LA JOLLA INSTITUTE ENHANCES DISEASE FOCUS WITH FIVE NEW FACULTY
Scientists expand genetics, heart disease and type 1 diabetes research areas
SAN DIEGO - (December 10, 2009) The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, an international leader in immunology research, is boosting its considerable research muscle with five new faculty members, who will expand the Institute's expertise in genetics, heart disease and type 1 diabetes.
The new faculty include Anjana Rao, Ph.D., and Patrick Hogan, Ph.D., two prominent scientists from Harvard Medical School, who will launch the Institute's new Division of Signaling and Gene Expression. The scientists will use high-throughput sequencing, analysis of protein structures and other state-of-the-art technologies to analyze how gene functioning influences the development of many human diseases, such as autoimmunity, immune deficiencies, developmental defects and cancer. Their work will provide powerful information that could lead to new therapies based on altering gene function.
Also joining the Institute are Joel Linden, Ph.D., and Lynn Hedrick, Ph.D., both accomplished scientists from the University of Virginia, who specialize in understanding the role of inflammation in heart disease, and Nunzio Bottini, M.D., Ph.D., formerly an assistant professor in USC's Institute for Genetic Medicine, who researches genetics-based approaches to type 1 diabetes.
"The five new faculty will expand our already robust research program," said Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., La Jolla Institute president & scientific director. "We are excited to have these five scientists -- each of them prominent, highly respected researchers -- join our preeminent faculty and look forward to expanding our focus on finding new treatments and cures for diseases related to immune system functioning."
Now completing its 21st year, the La Jolla Institute is San Diego's only research institution, and one of the few in the world, focused on solving immune-mediated disorders, which encompass an incredibly wide array of diseases. "We're making discoveries today that offer hope for new treatments for many diseases that have plagued society for decades," said Dr. Kronenberg, noting that the Institute's research impacts myriad disorders including type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, infectious diseases and more. "Our founders realized the immune system's extraordinary potential for improving human health, which is why they formed this research institute 21 years ago."
Drs. Linden and Hedrick will join the Institute's Division of Inflammation Biology, which looks at the immune system's role in inflammation. Inflammation has been found to be a key factor in heart disease and many other chronic disorders. Dr. Linden is one of the world's leading experts on adenosine, a signaling molecule known to be important in the cardiovascular system. One of his adenosine discoveries is now in phase III clinical trials as a potential therapy to improve cardiac stress testing.
Dr. Hedrick brings a focus on heart disease and type 2 diabetes, which is epidemic in the United States, and seeks to understand the relationship between the two diseases. "Type 2 diabetics are four to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack than non-diabetics," said Dr. Hedrick, who notes that cardiovascular disease is also emerging as a complication of type 1 diabetes. "We're exploring why cardiovascular disease is increased in diabetes patients and are finding some intriguing answers that we hope will one day make a real difference."
Dr. Bottini joins the Institute's Type 1 Diabetes Research Center, which is southern California's first immunologically-focused Center for type 1 diabetes research. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys insulin producing cells. Dr. Bottini focuses on phosphatases, a molecular family containing a number of genes found to be involved in triggering the beta cell destruction of type 1 diabetes. "We're working to block their action to switch off the attack," he said.
Dr. Rao studies one of the major molecular mysteries of our time: How do the more than 20,000 genes that make up every human being actually function? "What most genes and proteins do is still unknown," said Dr. Rao. "The Human Genome Project gave the world the entire nucleotide sequence of every human gene. While this was monumental, we still know little about how genes work individually, and collectively, to affect disease processes."
Dr. Hogan is particularly interested in the processes by which proteins interact with each other and with DNA to turn on genes in the nucleus. "That's the whole secret of how T cells work," he said, referring to the body's infection-fighting white blood cells. "The interactions we study are subtle but can be the key to human health and disease."
About La Jolla Institute
Founded in 1988, the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology is a biomedical research nonprofit focused on improving human health through increased understanding of the immune system. Its scientists carry out research seeking new knowledge leading to the prevention of disease through vaccines and the treatment and cure of infectious diseases, cancer and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, Crohn's disease and asthma. La Jolla Institute's research staff includes more than 100 Ph.D.s and M.D.s.
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