In Brief

Aaron Sather and Joseph Jardine Honored for Top Presentations at Lake Arrowhead Retreat

Aaron Sather of the Rebek lab and Joseph Jardine of the Schief lab were honored for their oral presentations at the recent student-faculty retreat of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Kellogg School of Science and Technology.

Retreat faculty and students judged Sather’s presentation, “Recognition and Extraction of the Uranyl Ion,” best in the chemistry category and Jardine’s talk, “Rational Immunogen Design to Target Specific Germline B-Cell,” top in the biology category.

The three-day symposium was held at the University of California, Los Angeles, Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead.

Research Fest Celebrates Seminar and Poster Winners

Research Fest 2012: Scientific Symposium and Vendor Show, held October 25 on the Scripps Florida campus, recognized outstanding work among the 38 posters and five oral presentations:

• Postdoctoral fellow seminars—Silvia Licciulli (first place); Argel Aguilar-Valles, Subhashis Banerjee and Erica Young (runners up)

• Graduate student seminars—David Marciano

• Postdoctoral fellow posters—Daniel Slade (first place), Cullen Schmid (second place), Jeremy Lohman (third place)

• Graduate student posters—Briana Weiser (first place); Andrew MacConnell (second place)

In addition to the more than 300 TSRI researchers who attended the event, Research Fest attracted 160 outside guests including students of the Scripps/Florida Atlantic University (FAU) joint MD/PhD program, FAU faculty, and researchers from Max Planck, Sanford Burnham, Torrey Pines and Palm Beach State College. Organized by the Society of Research Fellows (SRF), the committee for the event consisted of: Sandro Matosevic (SRF president), Josh Kostera (symposium chair), Cathy Trivigno (vendor show chair), Sarah Iqbal, Alex Price, Reji Nair, Cheryl Marra, Mike Matrone and Vanessa Paulman.

Ami Cohen, Marcus Muttenthaler and Hui Xiao Win SOF Travel Awards

Research Associates Ami Cohen of the Koob lab, Marcus Muttenthaler of the Dawson lab and Hui Xiao of the Franc lab have been awarded the Society of Fellows (SOF) Fall Travel Awards. The $1,000 grants cover conference-related costs, including travel, housing and conference registration.

Cohen will use the grant to support his trip to the Neuroscience 2012 Conference in New Orleans, where he presented his project, “The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the transition to compulsive nicotine intake.”

Muttenthaler will use the award for his participation in the 6^th Annual Pain Therapeutics Summit in San Jose, CA, where he presented his project, “Conotoxins – Molecular tools to dissect pain pathways.”

Xiao will present his project, “RpS6 is a substrate of the SkpA/Cul-1/Pallbearer E3 ubiquitin ligase and a negative regulator of apoptotic cell clearance in Drosophila” at the 54^th Annual Drosophila Research Conference next April in Washington, DC.

The SOF Travel Award winners are determined by selection committee of five postdoctoral fellows; the program is administered by the TSRI Career and Postdoctoral Services Office.

FL Distinguished Lecture Series to Feature Mauro Cost-Mattioli

The Scripps Florida Society of Research Fellows (SRF) Distinguished Lecture Series will feature Mauro Costa-Mattioli, assistant professor in neuroscience at the Baylor College of Medicine, on Tuesday, November 6, from 10 to 11 AM in Room B158 on the Florida campus.

Costa-Mattioli will speak on “Unlocking the Gate of Memory: Molecular & Cellular Mechanism.” Using multidisciplinary approaches, Costa-Mattioli’s research team studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying long-term synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, and related neurological disorders.

Further information about SRF activities and resources is available on the SRF webpage.

CA Distinguished Lecture Series to Feature Bruce Beutler

The Society of Fellows (SOF) will host 2011 Nobel Laureate Bruce Beutler at its Distinguished Lecture Series event scheduled for 4 PM, Wednesday, November 7, in The Auditorium at TSRI on the California campus.

A former professor at TSRI, Beutler is now director of the Center for Genetics of Host Defense at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. His lecture is titled “Genetic Analysis of Immunity in Mice.”

The lecture is open to TSRI employees. In addition, postdoctoral fellows are offered a limited number of opportunities to meet with Beutler, according to SOF President Jack Scatizzi.

For additional details on SOF activities and resources, visit the SOF webpage or the group’s Facebook page.

Training: Project Planning

Tips on how to get projects started and keep them on track will be offered in a “Project Planning for Everyone” training conducted by TSRI Human Resources on the California campus.

Three sessions of the two-hour training will be presented on Monday, November 12, from 1 to 3 PM, and on Thursday, November 29, and on Wednesday, December 5, from 9 to 11 AM. All sessions will be held in room 205, Building 3377.

The class will provide a project planning model and strategies, focusing on practical steps and techniques to get projects under control, according to Catharine Gruver, training specialist.

Registration is required at the HR training website. For additional details, contact Gruver at x4-9811 or cgruver@scripps.edu.

ScrippsAssists CA Craft Fair Set for November 8

A wide array of holiday gift and specialty items will be featured at the ScrippsAssists 2012 Craft Fair, scheduled for Thursday, November 8, 11 AM to 2 PM, in the Beckman Building Galleria, California campus. Proceeds benefit ScrippsAssists, a volunteer group for TSRI employees that provides a variety of community service projects and programs throughout the year.

This year’s fair offerings include hand-crafted towels, aprons, jam and jelly, chocolates, Pandora-style bracelets, gift boxes, cake pops, scarves and hats, antique stamp decoupage, knitted creations and handmade flowers.

Tickets for donated raffle prizes will be sold just prior to and during the fair. The grand prize is a pair of domestic round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, valid in 2013 without restrictions. The drawing will be held at 2 PM; winners need not be present.

For more information on the Craft Fair and ScrippsAssists activities, see ScrippsAssists webpages.

For information on volunteering opportunities, see the ScrippsAssists webpage.

CA Biosafety Committee to Meet

The Scripps California Biosafety Committee (IBC) will meet on Wednesday, November 14, 3:30 PM, at the Faculty Club, 3300 Conference Center Building, on the California campus. The IBC supervises use of hazardous biological materials, biological toxins, select agents, synthetic DNA and recombinant DNA at TSRI. To receive IBC consideration, completed registration documents must be submitted to Environmental Health & Safety at rachellv@scripps.edu.

CA Onsite Clinics Scheduled for November 5 and 7

The next California campus onsite immunization clinics will be held Monday, November 5, and Wednesday, November 7, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in Room 325 of the 3366 Building.

Conducted by Sharp Rees-Stealy staff, the clinics provide hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all TSRI employees. Appointments are not needed.

Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Occupational Medicine must pre-authorize all other procedures based on the employee's working conditions. These procedures include: tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) vaccines; the one-visit Quantiferon tuberculosis test (see the Centers for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet); and other titers, immunizations and procedures.

Individuals who cannot attend the onsite clinic may visit the Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Center in Sorrento Mesa after EH&S pre-authorization. In addition, appointments can be scheduled at the Sharp Rees-Stealy Occupational Medicine Office by calling (858) 526-6150. For further details, contact Sunny Gold Schmidt, x4-9299 or gschmidt@scripps.edu.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

Gerald Joyce Inducted into American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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Scripps Research Institute Professor Gerald Joyce has become one of 180 new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious learned societies and an independent research center. Shown here in a tradition that dates back to 1780, Joyce signs the AAAS Book of Members during a recent ceremony in Cambridge, MA. (Photo courtesy of AAAS.)

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