In Brief
Abagyan Honored by Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
Most people who go to Australia in the winter go for the cool
waves, hot breezes, and aromatic barbecues that greet southern
hemisphere summers. But Molecular Biology Professor Ruben
Abagyan of The Scripps Research Institute went to deliver
an annual award lecture, the Princess' Lecture, for the Victor
Chang Cardiac Research Institute, a basic cardiovascular biology
research institute in Sydney, Australia. The lecture is given
by one scientist each year in memory of Diana, Princess of
Wales, who visited the Australian institute several years
ago.
Abagyan's lecture focused on new applications of his computational
technologies. Abagyan has been working on problems of flexible
docking and virtual ligand screening to pick out potential
therapeutic compounds from among hundreds of thousands of
possible candidates, and recently he has been applying the
methodologies he has developed to the "deorphanization" of
G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Abagyan has shown that
he can computationally dock natural substrates to GPCRs based
on the few known GPC structures that are in the literature.
This can be used to identify natural ligands of orphan GPCRs
and potentially to discover new therapeutic molecules that
bind to these receptors.
Boger to Speak as Part of Faculty Lecture Series
Professor Dale Boger of Scripps Research will speak on "Chemistry
at the Chemistry-Biology Interface," on Wednesday, March 10,
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.
English-as-a-Second-Language Classes Begin
A new English-as-a-second-language class will begin Tuesday,
February 24. The class meets from 6:30 to 8:30 PM on Tuesday
evenings in the west conference room of the Immunology building.
The price for three months (12 classes) is $60.
Each intermediate-level English class is divided into speaking
and listening; idioms and vocabulary; and reading and writing.
The instructor, Cassandra Wadkins, uses movies, games, television
shows, grammar books, songs, drawings, and novels to teach
standard American English. Have fun and learn English at the
same time! For more information, leave a message at x4-2176.
Team Scripps Research/ScrippsAssists to Walk Against MS
Members of Scripps Research and ScrippsAssists have formed
a team to participate in the Fifteenth Annual Multiple Sclerosis
Walk, on Sunday March 14. The MS walk is a fun, non-competitive
walk following a 5- or 10-kilometer route beginning and ending
at the Embarcadero Marina Park North. Team Scripps Research/ScrippsAssists
will not only raise funds for MS research and programs, but
also will foster involvement in the Scripps Research and local
communities.
Contact Crystal Anglen, at
crystala@scripps.edu or x4-9974, to walk as a member of
Team Scripps Research/ScrippsAssists. Registration and opening
ceremonies begin at 7:30 AM. The walk begins at 8 AM. To make
a donation, see any team member or go to www.mswalk.com.
More information about the event is also available at this
site.
Reminder: Keep Contact Information Current
Benefits Administration would like to remind Scripps Research
employees that current contact information (address and phone
number) must be on file with Human Resources. Outdated information
can cause employees to miss important mailings on benefits
and other topics. A recent paycheck will show the address
Human Resources has on file. To update contact information,
go to www.scripps.edu/hr/forms/address.pdf
for a change-of-address form and mail it to Human Resources
at TPC-11. For further information, contact Benefits at x4-8487
or benefits@scripps.edu.
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Helen Sterling Retires
Senior Administrative Assistant Helen
Sterling will retire February 27 after almost 15 years at
the institute. "I have enjoyed working for Dr. Steven Reed
at Scripps and will miss the people here," she says. But she
has no shortage of plans for retirement. In addition to traveling,
exploring, and quilting, Sterling will volunteer to visit
the elderly and convalescent, feed the homeless Sunday evenings
at her church, and help out at her grandchildren's schools.
"I want to make a difference," she says.
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