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Mainly Mozart – the San Diego nonprofit behind the highly acclaimed Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival – is honored to announce Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., MBA, Professor, President and CEO of La Jolla Institute for Immunology, is the 2025 San Diego Genius Award honoree. Dr. Sapphire will be recognized Oct. 18 at the Genius Awards Dinner at the Westgate Hotel. Tickets are available now at mainlymozart.org/genius. Since 2015, the Genius Award has celebrated extraordinary individuals whose contributions span science, technology, and the arts, enrich the community, and embody “Genius in the Spirit of Mozart.” Saphire joins past recipients Dr. Irwin Jacobs (2015), Dr. Andrew Viterbi (2016), Dr. Walter Munk (2017), Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn (2018), Chancellor Pradeep Khosla (2019), Susan Tousi (2022), Dr. David Brenner (2023), and Dr. Al Pisano (2024). This year’s Genius Award Selection Committee members included Martha Dennis (chair), Steve Hart (chair), Irwin Jacobs, Joel Buxbaum, and David Brenner. Dr. Saphire’s pioneering research at La Jolla Institute for Immunology has unraveled the molecular mechanisms by which viruses such as Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, and SARS-CoV-2 infect human cells and evade immune defenses. Under her leadership, teams have solved the high-resolution structures of multiple viral glycoproteins, guided global vaccine design efforts, and spearheaded the collaborative consortia—including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–supported CoVIC initiative and the NIAID Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Immunotherapeutic Consortium—that united scientists across five continents in life-saving immunotherapeutic research, closing the critical gap between scientific breakthroughs and real-world medical interventions. Recognizing another crucial research gap, Dr. Saphire recently launched a groundbreaking institute-wide initiative focused on uncovering sex-based differences in the immune system. Dr. Saphire’s work has been recognized at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, with young investigator awards from the International Congress of Antiviral Research, the American Society for Microbiology, the MRC Centre for Virus Research in the United Kingdom, and the California Life Sciences Pantheon Award for Academia and Marion Spencer Fay Award. She has been awarded a Fulbright Global Scholar fellowship from the United States Department of State and a Mercator Fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, to develop international collaborations using cryoelectron microscopy to further global health. Tickets for the gala support Mainly Mozart’s artistic and educational programs, including the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra, the All-Star Orchestra Festival and Mainly Mozart’s music education initiatives and community outreach programs, including its long-term partnership with Art of Autism. Mainly Mozart® on Facebook / Instagram

Award-winning writer George Sanders will be a featured guest at the 31st Annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea, "Writing Across the Divide." George Saunders is an American writer known for his New York Times bestselling, Booker Prize-winning novel "Lincoln in the Bardo." Saunders is known for his sharp wit, moral insight, and inventive storytelling. Saunders’ newest book is "Vigil," an electric novel taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO in the twilight hours of his life as he is ferried from this world into the next. A longtime contributor to The New Yorker and a creative writing professor at Syracuse University, Saunders is admired for exploring kindness, consumerism, and the human condition with humor and humanity. Saunders is celebrated for his short stories, essays, and novels that blend satire, surrealism, and compassion. Saunders’ acclaimed collections include "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline," "Pastoralia," and "Tenth of December," which was a finalist for the National Book Award. Tickets are offered in partnership with Warwick’s. Included in the ticket is live music, which begins at 6:15 p.m. when doors open for seating. The 31st Anniversary Writer's Symposium by the Sea will be February 25-27, 2026, also featuring broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff and award-winning writer Jamaica Kincaid. For more info, visit here: https://www.pointloma.edu/2026writers.

"Moving Pictures" showcases dynamic new works by faculty and student choreographers in a vibrant collage of dance. This concert captures motion, emotion, and storytelling through movement—offering a powerful, visually rich performance experience. Join us for an evening where dance becomes a living picture. MiraCosta College Theatre on Facebook / Instagram

Immigration lawyers who have little experience with habeas corpus petitions are turning to informal networks and a software developer from Chicago to help them with their cases.

The MacArthur "Genius" Award-winner was best known as the founder of the Disability Visibility Project, which highlights disabled people and disability culture through storytelling projects, social media and other channels.

In a petition to the premier human rights watchdog in the Americas, the first challenge to U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats argues that the death was an extrajudicial killing.

Food and Drug Administration officials say they will ratchet up requirements for vaccine studies, citing concerns about COVID shots for kids. But public health experts question the agency's analysis.

Books can be life-changing for people who are incarcerated. When Cherish Burtson went to federal prison, books became her source of survival. Her story – and the volunteers fighting censorship to get books past prison walls – reveals how access to reading can mean survival, connection and hope.

True leadership is rarely a straight path—it’s a journey shaped by challenges, growth, and the courage to keep moving forward. Drawing from her experience starting, growing, and selling a company in a competitive, male-dominated industry, CEO and author Jamie Moraga offers a candid look at what it truly takes to lead. Through personal stories and insights from her new book, "REVERED: The Power of Female Leadership," Jamie explores how authenticity, resilience, and self-awareness can transform the way we lead and live. Attendees will gain inspiration and practical takeaways for navigating uncertainty, building confidence, and defining success on their own terms. National University Alumni: Website / Facebook / Instagram

The majority of the fee increase would go toward repairs and maintenance of shared athletics facilities and student athlete well-being, according to San Diego State University.