Updates

In Brief

Donna Blackmond Elected to National Academy of Engineering

Donna Blackmond, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has been elected as a member in the prestigious National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

The academy cited Blackmond for “kinetic and mechanistic studies of catalytic organic reactions for pharmaceuticals, and for studies of chiral amplification.”

Blackmond was among 69 newly elected members and 11 foreign associates announced by the National Academy of Engineering today.

Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions in the field. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

For the full list of new members, see the National Academy of Engineering press release at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=02072013

George Siggins to Speak at February 13 Faculty Lecture Series

Professor George Siggins is the featured speaker in The Scripps Research Institute’s (TSRI) Faculty Lecture Series on Wednesday, February 13, at 5 PM in the Timken Amphitheater at Green Hospital in La Jolla, CA. Siggins’s topic will be “The Drugged Synapse: Regulation by Neuropeptides and Neuroimmune Factors.” A reception will follow the lecture in the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Building, first floor. For further information on Siggins’s lecture, see the Faculty Lecture Series website.

CA Lab Management Training Symposium: February 22 and 23

Junior faculty members and postdoctoral fellows at TSRI are invited to attend the sixth annual Academic Leadership Symposium, a two-day course in how to lead innovative and productive research programs. The symposium is scheduled for Friday, February 22, and Saturday, February 23, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Hosted by the Torrey Pines Training Consortium, a collaboration of TSRI, the Salk Institute for Biomedical Studies, Sanford–Burnham Medical Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego, the symposium will be held at the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine Auditorium, 2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive, La Jolla.

Limited to 130 participants, the symposium will address:

Building and sustaining an effective team
Managing communication and conflict in the lab
Developing a leadership style
Managing time
Setting up a lab
Navigating tenure
Marketing science

The $100 course fee includes a flash drive of course materials and breakfast, snacks and lunch. For TSRI participants, the symposium fee is eligible for the Society of Fellows postdoc course reimbursement program. Registration details and further information are available on the symposium website.

Career and Postdoctoral Services Launches Newsletter to Streamline e-Communications

Consolidating announcements, news and information in one user-friendly dispatch, the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office has launched a new monthly e-newsletter for the TSRI postdoctoral and graduate student communities.

The online publication provides a reliable, centralized source for the department’s information and notices. “Retiring our long, tedious, text-based emails, the newsletter is planned as the go-to guide for all postdocs and graduate students to learn about past and future offerings from our office,” said Mike Matrone, the department’s program coordinator.

Matrone and Ryan Wheeler, manager of Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, produce and distribute the e-newsletter at the beginning of the month. It features:

Professional development events, detailing career workshops and seminars offered to both the Scripps California and Florida campuses
Networking opportunities, listing and describing local networking events on or near both campuses
Career opportunities, presenting a job board highlighting available regional, national and international employment positions
“Quick Tips,” providing useful career- and research-relevant tools and information in an archived format
“Postdoc Corner,” spotlighting the accomplishments of one postdoctoral fellow each month

Those on the “postdocs-ca” and “postdocs-fl” TSRI email receive an e-mail notice, summarizing the latest e-newsletter content and linking to the publication, hosted on the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office website. Graduate students on each campus also receive the notice through their respective email lists.

Feedback and content recommendations—particularly Postdoc Corner nominations—are encouraged, said Matrone, who can be reached at matrone@scripps.edu. For information on other resources from the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, visit the department’s website.

SOF to Fund Additional Travel Awards, Applications Due March 1

Now funding a maximum of eight grants in its 2013 Postdoctoral Travel Award Program, the Society of Fellows (SOF) has announced a spring cycle application deadline of Friday, March 1, 5 PM. The awards provide postdoctoral fellows opportunities to present scholarly activities at scientific national or international conferences, according to Mike Matrone, program coordinator with the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, which administers the program.

Available to fulltime California campus research associates, a maximum of four $1,000 travel grants will be awarded in this cycle to cover conference-related costs (e.g. travel, housing, registration). A committee of five TSRI postdoctoral fellows will review the applications.

Postdocs who have yet to attend a meeting to present their current work, previous applicants and those with outstanding financial need are encouraged to apply; however, past travel award winners are not eligible.

Eligibility, specific application procedures and proposal guidelines can be found on the Career and Postdoctoral Services webpage. Volunteers interested in serving on the selection committee are asked to contact Mike Matrone at matrone@scripps.edu.

CA Onsite Clinics Scheduled for February 25 and 27

The next California campus onsite immunization clinic will be held on Monday, February 25, and Wednesday, February 27, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in its new location, Building 3366, room 240.

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 Center for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet); and other titers, immunizations and procedures.

After EH&S pre-authorization, individuals who cannot attend the onsite clinic may visit the Sharp Rees-Stealy occupational medicine clinic by calling (858) 526-6150. The clinic is located at 10243 Genetic Center Drive, off Mira Mesa Boulevard. For further details, contact Sunny Gold Schmidt, gschmidt@scripps.edu or x4-9299.

New English-as-a-Second-Language Classes to Begin

A new series of English-as-a-second-language classes will begin on the California campus Tuesday, February 12. These classes, taught by instructor Cassandra Wadkins, will meet from 6:30 to 8:30 PM every Tuesday in the Immunology Building West Conference Room. 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. Wadkins uses movies, games, television shows, grammar books, songs, drawings and novels to teach standard American English. For more information, leave a message at x4-2176.

Daffodil Days Order Deadline: February 22

Scripps California staff and faculty still have time place orders for the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) final Daffodil Days campaign. The online order deadline for the fresh daffodil bouquets or arrangements is Friday, February 22, 4 PM on the ScrippsAssists Daffodil Days webpage.

A selection of bouquets and arrangements is available for donations starting at $10. Proceeds help fund ACS programs in cancer research, education, early detection efforts, advocacy and patient services. The ACS will discontinue the Daffodil Days campaign following the 2013 event to focus on other activities, such as Discovery Shops, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and Relay for Life, explained Leslie Madden, ScrippsAssists Daffodil Days Project Leader.

Daffodil Day donation categories include:

$10: bouquet of 10 daffodils (no vase)
$20: Sunshine arrangement, 10 daffodils with a 7-inch, clear glass, cylinder vase
$35: Vision arrangement, 20 daffodils with a clear glass, 8-inch, multi-use vase

Two additional donation categories—"Bear of Hope" and "Gift of Hope"—offer opportunities to cheer up local cancer patients, according to the ACS. "Gift of Hope" donations, ranging from $25 to $100, underwrite daffodil bouquets delivered anonymously to cancer treatment patients in local hospitals, medical centers and physician offices. The $25 "Bear of Hope" donations fund delivery of Boyd's teddy bears to pediatric cancer patients at local facilities.

TSRI donors may pick up their flowers on Wednesday, March 20, from 7:30 AM at MB105C. For further information regarding the Daffodil Days campaign, contact Madden at lmadden@scripps.edu.

News&Views Salutes the Presidents

News&Views will take a break in observance of Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 18. Regular publication will resume Monday, February 25.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

Professor Donna Blackmond is the first National Academy of Engineering member on the TSRI faculty, which has 17 members of the National Academy of Sciences and 9 members of the Institute of Medicine. (Photo by BioMedical Graphics.)

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