Seven New LA BioMed Board Members
James M. Brown, Capital Group Companies, Inc. Senior Vice President and Principal Financial Officer; Capital Management Services, Inc. President and Treasurer; Capital International, Inc. Senior Vice President, and The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation Chairman. Gerald Chong, The Chong Company, LLC founder.
Advancing Innovation LOS A NG ELES BIOM EDICAL RES EA RC H INST IT UT E
Dorothy Avila Courtney, a nonprofit management consultant and former Executive Director of the Richstone Family Center.
2008 DISCOVERY GALA BRINGING DISCOVERY TO LIFE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008 CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Join the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Foundation for an evening of dinner, dancing, live auction and entertainment. Honorees Scott Hamilton Olympic Gold Medalist Kenneth P. Trevett, J.D. LA BioMed President and CEO (2001-2008) Barbara Trevett LA BioMed Foundation Member and Outstanding Volunteer
Allan Frew, retired Vice President, Strategic Integration at Northrop Grumman Space Technology.
W W W. L A B I O M E D . O R G
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Jeffrey E. Grant, retired Hughes Space and Communications Company Vice President. Samuel E. Wilson, M.D., University of California, Irvine Professor of Surgery. William J. French, M.D., Professor of Medicine, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Cardiology Faculty, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
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Please visit our website at www.LABioMed.org For further information, please contact Eileen Mosler, Director of Public Relations, at (310) 222-8284 or emosler@LABioMed.org. Design: Dann Froehlich Design Writing and Reporting: Laura Mecoy, Issues Management Network
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ISSUE 3
SEPTEMBER
LA BioMed gained seven new board members on July 1, bringing a wide diversity of skills and experience to the Institute. The new members are:
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Center Opens Next Phase On Budget and On Time Research in Campus Modernization Investigators are moving into the Hanley-Hardison Research Center, the first new building on LA BioMed’s campus since 2002 and an important step forward in the modernization of the Institute’s facilities.
The Hanley-Hardison building features some of the most up-to-date research innovations as well as laboratories built to meet the specific needs of the investigators. The center is named in honor of Joan Hanley and Dee Hardison, two outstanding volunteer leaders and former chairs of LA BioMed’s Board of Directors. One of the new laboratories will be named in honor of Dr. Milton Miller, past Chair of Psychiatry, who relentlessly pursued excellence in the care of the mentally ill.
The construction crews completed the building on schedule and within budget, earning the gratitude of the investigators who will be working there. “It’s just amazing that here we are, and we are moving in,” said Kevin Bruhn, Ph.D., a LA BioMed investigator. “I am really looking forward to the collaborative atmosphere with all of us researchers working in one building.”
“With the support of the board and the new buildings underway, the infrastructure is in place for investigators to continue to pursue the scientific studies that could ultimately improve human health,” said Brigette Tippin-Fullerton, Ph.D., a LA BioMed investigator. “I am very excited about the future for LA BioMed.”
The 15,000-square-foot laboratory will house researchers from four different departments under one roof, encouraging the kind of research collaboration that will promote even more scientific breakthroughs. The building will eventually house the work of 14 scientists.
The new Hanley-Hardison Research Center, a 15,000 square foot building that will house researchers from four different departments under one roof.
