Gladstone Institutes is an American independent, non-profit biomedical research organization whose focus is to better understand, prevent, treat and cure cardiovascular, viral and neurological conditions such as heart failure, HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. Its researchers study these diseases using techniques of basic and translational science. Another focus at Gladstone is building on the development of induced pluripotent stem cell technology by one of its investigators, 2012 Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka, to improve drug discovery, personalized medicine and tissue regeneration. Founded in 1979, Gladstone is academically affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and located adjacent to UCSF's Mission Bay campus. The organization comprises five major institutes, as well as multiple centers focused on various areas of research. The current president of the institute is Deepak Srivastava.

History

Gladstone Institutes was founded in 1979 as a research and training facility housed at San Francisco General Hospital. Under inaugural president Robert Mahley —a cardiovascular scientist recruited from the National Institutes of Health —the institutes was launched with a $8 million trust from the late commercial real estate developer, J. David Gladstone. In 2004 the Gladstone Institutes moved to a new facility in San Francisco's Mission Bay, San Francisco neighborhood. Dr. Mahley stepped down as president in 2010 to return to active research, and was replaced by R. Sanders Williams (former Dean of the School of Medicine at Duke University). Deepak Srivastava became the institute's third president in January 2018. In 2011, the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation helped launch the Center for Comprehensive Alzheimer's Disease Research, while the Roddenberry Foundation helped launch the Roddenberry Stem Cell Center for Biology and Medicine. Also in 2011, the independent and philanthropic Gladstone Foundation formed with the mission of expanding the financial resources for the institutes.

Organizational structure

Gladstone Institutes consists of five institutes: Gladstone is also home to eight centers for researchers from different institutes to collaborate. These centers focus on stem and iPS cell research, as well as neurodegenerative disease research and therapeutics.

Research programs

Cardiovascular disease

Gladstone cardiovascular scientists research the spectrum of cardiovascular disease, utilizing developmental, chemical, and stem cell biology approaches, as well as genomics techniques, across a variety of research programs and institutes. Their research has included:

Virology and immunology

In 1991, Gladstone expanded its focus to include virology and immunology in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Since then the institute has also studied hepatitis C, Zika virus, and COVID-19. In 2011, Gladstone launched a $25 million initiative around HIV and aging. Their research has included: In 2020, two new institutes were formed; the Gladstone Institute of Virology, and the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, to study how viruses interact with human cells to cause disease. The Institute of Virology has been involved in research regarding the COVID-19 virus, including its long-term effects on the heart, and studying samples of SARS-CoV-2 variations appearing in California, and their resistances to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

Neurological disease

Research at Gladstone focuses on major neurological diseases including: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) and multiple sclerosis. This research incorporates animal models, electrophysiology, behavioral testing and automated high-throughput analyses. In addition, Gladstone investigators seek to accelerate the movement of basic science discoveries into clinical trials with efforts to bridge the so-called "Valley of Death". The research features an emphasis on the common threads linking the various diseases and treatments for them. Current research programs include:

Stem cell technology

Another focus at Gladstone is building on the development of induced pluripotent stem cell technology by one of its senior investigators, 2012 Nobel Laureate Shinya Yamanaka. In 2006, Yamanaka discovered the technology, by which ordinary differentiated adult cells (such as fibroblasts from skin) could be "reprogrammed" into a pluripotent state—i.e., a state similar to embryonic stem cells, which are capable of developing into virtually any cell type in the human body. His discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, has since revolutionized the fields of developmental biology, stem cell research and both personalized and regenerative medicine. In 2012 Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Since Yamanaka's discovery, scientists at Gladstone have used iPS technology to research solutions for Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease, as well as create a new model for testing HIV/AIVD vaccines. Other work at the Data Science & Biotechnology Institute include:

Translational research

The Gladstone Center for Translational Advancement was formed in 2017, and focuses on drug repositioning; repurposing already-approved drugs for new uses and clinical trials, to speed up (and lower the cost of) drug development.

Controversy

On November 22, 2024 the U.S House Education and Workforce and the House Energy and Commerce Committees announced they are jointly investigating the Gladstone Institutes for its handling of antisemitic incidents. The letter sent by the committee leadership to Deepak Srivastava and the Gladstone Institute cites several instances of antisemitic behavior conducted by faculty and staff, coupled with either no response from the administration or allegedly retaliatory actions against the complainants. These examples of antisemitic activities include:

Researchers

Current researchers at the institute include: Former researchers: