In Brief
Chisari Elected to American Academy of Microbiology
Francis V. Chisari, professor in TSRI's Department of Molecular and Experimental
Medicine and director of the General Clinical Research Center, has been
elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in recognition of "excellence,
originality, and creativity in the microbiological sciences." He joins
fellow TSRI investigators James Hoch, Michael Oldstone, and Eng Tan as
a recipient of this honor.
Chisari is known for his work on hepatitis B and C virus infections
and carcinogenesis. He is widely recognized for a series of discoveries
that defined the immunological basis for HBV clearance, persistence and
disease; demonstrated that the immune response can terminate HBV replication
without killing infected cells; established the basis of hepatocarcinogenesis
during chronic HBV infection; and laid the foundation for the development
of therapeutic vaccines to cure chronic hepatitis, the leading cause of
liver cancer throughout the world.
Chisari was born in New York, NY and graduated in 1968 from the Cornell
University Medical College. He completed postdoctoral training at Cornell,
Dartmouth, NIH, the Mayo Clinic and the Pasteur Institute. Chisari has
been on the faculty at Scripps since 1973, and serves as adjunct professor
in the Department of Pathology, University of California School of Medicine.
Recently named a member of the National Academy of Sciences, he is the
recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the 1999 Rous-Whipple
Award and the Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine.
Technology Review Names Cravatt "One of World's Top
Young Innovators"
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Associate Professor Benjamin
Cravatt (TSRI class of '97) has been named one of the "TR100," the world's
top young innovators according to Technology Review magazine, whose
editorial focus includes information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.
The TR100 is a group of 100 creative individuals under age 35 drawn from
a broad spectrum of fields, whose research the magazine predicts will
shape how we live and work in the future.
According to Technology Review, "chemical biologist Benjamin
Cravatt is developing tools to illuminate the roles of proteins and enzymes
in humans and animals. Cravatt and colleagues have synthesized dozens
of fluorescent probes that chemically bind to enzymes in laboratory samples
of healthy and diseased tissues, then light up when excited by a laser
scanner. The technique can show which enzymes are more or less active
in cancerous cells, which could herald a breakthrough for proteomics—the
attempt to identify the structures and functions of human proteins. Cravatt's
protein-activity-based approach represents an advance over methods that
merely infer protein function by comparing the abundance of proteins in
samples...." For more information, see the Technology
Review web site.
Jane Dyson to Speak as Part of Faculty Lecture Series
Professor Jane Dyson will be speaking on "Unfolded Proteins: A New
Frontier in Structural Biology" on Wednesday, June 12 as part of the Faculty
Lecture Series. The lecture will be held at 5 PM in the Timken Amphitheater,
Scripps Clinic, 10666 North Torrey Pines Road.
American Cancer Society to Hold 24-Hour Walk-a-Thon Fundraiser
The American Cancer Society invites you to participate in its Relay for
Life, Saturday, June 22 through Sunday, June 23 at the RIMAC Arena at
the University of California, San Diego. The 24-hour, volunteer-driven
walk-a-thon and community camp-out raises funds for cancer research, treatment,
education, and patient services and is one of ten events that will take
place in various communities throughout San Diego County. For more information
on forming a team or volunteering, call (619) 682-7453 or visit the American
Cancer Society's Relay for Life web page.
TB Screenings, Hepatitis B Immunizations, and Serum Draws
On Monday, June 10, Wednesday, June 12, and Friday, June 14, personnel
from Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group will be on-site to conduct TB screenings,
Hepatitis B immunizations, and serum draws. The clinics will be conducted
at the Administrative Offices (3301 North Torrey Pines Court) on the P1
level from 11 AM to 2 PM. No appointments are necessary. TB screening
requires a 48 to 72 hour follow-up. Individuals receiving the TB screen
on Monday will need to return on Wednesday; individuals screened on Wednesday,
will need to return on Friday. Initiation of the TB screening process
will not be available on Friday, but Hepatitis B immunization and serum
draws will be. To learn more about these programs, see the Environmental
Health & Safety Occupational Medicine web page, which includes a map and
patient information sheets.
Look for next News&Views June 14
The next issue of News&Views, which is published every other week throughout
the summer, will be posted on Monday, June 14. The deadline for announcement
and calendar submissions is Wednesday at noon for the following Monday's
publication.
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