Daily Business Report-April 17, 2018
The new research will be led by Christopher Rader (left) with Hans Renata (right) and William Roush (not pictured). (Photo by Scott Wiseman)
Cancer Researchers Receive More than $2 Million
to Eradicate Common Form of Leukemia
Christopher Rader, associate professor at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute, has been awarded a $2.875 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop unique antibody-drug conjugates engineered to eradicate one of the most common forms of leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
“We want to attack the cancer without harming healthy cells and tissues,” Rader says. “To do this, we attach a highly potent drug to an antibody and then use the antibody to lead the drug payload to the cellular target.”
Doctors diagnose more than 20,000 people a year in the United States with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The blood cancer originates in a type of white blood cells called lymphocytes, born in bone marrow. As the condition worsens over time, the cancerous cells accumulate, crowding out healthy blood cells. When they move into the blood stream, the malignant cells can spread to other organs and disrupt their healthy function. The illness can cause fatigue, fever and infections, swelling of the lymph nodes and weight loss. More than 4,500 people die each year of CLL in the United States.
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UC San Diego, Korea and Partners Team Up
to Develop Clean Transportation Systems
UC San Diego has launched an international research collaboration to develop smart and clean transportation systems and infrastructure, with an added goal of commercializing the results.
In partnership with the City of San Diego, the City of Ulsan in Korea and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), along with numerous industry partners, the UC San Diego Smart Transportation Innovation Program will develop technological solutions to tomorrow’s transportation challenges. “We aim to make San Diego and Ulsan leaders in smart and green transportation solutions,” said electrical engineering professor Sujit Dey, director of the Smart Transportation Innovation Program. The City of Ulsan is the hub of both Hyundai and Kia Motors, and the largest manufacturing city in Korea.
“I am confident that the Smart Transportation Innovation Program will accelerate our global collaborations to bring the results of our exciting research and development advancements to our respective communities,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla. “I hope this will lead to safer roads with less accidents, better productivity and quality of life, and sustainable transportation.”
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Port Approves Costa Vista RV
Project for Chula Vista Bayfront
The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has approved a new RV park for the Chula Vista Bayfront.
The board granted concept approval for the Costa Vista RV Resort project proposed by Sun Communities Inc. and authorized issuance of a Coastal Development Permit, pending satisfaction of certain conditions. Depending on various factors, construction could start as early as this summer and the RV park could open as early as late 2019.
After a public competitive process, the board selected Sun Communities & Northgate Resorts LLC, together referred to as Sun, to develop and operate an RV park in the northern Sweetwater District of the Chula Vista Bayfront. The scenic site is located at E Street and Bay Boulevard near the Living Coast Discovery Center, the Sweetwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Bayshore Bikeway.
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Poll Workers Needed for June 5
Gubernatorial Primary Election
Poll workers, especially those who are bilingual in any one of six specific languages, are needed for the June 5 Gubernatorial Primary Election. The Registrar’s office is required by federal law to provide bilingual speakers and voting materials to voters who speak Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese. In addition, a survey conducted by the University of California, Berkeley showed a need for speakers of Arabic and Korean at just under 90 precincts across the county so the Registrar’s office is also recruiting poll workers who are bilingual in those languages.
To become a poll worker, applicants must be a U.S citizen and registered to vote in California, or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States. Poll workers must have transportation to their assigned polling location, access to the internet to take an online training and attend a two-hour class in person.
Poll workers receive a stipend ranging from $100 to $175 depending on the assignment, and those who are bilingual receive an additional $15 if they are assigned to provide language assistance to voters.
Apply online at sdvote.com. For more information, call (858) 565-5800 or email pollworker@sdcounty.ca.gov.
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San Diego Continuing Education
Awards $200,000 in Scholarships
San Diego Continuing Education, the adult education division of the San Diego Community College District, recognize 122 career and college bound students at its 10th annual “Stars on the Rise” Scholarship and Awards Ceremony Monday at the Jacobs Center.
More than $200,000 in scholarships and awards were given to students who plan to transition to career or college following their studies at Continuing Education based on academic merit, leadership and service to the community. Scholarships and awards range from $100-$4,000 to fund full tuition and/or pay enrollment fees toward colleg
Four students will receive the SDCCD Board of Trustees $2,000 Scholarship by the Christensen Foundation including adult students Kathryn Nelson and Cassandra Tomsha. Nelson will use the award at San Diego Mesa College where she is working toward an Associate degree in multimedia that will put her in reach of a professional position with a broadcast organization such as Netflix, Hulu or sports teams such as the San Diego Padres or Gulls. Tomsha will use her award to transition into San Diego City College, where she will work toward a degree for transfer to San Diego State University.
Fifty scholars will benefit from the San Diego Promise Scholarship, which provides two years of paid fees at San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar colleges for first-time, full-time students.
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BLT Enterprises Finishes Upgrade
on Kearny Mesa Office Building
BLT Enterprises, a commercial real estate development and investment company, has completed renovations of a 77,000 square-foot, two-story office building in Kearny Mesa, which the company acquired in May 2017.
