symphony of scientific synergy. As a Ph.D. student, my work was narrowly focused on cellular immunology. But I could see that mastering molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology would be critical to taking the research where it needed to go. I had no option but to find that knowledge elsewhere, spending a summer learning those disciplines at another institution. 15. John Reed essay The educational programs at Burnham have been designed to provide broad opportunities to satisfy the intellectual needs of young scientists. Our Ph.D. programs, specifically the Integrated Life Sciences track, were created with that in mind. With exposure to biology, chemistry, computer science and other disciplines, students get a broader view of the tools scientists use. They learn the language of these diverse fields and as a result, their thinking is broader when addressing some of the most fundamental biological questions. They will be the future interpreters who bring fields together. But also, because they understand the wide constellation of tools that exist to help them tackle important questions, they will ask bigger questions. We have a great convergence of technologies at Burnham. Bringing fields together helps create new breakthroughs. Burnham’s success as a research institution, to a large degree, depends on our success as an educational institution. Our young scientists are often the catalysts for new ideas and new approaches to difficult problems. As Ph.D. students graduate and postdoctoral fellows complete their training, new groups of young scientists take their places, adding new experiences and new questions to the mix. This process constantly refreshes our intellectual resources and, I believe, leads to even more scientific innovation.
John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D. President and CEO Professor and Donald Bren Presidential Chair
Burnham’s success as a research institution, to a large degree, depends on our success as an educational institution. Our young scientists are often the catalysts for new ideas and new approaches to difficult problems.
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13
Philanthropy
Partners
in Science:
Cohen, Dr. Stuart Lipton, Howard Cohen Toby
Burnham trustee Howard Cohen wears his lab coat proudly. He should, he earned it. At Dr. Lipton’s suggestion, Howard spent a month in Dr. Alexey Terskikh’s lab nurturing stem cells for transplantation. The experience gave the Cohens invaluable insights into biomedical research and continues to inform their philanthropy.
“We are so impressed by the science being done here,” says Howard Cohen. “We need to get the scientists the support they need.”
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