• Mark Fischer was recently elected to the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology’s board of directors. Fischer is the president and owner of Sullivan Moving and Storage Company, the largest United Van Lines agent in San Diego County. He said he joined the La Jolla Institute’s board because, apart from a desire to become more directly involved in pubic service activities, he is interested in the work the institute is doing on developing treatments for immune system-driven diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. Fischer’s wife, Carol, was diagnosed with MS 24 years ago. “Mr. Fischer is a ‘can do’ kind of individual who has built his company into one of the leaders in its field,” Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., the La Jolla Institute’s president and chief scientific officer, said in a recent statement. “This attitude, coupled with his personal passion for fighting immune-based diseases, will make him a real asset on our board of directors.” • Samuel Pfaff and Ge Bai of the Salk Institute, along with a team of researchers, published a study in the Jan. 7 issue of the journal Cell of their findings on presenilin, a component of the enzyme gamma secretase, which plays a role in early-onset familial Alzheimer’s. The study uncovered the productive side of presenilin, which was found to help motor neurons in embryonic development. Pfaff led the team of researchers while Bai authored the study.
