11/29/21UCSD Scott Lippman to Launch NCI’s PreCancer Genome Atlas Scott Lippman, MD, will lead the PreCancer Genome Atlas, an NCI-sponsored effort to map premalignant lesions and how they evolve into invasive cancers. Read more
11/24/21UCSD We Might Not Know Half of What’s in Our Cells, New AI Technique Reveals Artificial intelligence-based technique reveals previously unknown cell components that may provide new clues to human development and disease. Read more
11/24/21UCSD State Stem Cell Agency Awards $4M for Blood Cancer Immunotherapy at UC San Diego The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved a $4.1 million grant to enable University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers to advance a new chimeric antigen re ... Read more
11/22/21Sanford Burnham Prebys Altered cell and RNA isoform diversity in aging Down syndrome brains Paper of the Week Read more
11/18/21Sanford Burnham Prebys From child neurology to stem cells: An interview with Evan Snyder Blog Read more
11/12/21Salk Institute Salk Institute awards Medal for Research Excellence to neurobiologist and geneticist Cori Bargmann LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute has awarded neurobiologist and geneticist Cori Bargmann its prestigious Medal for Research Excellence, which recognizes a scientist who has made significant contributions in the area of basic scientific research. Bargmann, who leads the science program at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and is the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor at The Rockefeller University, received her award on November 11, 2021. Read more
11/12/21UCSD Illuminating Dark Matter in Human DNA UC San Diego researchers have produced a single-cell chromatin atlas for the human genome. Delineating chromatin regions in cells of different human tissue types would be a major step toward understan ... Read more
11/09/21UCSD A Target for Potential Cancer Drugs May, In Fact, Worsen Disease Researchers reveal a previously unrealized complexity in cancer development, one that raises concerns and caution about targeting an enzyme popular in oncological treatments. Read more
11/04/21Sanford Burnham Prebys Cosimo Commisso receives $4.6 million to explore innovative treatments for pancreatic cancer Press Release Read more
11/03/21Sanford Burnham Prebys Boosting immunotherapy in aggressive brain cancer Blog Read more
10/29/21Salk Institute Uncovering how injury to the pancreas impacts cancer formation Read more
10/28/21Salk Institute Long-lived proteins in mitochondria of the brain stabilize protein complexes LA JOLLA—Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell, generating the energy that’s needed to fuel the functions that our cells carry out. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have taken a closer look at how mitochondria are maintained in nondividing cells, such as neurons, with the ultimate goal of developing a better understanding of how to prevent or treat age-related diseases. The researchers found that many of the proteins in mitochondria last much longer than expected, and that this stability likely protects them from damage. The findings were published October 28, 2021, in Developmental Cell. Read more
10/28/21Sanford Burnham Prebys How a breast cancer advocate shapes research at Sanford Burnham Prebys Blog Read more
10/27/21UCSD UC San Diego-Led Team Receives $9M to Advance Parkinson’s Disease Treatments A new $9 million grant from Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) will enable advancement of UC San Diego’s discovery that inhibiting a single gene in mice converts other cell types directly into ... Read more
10/27/21UCSD Sweet! How Glycogen is Linked to Heat Generation in Fat Cells University of California San Diego researchers, with international colleagues, describe how energy expenditure and heat production are regulated in obesity through a previously unknown cellular pathwa ... Read more
10/26/21UCSD Tumor Reasons Why Cancers Thrive in Chromosomal Chaos University of California San Diego researchers describe how a pair of fundamental genetic and cellular processes — aneuploidy and unfolded protein response — are exploited by cancer cells to promote ... Read more
10/25/21Salk Institute Call-and-response circuit tells neurons when to grow synapses LA JOLLA—Brain cells called astrocytes play a key role in helping neurons develop and function properly, but there’s still a lot scientists don’t understand about how astrocytes perform these important jobs. Now, a team of scientists led by Associate Professor Nicola Allen has found one way that neurons and astrocytes work together to form healthy connections called synapses. This insight into normal astrocyte function could help scientists better understand disorders linked to problems with neuronal development, including autism spectrum disorders. The study was published September 8, 2021, in the journal eLife. Read more
