Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute

Founded in 1976, Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute (SB) is a world-renowned research organization dedicated to understanding the basic mechanisms of disease and devising new treatments for devastating illnesses. SB’s mission is to create knowledge that will lead to the prevention and cure of human diseases through cutting-edge scientific research.

SB is home to more than 1,300 scientists and staff members who work on three campuses in La Jolla, California, Orlando, Florida and Lake Nona Medical City near Orlando. The institute’s annual budget exceeds $200 million, with over $130 million coming from federal grants and contracts. SB has been ranked among the top 10% of all U.S. biomedical research institutes for NIH funding since 2004.

The institute’s scientific programs are organized into six themes: Cancer, Immunity & Inflammation, Neurobiology & Neurological Disorders, Metabolism & Diabetes, Infectious Disease & Vaccines, and Children’s Health & Development. Each theme includes multiple disease focus areas directed by SB scientific leadership.

Cancer research at SB focuses on identifying cancer causes; developing new ways to prevent cancer; improving early detection methods; and discovering novel therapeutics that can improve patient outcomes. The immunity & inflammation program seeks to understand how the body defends itself against infection and chronic diseases such as allergies, arthritis and cancer; while the neurobiology program investigates nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and epilepsy.

The metabolism & diabetes program studies obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes; while the infectious disease program focuses on developing vaccines and therapeutics against global pathogens such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), influenza and malaria. The children’s health program works to identify the underlying causes of birth defects and childhood diseases such as pediatric cancers, congenital heart defects and neurodevelopmental disorders.

SB has made many important contributions to medical science over the years. Some notable examples include:

– The discovery of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a key protein in fighting cancer cells

– Identification of genetic mutations that cause familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), a rare inherited condition that predisposes carriers to develop colorectal cancer

– Development of dasatinib (Sprycel®), a drug used to treat leukemia

– Discovery that certain types of immune cells called “regulatory T cells” can be harnessed to fight autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS)

– Identification of genes associated with risk for ASD