Learning & Development Quarterly FY26 Q4

Learning & Development Quarterly April - June 2026

About this Newsletter... The L&D Quarterly showcases the vibrant learning and development community at Sanford Burnham Prebys by highlighting major events and Institute-wide professional development for all employees, student and postdoc accomplishments, and programs that support the next generation of biomedical scientists.

In this Issue LEAP Capstone and Celebrations A Season of Milestones: GSBS Celebrates Its Graduate Students New partnership gives trainees the tools and momentum to apply for funding 2nd Annual Torrey Pines Mesa Community Symposium

Two postdocs advance to Mesawide Postdoc Pitch Competition Thesis Defenses Recent Graduate Student & Postdoc Accomplishments Graduate Student & Postdoc Counts Upcoming Events & Workshops

L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

LEAP Capstone and Celebrations By: Lauren Mitchell, MS & Sara Sandoval, MS

Trainees in the LEAP (Lab Experience As a Pathway to PhD) Program presented their research at the Capstone Event on June 24. Through their capstone presentations, which included a 10-minute talk and poster session, each trainee showcased their academic and research journey over the past year, as well as the professional skills they developed throughout the program.

Yuk-Lap (Kevin) Yip, PhD, Professor and Director of the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, opened the event by acknowledging the trainees’ diligence and innovative research, the support of their mentoring teams, and the generous funding from the Prebys Foundation that enabled the program’s inception in 2024.

This year’s LEAP participants include: Isabel Sakowicz Tharp Lab FAK Protein Loss Rewires Amino Acid Metabolism in HighGrade Serous Ovarian Cancer Josue Navarrete Yip & Deshpande Labs Optimized Pipeline Enables Genome-wide Discovery of Candidate Microproteins in Hematopoiesis Mahek Shah Spruck Lab Novel Compounds Targeting Histone Modifying Enzymes Induce Viral Mimicry in Breast Cancer Sarina Safavi Dhar Lab Mechanistic Understanding of MASLD-Associated Cardiac Dysfunction and its Reversibility

Pictured left to right: Kevin Yip, PhD, Josue Navarrete, Yun Ma, Sarina Safavi, and Isabel Sakowicz (Not pictured: Mahek Shah)

Yun Ma Feng & Yip Labs Inferring Disease-Associated Changes in Protein Complex Assembly from Multimodal Data

Each trainee was introduced by one of their mentors, who spoke glowingly about their trainee’s unique contributions to the labs. Charles Spruck, PhD, announced that his lab was recently awarded two grants thanks to data generated by his LEAP trainee, Mahek Shah.

Another highlight of the event was when Isabel Sakowicz concluded her professional development reflections by announcing that she’ll be continuing in the Tharp Lab this Fall as a student in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

Please visit the LEAP website to learn more about the program, mentors, and trainees.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

A Season of Milestones: GSBS Celebrates Its Graduate Students By: Megan Elyamani

From appreciation events to commencement, spring was full of opportunities to recognize the achievements and contributions of our graduate students.

Graduate Student Appreciation Week In April, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) celebrated Graduate Student Appreciation Week with a series of events recognizing our students and their contributions to the Sanford Burnham Prebys community. Students kicked off the week with bagels and coffee, competed in two days of virtual trivia for prizes, and wrapped up the week with a celebratory lunch.

2026 Commencement Ceremony GSBS held its annual Commencement Ceremony on May 29, 2026. The ceremony brought together graduates, faculty, family, and friends to recognize the accomplishments of the newest recipients of the Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences. The ceremony featured welcoming remarks from GSBS and Sanford Burnham Prebys leadership, a community address from GSBS alumna Dr. Michaela Romero, and a commencement address from Dr. Cosimo Commisso, Deputy Director of the NCI-Designated Cancer Center. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the graduates, acknowledgement of degrees, and closing remarks.

The graduates recognized at the third annual Commencement ceremony, from left to right: Michaela Romero, PhD (Colas lab); Yu-Ling (Linda) Chang, PhD (Colas lab); Cedomir Stamenkovic, PhD (Sacco lab); Sviatlana Zaretski, PhD (Adams lab); Jiaqian (Emily) Wu, PhD (Cosford lab); Ximena DiazOlea, PhD (Ronai lab); and Adarsh Rajesh, PhD (Adams lab). Rema Iyer, PhD (Deshpande lab); Utkarsha Hemant Paithane, PhD (Bagchi lab); and Ruslan Nuryyev, PhD (Snyder lab), were unable to attend.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

2026 Annual Graduate Student Retreat The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) held its Annual Graduate Student Retreat from May 6-8, bringing students and faculty together for three days of scientific presentations, professional development, and community building. The retreat showcased student research through oral presentations, flash talks, and poster sessions. It also featured a professional development workshop on interview strategies for academic and industry careers, a faculty speaker session highlighting diverse career journeys, a Q&A session with the GSBS Deans, and a student bonding activity. The keynote address was given by GSBS alumnus Miguel Reina-Campos, PhD (pictured below), who is currently an Assistant Professor at The La Jolla Institute for Immunology.