10/25/21UCSD $2.1 Million Gift Launches Comprehensive Breast Cancer Database Philanthropists Richard and Carol Dean Hertzberg have committed $2.1 million to develop and maintain the Dean-Hertzberg Breast Cancer Database System Initiative at UC San Diego Health Moores Cancer Ce ... Read more
10/18/21UCSD Two UC San Diego Scientists Elected to National Academy of Medicine Leaders in cell biology and anti-malarial drug development respectively, JoAnn Trejo and Elizabeth Winzeler were recognized by their peers with one of the highest honors in health and medicine. Read more
10/14/21Salk Institute How the brain ignores distracting information to coordinate movements LA JOLLA—As you read this article, touch receptors in your skin are sensing your environment. Your clothes and jewelry, the chair you’re sitting on, the computer keyboard or mobile device you’re using, even your fingers as they brush one another unintentionally—each touch activates collections of nerve cells. But, unless a stimulus is particularly unexpected or required to help you orient your own movements, your brain ignores many of these inputs. Read more
10/13/21Salk Institute Salk scientists reveal most commonly mutated gene in all cancers LA JOLLA—For the past fifteen years, cancer researchers have been using DNA sequencing technology to identify the gene mutations that cause different forms of cancer. Now, Salk Assistant Professor Edward Stites and his team of computational scientists have combined gene mutation information with cancer prevalence data to reveal the genetic basis of cancer in the entire population of cancer patients in the United States. Read more
10/13/21UCSD At Initial Cancer Diagnosis, a Deeply Personalized Assessment UC San Diego researchers report that conducting genomic evaluations of advanced malignancies can be effective in guiding first-line-of-treatment, rather than waiting until standard-of-care therapies h ... Read more
10/11/21UCSD UC San Diego Health Physicians Top the List in San Diego County More than 100 UC San Diego Health physicians in 48 specialties have been named “Top Docs” in the 2021 San Diego Magazine “Physicians of Exceptional Excellence” survey. Read more
10/07/21UCSD Kids With MIS-C Mount Normal T Cell Response to COVID-19 UC San Diego study suggests multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a rare condition associated with COVID-19, is not caused by abnormal T cell response to COVID-19 virus as previously ... Read more
10/06/21Salk Institute Salk teams advance efforts to treat, prevent and cure brain disorders, via NIH brain atlas LA JOLLA—It takes billions of cells to make a human brain, and scientists have long struggled to map this complex network of neurons. Now, dozens of research teams around the country, led in part by Salk scientists, have made inroads into creating an atlas of the mouse brain as a first step toward a human brain atlas. Read more
10/06/21UCSD Mapping the Mouse Brain, and by Extension, the Human Brain Too In a special issue of Nature, UC San Diego researchers further refine the organization of cells within key regions of the mouse brain and the organization of transcriptomic, epigenomic and regulatory ... Read more
09/30/21UCSD Looking Beyond DNA to See Cancer with New Clarity In three Science papers, UC San Diego and UC San Francisco researchers mapped out how hundreds of gene mutations involved in cancer affect the discrete groups of proteins that are the ultimate actors ... Read more
09/23/21Salk Institute Peter Adams and Gerald Shadel awarded $13 million from NIH to study aging and liver cancer LA JOLLA—Sanford Burnham Prebys Professor Peter D. Adams, who directs the Aging, Cancer and Immuno-oncology Program, and Salk Institute Professor Gerald Shadel, who directs the San Diego Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, have been awarded a grant from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging for $13 million, funding a five-year project to explore the connection between aging and liver cancer. Read more
09/09/21UCSD $6M NIH Grant Launches UC San Diego Consortium to Study Insulin-Producing Cells UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers will receive $6.4 million in National Institutes of Health grant funding to study how external signals and genetic variations influence the behavior of one ... Read more
08/31/21UCSD Human Mini-Lungs Grown in Lab Dishes are Closest Yet to Real Thing UC San Diego researchers developed first-of-their-kind lung organoids that include all cell types that make up the organ, allowing for “Phase 0” testing of new treatments for respiratory infections su ... Read more
08/25/21UCSD Brain Organoids Mimic Head Size Changes Associated with Type of Autism Stem cell models derived from people with specific genomic variation recapitulate aspects of their autism spectrum disorder, providing a valuable model to study the condition and look for therapeutic ... Read more
