Funding launches study on link between healthy lifestyles and sperm quality

LOS ANGELES – A team of investigators from The Lundquist Institute (formerly known as LA BioMed), will receive $2.2 million of a total $7 million grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research male reproductive health as part of a comprehensive study led by University of Nevada at Reno under the direction of Wei Yan, M.D., Ph.D.
About 20 percent of Americans of childbearing age face fertility problems. Of the 10 percent of infertile couples in the United States, one-third are due to the male’s infertility, according to the NIH. 

24 of California’s top biotech startups shared their products at October 14 event

Investigator(s): The Lundquist Institute

LOS ANGELES — Local startups working on everything from a device that diagnoses children’s ear infections with the push of a button, to a gene therapy for those susceptible to addiction that could replace opioids as a painkiller, to a diagnostic that can provide a highly specific analysis of cancerous lesions shared their groundbreaking innovations at the Lundquist Institute’s (formerly known as LA BioMed) sixth annual Innovation Showcase on October 14.

September 27 event focused on using latest research to deliver real-world results faster

LOS ANGELES — The Lundquist Institute (formerly known as LA BioMed) held its first Implementation Science Workshop on September 27, bringing dozens of California’s preeminent health care experts to its campus in an effort to promote better ways to bring latest research findings into routine medical practice faster, saving and improving countless lives.

The new biotech coworking space, BioLabs LA at The Lundquist, is ready to welcome innovative bioscience startups

Investigator(s): The Lundquist Institute

LOS ANGELES — The Lundquist Institute, formerly the Los Angeles BioMedical Research Institute (LA BioMed), has launched the most advanced, state-of-the-art shared wet laboratory and office space facility in the Los Angeles region, BioLabs LA at The Lundquist.

 Former Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute Renamed After Historic $70 Million Gift

Investigator(s): The Lundquist Institute

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) has been renamed the Lundquist Institute, after receiving the necessary approvals from its Board of Directors, the State of California, and other regulatory bodies. The institute’s new name is in honor of California philanthropists Melanie and Richard Lundquist, who pledged an unrestricted gift of $70 million in conjunction with their 70th birthdays earlier this year.

Dr. Richard Murphy is studying a new approach that shows promise for two deadly diseases

Investigator(s): Richard Murphy, MD, MPH

LOS ANGELES — Patients infected with both HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) have historically had an uphill battle with low success rates and high mortality. Making things worse, until recently, the therapy for MDR-TB has been difficult, involving months of painful injections. But there’s a promising new oral treatment regimen for MDR-TB that could make a huge difference to patients in resource-limited settings.

Groundbreaking experiments have immunized mice against the infection caused by Candida auris.

LOS ANGELES — Researchers from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) have taken a major step toward the creation of vaccine that could neutralize the culprit behind a growing public health crisis. Candida auris, a “superbug” that has caused hundreds of often fatal hospital-acquired infections in the United States in recent years, is resistant to common antifungal drugs. Almost half of those who contract C. auris die within the first three months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Antibiotic stewardship programs with behavioral nudges significantly reduced prescriptions

LOS ANGELES— Every year, about 10 million antibiotic prescriptions are written in emergency departments—and about half of them are inappropriate. Similar problems exist in urgent care centers. Antibiotic overuse leads to a host of issues, including adverse drug effects on patients and accelerating the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which kill more than 20,000 Americans a year.

Team of scientists developed antibody-based treatment that prevented infection in mice

Investigator(s): Ashraf Ibrahim, PhD

LOS ANGELES — Researchers from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) and Vitalex Biosciences (a spinoff company of LA BioMed) helped lead an experiment that successfully immunized mice against mucormycosis, a fungal infection that is often fatal, potentially paving the way for the development of an immunotherapy for humans.

New study underway to explore disease risk factors

Investigator(s): Jerome I Rotter, MD

Researchers from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) are participating in a novel study to understand why people born in rural communities in the South live shorter and less healthy lives than their counterparts elsewhere in the country.