Faculty News
October 8, 2024
Welcome Dr. James Lorens - Morgan Chu Visiting Professor
We are pleased to announce that Prof. James Lorens from the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Bergen School of Medicine in Bergen, Norway, will be joining us as a Morgan Chu Visiting Professor from October 1 to December 15th, 2024 hosted by Prof. Mark LaBarge.
Prof. Lorens is a recognized academic entrepreneur with nearly 40 years research and industry experience from the US and Europe. He was a postdoc in the lab of Prof. Garry Nolan at Stanford University that spun-out Rigel Pharmaceuticals in 1997. He led a technology innovation team during the start-up phase, and Oncology R&D during later expansion of the company through NASDAQ listing. Returning to Norway as a full professor in 2004, his academic lab in Bergen identified the AXL receptor tyrosine kinase as a critical cancer drug target and developed the first clinical AXL targeting agents. He founded BerGenBio ASA in 2007 to translate these results and served as CSO 2008 - 2021. BerGenBio took the first AXL kinase inhibitor (bemcentinib) into the clinic in 2013 and was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2017. Bemcentinib has subsequently been studied in 14 Phase I/II studies spanning both myeloid leukemia and solid tumors, and COVID-19. His academic group also licensed anti-AXL antibodies that formed the basis for further clinical targeting agents now in 3 clinical trials. Prof. Lorens is an experienced educator and frequent invited speaker on innovation. He has served on several government innovation policy boards and is a life science industry consultant and board member. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences.
During his stay, Prof. Lorens will co-host a seminar series on bioentrepreneurship with Dr. Mark LaBarge, Dr. Ginne Xu, and Dr. Graham Cole. Inspired by the SPARK program at Stanford, the goal of this speaker series is to introduce IMGS faculty and students to the process of translating research results into the clinic. Invited experts will discuss different facets of the clinical translational and commercialization process.
Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Prof. Lorens at IMGS.
September 27, 2024
Congratulations Faculty on your Research Awards:
September 4, 2024
Welcome Dr. Rotem Karni - Morgan Chu Visiting Professor
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Rotem Karni, a distinguished researcher from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, will be joining us as the Morgan Chu Visiting Professor from September 3rd to December 22nd, 2024. Dr. Karni's groundbreaking research focuses on the role of alternative splicing and splicing factors in cancer and genetic diseases, with a special emphasis on developing therapeutic strategies to target these processes. His contributions to understanding the dysregulation of splicing as a therapeutic target are truly exceptional. Dr. Karni is co-hosted by Dr. Lili Wang and Dr. Frankie Yang.
Dr. Karni earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and completed his postdoctoral research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Adrian Krainer. He is currently a full Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Hebrew University. Among his many accomplishments are numerous high-impact publications, including in Nature, patents for innovative therapeutic approaches, and successful investments in RNA therapy startups.
Dr. Karni's pioneering work on RNA splicing identified SRSF1 as a proto-oncogene and revealed its role in cancer progression through its effects on splicing targets. His research has paved the way for the development of splice-switching and decoy oligonucleotides that target specific splicing factors, offering new therapeutic possibilities for cancers such as glioblastoma, as well as genetic diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy. His work has also led to patented technologies with promising results in preclinical models and early-stage commercial applications.
We are confident that Dr. Karni's expertise and dedication to unraveling the complexities of RNA splicing will be an inspiration to our students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Dr. Karni at IMGS.
August 19, 2024
On behalf of the GSO’s Curriculum Committee and the graduate student body, we would like to publicly congratulate Dr. Tim Synold who has been voted the 2023-2024 Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Studies Professor of the Year!
The IMGS Professor of the Year Award is awarded to one professor each year and is determined by the first-year students, who select one professor that they believe went the extra mile. This award is a testament to Dr. Synold’s dedication to teaching and his ability to make complex subjects engaging and accessible for students.
Dr. Synold is a renowned clinical and molecular pharmacologist, with over 25 years of experience in chemistry and pharmacology. He serves as the director of the Analytical Pharmacology Laboratory and is also the scientific leader of the COH Phase I Clinical Trial team and the director of Pharmacology for the NCI-supported California Cancer Consortium.
Here are a few words from Dr. Synold: “I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the GSO, Curriculum Committee and the first-year graduate students. It was, in fact, my privilege to have had the opportunity to teach such an exceptional group. The students’ engagement and enthusiasm inspired me to be a better instructor, and I took away from the experience at least as much as I gave in return. My module was translational and patient-focused and was something of a departure from the rest of the course, so I am particularly encouraged that this group appreciated that translational science is at the heart of what we do at the City of Hope. While scientific thought and practice is the educational focus of the Graduate School’s outstanding curriculum, we should never lose sight of why we do what we do.”