Year: 2014

2014: A Year in Review for the Michelson Prize & Grants

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As 2014 winds down, we at the Gary Michelson Prize & Grants program would like to take some time to reflect on all of the work that our applicants, grantees, board members, and program staff have carried out over the past year.

The MPG program had two milestone achievements in 2014: we received our 300th letter of intent and 100th grant proposal! Our Scientific Advisory Board voted to approve 3 new projects, the details of which will be announced in new blogs as soon as those projects are ready to begin. We will start the New Year having committed over $14 million to more than 30 approved projects worldwide.

Welcoming New Members to our Scientific Advisory Board

Members of our Scientific Advisory Board review all of the LOIs and proposals that we receive, so you can imagine how busy our advisors were this year! We were also excited to welcome the following 5 new advisors to our board:

  • Margaret Barr, DVM, PhD, a Professor of Virology and Immunology at the Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine;
  • Thomas Conlon, PhD, an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center Toxicology Core at the University of Florida;
  • Kevin Morris, PhD, a Research Scholar in Residence at the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver;
  • Amy Ross, PhD, the President of the Board of Governors of the University of Southern California Alumni Association; and
  • Marcel Van Duin, PhD, Senior Director, Reproductive Health Research at Ferring Research Institute.

You can read more about all of the advisors on our board by visiting our Scientific Advisory Board.

Our advisors also accompany program staff on site visits during the first year of every Michelson Grant-funded project. This year, advisors traveled all over the world to perform site visits with grantees in The Netherlands, Scotland, Canada, and the US.

Gary Michelson Grant Funded Projects

Our grantees have been keeping themselves quite busy as well! In May we hosted our 3rd Michelson Grantee Meeting, which brought together investigators from all over the world, Scientific Advisory Board members, and program staff during a full-day meeting consisting of plenary and small group sessions. We are always impressed by our investigators’ passion for the projects that they are working on and by the expertise and advice that they share with other Michelson grantees at these meetings. We are grateful to have been hosted by the innovative group at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, CA for this meeting and were graciously treated to an informative tour of their impressive facilities after our meeting concluded.

Five Michelson Grant-funded projects led by the following investigators were completed in 2014:

  • Meenakshi Alreja, PhD, at Yale University;
  • Cristina Gobello, MV, DVM, DECAR, at the National University of La Plata;
  • Tatiana Samoylova, PhD, at Auburn University;
  • Auke Schaefers-Okkens, DVM, PhD, at Utrecht University; and
  • Kent Van Kampen, DVM, PhD, at Vaxin Inc.

Visit our Research Findings page to learn more about the important contributions that these projects have made in the field of nonsurgical sterilization.

Michelson Prize & Grants Yearly Overview

The new and improved Michelson Prize & Grants website launched on February 25th – the 20th anniversary of World Spay Day – and we couldn’t be happier with our updated look! We hope that you have been enjoying the new Blog and FAQ features and improved navigation and presentation of our website.

The MPG program sponsored exhibit booths at 8 conferences this year including annual meetings of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, the Society for the Study of Reproduction, and the Society for Neuroscience. We were also incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel internationally to attend the 11th International Symposium on GnRH in Salzburg, Austria and the World Congress of Reproductive Biology in Edinburgh, Scotland. Meetings like these provide important opportunities for our program staff to meet researchers working in fields that are relevant to our mission and to inform potential applicants about our international research grants. In fact, many of the people that we’ve met at conferences like these have gone on to become Michelson grantees and members of our Scientific Advisory Board!

Every year our grantees, scientific advisors, and program staff work together to make great strides in the field of nonsurgical sterilization in our shared effort to end the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable companion animals in shelters. We are looking forward to everything that 2015 has in store for us, including more Scientific Advisory Board meetings to review new grant proposals, a summer grantee meeting, site visits for newly funded projects, and conference exhibit opportunities.

Many thanks to Dr. Gary Michelson and his wife Alya Michelson, whose generous contributions have made possible all of the MPG program’s accomplishments so far, and all of those yet to come.

We wish you and yours a safe and happy New Year!

Three New Members Join the MPG Scientific Advisory Board

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The Scientific Advisory Board of the Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology has gained three new members: Drs. Thomas Conlon, Kevin Morris, and Marcel Van Duin.

Thomas Conlon, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and the Director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center Toxicology Core at the University of Florida. As the Director of the Toxicology Core, Dr. Conlon facilitates efficient, cost-effective, and rigorous preclinical testing of gene therapy vectors, with a special emphasis on recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors. Dr. Conlon has also collaborated with the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine to identify and treat two types of cardiac problems experienced in dogs.

