Dr. Filler feted for his research on fungal infections and vaccines while Dr. Harrington celebrated for his work in internal medicine and treating venous thromboembolism (VTE)
The 19th Annual Lundquist Legends tradition continued in 2022 with the recognition of two of its most outstanding investigators: Dr. Scott Filler and Dr. Darrell Harrington. Both Legends have enjoyed a long affiliation with UCLA as they both graduated from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and then came to and stayed for their whole careers at Harbor-UCLA and the Lundquist Institute. This year’s event took place at the Institute’s Medical Research Laboratory on the Institute campus and was also livestreamed online on December 7th.
The Gift Will be Used to Study the Effects of the Anti-Inflammatory Colchicine in People with Coronary Artery Disease
The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center has received a $1 million gift from the Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation to investigate the progression rates of low attenuation plaque under the influence of Colchicine as compared to placebo. This gift will directly support the work of Dr. Matt Budoff, a Lundquist Investigator whose research is devoted to advancing procedures that can help doctors identify patients early that are at high-risk for cardiac events and progression of atherosclerosis.
Findings Published in The Lancet Ebiomedicine Demonstratethe Positive Effect of State-of-the-Art Ingestible Sensor for HIV Therapeutics
Dr. Eric Daar, Investigator at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, is the co-principal investigator for the $4 million National Institute of Mental Health grant that supported research which found that HIV patients whose drug regimen was monitored by an innovative ingestible sensor system were more adherent to antiretrovirals (ARVs) and, in turn, experienced lower viral loads.
The Diagnostic and Wellness Center will be Renamed the Farima Czyzyk Center for Cardiac Research and Wellness
Pictured (left to right): Dr. David Meyer, TLI President, Steve Nissen, TLI Board Member, Dr. Matt Budoff, Farima & Joe Czyzyk (donors), and Philanthropist Richard Lundquist.
IL-23 receptor signaling prevents ferroptotic cell death via an unknown mechanism. 4HNE released by ferroptotic macrophages induces apoptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis in adjacent cells.
Dr. Marc Swidergall’s paper, “IL-23 signaling prevents ferroptosis-driven renal immunopathology during candidiasis,” has been published in Nature Communications. The paper, published online on September 22, covers research by Dr. Swidergall and his colleagues on Candida infection and inflammation and how ferroptotic cell death presents a new avenue to tackle the infection. They report that recognition of the fungal cell wall component β-glucan promotes renal immunopathology by reducing the cytokine IL-23 during disseminated candidiasis.
This highly prestigious ASM fellowship supports doctoral graduate students interested in the microbial sciences and who seek mentorship in navigating their career trajectory. Barbarino and Alqarihi were selected from a pool of thousands of applicants for this esteemed ASM Fellowship. They will be mentored for the year by seven highly accomplished mentors in various areas of microbiology.
ATS (American Thoracic Society) gives this award to a mid-career candidate who is recognized for achievements in research, mentorship, clinical care, education, advocacy, or scholarship.
Investigator(s):
Denise Al Alam, PhD
Dr. Al Alam received this award as a recognition for her numerous contributions to pediatric pulmonary research, mentorship and advocacy. Her research focuses on understanding how progenitor cells of the human lung decide what mature cell type to become and when; and how these decisions are affected by congenital anomalies and prematurity. She is a pioneer in the field of human lung development and made seminal discoveries describing a novel progenitor cell population in the human developing lung.
Funding will be directed to TLI’s Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Exercise Physiology with a Research Focus on Diverse and Underserved Patient Populations
Investigator(s):
Harry Rossiter, PhD
LOS ANGELES (May 31, 2022) — The Lundquist Institute has announced that it has received a grant of $112,000 from the Johnny Carson Foundation to support the training of the next generation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) researchers at its Institu
Beatson Foundation award may help develop a novel technology to generate an infinite supply of insulin producing cells
Investigator(s):
Eiji Yoshihara, PhD
Eiji Yoshihara, Ph.D., Investigator at The Lundquist Institute, has received a two-year, $220,000 grant from the Beatson Foundation for a proposed study to investigate how human pancreatic β cells, responsible for making insulin in the body, achieve long-term survival and proliferation.
Investigator(s):
Eiji Yoshihara, PhD
ERRγ deletion causes rapid and progressive pancreatic atrophy
H&E staining (upper panel) and Masson’s trichrome staining (middle panel) of pancreas from control (CON) and ERRγ conditional Knock-out (cKO) cKO mice 7d after the ERR γ deletion.
Gross images of pancreas (lower panel)