Daily Business Report-Jan. 24, 2017
Milk for newborns research at UC San Diego. (Photo by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Publications)
Unraveling the Mystery of Mother’s Milk
$10.5 Million Gift funds center for
human milk research at UC San Diego
By Kristin Schafgans | UC San Diego News Center
Breast milk is known to provide the best source of nutrition for newborns and infants, and for premature babies, it can be lifesaving. Yet much about the composition of human milk and what makes it so beneficial is still a mystery.
To help scientists bridge this knowledge gap, the Switzerland-based Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation has made a $10.5 million gift to UC San Diego, home to one of the world’s only centers dedicated to human milk research.
The gift provides seed funding for the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence (LRF MoMI CoRE) at UC San Diego, a new initiative to provide further evidence-based understanding of how genetic and environmental factors affect milk composition, and how human milk affects health across the lifespan—knowledge that will help guide clinical practice and education for optimal health, growth and development in babies.
The San Diego-based center will serve as an international hub for human milk and lactation research. In addition to leveraging UC San Diego’s strengths across disciplines—including developmental biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, nutritional sciences, biomedical technology, medicine and social sciences and education—the center will work closely with national and international partners. Collaborative studies will address how environmental variables such as diet, stress and exercise impact milk production; how maternal genetics affect milk composition; how milk components promote infant development and disease prevention; and how the benefits of breastfeeding extend to the lactating mother.
“In order to gain valuable insights and correlations about the topic, we have to ensure that the full spectrum of research disciplines is covered,” said Michael Larsson, president of the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation’s board. “UC San Diego has an already established strong research focus on human milk and shares our vision to intensify a multidisciplinary approach to the field for the benefit of infants and mothers worldwide.”
The Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation’s gift includes seed funding for the center, an endowed faculty chair in collaborative human milk research to ensure continued leadership of the center, as well as a collaboration and fellow fund to seed and promote collaborative studies either within UC San Diego or with external researchers and to attract new talent to the field. The center will accept further gifts and endowments, which will allow it to grow over time.
Lars Bode, associate professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine, has been named the center’s director.
“Our mission is to unravel the complexity of human milk for optimal infant health by promoting excellence, synergy and innovation in research, clinical practice and education,” said Bode. “The partnership with the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation will allow us to build a model of innovative multidisciplinary research primed to redefine human milk at the interface of maternal and infant health.”
Katharina Lichtner, managing director of the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation added, “We want to bring together the world’s leading-edge researchers to bridge the gap between bench-side research and bedside care. With MoMI CoRE, we are laying the foundation for a global network of excellence in human milk research.”
Based in Zug, Switzerland, the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation is an independent charitable organization that promotes research in human milk and lactation. The gift to UC San Diego follows the foundation’s endowment of two professorships in this field at the University of Western Australia and the University of Zurich.
For more information about the Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence at UC San Diego, including opportunities to support human milk research, visit www.milk.ucsd.edu.
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$1 Billion Development
Proposed for Qualcomm Site
Ten days after the Chargers relocated to Los Angeles, investors have proposed a $200 million soccer stadium as part of a $1 billion redevelopment of the Qualcomm Stadium property. The group hopes to build and open it by 2020. San Diego Union-Tribune
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Northrop Grumman Sponsors UAS Challenge
To Inspire Young Engineers of the Future
Northrop Grumman Corporation is sponsoring, for the third consecutive year, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ annual Unmanned Aircraft Systems Challenge as part of the company’s global commitment to encourage innovative thinking in engineering and technology, and inspire young engineers of the future.
Student engineers from twenty-two universities across the UK and overseas have signed-up as participants in the competition.
The teams are required to undertake the full design and build of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and to demonstrate its operation in a humanitarian supply mission scenario. The aircraft will be required to operate remotely, performing a series of tasks such as area search, navigating waypoints, accurately dropping a payload and returning to base via a defined route. Additionally, the teams are tested on the commercial viability of their solutions throughout the competition. The competition will see these young engineers taking on other teams in a live ‘fly-off’ final, where they will be challenged to transport an aid package as rapidly and accurately as possible.
“Unmanned aircraft systems have been transformational in the past decade and now have a wide range of proven applications not just in defence but also in civil missions such as environmental monitoring, humanitarian relief, search and rescue, and disaster relief operations,” said Andrew Tyler, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Europe. “This competition provides an opportunity for students to broaden their understanding of UAS technologies and learn practical aerospace engineering skills which we hope will help to encourage them to pursue careers in engineering.”
Northrop Grumman is committed to building partnerships with education and to supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes at schools and universities. The company participates in a number of educational programs in countries around the world that are aimed at promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide.
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La Valencia Hotel Approved for
Induction in Historic Hotels Worldwide
La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla is one of 44 historic hotels from around the world that have been approved for induction into the Historic Hotels Worldwide registry, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
“These 44 historic hotels represent some of the finest historic hotels globally and demonstrate the tremendous stewardship by their owners, leadership, and employees in preserving these wonderful historic treasures,” said Lawrence Horwitz, executive director of Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “Many are tremendous architectural and heritage landmarks. Each is ideal for a romantic special occasion. Every day is Valentine’s Day at these iconic historic hotels.”
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College District Spring Offerings
Include 400 Academic Programs
More classes and approximately 400 academic programs await San Diego Community College students when the 2017 spring semester opens Jan. 30. A total of 142 additional classes more than last spring, an increase of 2 percent, are on tap at San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar Colleges, and 20 percent of all offerings at the district’s three colleges will be available online. San Diego Continuing Education, meanwhile, is expanding services to youth who are neither in school nor working.
Among the highlights is City College’s new Manicuring Program, which has been approved by the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology in Sacramento and is aimed at preparing students to pass the State Board Exam and receive their Manicuring License. The first session begins March 13.
San Diego Continuing Education is expanding services to “disconnected youth” — those between the ages of 18 and 24 who are neither in school nor working — through the new San Diego Gateway to College and Career program. The new program includes paid internships, counseling, coaching, mentoring, job searches, community service opportunities, and more.
The spring semester runs through May 27 for the colleges and June 8 for Continuing Education.
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Personnel Announcements
Matthew Douglas Joins Seltzer Caplan as Associate
Matthew C. Douglas has joined the San Diego-based law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek as an associate. Douglas joins the firm’s business department, and his practice will focus on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, compliance with securities laws and general business matters.
Prior to joining SCMV, Douglas was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Los Angeles. Early in his career, Douglas also practiced business law in Sacramento.
Douglas received his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and holds an LL.M. in business and international law from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University.