Kevin Morris, PhD, has been actively involved in cancer research in both academic and biotechnology environments for over 20 years. He has served as the Principal Investigator on a wide range of studies in animal sheltering, pet overpopulation, and the field of human-animal interaction. Dr. Morris is currently serving as the Co-Principal Investigator on the American Humane Association’s Canines and Childhood Cancer Study and is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D).

Marcel Van Duin, PhD, is the Senior Director, Therapeutic Area Head Reproductive Health Research at the Ferring Research Institute in San Diego, CA. Dr. Van Duin has over 25 years’ experience in various leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including as the Head of Pharmacology at Organon Research in Newhouse, Scotland, where he was responsible for all pharmacological research in the areas of reproductive biology, oncology, immunology, and toxicology, as well as the animal research facilities.

Says Dr. Gary Michelson, the founder of the Found Animals Foundation, “I am delighted to welcome Drs. Conlon, Morris and Van Duin to the Scientific Advisory Board. Their expertise in gene therapy, molecular biology and reproductive biology strengthen our Board.”

These newest members join nineteen other elite experts in the fields of reproductive biology, neuroscience, veterinary medicine, immunology, and toxicology on the Scientific Advisory Board. As a group, they review grant proposals and guide the Michelson Prize & Grants program toward our goal of finding a nonsurgical sterilant for use in male and female cats and dogs.

We are very excited to welcome these new board members to the fold and look forward to the exciting new projects that the Board will be reviewing in 2015!

USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience Breaks Ground

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A new era in medical research began in October, as the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience broke ground on the University Park Campus of the University of Southern California (USC).

The new building, made possible by a $50 million gift from Dr. Gary Michelson, the founder of the Found Animals Foundation, and his wife Alya Michelson, will add 190,000 square feet to the campus and will accommodate about 25 to 30 investigators working in collaborative, shared lab spaces. In addition to the flexible labs, the building will also hold a Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis, a nanofabrication facility, and a suite of microscopy imaging technology – all to be outfitted with top-of-line tools and equipment. The Center is expected to be completed in 2017.

The creation of the USC Michelson Center marks a new collaboration between the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Says Dr. Michelson, “USC is well-known for producing entrepreneurs in a wide array of disciplines, and the USC Michelson Center will now help leverage the university’s network of scientists and engineers to tackle challenges in health, biomedicine, and many related fields.” Further, Dr. Michelson predicted that the Los Angeles area will soon become an epicenter for biomedical research.

The Michelson Prize & Grants team is especially excited about the USC Michelson Center, as its promise of integrative research coincides with our approaches in reproductive biology, toxicology, immunology, and many other disciplines to find a single-dose, nonsurgical sterilant for cats and dogs. We look forward to hearing more from the Center!

MPG Scientific Advisory Board Visits the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

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The Scientific Advisory Board of the Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology program recently held their final meeting of the year, but this was no typical board meeting – this month the Board found themselves at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden spending time with Bactrian camels, a cheetah, and the only Sumatran rhino in captivity in Northern America. They even got up-close and personal with several free-roaming peacocks (who tend to think they run the Zoo)!

This exciting trip was made possible through the generous hospitality of Dr. Bill Swanson, the Director of Animal Research at the Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), and one of MPG’s Scientific Advisory Board members. Not only did Dr. Swanson volunteer to host the Board meeting, but he also graciously gave the Board a “backstage tour” of the Zoo the following day.

In addition to holding this meeting in a new and exciting venue, the meeting format this time around was also very different for our Board. Rather than evaluate new proposals for funding consideration, the Board took a close look at the 33 projects that it has approved over the past 5 years in order to draw important conclusions about which approaches and targets appear to be the most promising, and to develop clear ideas about where the program should head in the future. While the Board is very excited about all of the Michelson Grant research findings generated since it awarded its first grant in 2009, strategic planning exercises like this will ensure that we are seeking out and funding projects that are most likely to quickly help us reach our goal of developing a nonsurgical sterilant for cats and dogs.

On the day following our meeting, Dr. Swanson treated the Board to a tour of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, which included stops along the way at CREW’s facilities, the Zoo’s veterinary hospital, and meet-and-greets with Humphrey and Jack (Bactrian camels), Harapan (Sumatran rhino), and Savanna (cheetah), one of the Cat Ambassadors of the Zoo.

What the Board found was that Jack (Humphrey’s son) loved to have his picture taken, Harapan enjoys a good nose rub, and Savanna purrs just like any other house cat (although much louder).

