Sanford Burnham Prebys

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

32°54′04″N 117°14′31″W / 32.901192°N 117.241937°W / 32.901192; -117.241937

Sanford Burnham Prebys
Official logo of Sanford Burnham Prebys
Established1976
President and CEODavid Brenner, M.D.
Budget$109 million (FY2021)
Address10901 North Torrey Pines Road
Location
La Jolla, California
Websitesbpdiscovery.org

Sanford Burnham Prebys is an American nonprofit biomedical research institute located in La Jolla, California,[1] conducting biomedical and translational research, including stem cell and drug discovery studies. It operates a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center[2] and conducts genomics research.

History

[edit]
Former logo of Burnham Institute for Medical Research

In 1976, Dr. William H. Fishman and his wife, Lillian Waterman Fishman, founded the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation after Dr. William retired from Tufts University School of Medicine.[3] In 1996, the Institute was renamed to the Burnham Institute after receiving a $10 million donation from Malin Burnham and another anonymous donor.[4] In 2006, its name was changed to the Burnham Institute for Medical Research. In 2007, T. Denny Sanford pledged $20 million through Sanford Health to support the Sanford Children's Health Research Center in La Jolla, California, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.[5]

In 2008, a $97.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health enabled the foundation of a small-molecule screening center.[6]

In 2010, following a $50 million donation from Sanford, the Institute was renamed Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute.[7] Additionally, in 2014, a $275 million pledge was announced but was later reduced to $200 million.[8] In 2015, a $100 million gift from Conrad Prebys resulted in the renaming of the Institute to Sanford Burnham Prebys.[9][10]

In 2022, Dr. David Brenner was nominated as the Institute's President and CEO.[11]

Funding

[edit]

According to Sanford Burnham Prebys tax filings, for its fiscal year ending June 2024, the non-profit reported $123 million in annual revenue, with $111 million in expenses, $12 million in net income and $268 million in net assets.[12]

The sources of revenue were: 86.8% from contributions, 0.5% from program services, 5.5% from investment income, 1.2% for royalties, 0.3% from rental property income, 4,7% from sales of assets with another 1.0% from "other revenue".[12]

Donations from the Whittaker Corporation and the California Foundation enabled the acquisition of a five-acre site on the La Jolla mesa.[13] These donations, alongside those from the Institute's namesakes (T. Denny Sanford, Malin and Roberta Burnham, and Conrad Prebys), supported the Institute’s expansion.[14]

Research

[edit]

As of June 2024, Sanford Burnham Prebys employed 45 Principal Investigators and a total of 500 staff members,[15] consisting of postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and administrative personnel. The Institute also partnered with the San Diego Nathan Shock Center for Aging Research alongside the Salk Institute and UC San Diego.[16]

Stem cell research

Sanford Burnham Prebys participates in a collaborative stem cell research initiative with several other California-based institutions. The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, named after T. Denny Sanford, was created to advance studies in stem cell science and regenerative medicine. Construction of a dedicated research facility in La Jolla began in 2009 following state budget delays that temporarily affected project funding.[17][18]

Nanomedicine

The Institute also maintains research activities in nanomedicine through a partnership with the University of California, Santa Barbara. This collaboration began in 2006 and was later expanded with the creation of the Center for Nanomedicine, led by Dr. Jamey Marth. The center combines expertise in biomedical science and engineering to study nanoscale biological systems, including research on nanoparticle-based methods for delivering treatments directly to specific cells or tissues.[17][19]

Educational programs

[edit]
A robotic arm used in high-throughput screening is fully operational at the La Jolla campus

Sanford Burnham Prebys operates an accredited Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, established in 2005, offering a PhD degree in Biomedical Sciences.[17] In 2015, Sanford Burnham Prebys achieved accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.[17] Moreover, the Institute also trains and employs postdoctoral fellows,[17] with an average of 250 postdoctoral fellows trained there at any one time.[17]

The graduate school focuses on biomedical research and is supported by laboratory technologies used in biomedical research.[17] The program offers a foundation in biomedical science and projects in biology, chemistry, bioinformatics, and engineering, where students complete research projects within specialized laboratories.

Select scientific achievements

[edit]

The Institute initially focused on the commonalities between cancer and fetal development, known as oncodevelopmental biology. Early research included the development of monoclonal antibody-based 'two-site' ELISA. In the 1980s, the Institute conducted research on fibronectin and other extracellular matrix components, including 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, which are the cell surface receptors that recognize the RGD sequence in matrix proteins.[20]

In the 1990s, Institute scientists contributed 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.[21][22][23]

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.[24][25] These discoveries have been cited as contributing to research , as they explain why normal cells remain 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. Research based on these findings has informed the development of several drug candidates.

