In Brief

Promotions: Tobin Dickerson, Ian MacRae and Richard Milner Become Associate Professors

The promotions of Tobin Dickerson, Ian MacRae and Richard Milner were announced at the November meeting of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Board of Trustees. All three have achieved the rank of associate professor without tenure.

Dickerson, a member of the Department of Chemistry and the Worm Institute for Research and Medicine, develops technologies that detect and predict pathogen evolution, with particular focus on neglected tropical diseases, and studies the interplay between infectious disease and host immunity. For further information about Dickerson’s work, visit his faculty page or laboratory website.

MacRae, a member of the Department of Molecular Biology, conducts research that centers on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying RNA interference and related RNA silencing processes, through combining techniques in structural biology with biochemistry and cell biology. See MacRae’s faculty page for additional details.

Milner, a member of the Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, uses a combination of in vivo and in vitro systems to understand how extracellular matrix proteins regulate blood vessel growth and glial cell activation in the central nervous system. Further information is available on his faculty page.

Scripps CA Repeats Commuter Challenge Win

The Scripps California campus captured top honors for the second consecutive year in the 2012 Rideshare Challenge, a month-long iCommute corporate competition to promote work-commute alternatives to driving alone.

Forty-nine San Diego county companies and agencies participated in this year’s challenge. The TSRI effort, sponsored by Student Sustainability Initiative (SSI), the Green Team and the Human Resources Department, won in the Macro Company category. Participants tracked their alternative work commutes—any combination of carpooling, vanpooling, biking, walking, using public transit or teleworking—on the iCommute website throughout October.

According to iCommute, TSRI’s Rideshare statistics include:

1,239 eligible alternative commute trips logged on iCommute’s TripTracker
16,343 vehicle miles not traveled
469 gallons of gasoline not used
9,941 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions avoided

Pete Herold, vice president of facility services and Green Team leader, thanked Human Resources for spearheading TSRI’s team participation as well as all the TSRI participants in the Rideshare Challenge. “This second win in a row reflects the awareness of environmental issues in the TSRI community,” he said.

For its win, TSRI will receive a plaque and publicity in the San Diego Business Journal.

For more information on Green Team activities, including a timeline of TSRI sustainability milestones, visit the group’s website .

Brunhilde H. Felding to Speak at NWiS Lecture Series

TSRI Associate Professor Brunhilde H. Felding is the featured speaker at the November 29 Female Faculty Lecture Series presentation, sponsored by the California campus Network for Women in Science. Felding’s lecture is titled “How you try to capture science and it captures you.” The lecture is scheduled from 3 to 5 PM in the Molecular Biology Building Committee Lecture Hall. Contact NWiS Chair Krystalyn Hudson for further information. For details on other NWiS activities and resources, visit the group’s website.

CA Campus Society of Fellows Elects New Officers

The Society of Fellows (SOF) on the California campus has elected a 2012-2013 executive committee of officers. The new officer slate includes:

President – Sheena Saayman, Morris lab
Vice President – Emi Ruiz, Felding-Habermann lab
Treasurer – Tinashe Ruwona, Law lab
Career Development Chair – Dejan Caglic, Dickerson lab
Distinguished Lecture Series Chair – Adam Duerfeldt, Boger lab
Social Chair – Jose Garcia, Gallay lab

As the new SOF president, Saayman plans “to continue to serve the postdoc community at TSRI by facilitating a platform for professional development in a fun and friendly environment.”

Founded 50 years ago by Frank Dixon, who later served as director of the research institute, the SOF organization is designed to encourage professional and social exchange within the institute and with postdoctoral fellows from other San Diego-area academic institutions. In addition to providing a network among current and former TSRI research associates, the group sponsors an annual research symposium and visiting lectureship program, biannual travel awards and a variety of social and recreational activities. For additional information on SOF activities and resources, visit the group’s website.

Lunch & Learn: Freedom from Perfectionism

The burden of unrealistic expectations will be explored in the next Lunch & Learn series presentation, “Freedom from Perfectionism: A Beginners Guide,” to be held Wednesday, November 28, from noon to 1 PM in the Beckman Building’s Keck Amphitheater, California campus.

Presented by the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services and conducted by its director, Daphne Lurie, the workshop aims to help attendees learn how to thrive without having to be perfect, said Lurie.

Specifically, the workshop attendees will learn:

What perfectionism is and where it comes from
Signs of perfectionism in individuals
Tools to master perfectionist tendencies

For more information on the Lunch & Learn series, see the lunch-time workshop’s webpage. For details on other the Counseling and Psychological Services, visit the department website.

CA Onsite Clinics Scheduled for December 10 and 12

The next California campus immunization clinics will be held Monday, December 10, and Wednesday, December 12, 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.

News&Views Takes a Holiday

In observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday, News&Views will not be published Monday, November 26. Regular weekly publication will resume Monday, December 3.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

Associate Professor Tobin Dickerson