San Diego Biomedical Research Institute

Cancer:A major question in cancer treatment remains, why do some people respond to treatment and others dont. Finding new ways to detect and treat cancer could potentially lead to cures that are currently unavailable to a majority of patients. At SDBRI scientists are developing a new technology to identify previously unidentifiable cancer-specific targets that might be used to design novel cancer fighting drugs. A Postdoctoral Fellow from India received salary and benefits while being trained at SDBRI in a variety of cellular immunology and sterile techniques to better understand techniques to help diagnose and treat cancer.DNA replication and disease DNA replicates in a highly organized way in healthy cells. However, in unhealthy cells, DNA replication is mis-regulated. SDBRI scientists are working to understand how DNA replication is mis-regulated in human disease in the hopes of finding new therapeutic approaches to preventing and reversing diseases such as cancer.Cells in our bodies eat internal parts of themselves to maintain their own health. This process, known as autophagy (spokeno-to-foh-jee), is essential for removing toxic material that causes diseases such as neurodegeneration and cancer. In autophagy, components inside cells are placed in a trash bag called the autophagosome which looks like a balloon. The autophagosome then fuses with the cells incinerator to decompose the transported toxic material. Scientists at SDBRI are working to understand how these complicated events are controlled in the hopes that interventions in these pathways might lead to novel treatments for disease.

Multiple Sclerosis:Multiple Sclerosis is a debilitating autoimmune disease in which immune cells travel to the brain and spinal cord and destroy the protective coating that surrounds nerve fibers. Without the protective coating nerves are unable to send messages to different parts of the body and this causes an array of disorders including numbness in hands and feet, muscle weakness, fatigue, and blurred vision. It is estimated that there are 2.3 million people with MS worldwide. The goal of our cutting-edge research at SDBRI is to identify ways to manipulate and strengthen blood vessels so that the cells that cause multiple sclerosis (MS) are unable to enter the brain. In particular we seek to understand how the integrity of blood vessels in the brain is regulated by: (i) proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that surround cells, and (ii) environmental stimuli such as mild hypoxia. By understanding these mechanisms, we can design new therapeutic approaches aimed at increasing blood supply and reducing vascular leak, thereby making blood vessels better equipped to protect against neurological damage. A Staff Scientist from Bangladesh and a Postdoctoral Fellow from Nepal received salary & benefits while being trained at SDBRI in cellular, molecular and biochemical techniques to learn how blood vessels can be strengthened and repaired and how we can use that information to stop and reverse MS.

HIV/AIDS: The World Health Organization recently estimated that 36.7 million people live with HIV/AIDS worldwide with 1 million HIV-related deaths every year. New infections are estimated at an alarming 1.8 million worldwide. Developing a successful HIV vaccine is a major global health initiative. Research at SDBRI is focused on introducing novel designs to create an HIV vaccine that more people respond to. The SDBRI strategy of using HIV virus-like particles (VLPs) as a vaccine platform is showing great promise. In addition, over the past year SDBRI scientists have designed ways to identify factors that help the immune system to respond to HIV vaccines. This is very important because it might allow us to enhance the vaccine making it work in more people. SDBRI continues to participate in a multi-organization HIV vaccine research program. Our investigators work with scientists across the U.S. and in several foreign countries, including The Netherlands and Malaysia. A Staff Scientist from Malaysia received salary & benefits while being trained at SDBRI in a variety of cellular, molecular and biochemical techniques to better understand the human response to vaccines.