Sanford Burnham Prebys

32.901192°N 117.241937°W / 32.901192; -117.241937

Sanford Burnham Prebys

Official logo of Sanford Burnham Prebys
Established	1976
President and CEO	David Brenner, M.D.
Budget	$109 million (FY2021)
Address	10901 North Torrey Pines Road
Location	La Jolla, California
Website	sbpdiscovery.org

Sanford Burnham Prebys is a non-profit biomedical research institute located in La Jolla, California.^[1] that conducts basic and translational research on human diseases^[1], stem cell research and drug discovery technologies. Sanford Burnham Prebys includes a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center^[2] and other specialized programs in genomics. The institute employs more than 500 scientists, staff members, and trainees, and collaborates with academic and industry partners.^[1]

History

Former logo of Burnham Institute for Medical Research

Sanford Burnham Prebys originated in 1976 as the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, founded by Dr. William H. Fishman and Lillian Waterman Fishman after he retired from Tufts University School of Medicine.^[3]

The institute was renamed the Burnham Institute in 1996 after a $10 million contribution from philanthropist Malin Burnham and an anonymous donor. In 2006, the name was changed to the Burnham Institute for Medical Research.

In 2007, T. Denny Sanford pledged $20 million through Sanford Health, supporting the creation of the Sanford Children's Health Research Center in La Jolla, California, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.^[4]

A $97.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2008 supported the development of a small-molecule screening center.^[5]

Following a $50 million gift from Sanford in 2010, the institute was renamed Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute.^[6] In 2014, a $275 million pledge was announced but was later reduced to $200 million.^[7]

In 2015, a $100 million gift from Conrad Prebys resulted in the institute's current name: Sanford Burnham Prebys.^[8][9]

Dr. David Brenner became President and CEO in 2022.^[10]

Research

Sanford Burnham Prebys was founded with a primary focus on cancer research. As of June 2024, Sanford Burnham Prebys employed 45 Principal Investigators and a total of 500 staff members^[11], consisting of postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and administrative/support personnel.

The institute is home to six research centers:

• NCI-designated Cancer Center
• Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center
• Center for Genetic Disorders and Aging Research
• Sanford Children's Health Research Center
• Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical enomics
• Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

The institute also partners with the San Diego Nathan Shock Center for Aging Research alongside the Salk Institute and UC San Diego.

There are seven research programs at Sanford Burnham Prebys:

Degenerative Diseases Program

The program aims to improve our understanding of how cells discriminate between functional and non-functional proteins and research the damaging impact of oxidative stress on protein structure and function in neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease), metabolic diseases (diabetes and liver failure), and inflammatory disease and cancer. The aim is to develop new therapies that improve protein folding and preserve cell function in diseases with a global health impact.

Development, Aging, and Regeneration Program

The program includes research on:

• Gene functions linked to mutations and epigenetic factors^[12]
• The development and regenerative capacity of the brain, heart, muscles, pancreas, limbs, liver, and other organs^{[citation needed]}
• The biology of aging and organ/tissue maintenance to maintain a well-functioning organism with the aim of finding novel therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, muscle disorders, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases^{[citation needed]}

Research is mainly conducted using common model organisms such as mice, fish, flies, and worms but also employs human stem cell models.

Human Genetics Program

The program primarily focuses on improving our understanding of known and newly discovered genetic disorders using common model organisms such as zebrafish, mice, patient-derived cell cultures, and stem cells. This research has led to the development of diagnostic tests and novel therapies for human patients.

Immunity and Pathogenesis Program

The program primarily focuses on understanding the regulation and interplay of host immune responses and microbial pathogenesis, viral-host interactions, innate and humoral immunity, inflammation, and T cell checkpoint regulation. The aim is to develop new therapies addressing endemic and pandemic infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and inflammatory diseases.

Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program

This program focuses on RNA biology and the signaling pathways that regulate cell growth and cell fate, the role of grwoth factors in cancer cells, and the development of treatments for brain, breast, and prostate cancers as wel as melanoma and leukemia.

