In Brief

Ryan Shenvi Receives New Investigator Award

Ryan Shenvi, assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has received the Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals (BI) 2012 New Investigator Award. The award is dedicated to enhancing the careers of talented scientific professionals around the world, according to the award announcement.

As part of the award, Shenvi will present a lecture next spring at the BI research and development center in Ridgefield, Conn., headquarters of BI Corporation USA. The global pharmaceutical company comprises 145 affiliated companies with more than 44,000 employees.

Research in the Shenvi lab focuses on complex molecule synthesis, exploration of chemical reactivity and expansion of the tools available to synthetic chemists.

Travis Hughes Awarded Ruth Kirschstein Fellowship

Travis Hughes, postdoctoral fellow in the Kojetin lab, has received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his project “Linking partial and non-agonist induced dynamics to PPAR gamma functions.”

The Kirschstein fellowship provides up to three years of support for promising postdoctoral fellows who have the potential to become productive, independent investigators within the broad scope of biomedical, behavioral or clinical research, according to the NIH.

Hughes’s research focuses on determining how different PPAR binding anti-diabetes drugs affect how PPAR moves, with the goal of to develop more effective anti-diabetes drugs. Earlier this year, Hughes won an American Heart Association fellowship, which he resigned to accept the NIH award.

Annual Kellogg School Retreat Provides Opportunity to ‘Revel in Science’

In an idyllic locale, surrounded by the mountains and pine trees of the San Bernardino National Forest, 118 students and 29 faculty members presented and discussed science during the TSRI Kellogg School of Science and Technology’s 2012 Graduate Student Symposium, held October 14 to 16 at Lake Arrowhead.

“The annual student retreat is a highlight of the year for me,” said Jaime Williamson, dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies at TSRI. “We bring the whole student body together to revel in our science, through the talks, the posters and informal discussions. The student talks are amazing—at the level of any scientific conference that I've been to.”

Students from both California and Florida campuses and the TSRI Skaggs-Oxford program attended the three-day retreat, which included two full days of student oral and poster presentations. In addition, the agenda provided free time for networking and small group interactions, as well as recreational activities, including volleyball, swimming, soccer and tennis.

A highlight of the retreat was the Distinguished Faculty Lecture featuring Department of Chemistry Professor Donna Blackmond. "Donna gave an inspirational talk that spanned her entire career. She described how the experience at each stage shaped her thinking, and she was able to present her work on complex reaction kinetics in a way that was accessible to all," said Williamson.

Juan Carlos de la Torre to Speak November 14 in Faculty Lecture Series

TSRI Professor Juan Carlos de la Torre will speak on “Arenaviruses: From Basic Virology to Novel Therapeutic Targets” Wednesday, November 14, in the Faculty Lecture Series on the California campus. The lecture will be held at 5 PM in the Valerie Timken Amphitheater, Green Hospital. A reception will follow in the Arnold and Mable Beckman building, first floor. For more information, see de la Torre’s Faculty Lecture Series webpage.

Panel to Explore Creativity in Art and Science

TSRI will partner with the La Jolla Playhouse, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute on Sunday, November 11 to present “The Science in Art,” a conversation among scientists and theatre artists exploring the role creativity plays in both disciplines, at the Forum Theatre on the University of California, San Diego campus.

Gerald Joyce, Gerald Joyce, professor in the departments of chemistry and molecular biology at TSRI, will participate in the roundtable discussion with Thomas Albright, director of the Vision Center laboratory at Salk; Pamela Itkin-Ansari, adjunct assistant professor at Sanford Burnham; Christopher Ashley, La Jolla Playhouse artistic director; and Tony Award-wining Des McAnuff, director of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, a musical set to open November 6 at the Playhouse’s Weiss Theatre. The discussion will be moderated by Daniel Einhorn, medical director of Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute.

The event, which begins at 5 PM, will be held at the Forum Theatre on the University of California, San Diego campus. Sponsored by Northern Trust, the free event will include a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception immediately following the roundtable. Reservations are required and must be made by Friday, November 2; contact the La Jolla Playhouse RSVP Hotline, (858) 550-1070 ext. 143, or rsvp@ljp.org.

ScrippsAssists CA Craft Fair Set for November 6

From hand-crafted jewelry and glass ornaments to photography and origami, a wealth of holiday gift and specialty items will be offered at the ScrippsAssists 2012 Craft Fair, scheduled for Thursday, November 8, 11 AM to 2 PM, in the Beckman Building Galleria, California campus. Proceeds benefit ScrippsAssists’ charitable activities.

A sampling of the handicrafts produced by TSRI employees for this year’s fair include towels, aprons, jam and jelly, chocolates, Pandora-style bracelets, gift boxes, cake pops and cake ball cakes scarves and hats, antique stamp decoupage, knitted creations and handmade flowers.

A raffle for a variety of donated prizes will be held at 2 PM. Prizes include dinners at San Diego restaurants, passes to local attractions, overnight accommodations at several area hotels and gift baskets and certificates from retailers. The grand prize is a pair of round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, valid in 2013 without restrictions, donated by Culinary Concepts, a long-time supporter of the Craft Fair and raffle. The $1 raffle tickets will be sold just prior to and during the fair. Winners need not be present.

A volunteer group for TSRI employees, ScrippsAssists provides a variety of community service projects and programs throughout the year. Last year’s Craft Fair enabled the group to help support such programs as the HomeStart Student Backpack drive, Torrey Pines Reserve Docent Society, Polinsky Children’s Center, San Diego Food Bank and Challenge Ranch, a social and development program for foster children. For information on volunteering opportunities, see the ScrippsAssists webpage.

Updated Craft Fair information is available on the ScrippsAssists webpage.

CA Onsite Clinics Scheduled for November 5 and 7

The next California campus onsite immunization clinics will be held Monday, November 5, and Wednesday, November 7, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in Room 325 of the 3366 Building.

Conducted by Sharp Rees-Stealy staff, the clinics provide hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all TSRI employees. Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Occupational Medicine must pre-authorize all other procedures based on the employee's working conditions. These procedures include:

Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) vaccines
A new one-visit Quantiferon tuberculosis test (for information on this test, read the Centers for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet)
Other tests, including titers, immunizations and procedures according to the TSRI employee job function

Individuals who cannot attend the onsite clinic may visit the Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Center in Sorrento Mesa after EH&S pre-authorization. In addition, appointments can be scheduled at the Sharp Rees-Stealy Occupational Medicine Office by calling (858) 526-6150. For further details, contact Sunny Gold Schmidt, x4-9299 or gschmidt@scripps.edu.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

retreat
The annual Kellogg School retreat featured two days of student oral and poster presentations. Shown here are Christina Dreyton (left) of the Thompson lab, with Ariadna Amador of the Burris and Kenny labs, discussing Amador’s poster. (Photo by Weston Dunn.)

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