The Altadena Guild is a group of volunteers who are passionate about helping the community.  Over the years, they have raised $2-million for HMRI.  Debbie Williams is the Guild’s current president.   This year’s Home Tour was co-chaired by Dale Hansen, Kim Michero and Diana Trujillo.  HMRI wishes to offer thanks to each of them as well as all of the Guild members.  The Home Tour is a massive project that involves nearly a year of planning.  It speaks to the dedication of the Guild members that they have been doing a Home Tour for the past sixty one years.

HMRI also offers thanks to the generous home owners who opened their homes for this year’s tour:  Jim & Chantal Giddens, Tim & Catherine Cadogan, Bill & Fanya Thomson, Mark & Alison Gamble, and Bob & Kim Michero.  Their homes provided for a wonderful day for those who attended.

Midlothian Drive is one of the most prestigious streets in Altadena.  This year, two historic homes and two new additions to the neighborhood were showcased.  They included:

House #1

Built in 2007, this grand Georgian Colonial revivial is set in a park-like yard shaded by mature California oaks.  It features  a sweeping double staircase, an elegant living room, and a formal dining room.

House #2

Designed by famed architect Wallace Neff, this Monterey Spanish revival dates back to 1930 and was recently renovated.  Highlights of the day included the captivating living room, a double height bookcase, and the “Sky Bar” off of the master bedroom.

House #3

With an Asian motif, this home was an elegant showcase for the vibrant art painted by the owner.  The kitchen, master suite, art studio, and even the laundry room reflected an inspired design aesthetic

House #4

Constructed in 1930, this Monterey Colonial sits on lush grounds that include an updated brick pool area.  The nautical-themed library, rich red dining area, and vintage Magic Chef stove made this home one of the more memorable stops on the tour.

Included within the price of the ticket, the Guild provided tour guests with complimentary dessert and refreshments at the Tea Garden.   For those wanting libations, sandwiches, and live music, the tour offered The Altadini Bar.  Also featured as part of the day were arts and crafts from a variety of artisans.

All in all, it was a good day for a good cause.   And HMRI is grateful to all who attended.

Additional support for the 61^st Home Tour was provided by a distinguished list of patrons and business sponsors, including The Langham and Citizens Business Bank.

Kaur, P., B. Ward, B. Saha, L. Young, S. Groshen, G. Techy, Y. Lu, R. Atkinson, C. R. Taylor, M. Ingram and S. A. Imam (2011). “Human breast cancer histoid: an in vitro 3-dimensional co-culture model that mimics breast cancer tissue.” J Histochem Cytochem 59(12): 1087-100.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Kanamori, K. and B. D. Ross (2011). “Chronic electrographic seizure reduces glutamine and elevates glutamate in the extracellular fluid of rat brain.”  Brain Res 1371: 180-91.

Lingwood, M., Abelsoud, O., Sailasuta, N., Ross, B., Bhattacharya, P., Han, Songi, et al. Hyperpolarized water as an MRI contrast agent: feasibility of in vivo imaging in a rat model. Radiology. 2012: in press.

Sailasuta, N., Harris, K., Tran, T. Ross, B. (2011). Minimally invasive biomarker confirms glial activation present in Alzheimer’s disease: a preliminary study. Neuropsychiatric Dis Treat 7:495-499

Sailasuta, N., Harris, K., Tran, T. Ross, B. (2011). Minimally invasive biomarker confirms glial activation present in Alzheimer’s disease: a preliminary study. Neuropsychiatric Dis Treat. 7:495-499 [Corrigenda. Neuropsychiatric Dis & Treat. 2011: 7:707]

Bhattacharya, P., E. Y. Chekmenev, W. F. Reynolds, S. Wagner, N. Zacharias, H. R. Chan, R. Bunger and B. D. Ross (2011). “Parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) hyperpolarized MR receptor imaging in vivo: a pilot study of 13C imaging of atheroma in mice.” NMR Biomed 24(8): 1023-8.

Zacharias, N. M., H. R. Chan, N. Sailasuta, B. D. Ross and P. Bhattacharya (2011). “Real-Time Molecular Imaging of Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle Metabolism in Vivo by Hyperpolarized 1-(13)C Diethyl Succinate.” J Am Chem Soc.