Educational Programs

In addition to its research mission, Sanford Burnham Prebys provides education. Established in 2005, the institute's Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences offers a Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Sciences.^[13] In 2015, Sanford Burnham Prebys achieved accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The institute also trains and employs postdoctoral fellows,^[14] with an average of 125 postdocs training there at any one time.

The graduate school focuses on biomedical research and is supplemented by the technologies developed to facilitate the development of medical practices. The program offers a foundation in biomedical science and projects in biology, chemistry, bioinformatics, and engineering, with a focus on one of the main foundations of biomedical science within a laboratory specializing in the area.

The program provides eight openings per year with a total number of thirty students. Entering graduate students are admitted to their thesis labs on day one and do not perform laboratory rotations. In the first two years, students complete five core courses, six tutorials, and one elective. Instructions are accompanied by practical laboratory training under the supervision of the faculty.

Funding

In January 2020, Sanford Burnham Prebys reported $117M in annual revenue.^[15]

The sources of funding in 2019 were: 58% federal, 22% private philanthropy, 8% biopharmaceutical partnerships, 8% licensing and other, and 4% other grants.^{[citation needed]}

Donations from the Whittaker Corporation and the California Foundation enabled the acquisition of a five-acre site on the La Jolla mesa. These donations, alongside those from the institute's namesakes (T. Denny Sanford, Malin and Roberta Burnham, and Conrad Prebys) have helped to ensure the institute's continued growth.^{[citation needed]}

Select scientific achievements

The Institute initially focused on the commonalities between cancer and fetal development, known as onco-developmental biology. Significant early discoveries include the development of monoclonal antibody-based 'two-site' ELISA. In the 1980s, the institute was recognized for its work on fibronectin and other extracellular matrix components, which included research into cell adhesion. This work includes the discovery of the RGD tripeptide as the cell attachment site in fibronectin, fibrinogen, and other adhesive proteins, alongside the discovery of integrins, the cell surface receptors that recognize the RGD sequence in matrix proteins.^[16]

In the 1990s, Institute scientists achieved prominence by contributing to research on programmed cell death, discovering several previously unknown pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, namely caspases, inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, and Bcl-2 family members.^[17][18][19]

The demonstration by institute scientists that cells deprived of attachment to an extracellular matrix undergo apoptosis ("anoikis") connected the fields of cell adhesion and apoptosis.^[20][21] These findings helped to explain why normal cells stay in their appropriate place, while cancer cells spread and metastasize. Reduced integrin function in malignant cells enables them to leave their original tissue, and increased expression of anti-apoptotic proteins prevents anoikis, enabling cancer invasion and metastasis. Several drugs for the treatment of cancer and other diseases based on the fundamental RGD/integrin and apoptosis studies have achieved clinical translation.^{[citation needed]}

More recently, the institute has expanded its research to several additional areas, including neuroscience, cardiovascular diseases, and rare diseases of sugar and phosphate metabolism. The discoveries of proteins linked to disease development and the identification of chemical compounds (or antibodies) that bind to those proteins and inhibit/enhance their function have become a common trend. Such compounds become candidate drugs for disease treatment. Several compounds developed either at the institute or by biopharmaceutical companies are now in clinical trials.^{[improper synthesis?][22][23][24]} The institute's pioneering studies demonstrated that simple sugars, including D-mannose, L-fucose, and D-galactose, can effectively treat a set of rare genetic disorders; indeed, some are now in clinical trials.^[25][26]

Collaboration and partnerships

A robotic arm used in high-throughput screening in operation at the La Jolla campus

Sanford Burnham Prebys has working relationships with the University of California, San Diego, The Scripps Research Institute, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the Mayo Clinic.^{[citation needed]}

Sanford Burnham Prebys also collaborates with the pharmaceutical industry to facilitate the transfer of scientific discoveries to use in clinical trials.^{[citation needed]}