In Brief

Tributes and Bluegrass Tunes Toast George Siggins

Toe-tapping bluegrass music and tributes from friends and former colleagues honored George “Bob” Siggins, professor emeritus at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), during a retirement party on Thursday, November 12, at The Auditorium at TSRI.

Siggins, who joined TSRI in 1983, focused his research on the molecular and electrophysiological effects of neuropeptides, abused drugs and neuropathology on the brain’s nerve cells. Of particular interest to Siggins have been the effects of alcohol addiction.

In addition to neuroscience, however, Siggins has enjoyed a career in music, playing the banjo and steel pedal guitar. Well known in folk music circles, he performed with such names as Joan Baez and Tom Rush. He was also a founding member of the Charles River Valley Boys in the 1960s, whose members re-united for the “Siggins Fest” celebration. Between sets of the bluegrass group, with Siggins on banjo, tributes and a slide presentation lightly roasted Siggins and feted his accomplishments and career.

Career Workshop: Finding the Right Career in Industry

An exploration of career opportunities in the biotechnology industry is the focus of an upcoming workshop, Finding the Right Career in the Life Sciences Industry, scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, 1:30 to 3 PM, in the Keck Amphitheater on the CA campus. The workshop will be video-streamed live to the Florida campus at 4:30 PM in B158.

Sponsored by the Society of Fellows with the Office of Career and Postdoctoral Services, the session will feature Toby Freedman, founder and president of the recruitment firm Synapsis Search and author of Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development. Freedman earned a PhD at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and, as a National Institutes of Health Fellow, conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University and the University of Texas. Her firm specializes in executive R&D and business recruiting for life-science startups and nonprofits.

Freedman will present an overview of more than 100 different careers in the life sciences, an insider’s perspective on industry employment trends, tips on job searches and advice on evaluating prospective employers.

Additional information on other resources provided by the Office of Career and Postdoctoral Services is available at the department’s website.

Ten Tips: Coping with Disaster

The destruction and loss of life in the Philippines is heart-wrenching, especially for those with friends and family in the region. To help deal with the uncertainties, stresses and feelings of powerlessness that can accompany such news, the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services offers a Ten Tips guide to coping with disaster.

Authored by Daphne Lurie, director of the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services—with input from the American Psychological Association—the guide suggests such steps as seeking reliable information, engaging in self-care and accepting practical and emotional support.

For additional resources, visit the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services website.

ScrippsAssists Begins 2013 Holiday Food Drive on California Campus

The CA campus branch of ScrippsAssists, TSRI’s employee volunteer organization, has begun collecting nonperishable food, personal hygiene items, infant supplies and funds for its 2013 Holiday Food Drive, benefitting the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, the county’s largest hunger relief agency.

More than 446,000 people in San Diego County face food insecurity—little or no food is available in their homes, and they do not know where they will find their next meal, according to the Food Bank, which distributed nearly 20 million pounds of food in 2012 and served, on average, 320,000 people per month.

Basic food and supplies are most needed:

• Canned meats – tuna, ham or chicken	• Powdered milk
• Canned meats – tuna, ham or chicken	• Infant formula
• Canned soups	• & Cheese
• Canned fruits and vegetables	• Pasta, rice & beans
• Dried fruits	• Diapers
• Packaged nuts & seeds	• Toothpaste and toothbrushes
• Peanut butter	• Tissues and toilet paper

The holiday drive can only accept nonperishable items with food labels listing ingredients and expiration dates. Due to food safety regulations, no home-canned or baked products, glass containers, baby food in glass jars or leaking, bulging cans are allowed.

Food and product donations may be left in specially marked red barrels to located throughout the campus:

• Beckman Building Lobby (2nd Floor)	• 3377 Human Resources Building (2nd Floor)
• Immunology Building	• 3030 Science Park Building
• MB Building (1st Floor)	• 3040 Science Park Building
• CIMBio/CarrB Building	• MEM Building
• DNC Building (formerly ICND)	• Gluck Child Care
• 3301 Administration Building	• San Diego County Credit Union

Also welcomed are cash donations, said Taylor Cohen, senior administrative assistant in the Baran lab and the ScrippsAssists project lead. “Every dollar converts into 10 pounds of food and enables us to distribute enough food for three meals,” said Cohen.

Checks may be made payable to “Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank” and sent to Cohen at mail drop BCC439.

The food drive will continue until Friday, January 3. For further information, contact Cohen at taycoh@scripps.edu.

CA ScrippsAssists ‘Pie in the Sky’ Ordering Deadline: November 24

Sunday, November 24, at midnight is the order deadline for this year’s Mama’s Kitchen “Pie in the Sky” program, supported by ScrippsAssists on the CA campus to benefit local residents impacted by cancer or AIDs.

The pie sale offers thousands of pies donated by local restaurants, bakeries and caterers; 100 percent of proceeds go toward the nonprofit organization’s food assistance efforts. Money collected from each pie sold provides six meals to a feed a hungry, critically ill neighbor.

Pies may be ordered online through the ScrippsAssists/TSRI team page. Click on “Buy Pies from Holly,” select “Pick up at Private Site,” enter location number “51” and location name “TSRI.” Costs range from $20 to $25 per pie; $15 of every pie ordered is tax-deductible.

Orders may be picked up on the TSRI campus or at a participating Wells Fargo branch on Wednesday, November 27 or at Mama’s Kitchen on Tuesday, November 26. To pick up orders at an off-campus location, select the location when purchasing pies. For more information, contact ScrippsAssists project lead Holly Wheeler at x4-7297 or hollyw@scripps.edu.

CA Biosafety Committee December Meeting Materials Due

The TSRI Institutional Biosafety Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, December 11, in the Faculty Club Tennis Court Room. To receive committee consideration, registration documents must be submitted to Environmental Health and Safety via email to rachellv@scripps.edu by Wednesday, November 27.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

siggins
TSRI Professor Emeritus George “Bob” Siggins, an accomplished musician, plays his nearly 100-year old banjo during the recent “Siggins Fest” celebrating his retirement. (Photo by Cindy Brauer)

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