The renovations converted the building back to its original 54,000-square-foot size by removing the dated addition of a second-story office space constructed in the late 1980s, according to Bernard Huberman, founder and President of BLT Enterprises.
“The 1980s renovations converted the property into a two-story building. The move to add the second floor was clearly detrimental to its design and use,” says Huberman. “With the added second floor, the property was severely under parked. By restoring the property back to its original size and as a single-story R&D/Flex building, we were able to transform the asset into a highly desirable open space facility, and significantly enhance the parking ratio to 4/1,000.”
Additionally, BLT integrated a series of improvements to modernize the property and attract a quality tenant, Huberman said.
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Five-Year, $15 Million Grant Supports
Continued Study of HIV/AIDS at UC San Diego
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded a five-year, $15 million grant to the San Diego Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) at UC San Diego, renewing support that extends back to an original establishing grant in 1994 — the height of the AIDS epidemic.
“The grant renewal represents NIAID’s continued and enduring investment in our mission to be a critical regional resource in HIV research and education, to advance the discovery and development of new treatments and ultimately, to find a cure for AIDS,” said Davey Smith, the grant’s principal investigator and new director of CFAR.
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Cal State San Marcos Going High-Tech
to Bolster Tobacco-Free Campus Policy
Cal State San Marcos is going high-tech in an effort to bolster enforcement of its recently implemented smoke- and tobacco-free campus policy.
The new endeavor will utilize a cellphone-friendly tracking app to scan QR codes placed on existing signage throughout the 304-acre campus. Students, faculty and staff can scan the QR code when they see tobacco litter or someone using tobacco, and a geographic information system (GIS) framework will gather, manage and analyze data that could inform policymaking and enforcement decisions.
The project is funded through a $400,000 grant from the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program at the University of California, and it will be managed through a partnership involving CSUSM, UC Davis and the California Youth Advocacy Network. The point person at CSUSM is Dr. Kim Pulvers, who has been conducting tobacco-control research for 15 years and is a leader on the CSUSM Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus Task Force. Plans call for the university to form focus groups for feedback on the new grant-funded campaign and tracking tool prototypes in the fall. Implementation is expected in January 2019 in conjunction with a promotional campaign to raise awareness of the negative environmental consequences of tobacco waste on campus.
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5th Annual Yoga on the Midway May 5
Yoga lovers of all skill levels are invited to participate in the 5th annual Yoga on the Midway presented by Scripps Health and the Downtown San Diego Partnership. The free event will be held on May 5 on the flight deck of the USS Midway, 910 N. Harbor Drive, in San Diego’s Embarcadero.
Participants can register on site, beginning at 7 am or in advance here
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Personnel Announcements
Faisel Khan Joins Sempra Energy
has joined Sempra Energy as vice president of investor relations. Khan succeeds Richard A. Vaccari, who retired last month after a 35-year career, the past 15 years with Sempra Energy.
Khan previously was a managing director for Citigroup in New York, covering the natural gas, pipeline, midstream, refining and master limited partnership industries. Khan, who has worked for Citigroup since 2005, has been ranked as one of the top financial analysts in the natural gas sector for the past 11 years by Institutional Investor Survey.
Prior to joining Citigroup in 2005, Khan worked for six years at Credit Suisse First Boston, first in investment banking and, later, as an equity research analyst following the integrated pipeline, merchant power and gas distribution industries.
Khan, 42, holds bachelor’s degrees in engineering and economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Brent Hughes Promoted to VP of Operations
Brent Hughes has been promoted to vice president of operations at C.W. Driver Companies. In his new capacity, he will oversee projects in the retail, commercial, office, hospitality and gaming, mixed-use and entertainment industries in addition to spearheading signature projects across California. He also will provide leadership and guidance for project teams to ensure they are equipped with the resources needed to see projects through from construction to completion.
Hughes has more than 20 years of construction experience, with projects spanning commercial, offices, resorts, casinos, hotels, parking structures and more. He has served as a team member of notable company projects including Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians’ new casino and resort; Hollywood Casino Jamul; Hillsdale Shopping Center, North Block Redevelopment and multiple projects for Qualcomm.
Hughes boasts a host of industry recognitions including the Builder’s Choice Merit Award for 16th & Market Workforce Apartments; DBIA’s National Design-Build Excellence Award for Quechan Casino Resort; and the Structural Engineers Association of San Diego’s Landmark Structures Excellence Award for Qualcomm’s world headquarters.
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Lilia Larin Appointed to Dental Board of California
Lilia Larin, 60, of Chula Vista, has been appointed to the Dental Board of California by Gov. Jerry Brown. Larin has been owner at Lilia Larin DDS Inc. in San Diego since 1992. She was owner at Lilia Larin DDS Inc. in San Diego from 1995 to 2007, an associate at Professional Dental Services from 1989 to 1992 and a registered dental assistant at Mission Valley Dental Group from 1984 to 1989. Larin is a member of the California Dental Association, San Diego County Dental Society, Hispanic Dental Association, American Dental Association, San Diego County Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, American Association for Women Dentists, American College of Dentistry, MANA de San Diego and Damas Latinas de San Diego. She earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Larin is a Democrat.
