Daily Business Report-June 1, 2017
Assistant Professor Karen Ocorr holds a vial of fruit flies similar to a vial heading to the International Space Station. (Credit: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute)
San Diego Researchers Will Send
Fruit Flies Into Space for Science
Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute will send boxes of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to the International Space Station today to study the impact of weightlessness on the heart. The fruit flies are scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and will travel to the International Space Station via a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Living in zero gravity is known to negatively impact the body’s cardiovascular system. Roughly 75 percent of disease-causing genes in humans are also found in the fruit fly, and most of the components found in human heart cells are also found in the fly heart, thus providing a model for studying cardiovascular changes. A total of 1,800 fruit flies will travel to the International Space Station and reside in space for one month. Both eggs and parents that will lay eggs onboard the space station will be sent, enabling study of flies that have spent their whole life in an almost zero — microgravity —environment. Wild type (“normal”) flies and those that lack an important ion channel, which models a heart disorder, will travel to the space station.
“As interest in space travel grows—for both research and commercial aims—it is increasingly important to understand the effect a microgravity environment can have on the human heart for both the traveler and their potential future children,” said Karen Ocorr, assistant professor of the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. “This experiment will help reveal the short- and long-term effects of space travel on the cardiovascular system, using fruit flies as a model. Once we understand these molecular changes we can work on creating interventions that could help protect the heart in space, and potentially help us treat cardiovascular disorders in humans on Earth as well.”
Once the fruit flies return from the ISS, comprehensive measurements of cardiac function will be taken, including climbing assays to measure skeletal muscle function, heart function assays as well as genetic assays. Generational studies of the offspring of the flies that traveled to space will be conducted, which will help reveal the impact space travel could have for individuals considering having children.
“We know that environmental stress can cause epigenetic changes—modifications to our DNA—that are passed along to future generations,” said Ocorr. “In addition to potential therapeutic value, studying the progeny of these fruit flies will help us better understand the effects space travel could have on our children or grandchildren.”
A preliminary experiment was competitively selected for launch to the space station by the Space Florida International Space Station Research Competition and was supported by NanoRacks, and the Center for Advancement of Science in Space. The current mission is funded by a research grant from NASA to Rolf Bodmer and Karen Ocorr, professors at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Sharmila Battacharya, from the NASA-Ames Research Center.
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California’s Stem Cell Agency
Confronts an Uncertain Future
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) as the agency is formally known, expects to run out of cash for new awards in just three years, which is a blink of an eye in biotech research. Since the agency’s inception, it has spent money at the rate of $22,000 an hour. But it has yet to finance a stem cell therapy that is available to the general public. Nonetheless, there is talk of a new, $5 billion stem cell bond measure on the November 2018 ballot.
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Vista Apartments Sold for $8.93 Million
Eric Kramer, a privae investor and owner of Structure Property Management Group, has acquired the Vista Hills Apartments in Vista for $8.93 million. The 42-unit multifamily complex is located at 128 Hill Drive. The seller was Vista Hills Apartments LLC, a San Diego-based investor with Sam Williams as the managing member.
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Port’s Harbor Police Dept.
Names Officer of the Year
Corporal Mike Whittaker has been named the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department’s 2016 Officer of the Year. The annual award recognizes individuals for exceptional service, teamwork and initiative and is among the highest honors bestowed by the Harbor Police Department, which protects and oversees the safety of our San Diego Bay waterfront.
Corporal Whittaker is a 20-year Harbor Police veteran. During 2016, he was assigned to patrol while also serving as a field training officer, and as an acting supervisor on a regular basis. In spite of all of his duties and responsibilities, Corporal Whittaker managed to make 81 arrests and played a crucial role in several significant arrests.
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BLT Enterprises Acquires
Industrial Building for $8.9 Million
BLT Enterprises, a commercial real estate investment company, has acquired a 71,862-square-foot, two-story flex industrial building in Kearny Mesa for $8.9 million.
Constructed in 1981, the property was originally a 52,000-square-foot R&D/flex building. In the late 1980s, it was expanded into a two-story office building, adding an additional 20,000 square feet to the property.
“We plan to remove this additional 20,000 square feet of added mezzanine and return the property to its original 52,000 square-foot size,” said Bernard Huberman, founder and president of BLT Enterprises. “The addition of the office space resulted in a 3/1,000 parking ratio, which made it severely under parked. By removing this section, we are able to increase the parking ratio to 4.25/1,000, which will improve the property’s functionality and appeal in the market.”
In addition to removing the mezzanine, BLT Enterprises also plans to integrate a series of improvements that will modernize the property. This includes redone exteriors, new mechanical systems, and employee amenities.
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Personnel Announcements
Emilio Nares Foundation Adds Executives
The Emilio Nares Foundation, a nonprofit that helps families with children suffering from cancer, has named Karen Terra as its new executive director and Renee Conrad as as new director of development.
Richard Nares, the previous executive director, will assume the role of lead visionary, allowing more time for outreach for the foundation’s programs.
Terra has been a foundation board member for the past nine years. She has 23 years of nonprofit experience in strategic planning and implementation, working with boards, managing and developing
staff and fundraising for several San Diego nonprofits including, most recently, Special Olympics San Diego County.
Conrad brings more than a decade of experience fundraising for children’s programs through collaboration with individuals, foundations, government agencies and nonprofit partners. She has led fundraising programs for The Grauer School, an independent college preparatory school in Encinitas; The Parkside School, an elementary school serving students with special needs in New York City; and the EastLake Educational Foundation in Chula Vista, which supports technology enhancements for six public schools in the EastLake area.
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Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa Gets New General Manager
Pacific Hospitality Group announces the appointment of Mairead Hennessy to the position of general manager at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa. Hennessy will be responsible for managing the hotel’s day-to-day operations, overseeing all aspects of the 10-acre property, including everything from sales and marketing to food and beverage, while also maximizing revenue and maintaining focus on strategic goals.
A veteran hospitality executive with more than 20 years of experience, Hennessy joins Estancia La Jolla from Aramark Parks and Destinations where she oversaw the Northern California Leisure Division as district manager leading UCSF Mission Bay and Hearst Castle as well as the general manager of the historic Asilomar Conference Center. Previously, Hennessy spent more than 20 years with the Hyatt organization holding several executive leadership positions, including general manager at the Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh, senior director of food and beverage at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego and Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa.
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Sunrise Management Names New
Director of Small Property Operations
San Diego-based Sunrise Management has named Phil Smith its new director of small property operations. Smith will lead a team overseeing Sunrise’s small properties division, encompassing a portfolio of 81 single and multifamily properties totaling 688 units throughout Southern California. Additionally, he will concentrate on expanding the division comprised of communities with fewer than 22 units.
Prior to joining Sunrise, Smith was a regional property manager for R & F Property Management, where he oversaw a portfolio of 300 units within 20 communities — developing and implementing new operational policies for rent collection, leasing and marketing, tenant screening, maintenance and daily operations. He was previously with Sunrise for six years, working as multi-site property manager, building occupancy rates and decreasing resident turnover.