08/25/21UCSD State Stem Cell Agency Funds Three New UC San Diego Projects The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has approved a trio of awards, totaling approximately $4 million, to UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers to advance studies of new stem cell- ... Read more
08/24/21UCSD Two Studies Seek to Go Beyond the GIST of Intestinal Tract Cancer UC San Diego researchers identify the mutational drivers for gastrointestinal stroma tumors in the stomach and find a potential drug to treat a subset of GIST tumors afflicting the young. Read more
08/12/21UCSD New Blood: Lab-Grown Stem Cells Bode Well for Transplants, Aging Research UC San Diego researchers develop a method to grow hematopoietic stem cells in culture, with clinical implications for bone marrow transplants and aging research. Read more
08/02/21UCSD Rethinking Remdesivir UC San Diego researchers modify remdesivir, creating oral version that can be taken earlier in COVID-19 diagnoses. In cell and animal studies, revised drug proved effective and safe. Read more
07/16/21UCSD 3D 'Assembloid' Shows How SARS-CoV-2 Infects Brain Cells Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine have produced a stem cell model that demonstrates a potential route of entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus ... Read more
07/12/21UCSD Selective, Toxin-Bearing Antibodies Could Help Treat Liver Fibrosis UC San Diego researchers discovered that immunotoxins targeting the protein mesothelin prevent liver cells from producing collagen, a precursor to fibrosis and cirrhosis, in mouse models of human dise ... Read more
07/06/21UCSD Colorectal Cancer Risk May Increase with Lower Exposure to UVB Light University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers identified a possible link between inadequate exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) light from the sun and an increased risk of colorectal c ... Read more
07/02/21UCSD Potential Drug Target for Difficult-To-Treat Breast Cancer: RNA-Binding Proteins UC San Diego studies using human cell lines and tumors grown in mice provide early evidence that inhibiting RNA-binding proteins, a previously overlooked family of molecules, might provide a new appro ... Read more
06/22/21UCSD Iris and Matthew Strauss Give $2 Million to Endow Faculty Chair at UC San Diego Longtime supporters of cancer research and patient care at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health have given University of California San Diego School of Medicine $2 million to establish the Iris ... Read more
06/17/21UCSD How Cells 'Read' Artificial Ingredients Tossed into Genetic Recipe UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers discovered that the enzyme RNA polymerase II recognizes and transcribes artificially added base pairs in genetic code, a new insight that could help advance ... Read more
06/03/21UCSD UC San Diego Health Begins Treating Multiple Myeloma with CAR T-cell Therapy As the first designated medical center in San Diego certified to offer this type of immunotherapy, UC San Diego Health will begin treating patients this month. Read more
06/01/21UCSD Diet Plays Critical Role in NASH Progressing to Liver Cancer in Mouse Model Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine found in a mouse model that when fed a Western diet rich in calories, fat and cholesterol, the mice progressively became obese, diabetic and developed NA ... Read more
05/27/21UCSD Noted Researcher and Scientific Leader Jack E. Dixon Retires Jack E. Dixon, whose distinguished and varied 48-year career ranged from helping reveal how cells communicate to becoming a renowned scientific leader at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Howard Hug ... Read more
05/20/21UCSD UC San Diego Health Joins Call to Don’t Delay HPV Vaccinations, Save Lives Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health joins other National Cancer Institute cancer centers in urging that HPV vaccinations get back on track as part of cancer prevention. Don’t delay. Save lives ... Read more
05/19/21UCSD Genetic Tools Help Identify a Cellular Culprit for Type 1 Diabetes By mapping its genetic underpinnings, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a predictive causal role for specific cell types in type 1 diabetes, a condit ... Read more
05/13/21UCSD Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Give $12 Million to UC San Diego Hanna and Mark Gleiberman give $12 Million to UC San Diego to support the internationally recognized head and neck cancer center at UC San Diego Health. Funding will support research and patient exper ... Read more
04/28/21UCSD How SARS-CoV-2 Hijacks Human Cells to Evade Immune System UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers discovered one way in which SARS-CoV-2 hijacks human cell machinery to blunt the immune response, allowing it to establish infection, replicate and cause di ... Read more
