In Brief

CA Outstanding Mentor Award Nominations Open

Nominations are now open for the California campus 2013 Outstanding Mentor Award, recognizing "the considerable dedication of faculty who consistently and enthusiastically serve as effective mentors of graduate students and postdocs." The award is sponsored by the Society of Fellows (SOF) and the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office.

The award recipient, to be announced during the National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week, September 16-20, will be honored with a plaque and $1,000 in funding to support team building or training efforts in his or her lab. Previous winners include TSRI Professor Ian Wilson and Adjunct Professor M.G. Finn.

Postdocs and graduate students may nominate any faculty member "who has guided and contributed to their personal or professional development through a mutually trusting and respectful relationship." Specifically, award nominees should be faculty who:

Develop mentees' research and professional skills, such as writing, presenting and networking
Respect and support scholars' goals by articulating clear expectations, providing thoughtful feedback and facilitating collaborations
Offer valuable career planning advice and are proactive and effective in scholars' job searches
Model effective communication, serve as a role model for conducting research responsibly and/or act as an advocate in difficult situations

Due Thursday, August 15, nominations will be reviewed by TSRI’s director of education, SOF Executive Committee members, and the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office.

The nomination form, available at the SOF website, must be accompanied by the following materials:

Letter(s) of nomination (3-page limit per letter) that address nomination criteria, describing the nominee’s experience and effectiveness as a research mentor. Current and former students and postdocs and nominees’ colleagues can submit nominations
The nominee’s current curriculum vitae
Other supporting information (optional), such as supplemental information on individual mentee accomplishments, positions held by former students or postdocs after leaving TSRI, programs implemented by the mentor and/or examples of creative mentoring

Updated re-submissions of prior applications are allowed and encouraged, according to Ryan Wheeler, manager of the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office. Previously nominated mentors will be considered with a 2013 nomination form; nomination materials submitted in previous years are on file. Prior award recipients are not eligible.

Nominations and supporting materials are to be sent to the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, to Mail Drop TPC-19; fax (858) 784-2802 or cpso@scripps.edu. For additional information, contact Wheeler at x4-9740 or rwheeler@scripps.edu.

CA Career Workshop: Videotaped Practice Interviews

A small-group workshop offering interview skills training for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students will be held on the Scripps California campus Thursday, July 25, from 3 to 4:30 PM in the Graduate Office conference room (Building 3377, Room 300).

Presented by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, the workshop will help participants strengthen effective verbal and non-verbal communications through videotaped mock interviews and feedback sessions based on standard HR-screening questions.

Registration is required. For further information, contact Ryan Wheeler, Career and Postdoctoral Services Office manager at x 4-9740 or rwheeler@scripps.edu.

Lunch & Learn: Coping with Chronic Illness

Chronic illness is often physically, emotionally and financially draining, impacting not only the affected person, but also family and friends. Guidance in coping with these stresses will be offered at the next Lunch & Learn presentation, to be held Wednesday, July 17, noon to 1 PM, in the Committee Lecture Hall in the Skaggs Institute/Molecular Biology building on the California campus.

Arranged by TSRI’s Office of Counseling and Psychological Services, the Lunch & Learn seminar will be conducted by Richard Hellman, a licensed clinical social worker and facilitator of the liver and kidney disease support group at Scripps Green Hospital.

A presentation for patients, families and friends, the session will cover the definition and description of chronic illness, its toll on patients and their loved ones and coping strategies.

Additional information on this Lunch & Learn and other resources from the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services is available at the department’s website.

FL NWiS to Hold ‘Turtle Walk’ Social

Repeating a favorite summer social event, the Florida campus Network for Women in Science (NWiS) invites members, family and friends to a Wildlife Turtle Walk on Juno Beach. NWiS groups may arrange a walk on any evening Wednesday, July 24, through Saturday, July 27, at 9 PM at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, 14200 U.S. Highway One, Juno Beach.

NWiS members and friends, including children over the age of eight, who attend the walk will view the sea turtles’ annual nesting and egg-laying activities. Additionally, while Loggerhead Marinelife Center scouts patrol designated sections of Juno Beach searching for turtles, participants—limited to 25 each night—will enjoy an informative presentation on the plight of sea turtles and visit with some of center “patients” in the outdoor turtle yard.

Advanced registration tickets are $17 per person; $20 for walk-in visitors. To participate in the NWiS-organized event, register on the Loggerhead Marinelife website.

For additional information, contact event organizer Briana Weiser, bweiser@scripps.edu.

CA ScrippsAssists Seeks Volunteers for ‘Fur Ball’

ScrippsAssists invites animal-loving volunteers on the California campus to help the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) stage its 27^th annual Fur Ball, billed as the city’s largest dog-friendly gala, on Saturday, August 17, 6 to 11 PM at the SDHS facility, 5500 Gaines Street, San Diego.

Twenty volunteers are needed, primarily to work with the event’s silent auction and opportunity drawing activities, according to Suzette Hunter, ScrippsAssists project lead and TSRI Human Resources analyst. The Fur Ball also will feature a cocktail reception, music and dinner.

With campuses in central San Diego and Oceanside, SDHS and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals programs include community education, animal cruelty and neglect investigations and pet-assisted therapy.

For details on volunteering for the Fur Ball, contact Hunter at suzetteh@scripps.edu or x4-8477. For further information on ScrippsAssists community service programs and projects, visit the group’s website.

CA Onsite Clinics Scheduled for July 15 and 17

The next California campus onsite immunization clinic will be held on Monday, July 15 and Wednesday, July 17, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in Building 3366, room 240. Conducted by Sharp Reese-Stealy staff, the clinics provide hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all TSRI employees. Appointments are not required.

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

Scripps Florida investigators Christoph Rader (top) and William Roush will lead a project to create a potential new drug for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common leukemia in the Western world. (Photos by James McEntee.)

Marcia McRae Retires

Marcia McRae has retired after nearly 18 years on staff at TSRI, where in addition to providing administrative support, she coordinated the ScrippsAssists Adopt-A-Family with the nonprofit Home Start agency for many years and has also been a primary organizer for the Craft Fair, the annual ScrippsAssists fundraiser. “I have been very fortunate to have worked with some wonderful people at TSRI,” said McRae, whose retirement plans include traveling and gardening. (Photo by Cindy Brauer.)

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