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Business Journals
23-05-2025
- Health
- Business Journals
Accelerating innovation is in the DNA at South San Francisco's Gateway of Pacific
What if innovation were as simple as putting a bunch of smart people in a room and knocking down some walls? If cancer researcher Reuben Shaw's story is any indication, you shouldn't rule out the possibility. Shaw, whose research on the metabolism of cancer has led to the discovery of multiple therapies for cancer and metabolic disease, leads the influential National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, a leading independent nonprofit research organization located in San Diego. He was recently invited to speak on the craft of innovation at a gathering of CEOs and other executives at BioMed Realty's Gateway of Pacific life science campus in South San Francisco. Shaw's talk examined, among other topics, the building blocks of innovation — literally. expand 'The physical space where people work influences their attitudes and the discoveries that are possible within them,' Shaw told the audience of scientists, technologists and business leaders. 'This is particularly true for engineers and computer scientists and for pure bench lab researchers.' Shaw pointed to his own lab at the Salk Institute as evidence. 'There are no walls between the labs,' he said. 'It's an extremely flexible infrastructure.' Designed by architect Louis Kahn in close collaboration with Jonas Salk, the American virologist who developed a vaccine for polio before going on to found the Salk Institute, the concrete-and-teak Brutalist masterpiece consists of 29 separate structures centered around a courtyard. Its large, open laboratory spaces were designed to adapt to the evolving needs of biological science. 'It is really an open, magnificent structure that was built with incredible foresight,' said Shaw. Joining Shaw to talk about the craft of innovation was JoAnn Garbin, co-author of 'The Insider's Guide to Innovation @ Microsoft,' which goes behind the scenes of one of the world's most valuable companies to show how teams can unlock their creative and collaborative potential. A serial entrepreneur and four-time founder herself, Garbin served as director of innovation for the Regenerative Datacenter of the Future program at Microsoft from 2019-2024. Among Garbin's anecdotes about innovation at Microsoft were the development of the original Xbox, which was released in 2001. 'Twenty years ago, all Microsoft did was operating systems and productivity tools,' Garbin recounted. 'So when they decided to spin off a gaming business, they said 'we're not putting Microsoft on the box,' which is why so many people don't even know Xbox is a Microsoft product.' expand But the Xbox team took it a step further, Garbin revealed. 'They said, 'We're going to move down the street and build our own office, and we're going to work down there for the next five to 15 years, so that we're big enough and secure enough in our own industry before we reintegrate with the mothership, so that you don't swallow us whole.' Once again, it was people in that innovation space recognizing the impact of our environments on our creativity.' Garbin's and Shaw's talks reaffirmed the architectural philosophy behind host BioMed Realty's Gateway of Pacific campus. As Garbin put it: 'Physical spaces that we inhabit are never neutral. They either facilitate something or they inhibit something.' Developed over five phases, BioMed Realty's Gateway of Pacific campus consists of 2.2 million square feet of state-of-the-art life science and office space. One of the largest and most amenitized life science campuses in the Bay Area, Gateway of Pacific supports growing and established life science companies. The campus's central courtyard is a Zen-like environment designed to foster connection and collaboration outside of the office or laboratory. Flowing seamlessly into the central courtyard via retractable window-walls is Forum, a premier 20,000-square-foot conference center equipped with cutting-edge audio-visual systems. Its adaptable layouts mean it can flex as a destination for collaboration, presentations or celebrations. Health and wellness are at the heart of the Gateway of Pacific building design. Traverse, Gateway's LEED Platinum- and Fitwel-certified central amenity building, offers an array of culinary, fitness and community experiences, including dining options, a fitness center and meeting spaces for tenants. Open to the public and surrounding businesses, Traverse has become a popular destination for dining and special events in the 'East of 101' South San Francisco biotech cluster. Also at the campus, BioMed Realty hosts over 80 Discover Here tenant exclusive experiences each year, ranging from karaoke nights to symposiums, that help promote collaboration and connection among employees. In March 2025, Proper Food opened a new location in Gateway of Pacific III, energizing the property's lobby with a vibrant café and lounge. The latest phase of the campus to be delivered is Gateway of Pacific V. Consisting of 320,000 square feet of world-class lab and office space across five levels, the property features a sports court, a sculpture garden, curated lobby design and several open landscaped areas. Located in a vibrant research community within one of the world's premier life science ecosystems, BioMed Realty's Gateway of Pacific is a true landmark. The fully integrated campus is designed to the highest institutional standards, featuring distinct and robust buildings within an active, urban park setting. Floor plates for our latest phase, Gateway of Pacific V, range from 21,000-38,000 square feet, with an opportunity for full-building users. To learn more about leasing opportunities at Gateway of Pacific, visit its website. Aaron Welch is a freelance writer.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
