Caltech-City of Hope Biomedical Research Initiative

6:30 p.m. Reception

7:15 p.m. Program

Glanville Courtyard and Beckman Institute Auditorium

Allies in the pursuit of better treatments and improved health outcomes for patients, bio-medical researchers from Caltech and City of Hope are realizing the potential of
translational medicine through the Caltech-City of Hope Biomedical Research Initiative. Since 2008, this partnership has coalesced resources and expertise from two internationally recognized institutions in order to bridge the gap between today's innovations and tomorrow's cures.

Opening a window into medical exploration for the informed layperson, Caltech and City of Hope presenters will describe their collaborative efforts toward advancing a technology that screens pancreatic islets for diabetes. Taking insulin-producing islet cells from a healthy pancreas and transplanting them into a person living with Type-1 diabetes may offer the promise of a cure—but the process relies on effective screening. Currently, pancreatic islets are screened in clusters of 100 to 1,000 islets—just a fraction of the islets in an adult pancreas. Caltech and City of Hope are working toward an improved method that will enable physician-scientists in City of Hope's Islet Cell Transplantation Program to screen each and every islet. This initiative is made possible thanks to the generosity of an anonymous philanthropist whose visionary gift in 2011 also has inspired others to give. To date, the Caltech-City of Hope Biomedical Research Initiative has funded 28 pilot projects, many of which have gone on to attract support from major government agencies.