Kallianpur, K.J., Kirk, G.R., Sailasuta, N., Valcour, V., Shiramizu, B., Nakamoto, B. , Shikuma, C. Regional cortical thinning associated with detectable levels of HIV DNA. Cerebral Cortex. 2011: in press. [PMDI 22016479]

Molecular Neurology

Fonteh, A. N., R. Chung, T. L. Sharma, R. D. Fisher, J. M. Pogoda, R. Cowan and M. G. Harrington (2011). “Cerebrospinal fluid phospholipase C activity increases in migraine.” Cephalalgia 31(4): 456-62.

Arakaki, X., H. Foster, L. Su, H. Do, A. J. Wain, A. N. Fonteh, F. Zhou and M. G. Harrington (2011). “Extracellular sodium modulates the excitability of cultured hippocampal pyramidal cells.” Brain Res 1401: 85-94.

Harrington, M. G., E. Y. Chekmenev, V. Schepkin, A. N. Fonteh and X. Arakaki (2011). “Sodium MRI in a rat migraine model and a NEURON simulation study support a role for sodium in migraine.” Cephalalgia 31(12): 1254-65.

Molecular Oncology

Yokoyama E, Eggerding F, Bass HN. Novel presentation of early-onset HNPCC syndrome due to a biallelic PMS2 mutation. American College of Human Genetics annual meeting, Vancouver, Canada, 2011.

Chisholm CM, Eggerding F, Broome DL, Bass HN Ahmed SA. Study of clinical and pathological data of patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis and description of two novel mutations. American College of Human Genetics annual meeting, Vancouver, Canada, 2011.

Molecular Pathology

Singer, E. M., L. E. Crocitto, Y. Choi, S. Loera, L. M. Weiss, S. A. Imam, T. G. Wilson and S. S. Smith (2011). “Biomarker identification with ligand-targeted nucleoprotein assemblies.” Nanomedicine (Lond) 6(4): 659-668.

Singer E, J. Linehan, S.A. Imam, D. Smith, S. Loera, T. Wilson, S. Smith S. (2011).  Distinguishing prostate cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia by nanodevice detection of biomarkers associated with reactive stroma. Poster for Proceeding of the 12^th annual meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology/World Urological Oncology Federation, pp. 64A.

Chaiwun, B., N. Sukhamwang, H. Trakultivakorn, B. Saha, L. Young, D. Tsao-Wei, W. Y. Naritoku, S. Groshen, C. R. Taylor and S. A. Imam (2011). “GSTPi-positive tumour microenvironment-associated fibroblasts are significantly associated with GSTPi-negative cancer cells in paired cases of primary invasive breast cancer and axillary lymph node metastases.” Br J Cancer 105(8): 1224-1229.

Kaur, P., B. Ward, B. Saha, L. Young, S. Groshen, G. Techy, Y. Lu, R. Atkinson, C. R. Taylor, M. Ingram and S. A. Imam (2011).  ”Human breast cancer histoid: an in vitro 3-dimensional co-culture model that mimics breast cancer tissue.” J Histochem Cytochem 59(12): 1087-1100.

Neural Engineering

Manoonkitiwongsa, P. S. (2011). “Critical questions for preclinical trials on safety and efficacy of vascular endothelial growth factor-based therapeutic angiogenesis for ischemic stroke.” CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets 10(2): 215-34.

Han, M., P. S. Manoonkitiwongsa, C. X. Wang and D. B. McCreery “In-Vivo Validation of Custom-Designed Silicon-based Microelectrode Arrays for Long-term Neural Recording and Stimulation.” IEEE Trans Biomed Eng.

McCreery, D.B. and S.R. Otto (2011) The Cochlear Nucleus ABI as a Treatment for Profound Hearing Loss. in Auditory Prostheses: New Horizons, Springer Handbook of Auditory Research (Zeng F-G, A.N. Popper, and R.R. Fay RR, eds.), pp 179-206. New York: Springer.

Sahin, M. and V. Pikov (2011). “Wireless microstimulators for neural prosthetics.” Crit Rev Biomed Eng 39(1): 63-77.

Conference Proceedings

McCreery, D.B., A. Kouprine, V. Pikov, and M. Han. Development of Hybrid Arrays for Brain-Machine Interface Using Commercial Microelectrodes. in Society for Neuroscience. 2011. District of Columbia, Washington. Program No. 520.07.

Wang, C.X. and M. Han. Effects of Probe Tip Geometry on Insertion Force in Development of Implantable Microelectrode Arrays. in Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Fall Meeting. October 12 – 15, 2011. Hartford, CT. Program No.PS-Sat-B-74.

Kane, S. R., S. F. Cogan, J. Ehrlich, T. D. Plante and D. B. McCreery “Electrical performance of penetrating microelectrodes chronically implanted in cat cortex.” Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2011: 5416-9.