GSBS alumnus, Jordan Friedlein, PhD, speaking to the graduate students during their professional development workshop.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

New partnership gives trainees the tools and momentum to apply for funding By: Nisha Cavanaugh, PhD

The Office of Learning and Development (OLAD) has long equipped researchers with the tools to navigate NIH fellowship and early career award applications – from understanding funding mechanisms to crafting the Specific Aims page and Research Plan and navigating the submission and review processes.

This year, in collaboration with the Research Development Office (RDO) and select faculty, OLAD launched an intensive Proposal Writing Workshop, a cohort-based experience designed to go beyond information and into action. Eight selected graduate students and postdocs drafted a Research Plan and a Training Plan, received critical faculty feedback at every stage, and engaged in a mock study section discussion of two selected proposals.

The result: A guided, structured program that equips trainees to move from ideas to submission of a strong, competitive proposal.

Mock Study Section discussion with Professor and Center Director Michael Karin, PhD and Professor Evan Snyder, MD, PhD.

100% of survey respondents said the workshop increased their confidence in writing and that are likely to submit a fellowship or early career award application. Comments included: I personally found the faculty review for each section to be very helpful! Getting direct feedback on my grant from people who do this every day is invaluable. I also felt like the guided "sections" kept me on track and helped me complete the document.

The small group setting made it easy to get feedback and learn. Faculty feedback was constructive and really advanced my knowledge about the review process.

OLAD and RDO plan to offer the Proposal Writing Workshop annually. The 2027 cohort will be announced this fall. Stay tuned for your chance to write, get expert feedback, and submit a stronger proposal.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

2nd Annual Torrey Pines Mesa Community Symposium By: Lauren Mitchell, MS

In May, the Torrey Pines Mesa scientific community came together for the 2nd Annual Queer Scientists and Allies Symposium (Q’s & A’s on the Mesa), a multi-institute event dedicated to celebrating research excellence, fostering connection, and strengthening a welcoming environment for all scientists.

Sanford Burnham Prebys spearheaded the inauguration and continuation of this symposium, charged with Dr. Brenner’s strategic objective of leading the Mesa in cultivating an environment that nurtures the success of individuals from all backgrounds.

The afternoon began with lunch, community group tabling, and a poster session that showcased the innovative work of research trainees at all levels, including several of our postdocs, students in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) and participants in the LEAP postbaccalaureate program.

Postdocs Bastien Cimarosti, PhD and Kokila Shankar, PhD, tabling as representatives of the SBP-Science Network.

These informal networking opportunities encouraged meaningful conversation, new collaborations, and provided attendees with a chance to connect across institutions and scientific disciplines.

Adam Hall, PhD (postdoc in the Zhang Lab) presenting his poster.

The program continued in the Hazen Auditorium at Scripps Research with a keynote talk from Brian Aguado, PhD, from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. The symposium also featured flash talks from a graduate student and postdoctoral researcher, offering attendees a glimpse into emerging research and the next generation of scientific leaders. After a competitive abstract submission and review process, GSBS student, Ke (Skye) Xu was selected to give a flash talk on her work in the lab of Sanjeev Ranade, PhD.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

More than a research symposium, Q’s & A’s on the Mesa demonstrated how scientific excellence is strengthened when individuals from all backgrounds feel welcomed, valued, and empowered to contribute. We look forward to continuing this tradition and building an even stronger community in the years ahead.

Ke (Skye) Xu (graduate student in the Ranade Lab) giving her flash talk.

Two postdocs advance to Mesa-wide Postdoc Pitch Competition By: Nisha Cavanaugh, PhD

The Sanford Burnham Prebys Science Network and the Office of Learning and Development hosted a Community Outreach Symposium on June 11 to spark excitement about biomedical research, while providing trainees with an opportunity to communicate their science to the public in short 3-minute talks and one static slide.

