FL Research Fest 2014 Spotlights Scientific Achievements

Research Fest 2014, the Scripps Florida Society of Research Fellows’ (SF-SRF) fifth Scientific Symposium and Vendor Show, which drew 250 participants, spotlighted the scientific accomplishments of postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, presented a vendor showcase and provided a networking forum for the early-career researchers.

Prizes were awarded to oral presenters, who had been chosen from among 40 people submitting abstracts:

• First Place: Matthew Gardner, postdoctoral fellow in the Farzan lab, for “A CCR5-mimetic sulfopeptide converts CD4-Ig to an exceptionally broad and potent inhibitor of HIV-1 entry.”
• Second Place: Jun Yung Choi, postdoctoral fellow in the Roush lab, for “The Discovery of Novel anti-Chagas Agents Targeting T. cruzi CYP51.”
• Homa Ghalei, postdoctoral fellow in the Karbstein lab, for “Release of Ltv1 by the yeast casein kinase 1 δ and ε homolog Hrr25 is necessary for ribosome assembly and cellular growth and impacts the assembly of the mRNA binding channel.”
• Prosenjit Mondal, postdoctoral fellow in the Gill lab, for “The role of insulin decoy receptors in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance.”
• Xin-an Liu, postdoctoral fellow in the Puthanveettil lab, for “A molecular motor, Kif5C, controls synaptogenesis by transporting RNA cargos for local translation.”
• Cullen Schmid, postdoctoral fellow in the Bohn lab, for “Novel ligands at the mu opioid receptor that display bias toward G protein coupling over βarrestin2 recruitment.”
• Graduate Student Award: Scott Baker, from the Grill lab, for “Identification of a peptide inhibitor of the RPM-1/FSN-1 ubiquitin ligase complex.”

Selected from among 34 poster presentations, award winners were:

• First Place: Sohail Khoshnevis, postdoctoral fellow in the Karbstein lab, for “ATP Hydrolysis by the DEAD-box protein Rok1 Releases the Assembly Factor Rrp5 from pre-40S Ribosomes.”
• Second Place: Sonali Deshpande, postdoctoral fellow in the Ja lab, for “Deciding between food and sex.”
• Third Place: Sherie Wright, postdoctoral fellow in the Wee lab, for “A 5-HT1A receptor-mediated mechanism in the BNST is associated with cocaine-seeking behavior.”
• Graduate Student Award: Francisco Garcia, Carroll lab, for “Design of Nucleophile-based Therapeutics for Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B.”

“The symposium was greatly supported by the department chairs from Scripps Florida, Deborah and Louis Scampavia and the LaBovick Law Group, with a total of $1,750 given in the form of awards to the oral presenters and best three poster presenters,” said Reji Nair, SF-SRF president.

Research Fest 2014 organizers included Audrey Richard (scientific chair), Amy Clipperton-Allen and Youjun Chen (vendor show co-chairs), Ignacio Sarria and Cesare Orlandi (raffle prize co-chairs) and staff members Michael Matrone, Career and Postdoctoral Services program coordinator, and Chery Marra, graduate program coordinator.

Hugh Rosen to Speak at November 12 Faculty Lecture Series

TSRI Professor Hugh Rosen, the first speaker in the 2014-2015 Faculty Lectures Series, will present a talk titled “Of Mechanisms and Molecules: From R01 to Intelligent Intervention in MS” on Wednesday, November 12. The lecture will begin at 5 PM in the Timkin Amphitheater in the Green Hospital in La Jolla, California. A reception will follow in the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Building, first floor. For further information, see the Faculty Lecture Series webpage. The series is supported by an endowment from the Cochrane-Cartan families, established by TSRI Professor Emeritus Charles G. Cochrane.

New Online Program Connects with TSRI Alumni

A new online TSRI Career and Postdoctoral Services program, which aims to connect postdoctoral fellows and graduate students on both campuses with institute alumni, will debut on Tuesday, November 18, at 1 PM PST/4 EST, via Google Hangouts on Air.

The first of the series, “Alumni on Air,” will feature David Lin, TSRI Class of 2010. Now a research scientist with Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, Lin studied in the Baran and Yu labs. Participating virtually from his office in Connecticut, he will share his graduate and industry experiences with the online audience.

The series offers an opportunity to reach out to the growing network TSRI alumni beyond the Southern California region, said Jean Branan, Career and Postdoctoral Services program coordinator. Planned quarterly, the half-hour sessions will be open to the public and accessible via Google+. Each session will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube.

Register on the TSRI training website for the Alumni on Air link.

Science Workplace Topic of NWiS Coffee Hour Discussion

Improving the scientific workplace environment is the focus of the next Scripps California Network for Women in Science (NWiS) Coffee Hour, scheduled for Monday, November 10, 3 PM, in the Faculty Club Tennis room.

The event will feature a streamed video presentation by Carla Fehr, associate professor at Waterloo University in Ontario, Canada, discussing the results of the Iowa State University ADVANCE endeavor, a $3.3 million National Science Foundation project focused on increasing the participation and retention of women and minority faculty in STEM fields. Her talk explores strategies for improving the work climate for both men and women in scientific communities.

The Coffee Hour is open to the entire Scripps California community. Coffee and pastries will be served. Additional information on this event and other NWiS activities and resources is available on the group’s website and Facebook page.

Women in the Workplace Presentation on CA Campus

A presentation, “Leadership and Women in the Workplace: An International Perspective” sponsored by Career and Postdoctoral Services, will be held 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 holds an MSc in chemistry and physics from the University of Minnesota. A former marketing director for AT&T/Lucent Technologies, Hill 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 to Sponsor Blood Drive December 4

During the holiday season, the need for blood donations usually grows more urgent. Eligible Scripps California staff and faculty are encouraged make appointments to donate at the ScrippsAssists-sponsored blood drive on Monday, December 4. The TSRI drive will help supply the nearly 400 units of blood distributed daily to local hospitals by the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB).

Donation appointments are available every 10 minutes from 9 AM to 2:15 PM at the bloodmobile, located in front of the MB/Skaggs building. Appointments can be made online at the SDBB website. Walk-in donors will be accepted. Guidelines and eligibility requirements are also listed on the blood bank website. Donors should bring photo identification, a record of medications they are currently taking and a list of locations visited outside the United States in the past three years.

All donors will be entered automatically into a prize raffle. For further information on the blood drive, contact project coordinator Leslie Madden, administrative assistant in the TSRI Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, at lmadden@scripps.edu.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

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