The Rees-Stealy Research Foundation (RSRF) Laboratory is a non-profit research facility with the mission of conducting applied biomedical research. The Foundation was established in 1938 by Drs. Rees and Stealy, founders of the Medical Group. Homer D. Peabody, Jr. M.D., Director of the Rees-Stealy Medical Group has served as the Foundation's Executive Director since 1972. The Laboratory originally was in the main Rees-Stealy building at 2001 Fourth Street, but moved to a 1905 two-story structure at the corner of Fourth and Hawthorn in 1968, where Dr. Benjamin Stimmel, the Director of Research, was developing refined methods of determining hormones in blood and body fluids. Dr. Stanley Kushinsky continued this work and developed new analytic methods for clinical laboratory use.  

Basic research conducted at the RSRF Laboratory in diabetes, obesity, fat metabolism, and clinical studies in cancer, polio, pulmonary disease,and smoking have led to numerous publications in the medical literature. The Laboratory had several interval sites before occupying a small house at 328 Grape Street in 1990. In November 1995 the Lab moved to larger quarters at 421 Grape Street. Drs. Paul Paolini and Stephen Dahms assumed responsibility as Scientific Directors of the Laboratory in 1990. (Dr. Paolini is a Professor of Biology and also Associate Dean of the College of Sciences at SDSU; Dr. Dahms is a Professor of Chemistry and also Director of the systemwide California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB).

Dr. Ezra Béjar joined the Laboratory in November, 1992 to serve as Laboratory Director. In July of 1996 two additional researchers joined RSRF, Dr. Kevin Krown was appointed as a Staff Scientist, to share duties with Dr. Béjar in the design and execution of research, and to supervise student training. Dr. Larry Brandt, Professor Emeritus of Biology of SDSU, also joined the Foundation in 1996 ,continuing his experimental work on the electrophysiology of excitable cells. Dr. Kevin Krown will assume responsibility as the Laboratory's manager on June 1, 1997.

The primary research focus of the Laboratory is heart cell physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Experiments at RSRFL use isolated heart cells from the rat, Human atrial and ventricular cells are also used in some studies. These cells are obtained through the Laboratory's collaboration with the San Diego Cardiac Center surgical team, Drs. Lawrence Favrot, Walter Dembitsky, and Brian Jaski at Sharp Memorial Hospital. The research techniques employed at the RSRFL include:

• video and fluorescence microscopy
• computerized image analysis and data acquisition
• a variety of pharmacological assays (e.g. using receptor agonists and antagonists)
• biochemical molecular biological methods (e.g. ELISA, electrophoresis).
• computer modeling and simulation of the heart and the heart myocytes

An emphasis is also placed at the Laboratory upon the training of graduate and undergraduate students, an activity shared by all its professional staff. Undergraduate students from SDSU, USD, UCSD and local community colleges have participated in the research activities of the Laboratory, receiving research mentoring from Drs. Béjar, Krown, Paolini, Dahms, Brandt and Peabody. Former students have entered numerous medical and professional schools including Harvard and University of California.

The Laboratory is supported in part by bequests from trust funds left by former patients of the Rees-Stealy Medical Group and by private foundation research grants to Drs. Paolini, Béjar and Krown. Sources of funding have included the California Metabolic Research Foundation and the Sharp Healthcare Foundation. Additionally, federal and private training funds provide support for undergraduate and graduate students in the Laboratory. IFunds have been provided by the NIH Minority International Research Traineeship program; the NIH Bridges to the Future), the NSF Research Careers for Minority Scholars program, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The Laboratory is always grateful for individual donations to assist in these studies.