In Brief

Ian Wilson Named 2012 Outstanding Mentor

The word “mentor” depicts a wise and loyal adviser, harkening back to the Greek goddess of wisdom Athena who, disguised as an old man, provides guidance to Homer’s hero Odysseus. Honoring the same spirit of service to others, this year’s Scripps Research Institute Outstanding Mentor award goes to Professor Ian Wilson.

The award was established to honor Scripps Research faculty who consistently and enthusiastically serve as effective mentors to postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. The winner receives a $1,000 prize to support professional development, training, or team building activities in his or her lab.

“[Professor Wilson] stood out for the breadth of supporting letters and a distinguished track record of helping mentees achieve career success,” said Ryan Wheeler, manager of the Office of Career and Postdoctoral Services, which sponsors the award with the Society of Fellows and the institute’s Kellogg School of Science and Technology. Wheeler also praised the other “exceptional” award nominees, who include Wendy Havran, Jack Johnson, Katja Lamia, Jim Paulson, Peter Wright, and Takao Yagi.

In addition to chairing the curriculum committee for the WASC Reaccreditation of the Kellogg School, teaching graduate classes, and participating actively in science outreach programs, Wilson, the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology in the Department of Molecular Biology, has mentored more than 100 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows over the years, many of whom now hold top positions in academia and industry around the globe.

Fourteen former and current Wilson-guided postdocs and grad students wrote letters supporting his nomination as Outstanding Mentor. The letters emphasized the Wilson’s merits as both an accomplished, highly cited scientist and compassionate, thoughtful mentor, who also exhibits a whimsical sense of humor. The letters spoke repeatedly of his ability to teach excellence in science, his genuine concern for the welfare of his lab members, and his active support of lab members’ careers, including making phone calls to personally advocate for current and former lab members pursuing coveted job offers.

Comments included:

“The research environment that Ian has created in unlike anything I have ever experienced, with complete freedom to pursue any credible scientific idea with his unwavering support. Like many of the best mentors, Ian does not micromanage the projects in the lab, yet he remains available and involved. Very importantly, he is continually advocating for his students and postdocs. This includes … facilitating networking by introducing students/postdocs to other top scientists; creating opportunities to present their work orally at international meetings; and giving sound, honest advice as people prepare to move on to the top postdoctoral, faculty and corporate positions.”

“I think the single most helpful thing Ian does for his mentees is to instill a higher standard—of thought, background research, experimental design, execution, writing and speaking.”

“Every time you had a big talk coming up, Ian will sit down with you and go through it slide by slide. He would come in on the weekends, bring fresh fruit from the farmer’s market, and sit and talk with you about your research and offer you some star fruit. … He diffused almost all the stress of my thesis defense by asking me what kind of cake I wanted at the party afterwards and then by showing up and sitting in the audience in a silly-looking plastic Red Sox helmet. (We’re both Boston fans.) While giving my public defense, I could not even look in his direction for fear I would burst out laughing.”

More information on Wilson’s activities, awards, and research, which focuses on structural studies of the immune system, viral pathogens, and vaccine design, is available on his faculty page and laboratory website.

Nature Highlights Article from Rebek Lab

The journal Nature recently highlighted research from the Rebek lab. The commentary notes that the work, which focuses on modified liposomes, “adds a new dimension to the search for the optimal drug carrier.” To read the Rebek lab research paper, “Deep cavitand vesicles – multicompartmental hosts,” (Kubitschke et al., J. Chem. Commun., 48, 9251–9253 (2012)), see http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/cc/c2cc34065h. To read the Nature commentary, see http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v489/n7416/full/489372b.html.

Meet the Alumni: David Hecht of Southwestern College

David Hecht, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Sciences at Southwestern College and a 1995 alumnus of the Kellogg School, will share his career experiences in academics and industry at a Meet the Alumni presentation on Tuesday, September 25, 4 PM, in the Faculty Club Library Room on the California campus.

A graduate of Rutgers and the University of California, Berkeley, Hecht’s career has included positions at Corning Nichols Research Institute, Signal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc., during which he performed systems integration and data management to accelerate lead discovery and optimize processes for preclinical drug discovery and development. Hecht also serves as an adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University’s Department of Chemistry. His current research focuses on applications of computational intelligence in early-stage drug discovery for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, cancer, and AIDS.

Sponsored by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office and the Network for Women in Science, the Meet the Alumni series features a casual setting and discussion format, covering such topics as career influences, transitions, and options. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is required.