Immediate tenants include Terry Smith, M.D., Lou Lu, M.D., Ph.D., Raymond Douglas, M.D., Ph.D., Michael Kolodney, M.D., Ph.D., Noah Craft, M.D., Ph.D., Kevin Bruhn, Ph.D., Guochuan Emil Tsai, M.D., Ph.D., David Naylor, M.D., Ph.D., and Stanislav Karsten, Ph.D. These investigators represent four departments: medicine, psychiatry, neurology and obstetrics/gynecology. The investigators are focused on researching biological and disease questions utilizing molecular techniques, such as Dr. Smith’s ongoing investigations of Graves Disease and other autoimmune disorders and Dr. Craft’s search for therapeutics for malignant melanoma. 1
Letter from the President and CEO Kenneth P. Trevett, J.D. Dear friends, For almost seven years, I have been privileged to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of this great Institute. With my wife, Barbara, at my side, I have worked to make this research environment a better one for the scientists who endeavor every day to enhance the quality of healthcare through the pathway of discovery. While my heart and soul have been heavily invested in LA BioMed, I could not turn down the opportunity to become the new president of the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio. I leave here confident operations will continue without disruption. An interim president will be in place before I leave Sept. 26, and the LA BioMed’s Board of Directors has initiated a national search for a new permanent president. This seven-year journey has been about creating a sense of place - of institutional “self.” For, under the auspices of the Institute, great things have happened, and that story needed to be told. LA BioMed scientists have changed the face of health care in myriad ways - in this country and abroad. With a stronger sense of identity, we are attracting outstanding young investigators. We have secured millions of dollars from individuals, corporations and foundations to modernize facilities, support additional recruitments and provide an endowment for our long-term fiscal stability. We are facilitating the commercialization of new discoveries through start-up companies and licenses to existing corporations. And we are managing our reserves in a way that maximizes return and minimizes risk. A new research center has opened - the Hanley-Hardison building - which will continually demonstrate that intellectual achievement is not defined by jurisdictional boundaries. These accomplishments were possible because of the efforts of many. The scientists who offer – through their hard work and creativity – the promise of dramatic advances against an array of life-threatening and life-shortening diseases deserve our unending thanks and support. I have been extremely fortunate to have an outstanding administrative staff, volunteers on our two Boards who have been incredible resources and extraordinarily generous donors who saw our investigators’ passion and wanted to translate their resources into the necessary research infrastructure to turn that passion into new discoveries. Cardinal Suenens once said, “Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.” What a responsibility he asks us to face. What an honor it has been to work with you to strive toward that goal. Sincerely,
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Letter from the President and CEO
Board Members LA BioMed Board of Directors Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Chair Carole Wagner Vallianos, Esq. Vice Chair Adam J. Jonas, M.D. Treasurer Richard K. Learned Secretary Christina Wang, M.D. President/CEO Kenneth P. Trevett, J.D. Directors: Gail V. Anderson, Jr., M.D., M.B.A. James T. Black, D.D.S. Laurence A. Bolton James M. Brown Webb W. Castor, Ph.D. Gerald Chong Dorothy Avila Courtney Eric S. Daar, M.D. Robert C. Daly William J. French, M.D. Allan M. Frew Ray Frew, C.P.A., C.C.F.E.
Martha L. Gamble Jeffrey E. Grant Sharon L. Guthrie Dee Hardison, Immediate Past Chair Raymond W. Holdsworth, Jr. Sandra Jacobs Robert W. Kummer, Jr. Patricia Liu Hugh B. McIntyre, M.D., Ph.D. Steven A. Nissen, Esq. Miguel Ortiz-Marroquin Michael G. Ross, M.D., M.P.H. Scott D. Somers William W. Stringer, M.D. John S. Torday, M.Sc., Ph.D. Samuel E. Wilson, M.D.
LA BioMed Foundation Board Fiscal Year 2008-2009 President Sharon L. Guthrie Vice President Fred M. Haney, Ph.D. Secretary Teresa Hermosillo, J.D. Treasurer Scott Donnelly, C.P.A. Directors Gail V. Anderson, Jr., M.D. Joanne Austin Joyce Brown Susan Christie Chandra Fechtelkotter Linda H. Gassett Marianne Gausche-Hill, M.D. Elizabeth Gillis Warden, J.D. Rick Higgins Robert S. Hockberger, M.D. Diana Honeycutt M. Britt Vanden Eykel Huff, Ph.D. Joanne B. Hunter Glenda Kent Richard K. Learned Donna Lee John Leeper Diana McIntyre
Hugh B. McIntyre, M.D., Ph.D. Jane M. McNeil Paula Moore Georgia A. Perkey Victor Quirarte Jay D. Schoenau Tod R. Sword Barbara K. Trevett Kenneth P. Trevett, J.D.
Training for Future Innovation
LA BioMed Fellows Find Higher Rates of Serious Illness Among County Health Clinic Patients A team of student researchers found Los Angeles County outpatient clinics’ patients had significantly higher rates of serious illness than occur in the general population. The students were enrolled in the Summer Urban Health Fellowship Program, one of two summer programs for young scholars sponsored by LA BioMed. This one is focused on inner-city health care.
Dawn Mautner and Yvette Padilla, two of the Summer Urban Health fellows,explain the group's findings.
The students in the Summer Urban Health Fellowship Program hosted two health fairs for Wilmington-area residents and surveyed patient records at Los Angeles County Department of Health Services outpatient clinics in Lomita, Wilmington and Long Beach.
Their research found the rates of diabetes and high cholesterol among these patients were about three times higher than the national average.
Pictured are (left to right) Rasnik Singh, Uyen Duong, Stephanie Bamidele, Annett Acosta, Alexander Adler, Alba Arteaga, Jeanette Fong, Re Na Bae, Joshua Frost, Karyn Haitz, Robert Lee, Joyce Chai, Dr. Basil Ibe (Program Director), Christina Fong, and Sara Stanford. Not pictured is Guillermo Milian.
Fifteen High School Grads Spend Summer in the Lab Fellowship Program Provides Firsthand Experience Re Na Bae, who entered Cornell University this fall, thought she would have to choose between her two career interests - the practice of medicine or research. After meeting LA BioMed’s physicianresearchers, the West Torrance High School graduate knows she can do both. “My grandmother has Alzheimer’s, and I want to research it,” she said.
The rate of hypertension was more than twice the national average, and 60 percent to 70 percent of the patients had a serious illness. “We see huge discrepancies in the illnesses in our communities and among the rest of the country,” said Carlos Rodriguez. Carlos was among the 38 high school, college and medical students in the program. “This program is a wonderful opportunity for high school and college students to see firsthand how research is conducted and the serious health problems among inner-city residents,” said Gilberto Granados, M.D., M.P.H, director of the program. “The research they conducted and their findings of high rates of serious illness should be among the factors the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors considers as its members seek to balance the county’s budget.” Among the options the board has considered is privatization of 11 Los Angeles County Department of Human Services clinics by turning their operations over to public-private partnerships. “The program really exposes our students to hands-on activity in underserved communities and helps them reflect on what health disparities mean at the level of the family,” said Daniel Castro, M.D., a LA BioMed researcher and chair of the Department of Family Medicine. 3
Re Na is one of the 15 students who spent their vacation in LA BioMed’s other program for young scholars, the Summer Fellowship Program. It’s conducted on campus and gives students hands-on laboratory experience, faculty mentors and access to scientific meetings and lectures. More than 300 students have graduated from the program since 1978. “It was a great opportunity to spend my summer learning about a field I was interested in,” said Alexander Adler, a Mira Costa High School graduate. Stephanie Bamidele, a California Academy of Math and Science graduate, and Uyen Duong, a North High School graduate, helped with research to find an early detection test for kidney injuries. “It gave me a chance to explore research so I have a better appreciation for it,” Stephanie said. “The internship also gives you an in-depth look into what actual doctors do.”
Christina Wang, M.D. LA BioMed investigator
Margaret Keller, M.D. LA BioMed investigator
Faculty Focus Image of chemical concentrations in the brain using magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
LA BioMed Research Helps Stop HIV/AIDS Transmission New Focus on Long-Term Health Issues Margaret Keller, M.D., didn’t set out to be an HIV/AIDS expert. In fact, doctors hadn’t identified the first adult patients with AIDS when Dr. Keller joined LA BioMed’s faculty in 1978 as an expert in pediatric infectious diseases and human breast milk immunology. She became an expert in the disease as her research interests shifted into studies of how the mother’s immune system can influence the baby’s developing immune system to protect the baby from infections.
“We are gladly putting ourselves out of business for babies with HIV in the United States. Unfortunately, we are not putting ourselves out of business in the world yet.” Margaret Keller, M.D. In the early 1990s, there was an epidemic of infants with HIV/AIDS. Research changed that. Since 1994, there has been no mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS among patients on the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center campus. This is due to research Dr. Keller helped conduct as part of the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Groups as well as the team care of HIV-infected pregnant women with Obstetrics and Adult HIV experts at Harbor-UCLA. While the new protocols and treatment in the U.S. dramatically reduced HIV transmission from mother to child here, there is still much to be done overseas.
