Daily Business Report-Aug. 22, 2018
Illustration courtesy of UC San Diego
Bioengineers receive grant for research
on building blocks of human metabolism
The University of California San Diego has received a $12 million, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand the Metabolomics Workbench, a searchable, interactive repository of data for all research in the field of metabolomics—the study of the small molecules called metabolites that are found within cells and biological systems.
The Metabolomics Workbench project, led by bioengineering professor Shankar Subramaniam at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, launched in 2012 with a $6 million grant from the NIH. This new infusion of funds will allow Subramaniam and colleagues to add a wide range of clinical data to the Workbench and take the project into the clinic itself. This in turn will allow researchers and physicians to develop better tools to diagnose diseases through metabolite markers in blood.
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2018 Mid-Year Economic Update
Posted by Alan Nevin on Aug. 13, 2018
I have been accused of reading tea leaves to assist in my forecasting prognostications. Fortunately, the state of the economy is such that by simply using the government’s most mundane data, I can forecast with some degree of certainty the status of the economy through the balance of the year.
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Insurance commissioner approves
first insurtech title insurer
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has approved a license for States Title, the first insurtech title insurer licensed and domiciled in California. States Title is replacing a manual and labor-intensive process of writing title insurance which often involves days of waiting, with an automated data-driven approach, which should lead to reduced wait times, modernized title insurance transactions, increased competition, and reduced costs for home buyers and others in need of title insurance.
“California consumers benefit when new competitors enter our insurance market and they use technology to provide more efficient services at a lower cost,” said Jones.
States Title Insurance Company of California will use data-driven technology to predict the risk and severity of a title defect on a particular property, aiming to deliver title insurance more efficiently and at lower costs.
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Your official state sport, California
Voice of San Diego
Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed into law a bill that decrees surfing is the state of California’s official sport.
In recent years, Brown has also signed bills declaring denim the state’s official fabric, the Augustynolophus morrisi the state’s official dinosaur and not one but four state nuts — the almond, pecan, walnut and pistachio.
It’s not all surfing and walnuts, though.
Among the batch of bills signed by Brown on Monday are a handful from San Diego lawmakers, including a measure by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein that allows for stiffer civil penalties against child sex purchasers and traffickers, and a bill from Assemblywoman Shirley Weber that prevents male prison guards from patting down female inmates and from entering areas where they might be undressed.
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Suffrage Parade and Rally
The Women’s Museum of California will be celebrating Women’s Equality Day, in Balboa Park on Sunday. The public is invited to join in the celebration with the museum’s annual Suffrage Parade and Rally.
Women’s Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on Aug. 26 to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The event starts at 4 p.m. in the lawn area across from the Organ Pavilion. The celebration will start with the Suffrage Rally and reenactments of famous women’s rights activists. Ending with the Suffrage Parade through the Prado and Organ Pavilion areas.
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Personnel Announcements
Ricardo Arias named associate
at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek
The San Diego-based law firm of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek announces that Ricardo Arias has joined the Litigation Department as an associate. Arias, who has worked at the firm since 2013, first as a paralegal then a law clerk, will provide legal services and counsel foreign and domestic companies as they expand their businesses across national boundaries and global markets.
Prior to joining the firm, Arias worked as a law clerk and interpreter with the nonprofit Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. Arias was a certified legal intern for the San Diego County Public Defender Office and worked as a law clerk for the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center in Miami. In these roles, he served on legal teams defending business executives, shareholders and owners in trademark infringement, government investigation and extradition matters.
Arias earned his law degree from California Western School of Law, where he was a member of the Pro Bono Honors Society and Moot Court Honors Board. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Security and Conflict Resolution from San Diego State University, and studied abroad at the European School of Economics in London and Rome where he earned a Certificate in International Finance.
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Susan Nahama promoted to managing
shareholder at Klinedinst PC
Klinedinst PC announced the promotion of Susan Nahama to managing shareholder of Klinedinst’s San Diego office, effective Sept 1. Nahama focuses her practice on professional liability, including the defense of lawyers and accountants in pre-litigation and litigation matters. She also has two decades of experience in general liability, commercial and residential construction, insurance, business disputes, mold-related claims, product liability, and employment matters.
Nahama first joined the firm in 1997 when it had only a single office and roughly a dozen attorneys. She was one of the few women lawyers at the firm, drawn to Klinedinst’s focus on helping business clients while emphasizing the value of balance in work and personal growth.
A San Diego native, Nahama received her undergraduate degree cum laude from the University of California at San Diego in 1992, and her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1995. She joined the firm in 1997, and was elevated to shareholder in 2000.
Nahama has also played important roles in initiatives that have benefitted all of the firm’s locations, from hiring and improved accounting procedures, to the rollout of the firm’s eDiscovery department.