UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Tuesday July 16, 2019 Volume 66 Number 1 www.upenn.edu/almanac The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research: $12 Million Funding for Major Expansion of Gene Therapy New Center at Penn to Study Radiation Therapy and Immune Signaling Collaboration Between Amicus Therapeutics and Penn The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research radiation oncology in Penn’s Perelman School announced that it has awarded a grant of $12 of Medicine. The primary efforts of the center Amicus Therapeutics and the Perelman million to establish The Mark Foundation Cen- will comprise five key projects that converge School of Medicine at the University of Penn- ter for Immunotherapy, Immune Signaling and on understanding the signaling pathways elic- sylvania announced a major expansion to their Radiation at the University of Pennsylvania. ited by radiation therapy and how those path- collaboration with rights to pursue collaborative The Center will bring together cross-depart- ways can be exploited therapeutically to enable research and development of novel gene thera- mental teams of basic scientists and clinical re- the immune system to recognize and eradicate pies for lysosomal disorders (LDs) and 12 addi- searchers who will focus on better understand- cancer. tional rare diseases. The collaboration has been ing the interconnected relationships between “These projects have the chance to change expanded from three to six programs for rare advances in radiation therapy, important signal- the paradigm when it comes to cancer treat- genetic diseases and now includes: Pompe dis- ing pathways in cancer and immune cells, and ment,” said Dr. Minn. “Understanding impor- ease, Fabry disease, CDKL5 deficiency disorder the immune system’s ability to effectively con- tant and potentially targetable mechanisms of (CDD), Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC), next gen- trol cancer. immunotherapy resistance and how to use novel eration Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIA (MPS “The results of this exciting project could radiation therapies to enhance immunotherapies IIIA), and Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIB have enormous significance for cancer pa- carries enormous benefits for patients.” (MPS IIIB), both also known as part of Sanfilli- tients,” said The Mark Foundation CEO Mi- The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research po syndrome. In addition to these three new pro- chele Cleary. “This multidisciplinary effort is is dedicated to accelerating cures for cancer by grams, a discovery research agreement provides well positioned for success, and we expect these integrating discoveries in biology with innova- Amicus with exclusive disease-specific access leading researchers will uncover novel insights tive technology. Launched in 2017, The Mark to option rights to collaborate with Penn’s Gene into cancer biology that will substantially ex- Foundation pursues its mission by funding a Therapy Program (GTP) to develop potentially pand the options for treatments with better ef- global portfolio of groundbreaking research car- disruptive new gene therapy platform technolo- ficacy and minimal toxicities. We look forward ried out by individual investigators, multi-in- gies and programs for the majority of lysosomal to working with this powerhouse team over the vestigator teams, and inter-institutional collabo- disorders and 12 additional rare diseases. next five years and beyond.” rations. Since its launch in 2017, the Foundation John F. Crowley, chairman and chief exec- The new center at the University of Pennsyl- has awarded over $57 million in grant funding utive officer of Amicus stated, “The extension vania follows in the footsteps of The Mark Foun- to 70 institutions across 18 US states and three of our collaboration with Penn is a bold step dation’s establishment last summer of The Mark countries. forward in our commitment to create potential Foundation Institute for Integrated Cancer Med- Recognizing the obstacles that can prevent cures that may alleviate an enormous amount of icine at the University of Cambridge, as well as scientific advances from improving patient out- suffering for countless numbers of people in the previously announced collaborations with Can- comes, The Mark Foundation maintains a nim- world living with rare diseases, many of them cer Research UK and Evotec. These awards all ble, high-impact approach to funding research children. Together with Penn we are now able derive from The Mark Foundation’s commit- that encompasses grants for basic and transla- to focus on additional lysosomal disorders, as ment to funding interdisciplinary research that tional cancer research, as well as venture phi- well as several more prevalent rare diseases for shows significant promise to transform how can- lanthropy investment in companies that bridge which we can apply our understanding of under- cer is prevented, diagnosed and treated. the gap between the bench and the bedside. To lying disease biology in rare metabolic disease, The Mark Foundation Center for Immuno- learn more about the work of The Mark Founda- Amicus’ protein-engineering and development therapy, Immune