Scientific Report 2006
Society of Fellows
In
its 44th year, the Society of Fellows took pride in maintaining its mission to serve
the scientific community at Scripps Research, with particular emphasis on enhancing
the trainee experience of junior scientists. We enjoyed a great year of bringing
graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members together in both professional
and social arenas.
Our Distinguished Lecturer Series brought
several prominent scientists to lecture and, more importantly, to interact with
junior scientists. The society is thankful to the speakers for their excellent presentations:
Claire Fraser, Paul Nurse, and Stanley Plotkin.
The Society also sponsored a wide range
of career development workshops and seminars, most notably several postdoctoral
career events including Jorge Cham (The Power of Procrastination), Jean-luc Doumont
(Making the Most of Your Presentation), and a grantwriting workshop lead by Luc
Teyton. These events were sponsored in partnership with Ryan Wheeler, manager of
the newly formed Office of Postdoctoral Services, which has greatly expanded our
reach by providing help in organizing events. We acknowledge Ryan’s outstanding
assistance and appreciate his commitment to fulfilling the society’s aims.
The Fall Research Symposium was organized
to draw postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and faculty members together in
an informal setting. The event, held in the Beckman Galleria, featured 52 poster
presentations covering research projects from all departments.
With a generous contribution from our
Human Resources department, we were able to initiate a postdoctoral tuition reimbursement
program in the amount of $400 to each fellow. Thus far, the program has funded 15
postdoctoral scholars for professional development coursework. Typical courses included
certificate programs like Drug Discovery and Regulatory Affairs held at the University
of California, San Diego, Extension. Such formal coursework provided our postdoctoral
candidates with an important resume booster and gave them a completive edge in an
increasingly competitive job market.
This year’s social calendar was
again packed with many entertaining events, including trips to the LA County Museum
of Art and Universal Studios, a whale watching excursion, an historical tour of
San Diego, and our annual Big Bear ski trip. Happy hours were held throughout the
year to promote interaction among scientists at Scripps Research and those at nearby
science institutions. This year’s Hawaiian-themed summer bash was held at Canes
Bar and Grill. In addition, a sunset yacht cruise around San Diego Bay was enjoyed
by all who attended. Other notable social events this year included a premier showing
of the movie The DaVinci Code, a day at the Del Mar races, and a World Cup
soccer tipping contest.
Finally, at the annual spring vendor
show, the society played host to approximately 100 scientific vendors, who displayed
their latest scientific equipment and technology.
The Society of Fellows executive committee
expresses its sincere gratitude to the Office of the President and Postdoctoral
Services at Scripps Research for enthusiastic and continued support of the society’s
activities.
Executive Committee 2005-2006
| Officers |
|
| Adam Mullick |
President |
| Ralph Pantophlet
|
Vice President |
| Florence Brunel |
Treasurer |
| Kelly-Anne Purton |
Social Chair |
| Anne Bellon |
Social Co-Chair |
| Neil Hime |
Distinguished Lecturer Series Chair |
Reshma Jagasia/Justin Carlson
|
Career Development Committee Chairs |
| Tricia Burdo |
Vendor Show Chair |
| Ryan Wheeler |
Postdoctoral Services Office Liaison |
| Anne Bunner/Jilla Sabeti |
Network for Women in Science Liaisons |
| Ron Nepomuceno |
Website Manager |
| Non-Officers |
|
| Ben Croker |
|
| Joerg Hinnerwisch |
|
| George Nicola |
|
| Vandana Ramachandran |
|
| Chris Ramsey |
|
| BinQing Wei |
|
| Scott Westenberger |
|
|