In recent years, the Institute has expanded its research focus to include neuroscience, cardiovascular diseases, and rare diseases of sugar and phosphate metabolism. Additionally, 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 are an area of active research. Such compounds become candidate drugs for disease treatment. Several compounds developed either at the Institute or different biopharmaceutical companies are currently undergoing clinical trials.[improper synthesis?][26][27][28] The Institute's 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.[29][30]

Collaboration and partnerships

[edit]

Sanford Burnham Prebys has established working relationships with the University of California, San Diego,[2] The Scripps Research Institute,[31] the Salk Institute for Biological Studies,[32] Duke University's Sarah W. Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center,[17] and the Mayo Clinic.[33]

Sanford Burnham Prebys also collaborates with the pharmaceutical industry to support the translation of basic research into clinical applications.[17][34]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "About Sanford Burnham Prebys". Sanford Burnham Prebys. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute". National Cancer Institute. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  3. ^ admin (1976-07-07). "The La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, now the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute was founded". LifeScienceHistory.com. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  4. ^ admin (1996-01-01). "The Burnham Institute was named to honor the generosity of Roberta and Malin Burnham and their family". LifeScienceHistory.com. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  5. ^ Staff, S. H. N. (2007-11-18). "Denny Sanford donates $20 million for pediatric research". Sanford Health News. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  6. ^ Savage, Sam (2008-09-02). "Burnham Awarded $97.9 Million NIH Grant to Expand Small-Molecule Screening and Discovery Center". Red Orbit. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  7. ^ "BIOMED: It's now Sanford-Burnham after $50M donation to research institute". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  8. ^ Robbins, Gary (2018-03-13). "Donor cuts $75 million from gift to Sanford Burnham Prebys". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  9. ^ "Conrad Prebys Donates $100 Million to Sanford-Burnham". Marketwired. 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  10. ^ Harvey, Kate. "What's in a Name?". Philanthropy Roundtable. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  11. ^ Freeman, Mike (2022-09-09). "Sanford Burnham Prebys gets new CEO from UC San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  12. ^ a b "Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  13. ^ "Making Medical Miracles: SBP's fundraising gala". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  14. ^ Candid. "T. Denny Sanford commits $70 million to Sanford Burnham Prebys". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  15. ^ Williams, Geshawn (2025-01-23). "Fitch Affirms Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, CA at 'A'; Outlook Stable". Fitch Ratings. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  16. ^ "San Diego Nathan Shock Center leverages long-running human study to enable cellular research on diversity of aging - Salk Institute for Biological Studies". Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Archived from the original on 2025-09-30. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute | History | Plexuss". plexuss.com. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  18. ^ "Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine / Fentress Architects". ArchDaily. 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  19. ^ Buschman, Heather (2011-08-15). "How Fat and Obesity Cause Diabetes". The Current. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  20. ^ Ruoslahti, Erkki; Pierschbacher, Michael D. (23 October 1987). "New Perspectives in Cell Adhesion: RGD and Integrins". Science. 238 (4826): 491–497. Bibcode:1987Sci...238..491R. doi:10.1126/science.2821619. PMID 2821619.
  21. ^ Salvesen, Guy S; Dixit, Vishva M (November 1997). "Caspases: Intracellular Signaling by Proteolysis". Cell. 91 (4): 443–446. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80430-4. PMID 9390553. S2CID 5377068.
  22. ^ Deveraux, Quinn L.; Takahashi, Ryosuke; Salvesen, Guy S.; Reed, John C. (July 1997). "X-linked IAP is a direct inhibitor of cell-death proteases". Nature. 388 (6639): 300–304. Bibcode:1997Natur.388..300D. doi:10.1038/40901. PMID 9230442. S2CID 4395885.
  23. ^ Reed, John C. (April 2008). "Bcl-2–family proteins and hematologic malignancies: history and future prospects". Blood. 111 (7): 3322–3330. doi:10.1182/blood-2007-09-078162. PMC 2275002. PMID 18362212.
  24. ^ Frisch, Sm; Francis, H (15 February 1994). "Disruption of epithelial cell-matrix interactions induces apoptosis". The Journal of Cell Biology. 124 (4): 619–626. doi:10.1083/jcb.124.4.619. PMC 2119917. PMID 8106557.
  25. ^ Zhang, Z; Vuori, K; Reed, J C; Ruoslahti, E (20 June 1995). "The alpha 5 beta 1 integrin supports survival of cells on fibronectin and up-regulates Bcl-2 expression". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 92 (13): 6161–6165. Bibcode:1995PNAS...92.6161Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.92.13.6161. PMC 41662. PMID 7541142.
  26. ^ Clinical trial number NCT03517176 for "CEND-1 in Combination With Nabpaclitaxel and Gemcitabine in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer" at ClinicalTrials.gov
  27. ^ "Clinical Evidence Supporting Therapeutic Potential of Activating the Immune Checkpoint Receptor BTLA in SLE". ACR Meeting Abstracts. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
  28. ^ Maruyama, Sonomi; Visser, Hester; Ito, Takashi; Limsakun, Tharin; Zahir, Hamim; Ford, Daniel; Tao, Ben; Zamora, Cynthia A.; Stark, Jeffrey G.; Chou, Hubert S. (April 2022). "Phase I studies of the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of DS-1211, a tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase inhibitor". Clinical and Translational Science. 15 (4): 967–980. doi:10.1111/cts.13214. PMC 9010257. PMID 35021269.
  29. ^ Clinical trial number NCT05462587 for "A Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of AVTX-803 in Patients With Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Type II" at ClinicalTrials.gov
  30. ^ Clinical trial number NCT05402332 for "Evaluate Optimal Dosing and Long-term Safety of D-galactose in PGM1-CDG (AVTX-801)" at ClinicalTrials.gov
  31. ^ "Cancer Research - Scripps Health". Scripps.org. 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  32. ^ "The Salk Institute and Sanford Burnham Prebys license ULK1/2 inhibitors to Endeavor BioMedicines for treatment of cancer". Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  33. ^ "Mayo Clinic Research Innovation - Collaborators". Mayo Clinic. Archived from the original on 2025-08-08. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  34. ^ "University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center announces collaborative partnership with Sanford Burnham Prebys - USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center". 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
[edit]