Research Day: Small Cells Spark Big Discoveries

In welcoming remarks to a capacity crowd in Harvey Morse Auditorium, Kenneth Bernstein, MD, director of Experimental Pathology and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, said, "From the Large Hadron Collider to the Human Genome Project, a lot of science today is big. In contrast, Dr. Schekman's early work focused on the small cells in baker's yeast. The elegance of Dr. Schekman's work, along with the elegance and complexity of yeast itself, illustrates the incredible beauty of life even in a simple cell."

By studying simple cells, Schekman—a longtime professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley—uncovered the inner workings of the human body's complex cellular transport system. The Nobel Prize was awarded for his pioneering studies spotlighting the role genes and proteins play in regulating this system and the role mutated genes play in transport malfunctions that can contribute to neurological diseases and immunological disorders.

Schekman's address focused on extracellular vesicles. These are cell-derived, membrane-bound structures in biological fluids that are central to the cell-to-cell communication required to transport proteins, lipids and ribonucleic acid (RNA). They also pave the way for an array of cellular processes, including immune responses, homeostasis and coagulation.

"There's much excitement about extracellular vesicles as an emerging area in medicine," Schekman said, pointing to their potential as disease biomarkers. He additionally noted that extracellular vesicles secreted by tumor cells could "provide a novel opportunity for therapeutic intervention."

For the last several years, Schekman's lab has been studying small molecules of RNA called microRNAs that regulate gene activity. A select subset of microRNAs become cargo carried by extracellular vesicles, suggesting there is a specific sorting mechanism responsible for extracellular vesicles acquiring microRNAs.

Schekman's team has been working to identify the molecular players driving this packaging process. This information could provide insight into the impact microRNAs may have on gene expression when released into recipient cells. "This will occupy my lab for many years," Schekman said.

The Nobel laureate concluded his lecture by announcing that his professional life is changing for very personal reasons. In September 2017, his wife of 44 years died after battling Parkinson's disease for more than two decades. Schekman was approached last year by Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Brin—who has a family history of Parkinson's disease —asked Schekman to chair the advisory council of Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s, an organization founded and funded by the Sergey Brin Family Foundation. Schekman accepted.

"Our aim is to develop a molecular and cellular understanding of Parkinson's," Schekman said. "This is a very complex disease and we've created a research roadmap that identifies large-scale, innovative solutions to address key knowledge gaps about PD." He added: "I'm eager to get going on this new phase in my life."

Schekman's presentation was followed by a poster session featuring more than 100 research projects addressing an expansive range of biomedical subjects.

Postdoctoral scientist Ambart Covarrubias, PhD, gave her first Research Day experience two thumbs-up. "Dr. Schekman’s presentation was so interesting and Research Day is a great way of finding people to collaborate with."

Research Day also is ideal for catching up with colleagues.

"We're always busy with our own research, so this is a great way to see what our post-doc friends are working on," said postdoctoral scientist Arwin Aghamaleky-Sarvestany, PhD.

Three prizes were awarded for the best posters:

• First Prize—Shreya Celly, research associate I, for "Small Intestinal Aspirates Require Specific Treatment to Optimize Microbial Analysis: Validation of a Novel Technique From the ReImagine Initiative," from the Cedars-Sinai Medically Associated Science and Technology Program.
• Second Prize—Gonzalo Parodi, research associate II, for "Intestinal Microbiome Changes After an Antibiotic Regimen are Gender Specific," from the Cedars-Sinai Medically Associated Science and Technology Program.
• Third Prize—Harry Matundan, PhD, project scientist, for "Suppression of CD80 in the Eye by HSV-1 ICP22 Plays a Protective Role Against Eye disease," from the laboratory of Homayon Ghiasi, PhD, professor of Surgery.