In Brief

Brunie Felding Wins Breast Cancer Research Grant

Brunhilde (“Brunie”) Felding, associate professor in the Departments of Chemical Physiology and Molecular and Experimental Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has won a three-year Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Idea Award - Partnering PI Option, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.

BCRP Idea Awards support promising research that has extraordinary potential to yield highly impactful data and new avenues of investigation—innovative research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements to accelerate the eradication of breast cancer.

Felding will partner with Gary Siuzdak, TSRI’s professor of chemistry, molecular and computational biology and senior director of the Center for Metabolomics, on the project “Metabolomic Imaging of Early Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis to Identify Targets for Prevention.”

For more information on Felding, see the Felding faculty webpage. For more information on Siuzdak, see the Siuzdak faculty webpage.

Daniel Salomon Assumes Presidency of American Society of Transplantation

Daniel Salomon, professor in the TSRI Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine and program medical director for the Scripps Center for Organ Transplantation, was installed as the new president of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) on May 20, during the American Transplant Congress in Seattle, Washington.

Founded in 1982, the AST is an international organization of more than 3,000 transplant professionals dedicated to advancing the field of transplantation through the promotion of research, education, advocacy and organ donation to improve patient care.

For more information about Salomon, see the profile in this issue, “Dan Salomon Embraces the Complexity of Transplant Medicine,” and his faculty web page.

Ashok Deniz to Speak at June 12 Faculty Lecture Series

Ashok Deniz, associate professor in the TSRI Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, is the featured speaker at the next Faculty Lecture Series presentation, Wednesday, June 12. His topic is “Single-Molecule Biophysics of Intrinsic Protein Disorder.” The lecture will begin at 5 PM in the Timkin Amphitheater in the Green Hospital, La Jolla, California. A reception will follow in the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Building, first floor. For further information, see Deniz’s Faculty Lecture Series webpage.

Library Tip: Lab Safety Videos

The University of California, San Diego, has created a suite of videos on laboratory safety in academic settings. Twelve videos are available for viewing:

A Day in the Lab (A PI's Perspective) (9:09 min.)
Basic Fume Hood Air Flow and Operation (3:18 min.)
Compressed Gas Safety Training for UC San Diego (Two parts: 59:18 min.; 51:16 min.)
Experimenting with Danger (discusses hazards associated with conducting research in chemistry labs) (24:05 min.)
Flash Chromatography 101 (7:23 min.)
How to Handle Pyrophoric Reagents (Three parts: 5:15 min.; 7:11 min.; 3.05 min.)
Laboratory Safety Institute – Safety Videos Page (from the Laboratory Safety Institute)
Pipette Safety & Ergonomics (9:47 min.)
Proper Use of a Fume Hood (3:39 min.)
Splash Zone (1:33 min.)
The Periodic Table of Videos (short videos featuring chemists from the University of Nottingham)
To Be (Safe) or Not to Be (8:47 min.)

Links to the videos may be found at the following website, which includes other helpful information about general lab and chemical safety: http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/laboratory/videos.html

For additional information on other Kresge Library resources at TSRI, visit the library’s website.

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 June 10 and 12

The next California campus onsite immunization clinic will be held on Monday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 12 , 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

‘New Venture in World Science’ Draws Palm Beach Community Members

Director of Educational Outreach Deborah Leach Scampavia (above), Professor Phillip LoGrasso, and Senior Director of Florida Operations Dawn Johnson were featured speakers at a recent event, "A New Venture in World Science," which drew many Scripps Florida friends and supporters. (Photo by Lauren Lieberman/LILA PHOTO.) See more event information and photos.

CA ScrippsAssists Blood Drive Collects 34 Pints
sterling-laing
Thirty-four donors extended their arms to donate a pint each in the recent CA ScrippsAssists-sponsored blood drive for the San Diego Blood Bank, the best participation in recent times, according to project leader Leslie Madden. The next ScrippsAssists quarterly blood drive will be held in August. Here, Kathy Sterling (left) of the Joyce and Reed labs lends support to donor David Laing of IT Services. (Photo by Cindy Brauer.)

SEARCH NEWS & VIEWS

Scientists Develop Powerful New Method for Finding Therapeutic Antibodies

Dan Salomon Embraces the Complexity of Transplant Medicine

Marshall Criser III and James LaBelle Join Board of Trustees

Esther B. O'Keeffe Foundation Donates $250,000 to Fund Scripps Florida Neuroscience Training Program