What is metabolic dysfunction? Dr. Casey Means, Trump's surgeon general pick, calls it key factor in chronic disease
What to know about the effort to get rid of artificial food dyes Dr. Casey Means, President Trump's nominee to serve as the U.S. surgeon general, is a prominent proponent of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "MAHA," or "Make America Healthy Again," agenda. Her work has largely focused on metabolic dysfunction — but what is it? Metabolic dysfunction occurs when our body cannot normally process our food the way we are designed to, Satchidananda Panda, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, told CBS News. He offered an analogy: Cars run on gas, but if you filled a car that takes unleaded gas with leaded gas mixed with kerosene and alcohol, it won't function properly. "Your engine might run, but actually your engine will not function properly, and maybe a couple hundred miles or 1,000 miles, your engine, or the car, is starting to break down. So that's what happens," he said. "When we don't eat properly, and when we don't exercise properly, and when we don't let our body to repair, rejuvenate and reset, then this metabolic dysfunction happens." Metabolic dysfunction can lead to a number of symptoms and even increase the risk of certain serious health conditions, Panda said. Means, an M.D., author and entrepreneur, often cites metabolic dysfunction as the "key reason" why we develop chronic disease, warning about the impact of "our modern, toxic ultraprocessed food supply" and the use of chemicals and pesticides. She's previously said about 88% of Americans suffer from metabolic dysfunction, referencing a 2022 paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that found only 6.8% of U.S. adults had "optimal cardiometabolic health." If you've never heard of the term, Panda said it's often an overlooked area — pointing to a larger focus on pills and treatments rather than prevention. "It's not very attractive," he said. "People say, 'Oh, yeah, it's good lifestyle. We all know that.' So people pooh-pooh that particular aspect of research. They don't want to hear that they can go and change their behavior to improve health." What is metabolic syndrome? Metabolic syndrome is when someone experiences a group of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, according to the Cleveland Clinic. To be diagnosed with the syndrome, someone needs at least three of the following: Excess abdominal weight High blood pressure High blood sugar High cholesterol High triglyceride levels Up to one-third of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome, but the numbers are growing, according to the Mayo Clinic. Other names for it include syndrome X, insulin resistance syndrome and dysmetabolic syndrome. If you have even one of the criteria on the list, "that already shows you that you have some underlying metabolic dysfunction. So that's why we always say that we should actually be more mindful about metabolic dysfunction and start to act on it before we are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome," Panda said. There are things you can do to keep your metabolic health, and therefore general health, in good standing, he said, including regular exercise, eating a healthy diet and not being overweight. Metabolic health roadblocks Many people face challenges to pursuing optimal metabolic health, however, Panda notes, including education and access. Few people are taught the building blocks of a healthy diet or the importance of sleep, he says. Plus, society isn't always structured to support healthy eating and sleeping, from late-night deadlines in school to shift workers' schedules and food deserts that make it harder to find or afford fresh fruits and vegetables. Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said she's a big believer in prevention, but believes the Trump administration's funding cuts will set back progress. "What doesn't add up is that the administration claims to want to prevent chronic diseases while at the same time eliminating the CDC's chronic disease prevention programs," she said. "You can't fix what you don't measure — and that's exactly what's happening with the CDC cuts." In his reorganization of HHS, Kennedy has touted the creation of new Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA, with a mandate to address chronic diseases, including metabolic diseases. But according to the draft HHS budget, it would receive far less funding than the cuts made to the CDC — about $500 million compared to $3.6 billion. "There's been no transparency into what AHA will do and how. What are their policies and strategies? We don't know," Gounder said.