The Board also learned about the crucial conservation work CREW is performing on a daily basis. Through advanced animal research and plant research, CREW is working to secure a positive future for endangered species. CREW’s current Signature Conservation Projects include exceptional plants, rhinos, small cats, and polar bears.

The next MPG Board meeting will take place in February 2015 and, although it won’t include visits with endangered species or exotic animals, it will bring the Board another opportunity to review new and innovative proposals in the search for a single-dose, nonsurgical sterilization method for cats and dogs. The whole Michelson Prize & Grants team looks forward to it!

Michelson Prize & Grants Featured on NPR

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The Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology was recently featured on 89.3 KPCC-FM, the Southern California National Public Radio affiliate, to discuss the success of the program to date in the search for a single-dose, permanent, nonsurgical sterilization method for cats and dogs.

The story features insight into the Michelson Prize & Grants program from both Aimee Gilbreath, Executive Director of the Found Animals Foundation, as well as Dr. R. Scott Struthers, the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals and a current Michelson Grantee.

The story comes at an exciting time for the Michelson Prize & Grants program, as two more grants get underway. Cristina Gobello, MV, DVM, Small Animal Specialist, DECAR, a Professor and Investigator at the Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology at the National University of La Plata and the National Research Council of Argentina, recently began her second Michelson Grant-funded project, a four-year grant totaling $132,576 titled, “Prepubetal administration of a long term release GnRH agonist in domestic dogs: A Pilot Study.” Dr. Gobello recently completed another three-year project funded by the Michelson Grants totaling $91,638.

Additionally, Sergio Ojeda, DVM, a Senior Scientist in the Division of Neuroscience at the Oregon National Primate Research Center will begin a two-year grant totaling $471,487 in October for his project, “Engineering viral vectors to target the cat hypothalamus with sterilizing molecules.”

As the sole funders of the Michelson Prize & Grants program, Dr. Gary K. Michelson and Alya Michelson are proud of the continued commitment that researchers such as Drs. Struthers, Gobello, and Ojeda are making towards finding a single-dose, permanent, nonsurgical sterilant for both cats and dogs. Says Dr. Michelson, “I am excited by the progress we’ve made in the nearly six years since we launched this program. We congratulate Drs. Gobello and Ojeda on their newly approved grants and thank Jed Kim and KPCC for their thoughtful coverage.”

For more information about all Michelson grantees, visit our Current Grantee Profiles and Research Findings pages.

New Michelson Grant Projects Begin

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The Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology is excited to announce several new projects that are currently underway.

R. John Aitken, PhD, ScD, FRSE, a Laureate Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia recently began his second Michelson Grant-funded project, a three-year grant totaling $516,377 titled, “Alkylated FSH peptides as mediators of germ cell depletion.” Dr. Aitken recently completed another three-year project funded by the Michelson Grants totaling $908,554.

Additionally, Prema Narayan, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine was recently awarded a three-year grant totaling $581,287 for her project, “Novel toxin conjugates for targeted ablation of LHR expressing cells to induce infertility.”

Earlier this year, Tatiana I. Samoylova, PhD, an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, began her second Michelson Grant-funded project, titled “Ablation of pituitary gonadotropes by DNA vaccine targeting GnRH receptor: Proof of principle study in mice.” This will be a two-year project totaling $328,698. Dr. Samoylova also recently completed another two-year project funded by the Michelson Grants totaling $412,106.

The Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology team is encouraged by the commitment of these investigators to developing a single-dose, nonsurgical sterilant for cats and dogs.

The Michelson Prize & Grants program is funded through the generous contributions of Dr. Gary K. Michelson and Alya Michelson. Since its inception in 2008, the Michelson Prize & Grants has committed over $14 million in international research grants to approved projects in the field of nonsurgical sterilization. For more information about all Michelson grantees, visit our Current Grantee Profiles and Research Findings pages.

New Advisors Appointed to Scientific Board

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The Michelson Prize & Grants welcomes two new members to the Scientific Advisory Board: Dr. Margaret Barr and Dr. Amy Ross.

Margaret Barr, DVM, PhD is a Professor of Virology and Immunology at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Western University of Health Sciences. Her research includes investigating the molecular epidemiology of canine parvovirus and rickettsial agents in Southern California. Dr. Barr also serves as project director for the Snow Leopard Functional Genomics Initiative, which studies the immunogenetics of captive and wild snow leopards.

