• Pamela Maher, Ph.D, a senior staff scientist in the Salk Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory, led a team of researchers in the discovery that fisetin, a natural compound found in some fruits and vegetables, slows the onset of symptoms associated with Huntington’s disease, an inherited disorder caused by a genetic repetition that destroys neurons in parts of the brain. The team’s findings showed that when fisetin was fed to fruit flies with mutant Huntingtin genes in the brain, they had fewer motor defects, such as impaired eye development, and extended their life spans by 30 percent. Although fisetin does not reverse or stop progress of the disease, especially in its advanced stages, Maher’s team found that the compound may slow the progression of motor problems such as the inability to walk, talk and reason in the early stages of the disease. Maher and her team’s findings were published in the online edition of Human Molecular Genetics. The effects of fisetin in humans with Huntington’s disease has not yet been tested; however, Maher and her team’s findings lay the groundwork for future research on fisetin’s benefits for patients with early signs of the disease. • Hank Antis has joined Lee & Associates, the largest broker-owned firm in the nation, as a senior associate for the San Diego UTC office. Antis, a New Orleans native, earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of South West Louisiana in 1973 and received his Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) designation in 1999. He began his real estate career in 1984 at Latter & Blum, specializing in industrial real estate brokerage. In 2005, Antis became vice president of the San Diego Industrial Division of The Trammell Crow Company, and in 2009 he formed H. Antis Real Estate, Inc., specializing in tenant/purchaser representation. • Ira Flatow, radio host for NPR’s weekly science talk show “Science Friday,” won the 10th annual Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest from the University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He accepted his award at the Scripps Seaside Forum on Nov. 16. The prize, named in honor of William A. Nierenberg, who led Scripps for 21 years, awards people who bring excitement and awareness of scientific advancements to the public. Flatow has been a journalist for 40 years. During that time, he has interviewed some of the world’s most renowned scientists, including primatologist Jane Goodall, neurologist Oliver Sacks and Charles David Keeling, father of the Keeling Curve. • La Jolla Historical Society has elected Suzi Bustamante and David Goldberg to serve on the society’s Board of Directors. Bustamante, who holds an MBA in Healthcare Management, is the senior director of marketing and communications at Scripps Health Care in La Jolla and has more than 15 years of experience in strategic planning and marketing and communications initiatives. Goldberg served on the board of directors in the late 1990s as well as the board of the International Forum of Corporate Directors. He has also volunteered for the La Jolla Historical Society’s Finance Committee and currently serves on the board of directors of the Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO). • Joan Brown Kearney, a La Jolla Debutante Committee member, recently announced the receipt of a poster from the Navy Seal Team as “thank-you” for a Mother’s Day brunch that the committee hosted for 600 family members of deployed servicemen and servicewomen. The brunch took place in May at the Hotel Del Coronado in lieu of the committee’s semi-annual ball. The La Jolla Debutante Committee has generated $2 million dollars over the years, which has been distributed to various children’s charities in San Diego.
