News & Events
Graduate Students Accept Scripps Florida Offer in Record Numbers
Large Percentage of Entering Class Comes from Florida Universities
A record number of new graduate students have selected Scripps Florida, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, as their school of choice to pursue their doctoral degrees.
"This year we made offers to a dozen students and received acceptances from nine – an unprecedented response," said William R. Roush, associate dean for the Scripps Florida graduate school program, as well as professor of chemistry and executive director of medicinal chemistry at Scripps Florida.
Of the nine new students, four come from Florida universities and colleges – the University of Miami; Florida State University; the University of Florida; and the New College of Florida.
"The quality of these new students is exceptional," Roush said. "These are students who could have gone to any school they wanted, and chose to come to Scripps Florida. This speaks not only to the quality of Florida's undergraduate education, but also to the growing reputation of Scripps Florida as one of the best locations in the country to complete graduate studies."
The Scripps Florida graduate program, part of The Scripps Research Institute's Kellogg School of Science and Technology, offers a doctoral program with an emphasis on chemistry, chemical biology, biophysics, and the biological sciences. The program, first established in 1989, is conducted at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and in Jupiter, Florida. Total enrollment is approximately 250 Ph.D. candidates.
To date, three Ph.D. students have graduated from the Scripps Florida campus, which has been operational for only three years; 12 are currently enrolled in the program, which generally takes from five to six years to complete.
With advanced classroom technology available at Scripps Florida, students share courses and conduct research collaborations with their counterparts in California, Roush said.
"Scripps Florida offers graduate students the best opportunities anywhere in the world," he said. "The new research buildings under construction are a visible sign of the commitment of the State of Florida and The Scripps Research Institute to creating an exciting environment devoted to top-notch science. It's a win-win situation for everybody."
A Community of Scholars
Graduate students in the Scripps Florida program have the opportunity to select a research mentor from among a group of outstanding faculty, who were recruited to Scripps Florida from leading state, national and international research institutions. The integration of academic research with programs in drug discovery and advanced technology provide a unique opportunity for students to identify cutting-edge research challenges. As a result, they graduate as professional scientists with a unique perspective on the translation of academic discoveries to the public sector, and the interplay of biological and chemical sciences in those discoveries.
"Our reputation as a first-rate research institute has significant meaning because of the remarkable quality of our faculty and the resources we make available to our students," Roush said. "This is a community of scholars, a place where there are no barriers to doing groundbreaking research."
The quality of the Scripps Research graduate program has been widely recognized by independent sources. For one, U.S. News & World Report, which periodically reviews the nation's colleges, has ranked The Scripps Research Institute among the best graduate schools in the country. In the biological sciences, the magazine ranks Scripps Research seventh in the nation; in chemistry, sixth. The program is at no cost to the students, who are provided with a stipend to cover living and other expenses.
On both coasts, the Scripps Research Institute's staff includes about 225 professors, 800 postdoctoral fellows, 750 laboratory technicians, and 800 administrative services employees. The faculty includes 19 members of the National Academy of Sciences and three Nobel laureates.
About the Kellogg School of Science and Technology
In 1989, The Scripps Research Institute extended its reputation for excellence in basic biomedical research by establishing an innovative doctoral program unlike any other in the United States. Integrating such diverse disciplines as cell and molecular biology, structure and chemistry, it developed a Graduate Program in Macromolecular and Cellular Structure, and then Chemistry.
In 2002, TSRI named its graduate college The Kellogg School of Science and Technology for philanthropists Janet R. ("Jean") and W. Keith Kellogg II. In 2003, a comprehensive review of the curriculum resulted in the redefined Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Sciences, which allows students to select one of five curricular tracks—chemistry, chemical biology, biophysics, biology or immunology—so that its graduates are broadly trained in these areas of scientific inquiry.
