Annual Report
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Table of Contents 22 Meeting the Grand Challenge 44 Donors and Philanthropic Partners (cont.) 24 Van Andel Research Institute Scientists Help 44 Purple Community Football Games Through biomedical research and science education, Create Cancer “Atlas” 2 A Letter from David Van Andel 46 Purple Community 5K 26 Making a Difference Early On Van Andel Institute is committed to improving the health and 4 Research 47 Running Like the Wind 28 Van Andel Institute Graduate School Students enhancing the lives of current and future generations. 6 Rare Diseases, Big Impact 48 Purple Community Breaks a Record 30 Education 8 Keeping Watch On Our Cellular Clock 49 Duncan Lake Middle School Students 32 Honoring and Empowering Teachers 10 Fueling Innovation 50 Never Stop Giving Back — Sally Schaafsma 33 High School Students Spend Their Summer 11 An Art Gallery at the Near-Atomic Level Days at Van Andel Education Institute 51 Memorials 12 A Surprising Discovery 34 Donors and Philanthropic Partners 51 Society of Hope 14 Meet the Scientist Behind the Science 36 Donor Profile: Alvin and Hylda Tuuk 52 Signature Special Event Sponsors 15 Stand Up To Cancer Global Telecast 37 Donor Profile: Duke Suwyn 53 Institute Leadership Team 16 Van Andel Research Institute’s Principal 38 Event Photos 54 Board and Council Members Investigators A LETTER FROM DAVID VAN ANDEL Dear Friends, Last fall, Van Andel Institute announced that a team led by In the following pages, you’ll read about new findings in our scientists uncovered groundbreaking new insights into cancer and Parkinson’s, and the launch of an exciting the appendix’s possible role in Parkinson’s disease. The metabolism program; meet the talented scientists who team’s discoveries were published in Science Translational call the Institute home; and learn how we are working Medicine, and covered by hundreds of major publications with students and teachers to transform K–12 education. and news networks in every corner of the world. It was a You’ll also see how your generosity has made a significant, moment that gave hope to people with Parkinson’s, while positive impact on every aspect of our mission. giving scientists new avenues for designing treatments for this devastating disease. It also was a shining example of On behalf of everyone at the Institute, I would like to thank what we are capable of when we work together, guided by you for your support, your generous hearts and, most imagination, vision and an unwavering desire to improve importantly, your friendship. As we take time to reflect human health. on the work we’ve done and celebrate a year of great accomplishments, let’s continue to move ahead together Discoveries like this are possible because of you — our and build on the amazing achievements described in most valued donors and supporters. Your belief in our these pages. work and your dedication, commitment and generosity have served as the Institute’s bedrock since it was founded Warmly, in 1996. We are eternally grateful. You have been with us as we have grown from a small research institute in West Michigan to an internationally known epicenter for incredible science, extensive collaboration and powerfully bold ideas. During the last year, you’ve stood by our side as we invested in new talent and technology, created new research programs and built on the vision articulated by our family more than David Van Andel two decades ago. We also have continued to move new Van Andel Institute Chairman & CEO discoveries from the lab into clinical trials — thanks to our collaborative partnerships with organizations like Stand Up To Cancer and The Cure Parkinson’s Trust. 2 | VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 | 3 Van Andel Research Institute is a world leader in cancer epigenetics and Parkinson’s disease research. Collaborating with academia, industry and philanthropy, the Institute orchestrates cutting-edge clinical trials to improve human health. Van Andel Institute Graduate School develops future leaders in biomedical research through an intense, problem-focused Ph.D. degree in molecular and cellular biology. 4 | VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 | 5 RARE DISEASES, BIG IMPACT RESEARCH A bench-to-bedside effort to better understand and treat rare diseases aims to “More importantly, our care of the patient was changed for the better,” Steensma said. provide answers where there are now only questions. The ripple effect “Rare diseases are often understudied, which is a real problem when it comes to helping Progress in rare disease research often is hindered by a lack of funding, with dollars patients,” said Dr. Matt Steensma, a Van Andel Research Institute scientist, a surgeon at frequently going to more common or better-known diseases. Although this is beginning to Spectrum Health and an assistant professor at Michigan State University. “It’s