Amy Ross, PhD, is the President of the Board of Governors of the University of Southern California Alumni Association. Her background is in Experimental Pathology, which led to more than 25 years of experience in the bone marrow transplantation and cancer diagnostics field. Dr. Ross’ research focused on the detection of tumor cells in the circulation of breast cancer patients as a means of targeting early relapse.

Dr. Barr and Dr. Ross will join the twenty other world-class advisors on the Board dedicated to guiding the MPG program toward the goal of a single-dose nonsurgical sterilant. To read more about our advisors and their areas of expertise, please visit our Board Bios page.

The Michelson Prize & Grants Goes to Europe

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In February, Michelson Prize & Grants Program Manager Becky Cyr had the incredible opportunity to attend the 11th International Symposium on GnRH in Salzburg, Austria. The three-day program, which attracted 170 participants from 35 different countries, was packed with sessions on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in cancer and reproduction. This was an important meeting for the Michelson Prize & Grants program, because every attendee was studying an aspect of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), the master control hormone for reproduction. GnRH has long been a target for a nonsurgical sterilization method in animals, because it is evolutionarily conserved among different species and both males and females. This means that if someone can engineer a vaccine to immunize against GnRH for the lifetime of an animal, or deliver a cytotoxin to target and permanently kill or inhibit GnRH neurons, we could have a contender for the Michelson Prize. About 1/3 of our funded projects involve targeting GnRH neurons.

Because this meeting’s attendee base was such a receptive audience for our goal of developing a permanent, nonsurgical sterilant for companion animals, the Michelson Prize & Grants program organized an evening session on the second day of the conference, during which four Michelson Grantees presented their research approaches. The session began with a brief overview of the MPG program’s background and goals, our international research grants, and prize philanthropy model. Then, Drs. Auke Schaefers-Okkens (Utrecht University), Scott Struthers (Crinetics Pharmaceuticals), Doug Jones (Iowa State University), and Greg Dissen (Oregon Health & Sciences University) presented specific approaches that they are currently using with Michelson Grant funding to immunize against, ablate, or inhibit GnRH neurons. The session was very well attended, and attendees had stimulating questions for our grantees.

The GnRH symposium was a great success, and we are proud to have been a sponsor of such an important meeting. We’re looking forward to a busy conference season this year, with the upcoming Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting & ToxExpo on March 23-27 in Phoenix, AZ, and Experimental Biology on April 26-30 in San Diego, CA. We hope to see you there!

New Michelson Prize & Grants Website Launches on World Spay Day

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February might be our favorite month out of the whole year. Not only is it Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, but today – February 25, 2014 – is also the 20th anniversary of World Spay Day.

If you’re reading this blog and you’re already a fan of the Michelson Prize & Grants program, the importance of spay/neuter is certainly not lost on you. Not only does it bring about specific health and behavioral advantages, like eliminating or reducing your pet’s chances of developing certain types of cancer and stopping your pet’s hormonally influenced reproductive behaviors, it also prevents the birth of unwanted litters. With an estimated 6-8 million cats and dogs entering animal shelters in the United States each year, spaying and neutering (also called “sterilizing”) our companion animals continues to be of utmost importance.

To celebrate World Spay Day’s 20th anniversary, we are very excited to announce the official launch of our new Michelson Prize & Grants website. We hope that you’ll take a few minutes of your day to browse through our new Frequently Asked Questions feature to learn more about our program, scroll through our easier to navigate Research Findings to read important conclusions drawn from completed Michelson Grant-funded projects, and review our Michelson Grant Application page for clarified instructions on how to apply for a research grant.

This year also marks the 5th anniversary of the Michelson Prize & Grants program. We continue to seek out new researchers who can join us in our mission to develop a permanent, single-dose, nonsurgical sterilant for male and female cats and dogs, and are very enthusiastic about the 30+ projects we have approved for funding to date through the generous contributions of Dr. Gary K. Michelson and Alya Michelson.

Dr. Gary K. Michelson Donates $50 Million to New USC Bioscience Center

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Dr. Gary Michelson, founder of the Michelson Prize & Grants program, has donated $50 million to the University of Southern California for the construction of a new bioscience research building on campus.

The USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience will bring together researchers of multiple fields from within the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. USC News stated that the goal of the 190,000-square-foot center is “to turn the biological sciences into a quantitative and predictive science, fast-tracking the detection and cure of diseases.” With building completion expected three years from now, the Michelson Center will soon become a hub of scientific breakthroughs in health and related fields.

Many Michelson Grantees take a similar interdisciplinary approach in their research toward development of a single-dose nonsurgical sterilant for cats and dogs. We hope to one day fund the innovative researchers at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience with Michelson Grants.