Career Workshop: Managing Conflict in the Lab

“Negotiating Conflict in the Lab,” a workshop on preserving relationships in the scientific work environment, will be held Wednesday, September 26, 1:30 to 3 PM in the Keck Amphitheater on the California campus and video-streamed live 4:30 to 6 PM in Room B158 on the Florida campus.

Karen Peterson, scientific ombudsman for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRO) in Seattle, will conduct the session, covering the causes of conflict, styles of conflict, and negotiation techniques to resolve conflict constructively with minimal confrontation. In addition, specific examples of conflict, such as authorship and work-life balance disputes, will be discussed.

In addition to her ombudsman activities, Peterson directs the FHCRO Office of Scientific Career Development. She authored Nature Guide to Life Science Careers and is a former member of the board of directors and advisory council for the National Postdoctoral Association.

The workshop, sponsored by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office and the Society of Fellows, is open to all students, postdocs, faculty, and staff.

Travel Award Applications Deadline October 1

Monday, October 1 is the application deadline for the next round of postdoctoral travel awards, presented by the California campus Society of Fellows (SOF) and the Florida campus Society of Research Fellows (SRF).

In California, three SOF grants of up to $1,000 each are offered. The grants cover conference-related costs, including travel, housing, and conference registration. A selection committee of five postdoctoral fellows will review the applications. Eligibility, specific application procedures, and proposal guidelines can be found on the Career and Postdoctoral Services webpage. Applications must be submitted to the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office (mail code TPC-19). Non-applicant postdoctoral fellows willing to serve on the selection committee are asked to contact Mike Matrone at matrone@scripps.edu.

The Mark A. Hall Memorial Travel Award, presented by SRF, provides one grant of up to $1,000 twice per year to a full-time research associate preparing an oral or poster presentation at a scientific meeting. In the case of co-authored papers, both authors are eligible. Applications are reviewed by a committee of two faculty members and two postdoctoral fellows. Additional eligibility requirements, application instructions, and proposal guidelines are available on the SRF webpage. Completed applications are submitted to SRF President Sandro Matosevic via campus mail (mail code 1B2). Questions may be addressed to Matosevic at smatosev@scripps.edu.

Emergency Number Reminders

In addition to information posted on the Scripps Research website, remember the following hotlines are available in emergency situations:

CALIFORNIA

The California Campus Status Hotline at (858) 784-7000. California employees can call the hotline in any regional emergency for a recorded message on the work status of the campus.

In case of an emergency on the California campus, dial "77." The call is connected automatically with the security operator located at the Beckman Center front entrance. The security operator will answer, take preliminary information, and then ask caller to hold as he/she is transferred to the 911 operator. It is important not to disconnect the call during this transfer; the line will be silent until the 911 operator answers (this may take more than a minute). During the call, other members of the Scripps Research Emergency Response Team will be alerted to provide additional assistance.

FLORIDA

The Florida Campus Status Hotline at (561) 228-2999. Florida employees can call the hotline in any regional emergency, such as hurricanes, for a recorded message on the work status of the campus.

In case of a Florida campus emergency, call "911." Dialing 911 from a Scripps phone automatically connects the caller to Scripps Florida Security desk in Building B reception. Security will obtain the critical information and immediately contact the Scripps Emergency Response Team and the Palm Beach County emergency center, which will dispatch the appropriate team from Jupiter Police, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, and/or EMS to the Florida campus.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

wilson
Professor Ian Wilson has mentored more than 100 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, 14 of whom wrote letters in support of his nomination as Outstanding Mentor. (Photo by Kevin Fung.)

Book by Dennis Burton and Colleagues Wins Top British Award

Roitt's Essential Immunology 12^th edition, co-authored by Scripps Research Institute Professor Dennis Burton and European colleagues Peter Delves, Seamus Martin, and Ivan Riott, has been named the British Medical Association’s 2012 Medical Book of the Year. The book also took first place in the award program’s Basic and Clinic Sciences section. Praised for its “hallmark easy reading style,” the textbook “clearly explains the key principles needed by medical and health science students, in the context of a fully functioning immune system,” according to the award announcement.

SEARCH NEWS & VIEWS

Flu Antibody’s ‘One-Handed Grab’ May Boost Effort Toward Universal Vaccine, New Therapies

New Center Receives $20 Million to Shed Light on HIV Drug Resistance

Researchers Show Protein Linked to Hunger Also Implicated in Alcoholism

Scientist Receives $2.8 Million to Study Critical Cell Signaling Mechanism and Develop Potential Therapeutics