Around the world, some 2.1 million children are infected with HIV. Most contracted the virus from their mothers. In the U.S., new medications and protocols are keeping children with HIV/AIDS alive longer. So Dr. Keller and her colleagues are examining the long-term implications of the disease on children. They are using a form of medical imaging – magnetic resonance spectroscopy – to measure the impact of the disease on the brain. They study specific chemicals important for the brain to work normally in HIV-infected children and in children without HIV. One very important chemical (N-acetyl aspartate) increases with age in healthy children, but it did not increase in the brains of children with HIV. “We have data showing that these children had a significant developmental insult to their brains from HIV/AIDS,” Dr. Keller said. The research shows that the early involvement of the brain in children with HIV (much earlier in children than in adults) causes long-term damage – unless medications treat the infection in the brain as well as the rest of the body. Dr. Keller is conducting further studies with magnetic resonance spectroscopy that could help improve treatments or medications to reduce the ongoing damage to a child’s brain. “Children with HIV are surviving to adulthood,” she said. “Our studies could help improve their neurological capabilities and ensure these children lead better and healthier lives.”
“We are gladly putting ourselves out of business for babies with HIV in the United States,” Dr. Keller said. “Unfortunately, we are not putting ourselves out of business in the world yet.” 4
Dr. Wang has been program director for LA BioMed’s General Clinical Research Center at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center since 1993. She also oversees one of only two NIH-funded centers in the clinical trials network on male contraceptives. She’s served as President of the American Society of Andrology (2006-2007), Secretary of the International Society of Andrology (2001-2005) and Program Chair of the 2009 International Congress of Andrology. Recently, People magazine featured Dr. Wang as the physician who provided the medical advice that helped former ice skating champion Scott Hamilton conceive a child after cancer treatments impaired his reproductive abilities. Mr. Hamilton is scheduled to be an honoree at LA BioMed’s Discovery Gala Nov. 15.
Why did you enter the field of male infertility?
Please tell us about your international work. I have been associated with the World Health Organization since 1989. I was the chair of the Task Force on Methods for the Regulation of Male Infertility from 1991 to 2002. The goal was to help to develop methods of contraception in the male partner focusing on the needs of developing countries.
I was training at the University of Hong Kong in the early 1970s when the science of endocrinology was just exploding. They had just found methods to measure hormones accurately in the blood, so it became a very logical specialty. I then went into a fellowship program in Australia where my mentor was a male reproductive endocrinologist. After studying with him, I went back to Hong Kong and initiated the only male reproduction and infertility clinic in Southeast Asia at that time.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishments?
Why did you come to LA BioMed?
What is the future for the General Clinical Research Center?
I came to the U.S. in 1989 for a position at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and joined LA BioMed and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in 1993. We have an excellent patient population here for research. People work well together. The research support services tend to be very user-friendly, and our colleagues are always willing to help.
My husband (Ronald Swerdloff, M.D.), and I are known for the development of testosterone delivery systems to treat male hormone deficiencies. We also are known for our work to develop a safe and effective male contraceptive.
We are working with UCLA, Cedars-Sinai and Charles Drew University to become a Clinical and Translational Institute to respond to NIH’s plan to get discoveries to patients as soon and as safely as possible.
Dinner Honors Joel D. Kopple, M.D., With Lifetime Achievement Award About 180 colleagues, friends and family members honored Joel D. Kopple, M.D., at a recent celebration of his more than |a quarter century of service as LA BioMed’s Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. Officially, Dr. Kopple has “retired.” But he continues to conduct research and teach. "Dr. Kopple is one of the nation's leading authorities on kidney disease," said Sharon Adler, M.D., who replaced Dr. Kopple as Chief of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension. “He helped put LA BioMed on the map as one of the nation's best nephrology research centers." Dr. Kopple’s research improved the nutritional health of those on dialysis and helped reduce lead contamination in urban areas. He’s been described as the “founding father” of the field of nutrition in kidney disease. He also conceived of the idea of a “World Kidney Day” to educate the public about this important organ and helped launch it in 2006.
