In Brief

Marisa Roberto Wins MERIT Award

Marisa Roberto, professor at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has been awarded a MERIT Award from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Addiction (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, for work to understand how alcohol affects the brain and how stress, anxiety and excessive alcohol consumption interact to promote alcohol dependence.

According to the NIH, the MERIT (Method to Extend Research In Time) Award provides long-term grant support to investigators “whose research competence and productivity are distinctly superior.” As long as criteria of excellence are met, the researchers are freed for up to 10 years from the competitive grant renewal process.

Roberto’s NIAAA project will further extend her research on endocannabinoid signalizing in the amygdala and regulation of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), the stress peptide involved in the body’s stress response, to provide novel insights into the innate susceptibility to develop alcoholism.

She hopes the findings will contribute to the development of new therapeutic agents to alleviate alcohol dependence.

For additional on information on Roberto’s research, visit her faculty webpage or the Roberto lab website.

Susana Valente Wins Campbell Foundation Grant

TSRI Associate Professor Susana Valente has received a $79,151 grant from The Campbell Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting alternative, nontraditional, clinical and laboratory-based avenues of research in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

“The Campbell Foundation has always focused on providing grants for novel and groundbreaking research. Dr. Valente and her Scripps team certainly fit the criteria,” said The Campbell Foundation’s Executive Director Ken Rapkin.

Valente’s research is unique in that the team’s goal is to “deep freeze” the HIV virus in the genome to eradicate the latent viral reservoir. This approach is different from others that have been designed to activate the latent virus and then kill it.

Specifically, the team is exploring the potential targeting of a highly potent activator of HIV production known as the Tat protein for which there are currently no available drugs. Valente and her team are looking at didehydro-Cortistatin A (dCA), a novel molecule closely related to a natural product isolated from a marine sponge, that may reduce the size of the latent HIV reservoir pool by blocking ongoing viral replication, reactivation and replenishment.

For additional information on Valente’s research, visit her faculty webpage or the Valente lab website.

TSRI Community Celebrates Eng Tan’s 90th Birthday

On August 18, friends and colleagues gathered for presentations and a reception to celebrate the 90^th birthday of Eng Tan, professor emeritus at TSRI and a world-renowned immunologist and rheumatologist.

“Eng has been a great mentor to many of us here today,” said TSRI Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine K. Michael Pollard, who has worked with Tan since 1982. “Those of us gathered here at TSRI as well as all of his colleagues and friends around the world wish him a happy 90^th.”

Tan arrived at TSRI in 1967 and spent the majority of his career at the institution, leading the Division of Allergy and Immunology and later serving as leader of the Division of Rheumatology and the W. M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine. In that time, Tan published pioneering research on diseases such as lupus and systemic sclerosis and trained close to 100 fellows. Tan’s birthday celebration included a number of his former fellows and colleagues from across the country, as well as Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Germany.

“I am deeply touched,” Tan told the group. “I have really enjoyed the time I’ve spent at Scripps.”

White Rhino Collaboration Draws Young Scientists

The Northern White Rhino Stem Cell Project, a collaboration between Professor Jeanne Loring’s laboratory at TSRI and the Frozen Zoo® at San Diego Zoo Global, recently drew a group of students from the Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School in Northridge, CA. The students hope to develop a science project based on their visit. Above, Thomas Nguyen (center), a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine intern in the Loring lab, explains laboratory safety measures to students, while Postdoctoral Associate Marisa Korody, who leads the zoo’s efforts for the Rhino project, looks on. (Photo by Cindy Brauer.)

CA Career Workshop: Interviewing Skills, Job Searching

Two workshops to help Scripps California postdoctoral fellows and graduate students prepare to launch their careers will be presented in September.

Wednesday, September 7: Videotaped Mock Interviews

Communicating effectively during job interviews is the focus of this workshop, to be held from 2 PM to 3:30 PM in graduate office large conference room. Facilitated by Briana Konnick, Career and Postdoctoral Services program coordinator, the small-group session will offer videotaped mock interviews with standard HR screening questions. Constructive feedback will be provided on participants’ responses and body language. Reservations are required.

Thursday, September 8: Academic Job Search 101

TSRI Professor Velia Fowler, Associate Professor Eros Lazzerini Denchi and Assistant Professor Kerry Engle will share their job search insights in this workshop, which will also cover academic job search timelines and resources; the application package, including CV composition, cover letters, research plans and teaching statements; phone screens; and on-campus interviews.

