In Brief

Dennis Fenton Joins Board of Trustees

Dennis M. Fenton, a manufacturing and biologics expert and former executive vice president for Amgen, has been elected to The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Board of Trustees.

In his 26-year career at Amgen, Fenton served in many high-level positions, most recently as executive vice president from 2000 until his retirement in 2008. At Amgen, his responsibilities spanned manufacturing, quality, logistics, process development, engineering and operation services. Prior to joining Amgen, he was a senior research scientist at Pfizer, In., where he studied productivity increases in bulk chemical fermentations, among other topics.

A 1973 graduate of Manhattan College in Riverdale, NY, Fenton was awarded a doctoral degree in microbiology from Rutgers University in 1977.

Fenton currently serves on the boards of four public companies, Xenoport, Dendreon, Hospira and Kytheria Pharmaceuticals, and two private companies, Napo and Genelux. He is also vice chair of the Board of Trustees for the Keck Graduate Institute, a member of the Claremont Colleges in Southern California. His current professional affiliations include membership in the American Management Association, American Society for Microbiology, Society for Industry Microbiology and American Chemical Society.

Fenton is a resident of Westlake Village, CA.

Scripps Florida Education Outreach Receives Boost with $1 Million Grant from Kenan Charitable Trust

Scripps Florida has been awarded a $1 million grant by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, a North Carolina-based philanthropic foundation with an interest in education, in support of the institute's education outreach programs in Palm Beach County. The four-year grant builds upon several years of continuous Kenan Trust support, which has gradually increased over the past seven years.

The new grant will provide funding through May 2017 for several established programs that each year reach hundreds of students and teachers from middle and high schools throughout Palm Beach County, as well as college undergraduates from across the country. Programs also provide teaching and mentoring experience to the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who support the initiatives.

Education outreach efforts at Scripps Florida have also been supported by generous gifts from the Mary and Robert Pew Public Education Fund, the Quantum Foundation, as well as the Admiral's Cove Cares Charitable Foundation, the BallenIsles Charities Foundation, and the Berlin Family Foundation.

Suzanne Rzuczek Receives Myotonic Dystrophy Fellowship

Suzanne Rzuczek, research associate in the Disney lab, has received a two-year fellowship from the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation to support her project, “Rational Design of Potent Compounds Targeting RNA in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1.”

Myotonic dystrophy is one of the inherited disorders called muscular dystrophies. Most commonly manifesting in adulthood, the disorder is characterized by progressive muscle wasting and weakness.

Wang-Yong Yang Awarded Fellowship for Fragile X Research

Wang-Yong Yang, research associate in the Disney lab, has been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship for his project, “Design of small molecules to target r(CGG) expansions as a therapeutic option for Fragile X Syndrome.” Renewable for a second year, the grant is funded by the FRAXA Research Foundation.

Fragile X Syndrome is a genetic condition that causes a range of developmental problems including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment. According to FRAXA, it is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disabilities and the most common known genetic (“single gene”) cause of autism.

ScrippsAssists Holiday Food Drive Begins

ScrippsAssists on the California campus is once again collecting nonperishable food and financial donations to support the San Diego Food Bank’s efforts to help the county’s 446,000 residents who cannot afford adequate meals each week. The ScrippsAssists Holiday Food Drive Challenge will continue through January 4.

Monetary donations to the food drive are converted into pounds of food. “Every $10 donation buys 100 pounds of food, enough food for 30 meals,” said Taylor Cohen, senior administrative assistant in the Baran lab and the drive’s coordinator. Check are made payable to “Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank” and may be sent via interoffice mail to Cohen at BCC439.

Donated foodstuffs must be nonperishable labeled with ingredients and expiration dates. The most critically needed items are:

Canned food – meats (tuna, ham, chicken), meal (chili, stew, etc.), soups and fruits and vegetables
Dried fruits, packaged nuts and seeds
Peanut butter
Powdered milk and infant formula
Macaroni and cheese, pasta and rice and beans
Diapers
Toothpaste/toothbrushes
Tissues and toilet paper

Safety regulations prohibit acceptance of home-canned or baked products, leaking or bulging cans, glass containers and baby food in glass jars. Food drop-off bins are available in 12 locations across the campus. Check the ScrippsAssists webpage for specific bin locations

Established in 1977, the San Diego Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County. Last year, the Food Bank distributed more than 20 million pounds of food and served, on average, more than 350,000 people per month.

For information on other ScrippsAssists community service opportunities, visit the employee volunteer group’s website.

CA Biosafety Committee Meeting Planned

The TSRI Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) will convene on Wednesday, January 9, at 3:30PM at TPC 3300, the Faculty Club. To receive IBC consideration, please submit your completed registration documents to Environmental Health &Safety at rachellv@scripps.edu. The submission deadline date for consideration at this meeting is Monday, December 17.

CA Onsite Clinics Scheduled for December 10 and 12

The next California campus onsite immunization clinics will be held Monday, December 10, and Wednesday, December 12, 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. 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
A new one-visit Quantiferon tuberculosis test (for information on this test, read the Centers for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet )
Other tests, including titers, immunizations and procedures according to the TSRI employee job function

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

fenton
Biologics expert Dennis Fenton is the newest member of the TSRI’s Board of Trustees.

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