In Brief

Jamal Malik Wins EPA Fellowship

Jamal Malik, graduate student in the Fokin lab at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has won a Science to Achieve Results (STAR) fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a program to support next-generation scientists and engineers who are earning advanced degrees in environmental sciences while conducting cutting-edge research.

Since its creation in 1995, the STAR program has awarded fellowships totaling approximately $65 million in funding. Selected through a competitive solicitation process and independent peer review, this year’s 105 winners represent leading universities and research institutions from across the country.

Malik’s project, “Mechanistic Investigations of Copper-catalyzed Azide/Alkyne Cycloadditions (CuAAC),” seeks to understand the fundamental mechanism of the CuAAC reaction, the flagship reaction for “click chemistry,” a class of highly efficient reactions that also uphold green chemistry principles. Click chemistry, developed in 2001 at TSRI by Professor Barry Sharpless, Associate Professor Valery Fokin and colleagues, has been adopted by scientists in fields ranging from chemical biology to materials science.

Scripps Florida to Host Career Symposium

Scripps Florida will host the Florida Biomedical Career Symposium, a day-long series of invited talks, on Friday, November 7, from 8 AM to 6:30 PM. Supported by TSRI and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), the event is open to postdoctoral fellows and students from TSRI and other local universities and research institutions.

Sir Harold "Harry" W. Kroto, a recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and a Francis Eppes Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State University, will present the keynote address, titled “The Global Educational Outreach for Science, Engineering and Technology (GEOSET) Project Pioneered from Florida State University.”

Among the scheduled speakers are TSRI faculty members William Roush, Laura Bohn, Christoph Rader, Matthew Pipkin and Mark Sundrud. Also participating from TSRI are Todd Huffman, director of drug discovery partnerships, and Mike Matrone, Career and Postdoctoral Services program coordinator.

Symposium topics include careers in academia, industry, government, scientific and pharmaceutical operations, teaching and education administration, patent law and management consulting. Other sessions will cover interview skills and science marketing in academia, industry and biotech and to the general public.

Registration and additional program information is available on the ASBMB website.

Open Enrollment Ends November 7

The TSRI employee benefits open enrollment period ends Friday, November 7, 5 PM Pacific time/8 PM Eastern time, on the California and Florida campuses. During this annual opportunity, participants may make changes to their TSRI benefit selections and, if eligible, enroll or re-enroll in the Health Care and/or Dependent Care Spending Accounts for the 2015 plan year.

Information is available on the Open Enrollment website. In addition, the benefits department will hold the following activities:

California

Open Enrollment meeting on Monday, November 3, noon to 1 PM, 3030 Science Park, room 176.
Open Enrollment meeting on Wednesday, November 5, 2 to 3 PM, Skaggs/MB lecture hall.

Florida

Mammograms at a mobile mammogram unit on Tuesday, November 4, from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Call (561) 263-4636 to schedule an appointment.
Open Enrollment meeting on Wednesday, November 3, from 2:30 to 3:30 PM in room B159.
Flu immunization clinic on Thursday, November 6, from 1 to 4 PM, on the Scripps Café ramp. No appointments are necessary; ID badge/personal identification is required.

Participants with questions regarding Open Enrollment should contact Benefits Administration at (858) 784-8487 or at benefits@scripps.edu. On the Scripps Florida campus, contact Christine Ng-A-Fook at (561) 228-2036 or cngafook@scripps.edu.

Career Workshop: Interview Skills

A workshop on interviewing for nonacademic positions will be held Tuesday, November 11, from 3 to 4:30 PM in the Scripps California graduate office conference room, Hazen Theory Building. Open to postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, the small-group session will cover techniques and strategies for effective interview communications and include a videotaped mock interview/feedback session.

RSVP is required. Details on other career services are available on the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office website.

Women in the Workplace Presentation on CA Campus

Women in business, particularly in the global arena, is the topic of an upcoming presentation, “Leadership and Women in the Workplace: An International Perspective,” sponsored by Career and Postdoctoral Services on Thursday, November 13, noon to 1:30 PM in the graduate office seminar room, Hazen Theory building.

