Beckman Research Institute
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The Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope (BRI) is a
not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...
medical research facility located at and partnering with the
City of Hope National Medical Center City of Hope is a private, non-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate school located in Duarte, California, United States. The center's main campus resides on of land adjacent to the boundaries of Duarte and Irwindale, California ...
in
Duarte, California Duarte () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 21,727. It is bounded to the north by the San Gabriel Mountains, to the north and west by the cities ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is dedicated to studying normal and abnormal biological processes which may be related to
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
,
diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
,
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
and other life-threatening diseases. Both basic and clinical research are carried out in cooperation with the
City of Hope National Medical Center City of Hope is a private, non-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate school located in Duarte, California, United States. The center's main campus resides on of land adjacent to the boundaries of Duarte and Irwindale, California ...
. The institute itself is organized into more than 20 departments and divisions. As of 2021, the director is Steven T. Rosen. The Beckman Research Institute also hosts the
Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences The Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences (formerly the City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences) is a graduate school for biology in the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. Program The Ire ...
whose founding dean was Arthur Riggs.


History

City of Hope was founded by the Jewish Consumptive Relief Association as a
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...
, the Los Angeles Sanatorium, in 1913. As tuberculosis was increasingly controlled by use of antibiotics, executive director Samuel H. Golter proposed that the institution expand to become a national medical center studying other diseases. City of Hope's Cancer Research Institute was dedicated in 1952. Since then, the research scope has continued to expand, with cancer and diabetes as major foci, as well as other life-threatening diseases. In 1983, a major challenge grant of $10 million from the
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Arnold Orville Beckman (April 10, 1900 – May 18, 2004) was an American chemist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist. While a professor at California Institute of Technology, he founded Beckman Instruments based on his 1934 invention of ...
enabled the research division of the City of Hope to undergo significant expansion and officially create the Beckman Research Institute. Funds were available for buildings, equipment, and endowment, but had to support research and the advancement of knowledge related to the "causes, prevention, and cure of human disease". The Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope was the first of five Beckman research institutes to receive funding in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Directors

* Joseph T. Holden (1983–1993) * John Steven Kovach (1993–2000) * Arthur Riggs (2000–2007) * Richard Jove (2008–2012) * David Horne, (2012–2014, interim director) * Steven T. Rosen (2014–)


Research contributions

Research and treatment are closely coordinated between the City of Hope National Medical Center and the Beckman Research Institute. As of 2019, over 300 clinical trials were being conducted at any one time, and at least one-third of eligible patients were enrolled in clinical trials. A number of significant achievements have been reported by researchers affiliated with the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope. These include:


Diabetes

Researchers associated with the Beckman Research Institute are credited with starting the
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
industry.
Keiichi Itakura is an organic chemist and a Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope National Medical Center. Biography Itakura was born in Tokyo, Japan on February 18, 1942. He obtained a P ...
and Arthur Riggs, with
Genentech Genentech, Inc. is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It operates as an independent subsidiary of holding company Roche. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent cent ...
scientist
Herbert Boyer Herbert Wayne "Herb" Boyer (born July 10, 1936) is an American biotechnologist, researcher and entrepreneur in biotechnology. Along with Stanley N. Cohen and Paul Berg, he discovered recombinant DNA, a method to coax bacteria into producing for ...
, were the first to develop human recombinant gene products. Their techniques were used to successfully create synthetic
somatostatin Somatostatin, also known as growth hormone-inhibiting hormone (GHIH) or by #Nomenclature, several other names, is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G ...
in ''
E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...
'', the first expression of a human protein in bacteria, in 1977. The techniques and tools of genetic synthesis were standardizable and applicable to many similar problems. The group successfully reported the expression of human
insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...
in bacteria by 1978. Barry Forman identified the first new steroid-like hormone in 30 years, androstanol, a hormone with a different mechanism of action from others, that may be useful in treatment of diabetes. Fouad Kandeel leads clinical trials testing the use of islet transplantation to treat patients who are incapacitated by severe type 1 diabetes. Bart Roep leads immune intervention strategies (including gene therapy, stem cell therapy and bone marrow transportation) with the ultimate goal to cure type 1 diabetes.


Cancer

Arthur Riggs went on to work with Shmuel Cabilly on "fundamental technology required for the artificial synthesis of antibody molecules", since used to create "smart" cancer drugs. Riggs has been associated with the institute in several ways, including as director of the Beckman Research Institute from 2000 to 2007, now director emeritus. Gerd Pfeifer was able to prove a definitive link between smoking and lung cancer, by demonstrating genetic damage in lung cells, caused by a chemical in cigarette smoke. The Beckman Research Institute has partnered with the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation in the Health of Women Study (HOW), a long-term
cohort study A cohort study is a particular form of longitudinal study that samples a Cohort (statistics), cohort (a group of people who share a defining characteristic, typically those who experienced a common event in a selected period, such as birth or gra ...
tracking the health of women via online and mobile platforms. It will study both women who have and who do not have breast cancer. The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation hopes to recruit one million women volunteers to become part of its participating "Army of Women". Hua Eleanor Yu and her group are studying the involvement of
STAT3 Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor which in humans is encoded by the ''STAT3'' gene. It is a member of the STAT protein family. Function STAT3 is a member of the STAT protein family. In respon ...
with cancer cells and the immune system, and developing possible drug treatments to attack tumor cells.


HIV/AIDS

John Rossi has worked on treatments for AIDS-related lymphoma, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer. He was the first researcher to use RNA to block the progress of the virus that causes HIV/AIDS by degrading the HIV virus within infected cells. He is involved in ongoing work with David DiGiusto and others to develop disease-resistant immune systems by transplanting gene-modified HIV-1-resistant stem and progenitor cells. With John Zaia and others, Rossi has worked on Lentiviral vectors for delivering RNA-based gene therapy. This approach combines stem cell and gene therapy to deliver RNA molecules that can block the genes that the HIV/AIDS virus uses to infect immune cells. John Zaia is also investigating the possibility that cancer chemotherapy can perturb reservoirs of HIV, which has relevance to therapeutic interventions to cure HIV.


Recognition

,
CharityWatch CharityWatch, known until 2012 as the American Institute of Philanthropy, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, Illinois, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial effi ...
rated the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope as an "A−" grade charity.Charity Rating Guide and Watchdog Report, Volume Number 59, December 2011


See also

*
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology is a unit of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dedicated to interdisciplinary research. A gift from scientist, businessman, and philanthropist Arnold O. Beckman (1900–2004) and ...
at the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
*
Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences The Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences (formerly the City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences) is a graduate school for biology in the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. Program The Ire ...
at
City of Hope National Medical Center City of Hope is a private, non-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate school located in Duarte, California, United States. The center's main campus resides on of land adjacent to the boundaries of Duarte and Irwindale, California ...


References

{{authority control Cancer organizations based in the United States Medical research institutes in California City of Hope National Medical Center