Spring 2026 Newsletter
2025 Fellows Complete Communications Training; Check out their Research!
As part of its leadership program, the A.P. Giannini Foundation provides communications training to its fellows.This training including several months of one-on-one coaching with communications guru Brian Cooley, a former senior technology editor at CNET. The 2025 cohort met December 3, 2025, in San Francisco, to deliver polished presentations of their research, which you can view here.
Scientific Advisory Committee Member Attends Nobel Prize Ceremony
Mark Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., and his wife Laura Anderson, outside the 2025 Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden
An esteemed member of the foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee, Mark Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., was invited to attend the Nobel Prize award ceremony and banquet at Stockholm Concert Hall on December 10, 2025, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. This year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Sakaguchi Shimon for their groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body. A distinguished researcher in this field, Mark leads the Immune Tolerance Network and the UCSF Diabetes Center. He and his wife Laura were honored guests at the prestigious event, which in Mark’s words, was an amazing experience.
Leadership Retreat Builds Skills Beyond the Bench
From Left to Right: 2024 Fellow Rachael Chanin, Ph.D.; 2024 Fellow Mia Konjikusic, Ph.D.; 2024 Fellow Debra Van Egeren, Ph.D.; 2023 Fellow Shuyu Wang, M.D., Ph.D.; 2024 Fellow Jennifer Yonan, Ph.D.; and 2024 Fellow Pamela Basto, M.D., Ph.D.
The 2025 A.P. Giannini Foundation Leadership Retreat was held October 24-26 in Tiburon, CA, bringing together fellows to develop essential leadership competencies for their scientific careers. Over two days, participants—including 2024 recipients Pamela Basto, M.D. Ph.D., Mia Konjikusic, Ph.D., Jennifer Yonan, Ph.D., Debra Van Egeren, Ph.D., and Rachael Chanin, Ph.D., along with 2023 recipient Shuyu Wang, M.D. Ph.D.—learned to give and receive effective feedback, coach others’ growth, and delegate effectively by assessing skill and motivation. The retreat, facilitated by the foundation’s leadership consultant Mari Sciabica, emphasized practical application through case studies and peer exercises, culminating in values-based reflection and the creation of individual development plans to support the fellows’ ongoing growth as leaders.