04/26/21UCSD Genetic Changes in Head and Neck Cancer, Immunotherapy Resistance Identified A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, has identified both the genetic abnormalities that drive pre-cancer cells into becoming an i ... Read more
04/19/21UCSD How Brain Tumors Turn Immune Cells into Cancer-Growing Hostages Researchers discover that brain cancer tumors reprogram immune cells to help them grow, rather than suppress them. Read more
04/15/21UCSD Study Uses Precision Medicine to Speed Drug Testing for Pancreatic Cancer Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health is among the few clinical trial sites in the U.S. for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s (PanCAN) newly created Precision Promise, the first large-scale ... Read more
04/14/21UCSD Autism Center at UC San Diego Receives $1.5 Million Gift The UC San Diego Autism Center for Excellence has received a $1.5 million gift from Kristin Farmer, founder and chief executive officer of ACES, a company that provides services to children with autis ... Read more
04/02/21UCSD Experimental Therapy for Parasitic Heart Disease May Also Help Stop COVID-19 UC San Diego researchers found that the chemical inhibitor K777 reduces the coronavirus’ ability to infect cell lines by blocking human enzyme cathepsin L; clinical trials are underway. Read more
03/24/21UCSD Repurposed Heart and Flu Drugs May Help Body Fight Sepsis UC San Diego researchers discovered that patient survival from sepsis is associated with higher platelet counts, and identified two currently available drugs that protect these blood cells and improve ... Read more
03/18/21UCSD Reversing Cancer’s Gluttony Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center describe how pancreatic cancer cells use an alternative method to find necessary nutrients, defying current therapies, to help t ... Read more
03/09/21UCSD Therapy Sneaks into Hard Layer of Pancreatic Cancer Tumor and Destroys it From Within Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center demonstrated that a new tumor-penetrating therapy could enhance the effects of chemotherapy, reduce the sp ... Read more
02/24/21UCSD Human Lung and Brain Organoids Respond Differently to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Lab Tests UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers are using stem cell-derived organoids to study how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with various organ systems. Their findings may help explain the wide variety in COVI ... Read more
02/23/21UCSD Genetic Tool Improves Estimation of Prostate Cancer Risk in Diverse Ethnic/Racial Groups Scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine validated a more inclusive and comprehensive genetic tool, known as a polygenic hazard score (PHS), for predicting age of onset of a ... Read more
02/18/21UCSD Chatter Between Cell Populations Drives Progression of Gastrointestinal Tumors Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine identified new therapeutic targets for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) that could lead to new treatment options for patient ... Read more
02/18/21UCSD Genetics May Play Role in Determining Immunity to COVID-19 UC San Diego researchers report that individual immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may be limited by a set of variable genes that code for cell surface proteins essential for the adaptive immune system. Th ... Read more
02/02/21UCSD Year or More Delay Between Abnormal, At-Home Screening and Colonoscopy Increases Cancer Risk A new study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found delayed time between abnormal stool-based screening and subsequent colonoscopy was associated with an increase ... Read more
01/26/21UCSD Two Anti-viral Enzymes Transform Pre-Leukemia Stem Cells into Leukemia Viral infections and space travel similarly trigger inflammation and the enzymes APOBEC3C and ADAR1; UC San Diego researchers are developing ways to inhibit them as a means to potentially lower cancer ... Read more
01/25/21UCSD When — Not What — Obese Mice Ate Reduced Breast Cancer Risk University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center researchers report that intermittent fasting reduced breast cancer risk in obese mice. Read more
01/20/21UCSD Designer DNA Therapeutic Wipes Out Cancer Stem Cells, Treats Multiple Myeloma in Mice UC San Diego study supports launch of Phase I clinical trial to test a designer DNA agent — an antisense oligonucleotide that targets a gene called IRF4 — in patients with multiple myeloma. Read more
01/07/21UCSD Study: E-Cigarettes Trigger Inflammation in the Gut Chemicals used for vaping break down zipper-like junctions between cells in the gut, leading to chronic inflammation and potential for other health concerns. Read more