Drs. Kokila Shankar (Sheffler lab) and Jessica Proulx (Adams lab) won the Institute-wide Postdoc Pitch Competition. Both will represent Sanford Burnham Prebys in the 2nd Annual Mesa-wide Postdoc Pitch Competition this fall, competing against postdocs from Scripps Research, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California San Diego.

Dr. Shankar (top) and Dr. Proulx (bottom) pictured with the event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Sanjeev Ranade.

Congratulations to graduate students Alisha Kirkland (Spruck lab) and Sophie Hao (Dong lab) for competing in the Science Communication Challenge and each receiving a People’s Choice Award!

The event showcased our Institute’s commitment to cutting-edge biomedical research and to developing our trainees’ scientific communication skills.

Read more about the event here.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q3

Congratulations to Dr. Yu-Ling (Linda) Chang!

Dr. Yu-Ling Linda Chang successfully defended her thesis on April 24, 2026.

Dr. Chang conducted her thesis research “Mechanisms of Cell Identity Maintenance in Cell Fate Reprogramming and Aging,” under the mentorship of Assistant Professor, Dr. Alexandre Colas.

Congratulations to Dr. Hanxiao Zhang!

Dr. Hanxiao Zhang successfully defended her thesis on June 15, 2026.

Dr. Zhang conducted her thesis research “Mechanistic Studies of Human 20S Proteasome Assembly and Development of a Recombinant Pf20S Drug Discovery Platform,” under the mentorship of Assistant Professor, Dr. Jianhua Zhao.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

Recent Graduate Student & Postdoc Accomplishments

Carolina Cano Macip, a graduate student under the co-mentorship of Xiao Tian, PhD and Kevin Tharp, PhD was awarded the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) Predoctoral Fellowship.

This fellowship will support Carolina’s research project, “Epigenetic Reprogramming of the Aging Breast as a Strategy to Prevent Breast Cancer” over the next two years.

In June, Caitlin Lange, a graduate student in the Kumsta lab, gave a poster pitch at the AGE Conference in Provo, Utah on "Cell autonomous and nonautonomous roles of autophagy in proteostasis and aging,” where she won Best Poster Pitch.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

Recent Graduate Student & Postdoc Accomplishments Meenakshi Sudhakaran, PhD, a postdoc in the Kersten lab, was awarded the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) Postdoctoral Fellowship, which will support her research over the next two years on her research project, "T cell–macrophage chemokine circuit dampens anti-tumor immunity in breast cancer".

Kokila Shankar, PhD, a postdoc in the Sheffler lab, gave a talk at the Gordon Research Conference: Neurobiology of Addiction 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.

She also presented a poster and was one of four postdocs to win an award at the conference.

In June, Cheng-Ju Kuo, PhD, a Staff Scientist and former postdoc in the Kumsta lab, presented a poster at the Joint Meeting between C. elegans Metabolism, Aging, Pathogenesis, Stress and Small RNAs & C. elegans Development Cell Biology & Gene Expression in Madison, Wisconsin where he won the Best Poster Presentation.

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

Recent Graduate Student & Postdoc Accomplishments

Graduate Student & Postdoc Counts POSTDOCS AS OF JUNE 30, 2026

GRADUATE STUDENTS AS OF JUNE 30, 2026

TOTAL POSTDOCS

54

TOTAL GRADUATE STUDENTS

57

Postdoc Associates Postdoc Fellows

45 9

GSBS Graduate Students External Graduate Students

49 8

LAST QUARTER NEW HIRES APRIL - JUNE 2026 TOTAL

2

Postdocs GSBS Graduate Students External Graduate Students

2 0 0

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q3

Upcoming Workshops & Events

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L&D QUARTERLY

FY26 Q4

Learning & Development Team Diane Klotz, PhD

Annalisa Cracchiolo, MBA

Chief Learning Officer Accreditation Liaison Officer

Lead, Learning & Academic Support

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) Angelica Rocha, PhD

Sara Sandoval, MS

Megan Elyamani

Director, Graduate School Administration & Institutional Research

Recruitment, Admissions, and PhD Pathways Programs Manager

Academic Programs Specialist & Registrar

Office of Learning and Development (OLAD) Nisha Cavanaugh, PhD

Nicole Villa, MA

Associate Director, Career Development & Postdoctoral Programs

Program Coordinator, OLAD

Workforce Engagement & Belonging (WEB)

Lauren Mitchell, MS Director, WEB Leadership Support

Alessandra Sacco, PhD

Linda Bradley, PhD

Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Faculty Advisor, Postdoctoral Training

Office of Learning and Development

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

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