In Brief


Nicolaou Wins Tetrahedron Prize

K.C. Nicolaou, founding chairman of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Department of Chemistry, Aline W. and L.S. Skaggs Professor of Chemical Biology at TSRI's Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, and Darlene Shiley Chair in Chemistry, is the recipient of the Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry for 2002. According to Tetrahedron Publications Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Nicolaou was awarded the prize for "his creative and productive investigations in natural products synthesis, which, through his remarkable ingenuity and ability to develop novel synthetic technologies, have enabled him to extend the frontiers of the field into challenging new areas." Previous recipients of the prize include TSRI investigators Albert Eschenmoser and K. Barry Sharpless.

Nicolaou (B.Sc., Bedford College, London; Ph.D., University College, London) conducted post-graduate research at Columbia and Harvard Universities before becoming assistant professor, then rising through the ranks to Rhodes Thompson Professor of Chemistry, at the University of Pennsylvania. He joined TSRI in 1989. Nicolaou has received numerous awards and honors, including nine honorary degrees, fellowship in the U.S. American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and membership in the Academy of Athens and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.


English-as-a-Second-Language Classes Begin
A new series of English-as-a-Second-Language classes will begin on Tuesday, October 1. Instructor Cassandra Wadkin's class meets from 6:30 to 8:30 PM every Tuesday evening in the Immunology Building West Conference Room. The price for three months (12 classes) is $60.

Each intermediate-level English class is divided into speaking and listening, idioms and vocabulary, and reading and writing. If you would like to improve your English and your understanding of your friends and colleagues, movies, television shows, and the news, this class is for you. The class uses movies, games, television shows, grammar books, songs, drawing and novels to teach standard American English. Have fun and learn English at the same time!


Free Flu Shots for TSRI Employees
TSRI will be offering free flu vaccinations to TSRI employees, research associates, and graduate students on Wednesday, October 2 and Wednesday, October 16 from 9AM to 4PM. The clinic will be administered by HealthFax in the Administrative Building, 3301 North Torrey Pines Court, on the P1 level. Please bring a form of identification with you. A printable version of the map and directions are available on the Human Resources web site. For more information please call benefits administration at x4-8487.


More Faculty Promotions
Recent faculty promotions include:

IMMUNOLOGY: Assistant Professor Rong Xiang.

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: Assistant Professor Michael N. Boddy, Assistant Professor Elizabeth Anne Thomas.

NEUROBIOLOGY Assistant Professor Peter Whitney Vanderklish.

NEUROPHARMACOLOGY Associate Professor Pietro P. Sanna.