Los Angeles Times
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The Brutalist is making waves during award season, but the real architects that inspired the story offer a polarizing reflection of the American Dream
Just like Brutalism itself, there is so much more to The Brutalist than meets the eye In spite of the extraordinary runtime of Brady Corbet's The Brutalist (a three and a half hour epic that includes an intermission), the film has been making quite the buzz during the 2025 awards season. The film recently earned ten nominations at the 2025 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Brady Corbet, and Best Actor for Adrien Brody. Yet, even amid the critical acclaim and accolades that The Brutalist has earned thus far, none of these awards can capture what it's really like to see the film in person. I saw this movie in 70mm at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles, and it remains one of the most striking movie experiences I can remember — I was astounded by the film's breathtaking cinematography, the harrowing performances of its two leads, and the way this story immerses you in the darkest side of the American Dream. The Brutalist makes viewers believe that the title refers to the character of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), an architect and immigrant trying to make his fortune in America after World War II, who practices the architectural style of brutalism. But as the movie goes on, we come to learn that the real Brutalist is Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce), an abusive and manipulative patron to László's art, whose incredible hostility and brutality begins to transfer into László's projects and life. The Brutalist forces the audience to confront not only the marginalization and prejudice of immigrants, but the abuse, manipulation, and suffering these men and women endured in order to achieve the success that America promised. Ultimately, the film makes you question whether the American Dream really existed at all. The real-life architects that inspired Lázló Toth An amalgamation of multiple Brutalist architects from the same era, Rolling Stone identifies two specific names as core influences for Lázló Tóth: those being Louis Kahn and Marcel Braur. Those names should sound familiar to architecture students, as Kahn and Braur are both regarded as influential pioneers within their respective styles. Not only did these prolific artists leave behind numerous buildings across the world that speak to their legacy, the lives of both architects serve as a stark reflection of the stereotypical American Dream – warts and all. Marcel Braur, for example, was a German-Austrian architect who came to the U.S. in 1937 and became a naturalized citizen in 1944, where he rose up to become a leading voice in 20th century architecture through his arresting, experimental designs. Similarly, Louis Kahn was an Estonian born architect who first immigrated to the U.S. as a child, rising from his humble beginnings to develop a distinctive, monumental and brutalist style that established him as one of the preeminent architects in the country. Kahn's most famous works like the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, and the Yale University Art Gallery, capture monolithic shapes of brick, concrete and wood – refusing to hide the materials from which these monuments rise, and instead calling attention to the colossal weight they carry. Louis Kahn and László both experienced a 'brutal' end to their American Dream. It's easy to read both of Kahn and Braur's stories as evocative of the American Dream itself: this idea that anybody can come to the U.S. and achieve untold success through years of painstaking dedication and hard work. One could certainly interpret Kahn's work as a reflection of all of the trials, hardships, and scandals that his life encompassed — forcing the viewer to confront the magnitude of the brick and mortar in front of them, just as he had to acknowledge the brutal legacy he would leave behind. Despite being regarded as one of America's greatest living architects at the time, Louis Kahn died alone at Penn Station in 1973, and his body remained unclaimed and unidentified at the city morgue for two days. Kahn also left behind three different families unaware of each other's existence, a somber legacy that seems comparable to the brooding, mysterious monoliths he created. In this, the story of László Tóth and Louis Kahn share a common thread, as the brutality of László's own story implicitly drives the monumental structures he creates. In The Brutalist we follow László through his version of the American Dream: from his horrific experiences in the Holocaust, to his first view of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, through the years of rigorous study and work that finally establish him as a global leader in architecture. Yet, this entire journey is underscored by László's suffering, which bleeds into his behavior and his work. Even as Harrison continues to abuse and demean László , the up-and-coming architect refuses to halt construction on his projects, taking out his anger on his construction team and his wife, framing his personal struggles as sacrifices for his art. The movie seems to imply that his architecture itself is an embodiment of the pain he's endured, their brutality a reflection of the sacrifices he's made to get them built in the first place. Appreciating Brutalism is appreciating the construction of America itself. At its core, The Brutalist is a movie that asks the audience to change their perspective – recontextualizing not only the American Dream, but the architectural style in its name. Brutalism is primarily viewed as an ugly architectural style: soulless, overpowering buildings that always seem out of place. The Brutalist invites audiences to see Brutalism with new eyes, and asks that Brutalism shouldn't be considered 'ugly' when you consider the suffering that the architects went through to create their buildings. The film humanizes this often-dismissed architectural style and asks you to look beyond the aesthetic appeal of these buildings, to the profound personal costs embedded in their structures. The movie simultaneously challenges the view that the American Dream is some infallible benchmark for the country, pointing out the injustices and prejudices that batter men like László as they fight for their creations. The Brutalist is more than just a cinematic epic, it is a compelling call to shift our perspectives – on architecture, on the American Dream, and on the narratives we construct around them. By recontextualizing these topics, the film cultivates a deeper understanding of the humanity and lives that undermine them, challenging us to appreciate the stories of resilience and sacrifice that helped build this country we call home. Related