Conducted by Ryan Wheeler, director of TSRI’s Career, International and Postdoctoral Services, the session will be held from 12:30 to 2:20 PM in the graduate office seminar room. Reservations are required.

FL NWiS Hosts Wine Social

The Scripps Florida Network for Women in Science (NWiS) will host a get-acquainted wine social on Thursday, September 8, 6 PM, at Grande’s Bella Cucina in Palm Beach Gardens.

Open to the campus community, the event is designed to provide networking opportunities to TSRI’s female faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. Wine, non-alcoholic drinks and appetizers will be served. RSVPs are requested by Friday, September 2 to Ina Fetzer to ifetzer@scripps.edu.

Flu Immunizations Offered on CA, FL Campuses

Free flu immunization clinics for TSRI faculty, research associates, internal and external graduate students, and administrative and scientific staff will be offered on both the Scripps California and Florida campuses.

On the California campus, the clinic will be held Thursday, September 8, from 9 AM to 5 PM, and Friday, September 9, from 9 AM to 4:30 PM, at 3050 Science Park Road, Suite 241. Participants must bring a completed consent form and a form of identification to the clinic.

On the Florida campus, the clinic is scheduled during the Benefits Fair on Monday, October 17, from 9 AM to 3 PM, and on Wednesday, October 26, 10 AM to 2 PM, on the first floor of Building B, the ramp by the auditorium in the Scripps Café. Florida participants must bring their TSRI ID badge.

No appointments are needed. Family members are not eligible for the TSRI flu immunization program. Pregnant or nursing mothers should not get this vaccine, but should contact their physicians for a flu immunization.

Additional flu immunization details are available on the Benefits website. For more information, contact the Benefits office at (858) 784-8487 or benefits@scripps.edu.

CA ScrippsAssists to Support Heart Association Walk

ScrippsAssists invites the TSRI California campus to participate—as volunteers or walkers—in the American Heart Association’s (AHA) 2016 Heart and Stroke Walk, scheduled for Saturday, September 10 at Balboa Park in San Diego.

Volunteers can assist with either of two tasks. Green Team volunteers are needed from 6:30 to 11 AM, first to cheer on walkers, then to help pick up and dispose of litter along the route and expo area. Another volunteer team will distribute water to walkers and handle water station set-up and tear-down.

Permission slips from parents or legal guardians are required for volunteers under age 18; volunteers under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. To volunteer, contact ScrippsAssists Project Lead Samantha Spierling at samspier@scripps.edu.

To participate as a ScrippsAssists Team walker, contact TSRI Associate Professor Amanda Roberts at aroberts@scripps.edu

Proceeds from the event will support AHA programs for the treatment and cure of heart disease and stroke. The event is designed to promote physical activity and heart-healthy living, while providing a fun and rewarding environment for the entire family. Additional information about the Heart and Stroke Walk can be found on the AHA website.

CA Biosafety Committee Meeting Materials Due September 2

To receive consideration at the next TSRI Institutional Biosafety Committee, registration documents must be submitted to Environmental Health and Safety by Friday, September 2, via email to rachellv@scripps.edu. The meeting will be held September 14, 2:30 to 3:30 PM, in the Building 3301 P2 conference room.

News&ViewsTakes a Holiday

News&Views will not be published Monday, September 5, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. News&Views publication returns Monday, September 12.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

roberto
Professor Marisa Roberto has received a MERIT award from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Addiction. (Photo by BioMedical Graphics.)

valente
Associate Professor Susana Valente receives support for “novel and groundbreaking” HIV/AIDS research from Campbell Foundation Trustee Bill Venuti, while Research Associate Joseph Jablonski, Jr. looks on.

Friends and colleagues recently feted renowned TSRI immunologist Eng Tan at his 90^th birthday celebration. Above, Tan (left) visits with TSRI Assistant Professor Natalia Reixach during the event. (Photo by Madeline McCurry-Schmidt.)

CA ScrippsAssists Volunteers Support Epilepsy Foundation Family Event
scripps assists
ScrippsAssists volunteers supported the recent Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego’s Ninth Annual Tropical Luau event for children and teens with epilepsy and their families. Above, TSRI’s Veronica Rodriguez painted whimsical designs on children’s faces while other TSRI volunteers helped with a variety of craft projects at the expressive arts booth. (Photo by Kai-Chun Chen.)

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