Of Note

Faculty Promotions: Michael Boddy, Xiaohua Wu, William Ja, Shuji Kishi

As announced at a recent meeting of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Board of Trustees, Associate Professors Michael Boddy and Xiaohau Wu have been awarded tenure, and William Ja and Shuji Kishi and have been promoted to the rank of associate professor.

Michael Boddy, of Scripps California’s Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, studies proteins that repair DNA and maintain the integrity of the genome and investigates how these repair mechanisms are relevant to diseases such as cancer.
Xiaohua Wu, of Scripps California’s Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, focuses on the molecular mechanisms that regulate DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoint control in mammalian cells, with an emphasis on how these activities contribute to the genome stability and the prevention of cancer.
William Ja, of Scripps Florida’s Department of Metabolism and Aging, uses behavioral, biochemical and genetic approaches in the fruit fly to dissect genetic pathways that are involved in aging, nutrition and disease.
Shuji Kishi, of Scripps Florida’s Department of Metabolism and Aging, uses zebrafish as a model system to develop a high-throughput processing system for gene identification and phenotype characterization, particularly associated with human age-related disorders.

Mark Herzik Named 2016 Whitney Fellow

Mark Herzik, research associate in the Lander lab, has been named a 2016 Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Fellow, a three-year award that supports early-career researchers in basic biomedical science.

In his research, Herzik employs high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy to solve the structures of the primary mitochondrial protein import gateways and to study how their deregulation contributes to the progression of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Established in 1947, the New York City-based Helen Hay Whitney Foundation’s mission is to increase the number of imaginative, well-trained and dedicated medical scientists. This year’s 22 Whitney Fellows were selected from nearly 450 applicants.

Local Neuroscientists Come Together at Scripps Florida

Scores of neuroscientists and those studying to be neuroscientists came together on the Scripps Florida campus recently for Synapse 2016, an annual neuroscience networking event that included students and research scientists from TSRI, the Palm Beach Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Max Planck Florida Institute. Nearby Nova Southeastern University, Torrey Pines Institute and Palm Beach State College took advantage of the opportunity as well.

More than 30 posters were displayed, covering topics from behavioral studies to neural computations and molecular neuroscience.

Ron L. Davis, chair of TSRI’s Department of Neuroscience, put it this way: “This is an opportunity for scientists from our campus, Max Planck, FAU and other local institutions to share their research, their ideas and their enthusiasm about the work they’re doing. For those of us who have chosen Palm Beach County to live and work, this is exactly what we hoped would happen—a growing spirit of collaboration that is rapidly becoming the hallmark of the Jupiter scientific community.”

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

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Michael Boddy (left) and Xiaohua Wu have received tenure.

William Ja (left) and Shuji Kishi have been promoted to associate professor.

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Snapshot: Jessica Mayeux

Of Note

Faculty Promotions: Michael Boddy, Xiaohua Wu, William Ja, Shuji Kishi

Mark Herzik Named 2016 Whitney Fellow

Local Neuroscientists Come Together at Scripps Florida