In Brief

Cravatt Wins ACS Eli Lilly Award
The Scripps Research Institute's Professor Benjamin Cravatt III, of the Department of Cell Biology, Department of Chemistry, and Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, has won this year's Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, administered by the American Chemical Society, for his contributions to biochemistry research.

Cravatt, who received a B.S. (biological sciences) and B.A. (history) from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from Scripps Research's Kellogg School of Science and Technology, studies the action and regulation of chemical messengers. In particular, he has investigated the fatty acid amides, which mediate physiological phenomena like pain sensation, sleep, and thermoregulation. Cravatt also designs and uses chemical probes for activity-based proteomics, the global analysis of protein function.

Ding Awarded Grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation
Scripps Research Assistant Professor Sheng Ding has been awarded a grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research for his project, "Small Molecules that Promote Regeneration of Dopaminergic Neurons from Human Neural Stem Cells." Ding's project is one of 11 funded this year.

"Each grant recipient was chosen because [his/her] study promises to dissect a different signal that instructs or maintains a brain circuit, says Deborah W. Brooks, executive director of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. "If successful, each project will supply a different piece of the puzzle, helping us translate these findings into meaningful patient therapies."

O'Malley Wins Hertz and NDSEG Fellowships
Daniel O'Malley, a second-year graduate student in the Baran lab who is investigating a practical approach to a class of marine alkaloid natural products, has won two fellowships—the Hertz Fellowship and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

The prestigious Hertz Fellowship is a highly competitive award designed to "support the graduate education of America's most promising technical talent... who can be expected to have the greatest impact on the application of the physical sciences to human problems during the next half-century." The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship is awarded by the Department of Defense to "individuals who have demonstrated ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering."

Lunch and Learn: "Time Management for Scientists"
Scripps Research clinical psychologist Jeff Jones will present "Time Management for Scientists" on Wednesday, July 21, 2004, from noon to 1 PM, as part of the ongoing Lunch and Learn seminar series. Topics to be covered include:

• Defining goals and setting priorities, o Perfectionism and procrastination—costs and benefits,
• Taking control of your time: managing commitments and non-research tasks,
• Balancing work and family.

The event, arranged by the Counseling and Postdoctoral Services Department, will be held in the W.M. Keck Amphitheater, The Beckman Center for Chemical Sciences. No reservations are necessary.

"Smile": Enter the Picnic Photo Contest
News&Views and the Scripps Research Picnic Committee are sponsoring a photo contest of pictures from the institute picnic on Friday July 16, from 3:30 to 7:30 PM. The picnic—TSRI Street Scene 2004—will be held in the back parking lot of the CIMBio Building and will feature a Battle-of-the-Bands contest, face painting, carnival booths, palm readers, popcorn, pretzels, a 25-foot slide, a make-and-take hat booth, a Graffiti Board, and competitions including The Ninja Attack.

Bring your own camera or use one of the two dozen one-use cameras to be given away at the gate. The winning photo will be published in News&Views and the photographer will receive a $25 gift certificate to California Pizza Kitchen. For more information about the event's attractions and ticket sales (tickets are not sold at the gate), see the Picnic web site.

Plan for a Your Financial Future
Human Resources would like to remind Scripps Research employees that the sixth Annual Financial Awareness Week starts Monday, July 12 and runs through Friday, July16. The week's presentations are aimed at both those starting to plan for a successful financial future and those who are nearing retirement. Representatives from various financial and other retirement organizations will be conducting the presentations to point participants towards financial success. Refreshments will be served and prizes raffled at each presentation. For further information, go to the Financial Awareness Week web page.

Look for Next News&Views July 19
The next issue of News&Views will be published by Monday, July 19. The deadline for announcement and calendar submissions is Wednesday at noon for the following week's publication.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

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Ruth Stewart Retires

After 20 years of service, Ruth Stewart, administrative assistant who worked most recently for the Office of Technology Development, is retiring Friday, July 9. "I have enjoyed working with all the dedicated people at TSRI, and I offer my sincere thanks and best wishes to everyone," she says. Her plans include visiting with her friends and family, who include four sons and three grandchildren (with two more on the way), travel to Hawaii and South Africa, home improvement projects, walks on the beach, and maybe even golf lessons.