In Brief
Burton Leads AIDS Vaccine Initiative
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Professor Dennis Burton
will lead a new consortium of HIV/AIDS laboratories, brought
together by the nonprofit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
to speed the discovery of a vaccine to prevent AIDS. The five-year,
multi-million–dollar project will help unravel the mysteries
of HIV and broadly neutralizing antibodies.
"What we suspect is that T cells alone cannot work fast
enough, or effectively enough, to provide the high degree
of protection across a large population that we tend to associate
with the concept of vaccines," says Burton. "We are going
to need to elicit neutralizing antibodies."
Antibodies are infection-fighting proteins in blood and
secretory fluids—made and secreted by the immune system—that
recognize, neutralize, and help destroy disease-causing microorganisms
like bacteria and viruses.
The consortium unites the forces of Ian Wilson, also of
TSRI; Robert Doms of the University of Pennsylvania School
of Medicine; John Moore of Weill Medical College of Cornell
University; Joe Sodroski of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
and several advisors from the U.S. National Institutes of
Health. The consortium will combine expertise in crystallography,
antigen design, and testing, using state-of-the art technology
and common reagents and assays.
University of Athens Awards Theofilopoulos Honorary Degree
TSRI Professor Argyrios Theofilopoulos has received an
honorary doctorate of medicine from the University of Athens
in Greece.
A graduate of the University of Athens Medical School, Theofilopoulos
came to TSRI (then the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation)
in 1972, after completing his residency at King Paul's Hospital
in Athens and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University
of Texas Southwestern Medical School.
This is Theofilopoulos's second honorary degree. The first
was awarded in 2000 by the University of Patras, also in Greece.
Theofilopoulos has received numerous other honors, including
an NIH Research Career Development Award, visiting professorships
at Duke University Medical School and the University of Texas
Medical Branch at Galveston, and membership in the American
Association of Physicians. For information on some of Theofilopoulos's
current research, see News&Views article "The
Genetic I.D. of Lupus" and the press release "Making
the Most of Lymphopenia."
Lunch & Learn: "Raising Teenagers, The Uncharted Territory"
Linda Osborn, parent education instructor at Grossmont Adult
School will present "Raising Teenagers: The "Uncharted Territory"
for the ongoing "Lunch and Learn" seminar series, on Wednesday,
July 24, noon to 1 PM, in the W.M. Keck Amphitheater in the
Beckman Center for Chemical Sciences. No registration is necessary.
If more information is needed, contact Jan Hill, x4-2950.
More Retirement Plan Rollovers
In May 2002, Governor Davis signed legislation allowing California
to conform to EGTRRA, the Economic Growth And Tax Relief Reconciliation
Act of 2001. As a result, several changes are taking place
in TSRI's retirement plans. These changes will be implemented
at different intervals in order to allow sufficient time for
Human Resources systems and processes to be changed.
Effective July 1, 2002, Benefits Administration will accept
rollovers of distributions from a 403(b) plan, 401(a) retirement,
401(k), profit sharing or stock bonus plan, or governmental
457(b) plan into your 403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuity Plan or
401(a) Staff Retirement Plan. IRAs cannot be rolled over into
any TSRI retirement plan.
Should you wish to initiate a rollover, please contact Benefits
Administration at x4-8487 to obtain the necessary paperwork.
Further announcements will be posted as Benefits Administration
continues to implement these new laws.
24 Hour Fitness Onsite to Offer Discounted Memberships
Benefits Administration would like to announce that representatives
from 24 Hour Fitness will be onsite on Friday, July 19, from
11 AM to 1 PM to enroll employees in discounted memberships.
Employees who were unable to enroll at the annual Health Fair
on May 29 will be able to enroll in the P1 Conference Room,
3301 North Torrey Pines Court, below Human Resources. All
employees except TSRI graduate students are eligible for this
benefit.
TSRI Picnic, "Survivor" Style
The 2002 TSRI Picnic, entitled "Survivor—Rooftop Island,"
will be held from 3:30 to 7:30 PM on Friday, July 19, on the
roof of the Immunology Building. Gather with your friends
and colleagues to celebrate the summer, eat delicious food,
enjoy live music, enter the raffles, and relax.
Some may choose not to relax, however. The theme of the
TSRI picnic this year is based on the hit TV show, "Survivor."
Picnic attendees will be invited to form and join teams-or
tribes-and compete for the grand prize. An obstacle course,
stilts, and jousting will be among team challenges for contestants.
And one lucky winner will win over one ten thousandth of ONE
MILLION DOLLARS!!!
All TSRI employees are invited to attend with guests, and
tickets to the event will be sold from 12:30 to 1:30 PM until
July 17 in the lobbies of the Immunology and the Molecular
Biology buildings, and from July 15 to July 17 in the lobbies
of the Beckman and CVN buildings. They will also be sold from
1 to 2 PM on July 12 in the lobby of the ICND building. Tickets
will not be sold at the gate.
This year's picnic features much children's entertainment,
including professional entertainers, a science booth, a giant
slide, a moon bounce, and other fun. Children will also be
treated to such delectables as fudge brownies and lemon bars.
Adults, naturally, can also participate in the dessert course.
For more information, see the picnic page: http://www.scripps.edu/services/picnic2002.
Enter News&Views Photo Contest
News&Views invites submissions to its second Summer Photo
Contest. Submit photos of TSRI people, places, or events (picnic
photos encouraged), with a brief description, to Kevin Fung,
e-mail kevin@scripps.edu or mail drop TPC-20. The deadline
is Monday, August 5. Winners will receive Padres tickets or
tickets to San Diego's Natural History Museum. Winning photos
will be published in News&Views.
Look for Next News&Views July 29
The next issue of News&Views, which is published every other
week throughout the summer, will be posted by Monday, July
29. The deadline for announcement and calendar submissions
is Wednesday at noon for the following Monday's publication.
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Professor Dennis Burton will lead a new
consortium of HIV/AIDS laboratories.
A reproduction of the honorary doctorate
of medicine from the University of Athens in Greece awarded
to TSRI Professor Argyrios Theofilopoulos.
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