Signaling and Radiation will tion for Cancer Research, visit https://themark- expertise and the world renowned capabilities be led by Andy J. Minn, associate professor of foundation.org/ of Dr. Jim Wilson’s laboratory to develop nov- el gene therapy candidates. With a globally ap- proved precision medicine product for Fabry, a late-stage biologic product with breakthrough therapy designation for Pompe, and now the in- dustry’s largest rare disease gene therapy pipe- line, Amicus is well-positioned to become a leading global biotechnology company at the forefront of human genomic medicine.” (continued on page 2) INSIDE 2 Government Affairs Update; Trustees Coverage 3 Deaths; Chestnut Street Bridge Closure 4 OF RECORD: 2020 Post-Doc Stipends; 5 Wharton Dean to USC in 2020; Vice Deans at Wharton; 6 Honors & Other Things 8 Establishing Relationships and Collaborations: A Formula for Diversifying Suppliers 9 Research Roundup 10 Workday@Penn; HR Policies 12 FMLA and PPL; Volunteer Opportunities 13 HR: Upcoming Programs 14 Summer Construction Limits SEPTA Service; One Planet: Three Exhibits; Burrison Gallery; One Step Ahead: Security and Privacy Tip 15 Security and Fire Safety Report; Penn Museum; Photograph by Daniel Burke Update; CrimeStats Establishing The Mark Foundation Center at Penn, standing left to right: Kevin Mahoney, James 16 PASEF Annual Report 2019 Metz, Michele Cleary, Robert Vonderheide, Jon Epstein. Sitting l-r: Alex Knaster, Andy Minn. ALMANAC July 16, 2019 www.upenn.edu/almanac 1 Government Affairs Update PA State Budget Signed New Staff at OGCA On Friday, June 28, Governor Tom Wolf signed the General Fund Ap- The Office of Government and Community Affairs welcomed three propriations Bill (House Bill 790) into law, approving a state general fund new staff members over the previous academic year. budget of nearly $34 billion for fiscal year 2019-2020. The spending plan In May 2018, Jamie Spagna joined the office as OGCA coordinator. represents a nearly 2% increase, or $596 million, over 2018-2019 while She has worked in state and local government for two decades, serving as imposing no new taxes. Governor Wolf also signed House Bill 1354, ap- a staffer in the state Senate; the City of Philadelphia, including the May- proving the School of Veterinary Medicine non-preferred appropriation at or’s Office; and the School District of Philadelphia. nearly $32 million—a 2% increase over the prior year. Additionally, sup- Cassie Tomkins was named associate director of OGCA in June 2018. port for the state’s Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission earned a Previously, she worked as an assistant director for the Fels Institute of $2 million increase—the first increase in six years. This funding supports Government, and she completed her master’s degree in public administra- New Bolton Center’s animal health lab, which is one of three such labs tion from Penn in May. in a statewide system built to test for and diagnose diseases that threaten Michael Smith assumed the role of director of Commonwealth Rela- animal and public health, the state’s food supply, and major animal agri- tions in November 2018. He has served in senior-level positions with the cultural industries. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 2005, developing strong relation- Funding to the Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Pro- ships with agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction and General Assem- gram, or CURE, will be held level at $51.3 million for the 2019-2020 fis- bly. Prior to joining Penn, Mr. Smith was executive deputy secretary of the cal year. Penn has leveraged CURE funding to advance new treatments for Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, where he worked closely with tobacco addiction and smoking cessation, while also developing in col- the leadership of Penn Vet. laboration with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia revolutionary treat- —Jeffrey Cooper, Vice President, Government and Community Affairs ments using Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells that attack and kill cancer cells. Penn receives approximately $6 million of CURE funding each year. Trustees Annual June Meeting (continued from page 1) The University of Pennsylvania Board of Dean Larry Jameson gave the Penn Medicine Major Expansion of Gene Therapy Trustees held their annual stated meeting at the report, announcing that a Penn/CHOP team has Inn at Penn on June 14. They amended the Stat- shown that in utero editing could be a promising Collaboration Between utes to recognize the recently changed name of new approach for treating lung diseases before Amicus Therapeutics and Penn the School of Design, now the University of birth. Amicus Therapeutics and the Perelman Building off the initial success of the ongo- Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of De- School of Medicine recently announced a major ing Amicus-Penn collaboration, including com- sign (Almanac March 12, 2019). expansion to their collaboration with rights to pelling initial preclinical proof-of-concept data The Trustees re-elected David L. Cohen as pursue collaborative research and development in Pompe disease, this expanded relationship chair and Robert M.