Sponsored by Townsend & Townsend & Crew LLP


 

Presented by:
Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D.  
President            
Professor and Pauline & Stanley Foster Presidential Chair      
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

Program Overview:
In this lecture, Dr. Vuori will discuss the strategies that Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute takes to promote the translation of basic research findings into cutting-edge drug discovery projects.

Certain genes in the human body inadvertently protect cancer cells against necessary chemotherapy treatments. Through the identification of small-molecule lead compounds, scientists at Sanford-Burnham have been able to stop these “anti-death” genes from providing safety to dangerous cancer cells. With the cells’ defense diminished, anti-cancer therapeutics are likely to become much more effective at halting the growth of and eliminating these threatening cells.

In addition, Sanford-Burnham’s extensive cancer research efforts have also resulted in the ability to selectively target drugs to specific blood vessels. This is possible thanks to the identification of vascular "zip codes." These zip codes are molecular signatures in blood and lymphatic vessels that are exclusive to individual tissues and disease sites.