Etcetera

Jin-Quan Yu Awarded 2011 Yoshimasa Hirata Gold Medal
Scripps Research Institute Professor Jin-Quan Yu was awarded the Seventh Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lectureship, Gold Medal from Japan's Nagoya University. The medal's namesake was a founding figure of post-war Japanese natural products chemistry.

A previous winner, Scripps Research scientist Phil Baran, was presented the Third Yoshimasa Hirata Memorial Lectureship in 2007.

Las Patronas Grant Benefits Scripps Research Work in Breast Cancer Research
A grant of nearly $20,000 from the San Diego philanthropic organization Las Patronas will help advance breast cancer research at Scripps Research.

"This is a wonderful award," said Associate Professor Brunhilde Felding-Habermann. "We are very grateful for Las Patronas's support."

The grant will fund additional specialized equipment for Felding-Habermann's laboratory. Her group's research focuses on uncovering the mechanisms by which breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, particularly the brain. Specifically, the grant will enable the lab to purchase a high-resolution respirometer to investigate particular metabolic activities in tumor cells. The team recently identified these activities as critical for the metastasis (spread) of breast cancer.

"The high sensitivity of the instrument will allow us to analyze breast cancer patient tissues and establish the clinical relevance of our findings," said Felding-Habermann. "Importantly, the instrument will help us to assess effects of new metastasis-directed treatments we are developing."