very difficult change, philanthropic support remains critical for propelling this promising work forward. to tell someone, ‘we know what you have, but we don’t know what to do about it.’” The Outliers Program is a prime example. It is completely funded by donations, including a grant from Wells Fargo that helped establish the program and continuing support from More than 7,000 such disorders have been identified to date; some, like Aicardi syndrome, Steensma and Williams’ own colleagues through VAI’s Employee Impact Fund (EIF), which is affect a handful of people while others, such as Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), affect sustained by the Institute’s employees. thousands, but still fall below the 200,000-person cap that marks a disease as rare. An estimated 25 million people in the U.S. have a rare disease, a large proportion of whom In May, Steensma’s team was awarded a second round of EIF funding, this time to support are children. research into Aicardi syndrome, a disorder that almost exclusively affects females and that is characterized by developmental problems in the brain and eyes that may lead to Going after the outliers seizures, learning disabilities and blindness. There have been fewer than 60 documented About nine years ago, Steensma teamed up with Dr. Bart Williams, a bone disease expert cases of the disease in the world. and now director of the Institute’s Center for Cancer and Cell Biology, to create the Outliers Program, an effort to identify the causes of rare diseases and to find ways to Finding the mutations that cause rare diseases like OES or Aicardi often have broad treat them. Their work is bolstered by the expertise of the Institute’s Bioinformatics and implications; because the systems that keep our bodies up and running are so intricately Biostatistics Core and collaborators at nearby Michigan State University College of intertwined, a discovery in one disease can directly impact what we know about another. Human Medicine. That’s the case with NF1, a disease diagnosed in childhood that causes benign tumors to At the top of their list was oculoectodermal syndrome (OES), an exceedingly uncommon grow throughout the body. In 2018, Steensma and Dr. Carrie Graveel, a senior research disorder first identified in two unrelated patients in Grand Rapids in 1993. When the scientist in Steensma’s lab, discovered that changes to the gene that causes NF1 also Outliers Program began in 2009, only 18 patients had ever been diagnosed with the significantly ups breast cancer risk in women with and without neurofibromatosis. disorder, which causes severe lesions on the scalp and debilitating bone growths on the jaw. “We call it the ‘ripple effect’ — often, the science behind why a rare disease occurs is really the same science as why a cancer occurs,” Steensma said. “By studying rare diseases, Using samples from one of Steensma’s patients, the team determined the cause of we can help people battling these conditions, while also developing treatments for more the disease — a mutation to KRAS, one of the most heavily studied cancer genes. This common disorders. It really opens the window to studying the underlying biology in a discovery placed OES, unquestionably a rare disease, in the middle of the incredible different context.” science and innovation surrounding KRAS and cancer. “More importantly, our care of the patient was changed for the better.” (LEFT TO RIGHT) DR. BART WILLIAMS, — DR. MATT STEENSMA DR. MATT STEENSMA & DR. CARRIE GRAVEEL. 6 | VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 | 7 KEEPING WATCH ON OUR CELLULAR CLOCK RESEARCH In many ways, our futures are written in the history of our cells. containing the original copy of an individual’s DNA. aging — augmented and accelerated once a cell becomes Throughout a person’s lifetime, these cells divide, replacing cancerous. The cumulative effect is akin to a runaway But before this information can be deciphered, it must be old or damaged cells at different rates based on factors freight train.” measured, something that was difficult until recently. such as their function in the body, environmental insults and wound healing. Analysis and data interpretation for the project were led Now, thanks to a team led by investigators at Van Andel by Dr. Wanding Zhou, a postdoctoral fellow in the labs of Research Institute (VARI) and Cedars-Sinai, scientists have Despite undergoing elaborate biological quality control Laird, Shen and VARI Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Peter A. a straightforward, computational way to measure cellular checks, each cell division chips away at the genome’s Jones, along with co-first author Dr. Huy Q. Dinh, at the age, a feat that may lead to better, simpler screening and integrity, leaving behind an accumulating number of time a project scientist in Berman’s lab at the Cedars-Sinai monitoring methods for cancer and other diseases.