The seminar will feature Julie Hill, author, public speaker and former researcher who earned an MSc in chemistry and physics from the University of Minnesota. Educated in Egypt and France, Hill’s international experience includes 15 years of working and living in Asia. She retired in 2001 from her position as marketing director for AT&T/Lucent Technologies.

Hill’s presentation will cover business and salary negotiations, global perceptions of women in the workplace and industry-transferable skills.

Lunch will be served. RSVP is required.

CA ScrippsAssists Supports Home Start’s Holiday Programs

ScrippsAssists once again invites California campus faculty and staff to help brighten the holiday season for San Diego’s most disadvantaged families through its community partner Home Start’s Adopt-a-Family and Toy Drive programs.

Many of these families live only one event away from crisis through child abuse or violence, a preventable childhood illness, poor access to health care, poverty or the devastating absence of a parent. Home Start holiday programs offer three ways for Scripps California individuals, families or labs to participate:

Adopt-A-Family: donors are matched with a deserving family and given a list of desired gifts.
Holiday Toy Drive: toys are donated for a particular family. ScrippsAssists also will hold a campus-wide toy drive December 1 to 12.
Holiday Funds Donation: financial contriubtions fund Home Start services that put an end to family violence, assist child victims of abuse and prevent future occurrences.

Holiday program participants must sign up by November 5; contact ScrippsAssists project coordinator Jess Sheu-Gruttadauria at jgruttad@scripps.edu.

Fresh Holiday Pies Provided by CA ScrippsAssists and Mama’s Kitchen

ScrippsAssists invites the California campus community to skip baking this Thanksgiving. Buy a pie made by one of San Diego’s top pastry chefs, caterers or bakeries through the Mama’s Kitchen “Pie in the Sky” program and help provide free home-delivered meals to local residents impacted by critical illnesses.

Fifteen dollars of every pie purchase is tax-deductible. A variety of pies are donated by local restaurants, bakeries and caterers. Priced at $25 each, pie choices are:

Traditional Apple.
Dutch Apple.
Pumpkin.
Pecan.
Love-A-Client Raffle Pie (pie and meals are donated to a Mama’s Kitchen client).

Pies must be ordered by midnight, Sunday, November 23, on the TRSI team’s Mama’s Pies webpage. Click on “Buy pies from me” and select “pick up at private site.” Enter location number “51” and location name “TSRI.” To pay by cash or check, contact Holly Wheeler in the TSRI Counseling and Psychological Services center at hollyw@scripps.edu or Mishelle McClanahan-Shinn in the Barbas lab at mshinn@scripps.edu.

Pies can be picked up Wednesday, November 26; purchasers will be notified of the TSRI campus location. To pick up pies at a participating Wells Fargo branch location or at Mama’s Kitchen (Tuesday only), select the relevant option when ordering online.

Founded in 1990, Mama’s Pies prepares and delivers three nutritious meals daily to people with acute illnesses throughout San Diego County.

Successful Oktoberfest Fundraiser Benefits Blood Cancer Research

Drawing more than 100 friends and colleagues, the recent fourth annual Oktoberfest BBQ at Scripps California, raised more than $2,900 to benefit the 2014 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) “Light the Night Walk” campaign supporting blood cancer research and LLS patient and family support programs.

Organized by the Sauer and Havran labs and co-hosted by the Society of Fellows, this year’s Oktoberfest, featuring traditional German fare, nearly doubled last year’s proceeds. Contributing to the event’s success were Brian Reisert (who grilled 129 bratwurst); Daniella Carlson, administrative assistant in the Department of Immunology and Microbial Science who coordinated the event, as well as the Macauley and Boddy labs; Nancy De Monte, TSRI Faculty Club organizer; and sponsors Costco, Rock Bottom Brewery and Bisher Meats.

The third annual French Bakery Sale, also benefiting the LLS, will be held Monday, November 3, 8 AM, at the main entrance to the Immunology building. This year, additional French chefs will offer a diverse selection of authentic delicacies.

Donations to LLS through the "Mission Team Researchers" can be made by cash or on the LLS website.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

malik
Graduate Student Jamal Malik has won a fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

santos
Donaldson Santos, TSRI senior licensing officer was one of many enjoying bratwurst and other German dishes at the recent Oktoberfest BBQ, organized by the Sauer and Havran labs to raise funds for blood cancer research. (Photo by Karsten Sauer)

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