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From left, Rafer Johnson, emcee for Legends; Patti Liu, LA BioMed board member and sponsor of the Young Investigator Award, and Stanislav L. Karsten, Ph.D., winner of the Young Investigator Award.
From left, Chandra Fechtelkotter, LA BioMed Vice President, with the Legends – Jerrold Turner, M.D., Dominic DeCristofaro, M.D., and Grant B.Hieshima, M.D., – and LA BioMed President and CEO Kenneth P. Trevett, J.D.
From left, Mrs. Marion Scharffenberger and Mrs. Harlyne Norris.
Gail V. Anderson , M.D., M.B.A., Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Chief Medical Officer and LA BioMed board member, with the three honorees from Legends.
LA BioMed Honors Three of its Legendary Physician-Scientists The Fifth Annual Legends dinner celebration honored three legendary physician-scientists for their internationally recognized contributions to medicine. Dominic DeCristofaro, M.D., Grant B. Hieshima, M.D., and Jerrold Turner, M.D., were the honorees at the May 1 event at Trump National Golf Club. Each is a leader in his own field, having set a high standard for medical care and research. This year’s event drew a record crowd, a sign of the high regard for the honorees in the community and among their colleagues and the LA BioMed faculty. Former Olympic Champion Rafer Johnson served as master of ceremonies, and Joel Kopple, M.D., was the event’s chairman.
Stanislav L. Karsten, Ph.D., was the winner of the Liu Young Investigator Award at the May 1 Legends event at Trump National Golf Club.
Dr. DeCristofaro
The other nominees for the award were Kevin Bruhn, Ph.D., and Agnes Chen, M.D.
Dr. DeCristofaro is a renowned cardiologist who had a private practice in Long Beach. He served in various capacities at St. Mary Medical Center, including chief of staff, chair of the Department of Medicine and as a member of the Board of Directors. He also served as president and chairman of the LA BioMed Board of Directors when the Institute was known as the Research and Education Institute.
Dr. Hieshima Dr. Hieshima is recognized nationally and internationally as one of the premier figures in the field of interventional neuroradiology, a minimally invasive approach using imaging techniques to detect and treat vascular diseases of the central nervous system. Dr. Hieshima has trained more than 100 fellows in diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology. He has more than 150 scientific publications and 60 book chapters. He also has lectured at more than 400 medical conferences.
Each presented their work at the second annual Liu Young Investigators Symposium March 13. A committee evaluated the presentations and chose the winner.
Enjoying the Legends event are, from left, LA BioMed Investigators Michael R. Yeaman, Ph.D., and Terri Edwards-Lee, M.D., with LA BioMed Board Member Roger Schultz
Together at the Legends event are, from left, Frank De Santis, founding president and CEO of the Institute; Richard J. Glassock, M.D., former LA BioMed board member; Joel Kopple, M.D., LA BioMed investigator; Kenneth P. Trevett , J.D., LA BioMed President and CEO, and John Michael Criley, M.D, LA BioMed investigator.
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“We had such outstanding nominees for the award again this year,” said Patty Liu, a LA BioMed Board Member and sponsor of the award. “I congratulate Dr. Karsten and each of the nominees on the cutting-edge work they are doing in advancing their field of expertise.” The goal of the Liu Young Investigator Award is to nurture excellence and provide support for an outstanding young scientist conducting research on LA BioMed’s campus. Department chairs, division chiefs and other faculty nominated young scientists on the basis of the quality of their research. Each nominee also had to be a David Geffen School of Medicine assistant professor or instructor engaged in ongoing research at the Institute.
Dr. Turner Dr. Turner is a leader in the field of parasitology. He was a co-director of the Parasitic Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at LA BioMed, when it was still known as the Research and Education Institute. For four years, this laboratory examined all specimens collected by the Los Angeles County Health Department for parasitic disease diagnosis. In 1984, Dr. Turner opened Turner Parasitology, a private laboratory for diagnostic parasitology, which continues to operate today.
Liu Young Investigator Award Presented
Kevin Bruhn, Ph.D., one of the Liu Young Investigator Award nominees.
Agnes Chen, M.D., one of the Liu Young Investigator Award nominees.
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This is the second year for the award, and the previous nominees and the previous winner have received significant funding from the NIH and other granting organizations.