In Brief

Donna Blackmond and Gerald Joyce Named Simons Investigators

Professors Donna Blackmond and Gerald Joyce of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have been named Simons Investigators for the Collaboration on the Origins of Life, sponsored by the Simons Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit organization established in 1994 to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and basic sciences.

The 15-member international collaboration aims to support creative, innovative research in 10 topic areas concerning the processes that led to the emergence of life, including the development of prebiotic chemistry and RNA replication. Blackmond and Joyce each will receive $2 million of research funding from the Simons Foundation over the next five years.

Blackmond’s project focuses on chirality and the likely prebiotic conditions that may have led to single chirality as a precursor to enhanced molecular complexity.

Joyce’s project involves experimental studies that seek to determine the minimum amount of information required to provide replicating, evolving systems that have the ongoing capacity to accrue more information.

Jerold Chun’s New Book Offers Resource in Growing Scientific Field

A new book edited by Jerold Chun, professor in the Dorris Neuroscience Center at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), and his colleagues offers a new, comprehensive resource for the growing field of lysophospholipid receptors.

Extensively indexed, the 800-page Lysophospholipid Receptors, Signaling and Biochemistry features 34 chapters contributed by 107 authors from throughout the world. The book’s co-editors are Timothy Hla of the Weill Cornell Medical College, Wouter Moolenaar of The Netherlands Cancer Institute and Sarah Spiegel of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. The book is available through Wiley Publishing and Amazon.com.

“In recent years, this field has yielded new biological and medical insights on many organ systems and has given rise to the first oral drug for multiple sclerosis, Gilenya,” said Chun. “We hope the book increases interest in and accessibility to this fascinating field, which continues to expand through new receptors, physiological functions, disease mechanisms and therapeutics.”

NWiS Meeting to Offer Networking Tips

“Networking for the Networking-Challenged” is the topic of the next California campus Network for Women in Science (NWiS) Coffee Hour, Monday, May 6, at 3 PM in the TSRI Faculty Club Tennis Room.

Ryan Wheeler, manager of the TSRI Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, will present practical tips for making meaningful professional connections. Discussion topics include the misconceptions, challenges, formalities and benefits of networking.

Faculty, staff, postdocs and graduate students—female and male—are invited to the informal gathering, which will include snacks, tea and coffee. For further information on NWiS activities and resources on the California campus, visit the group’s website.

ScrippsAssists Sponsors Blood Drive May 23

The California campus staff and faculty are invited to donate blood in a ScrippsAssists-sponsored blood drive, scheduled for Thursday, May 23. Donors will help supply the nearly 400 units of blood distributed daily to local hospitals by the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB).

Eligible donors are encouraged to make an appointment through the SDBB website. Appointments are available every 10 minutes from 9 AM to 2:30 PM. Walk-ins will be accepted. The bloodmobile will be located in the parking lot in front of the Molecular Biology/Skaggs building, 10596 N. Torrey Pines Road.

Donor guidelines and eligibility requirements are also posted on the SDBB website.

Blood drive participants will be entered automatically in a raffle for prizes, according to Leslie Madden, ScrippsAssists project coordinator. For additional information, contact Madden at lmadden@scripps.edu.

CA Blood Donors for Research Offered Cash Compensation

To meet 2013 demand for normal human blood products used by institute investigators, TSRI’s Normal Blood Donor Service (NBDS) seeks to expand its donor pool on the California campus. Donors are immediately compensated $25 to $100 for a single blood draw.

The NBDS donor pool is open to all healthy individuals in the TSRI community who are readily available during working hours. Potential donors must meet the following criteria:

Age: 18 to 65 years
Weight: at least 110 pounds (50 kg)
Blood pressure: between 90 to 180 mm Hg systolic and 50 to 100 mm Hg diastolic
No major surgery within the past six months
Adequate hemoglobin test scores
Negative screening for HIV and Hepatitis B and C, upon entry to the program and every subsequent year
No daily use of aspirin or anti-inflammatory medication

Further details, including applications to become a paid donor, can be found at the NBDS website. NBDS Coordinator Priscilla Crisler can be reached at x4-5418; by fax, (858)-652-5556; or email, corelab@scripps.edu.

CA Onsite Clinics Scheduled for May 6 and 8

The next California campus onsite immunization clinic will be held on Monday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 8, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in Building 3366, room 240. Conducted by Sharp Rees-Stealy staff, the clinics provide hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all TSRI employees. Appointments are not needed.

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; the one-visit Quantiferon tuberculosis test (see the Center for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet); and other titers, immunizations and procedures.

After EH&S pre-authorization, individuals who cannot attend the onsite clinic may visit the Sharp Rees-Stealy occupational medicine clinic by calling (858) 526-6150. The clinic is located at 10243 Genetic Center Drive, off Mira Mesa Boulevard. For further details, contact Sunny Gold Schmidt, gschmidt@scripps.edu or x4-9299.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

TSRI Hosts Visit from Majority Leader Eric Cantor

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA, right) met recently with TSRI President Michael Marletta on the Scripps California campus. The meeting was followed by a roundtable discussion, sponsored by the California Healthcare Institute, during which local biotech and TSRI executives offered Cantor perspectives on federal programs, funding and proposals to spur innovation.

Professor Jerold Chun’s new book offers a new, comprehensive resource on lysophospholipid receptors, an expanding field that has given rise to the first oral drug for multiple sclerosis. (Image reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

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