Han, M., H. Duong, D.B. McCreery, and P.S. Manoonkitawongsa. Implantable Hybrid Arrays with Silicon and Bi-Morphic Probes and Their Tissue Response. in Society for Neuroscience. 2011. District of Columbia, Washington. Program No. 520.06.

Siegel, H. P., and V. Pikov, (2011). “Millimeter wave-induced changes in membrane properties of leech Retzius neurons.” Proc. Of SPIE Vol. 7883 788356-1.

Cong, M.d.C. and M. Han, Quantification of Tissue Response to a Novel Bimorphic Neural Probe. in Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Fall Meeting. October 12 – 15, 2011. Hartford, CT. Program No.PS-Sat-B-70.

“I have always been interested in the discoveries of medical research,” he noted. “HMRI is doing important work, and while I am not a Ph.D., I have been involved in the development of many projects over the years, and I may be able assist in new ideas under consideration.”

Mielke is founder of MHi, a real estate development and asset management firm with offices in Pasadena and in Oregon. With over 30 years in the industry, Mielke is involved in every MHi project.

Prior to founding MHi in 1991, he served as president of EGS Metro Corporation and later as a principal of Gemtel Corporation, both commercial development companies. He is currently a managing partner of various real estate entities.

A native of North Dakota, Mielke has lived in Pasadena since 1971 and was a member of the Board of Trustees of Westridge School. He also served as president of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and is currently on the board of the Banning Museum. He is active in the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Mielke holds an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California, and an undergraduate degree from Oregon State University.  A practicing CPA in his early career, he joined Kaufman and Broad in 1968 and has been involved in the development of real estate ever since.

Dr. Corey was an influential physician and researcher, serving HMRI in three key positions. He was the director of clinical investigation at the HMRI Liver Center, supervising the planning, implementation and evaluation of clinical trials for new Hepatitis B and C drugs. He was also an active member of the board, offering his counsel, guidance and insights to assist HMRI clinical trials, not only in the area of liver disease but also in other biomedical research areas as well. And as medical advisor and trustee of the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, Dr. Corey assisted HMRI in obtaining seed money for cardiology, imaging and molecular neurology to advance new areas of research.

“Dr. Corey will be fondly remembered as a compassionate internal medicine physician and researcher, an avid rancher and traveler,” said Dr. William Opel, HMRI president. “He was an amazing life force.”

Dr. Corey is survived by his wife of 44 years, Janice Corey, his five children, grandchildren and his siblings.

A memorial fund has been created in Dr. Corey’s honor, which will support liver disease research at HMRI. Gifts are payable to HMRI and must be mailed to:

William G. Corey, M.D. Memorial Fund for Liver Disease Research
c/o Ms. Diane James
Director of Development
HMRI
734 Fairmount Ave.
Pasadena, CA  91101

Anyone wishing to send condolences to the Corey family may also send cards to the HMRI contact above.

“Mysteries of Migraine”

Evening education seminar with Dr. Michael Harrington, HMRI Director of Molecular Neurology and his long-time colleague Dr. Robert P. Cowan, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Headache Program at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Drs. Harrington and Cowan will discuss research, diagnosis, treatment and causes of migraines at a free seminar on Friday, June 1, 5:30 to 7 p.m., in Braun Auditorium at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.  They will cover their well-documented scientific research with the hope of dispelling misconceptions and to bring new hope for those burdened with migraines.

Information about resources will be available at the seminar, and a question and answer period will follow their presentation. Dr. Harrington would like to engage study participants for the migraine research at HMRI, so the public is welcome to attend, learn, and to perhaps help advance scientific understanding.

Make plans now to join us for this special evening that will include an Opening Reception with the presenters from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. Appetizers and beverages will be provided.

Public parking is available at the Huntington Hospital – Pasadena Parking Lot on Pasadena Avenue and at the East Parking structure located on the corner of Congress and Fairmount. The cost is $6.  Detailed information about hospital campus parking is on the Huntington Hospital website http://www.huntingtonhospital.com/Uploads/Public/HHParkingMap511.pdf.

Register online at www.hmri.org. Direct inquiries to Esther Dickinson at dickinson@hmri.org or call (626) 397-5805.

Theme: “Celebrating 60 Years of Research Excellence”

Date: Monday, October 22, 2012

Location: Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena. Event Chairperson: Ann Hall, HMRI board member. For additional information, contact: Esther Dickinson at HMRI: (626) 397-5805; email – dickinson@hmri.org.