Renowned Chemist Roy Periana Appointed Professor at Scripps Florida
Jupiter, FL, Thursday, July 19, 2007--The Scripps Research Institute announced today the appointment of internationally recognized chemist Roy A. Periana, Ph.D., as professor of chemistry at the Institute's Scripps Florida facilities.
"Professor Periana's expertise will add substantial value to our ongoing efforts in developing more efficient synthetic methodologies in chemistry," said Scripps Research President Richard A. Lerner, M.D., himself a chemist. "His research will enhance our ability to make new medicines to benefit human health. In addition, it will allow Scripps Florida to move in a timely manner into the critical areas of energy and alternative fuels, a stated interest of the Governor Charlie Crist and the people of Florida. We expect strong and enthusiastic support for this important research will come from both philanthropic and government organizations."
Professor Periana is a graduate of the University of Michigan and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, working with Professor Robert Bergman. His background ranges from co-founder of Catalytica Advanced Technologies in the Silicon Valley to most recently professor of chemistry at the University of Southern California and its Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute.
He is a world leader in the chemistry of the carbon-hydrogen (CH) bond and coordination catalysis, a field in which he was one of the 20th century's original investigators. Professor Periana has a strong publication record highlighted by three publications in Science, and substantial funding from both industrial and government sources.
In addition to research on the CH bond, Dr. Periana's focus will be on the five small molecules that provide the bulk of energy and materials on Earth: methane (CH4), oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
"There are fundamental gaps in the chemistry of these small molecules that lead to substantial inefficiencies in energy and material production on the planet," he said. "Indeed, the chemistry of these molecules has been referred to as the 'Holy Grail,' because the low temperature chemistries have yet to be developed."
The bonds of methane and nitrogen are among the strongest known. As a result, Professor Periana explained, high temperature chemistry in use today for the conversion of methane to electricity leads to an approximately 400 percent greater rate of consumption and carbon dioxide emissions than is required from fossil fuel.
"In the case of nitrogen, the source of fertilizer for 40 percent of the world's population, we use outdated, high temperature technology that utilizes about one percent of the world's energy," he said. "If we can develop lower temperature chemistry for these bonds, substantial improvements could be developed that would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, allow the vast underutilized resources of natural gas to be converted to methanol as an alternative to petroleum, as well as store energy in CO2 by efficient conversion to methanol."
Scripps Florida Forms Molecular Therapeutics Department
In anticipation of Scripps Florida's continued expansion, The Scripps Research Institute has created a new academic department, the Department of Molecular Therapeutics.
"We will recruit faculty to the Department of Molecular Therapeutics capable of utilizing the advanced drug discovery technology at Scripps Florida," says Patrick Griffin, the new department's chair. "Our goal is to discover new chemical probes that have immediate therapeutic implications."
Associate Professor Phil LoGrasso and his group will be among those joining Griffin and his team as the department's first members.
"Pat has the exciting challenge of building a new academic department at the same time that it takes occupancy of a new world-class research facility," says Gerald Joyce, dean of the faculty and a member of the Scripps Florida Steering Committee, which voted to form the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at its regular meeting last month. "It's a great opportunity for all the founding members of the department."
Steve Kay, chair of the Biochemistry Department and another member of the Scripps Florida Steering Committee, adds, "Pat's background in cutting-edge science and the discovery of therapeutics positions him well to assume this new leadership position at Scripps Florida."
Griffin also heads the existing Scripps Florida Translational Research Institute, which will continue to focus on the conversion of basic science discoveries into clinical applications (see http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20061113/griffin.html).
In addition to Molecular Therapeutics, Scripps Research departments based primarily on the Jupiter, Florida, site are Infectology, chaired by Charles Weissmann, and Cancer Biology, chaired by John Cleveland. Additional departments are anticipated as the permanent Scripps Florida campus, scheduled to open in 2009, nears completion.
Science Saturday
Scripps Florida and South Florida Science Museum (SFSM) are creating a permanent bioscience exhibit at the museum. The Science Saturday program for high school students at Scripps Florida will be expanded to the museum.
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