SEARCH NEWS & VIEWS


Team Achieves Critical Step for Opening Elusive Class of Compounds to Drug Discovery
Scientist Wins $1 Million Drug Development Grant from Novo Nordisk
Photo Album: 50th Anniversary Gala

NEWS & VIEWS HOME
PAST ISSUES
KUDOS
SCIENTIFIC CALENDAR
CA AUDITORIUM EVENTS
CONTACT




FOLLOW US

In Brief


Joel Buxbaum Wins Ellison Senior Scholarship in Aging

Scripps Research Institute Professor Joel Buxbaum has been selected as an Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar in Aging from among a competitive field of applicants. The Ellison Medical Foundation award provides significant support to allow the development of new, creative research programs by established investigators who may not currently be conducting aging research or who may wish to develop new research programs in aging.

Throughout the four-year project, Buxbaum and his colleagues Assistant Professor Jill Waalen and Professor Nicholas Schork will work on a project titled, “Defining the Genetics of Body Temperature and its Relationship to Human Longevity.” The work was stimulated by the observations of Professors Bruno Conti and Tamas Bartfai of the Scripps Research Department of Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences who noted increased longevity in mice genetically programmed to maintain lower-than-normal body temperatures.



Florida Campus Events Encourage Financial Fitness

Personal financial stability is the focus of a pair of upcoming activities coordinated by the Human Resources Department on the Scripps Florida campus. A Financial Fitness Fair scheduled on Wednesday, November 16, 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM., in the Café and rooms B158 and B159 will offer concurrent seminars on a variety of finance planning issues, including budgeting, retirement, and college tuition, as well as credit and debt counseling.

Conducted by representatives from local banks, the IBM SE Credit Union, United Way, Fidelity Investments, and Credabilty.org, the sessions will cover such topics as debit elimination, budgeting and saving, identity theft, and the facts about credit scores. The event will also feature a computer kiosk providing employees access to their personal credit reports, according to Christine Ng-A-Fook, human resources analyst.

Tips for prudent financial control, particularly during the approaching holiday season, will be provided at a Holiday Spending Seminar, planned for Thursday, November 17, noon to 1 PM in room B158. Presented by the IBM SE Credit Union, the training seminar topics include:

    • Dealing with holiday financial pressures
    • 10 tips to protect budgets during the holidays
    • Being pro-active with finances
    • Financial resources

For further details on these events, contact Christine Ng-A-Fook at (561) 228-2036 or cngafook@scripps.edu.


Lunch & Learn: ‘Love the One You’re With’

Self-compassion—developing a positive, healthy, and kind relationship with oneself—is the focus of the next Lunch & Learn presentation, scheduled for Wednesday, November 16, at noon on the California campus in the Keck Amphitheater. The session will be streamed live to the Florida campus, room B158, at 3 PM. The series is sponsored by the Scripps Research Counseling and Psychological Services Department.

The session is designed to help individuals who are generous with friends, family, and coworkers, but demanding, critical, and impatient with themselves, said presenter Daphne Lurie, Counseling and Psychological Services director.

According to Lurie, the presentation will explore

    • The difference between self-compassion and self-esteem
    • The three core components of self-compassion
    • Exercises to deepen an individual’s capacity for self-compassion

For further information on this Lunch & Learn session or other Counseling and Psychological Services services, visit the department’s website.



Run for the Hungry on Thanksgiving Morning

Before diving into stuffed turkeys and all the fixins’ on Thanksgiving Day, Scripps Research staff and faculty are invited to help combat hunger in San Diego while working off a few calories in the 10th Annual Run for the Hungry through the city’s picturesque downtown.

Early morning “Turkey Trotters” are encouraged to join the San Diego Food Bank team in the family- and pet-friendly 10K Run or 5K Walk/Run; both begin at Petco Park (13th Street and Imperial) and travel through the Gaslamp Quarter and the East Village. Race times on Thursday, November 24 are 7:10 AM for the 10K Run and 8:15 AM for the 5K Walk/Run.

A ScrippsAssists-supported program, the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank distributes over 18 million pounds of food annually to individuals, families, and a network of nonprofit organizations that work to alleviate hunger throughout the county. 

To join the San Diego Food Bank team, visit the online event registration site and follow the prompts. When asked to select a team, choose “Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank.”

Additional event details are available at the Run for the Hungry website



ScrippsAssists Food Drive to Help Combat Hunger in San Diego

Kicking off Monday, November 14, the 2011 ScrippsAssists holiday season food drive on the California campus will help alleviate hunger for some of the estimated 440,000 San Diego adults and children who regularly go without meals or have uncertain access to nutritious food.

The drive will collect non-perishable food donations in red bin food drops located throughout the campus until Friday, January 6, according to organizer Taylor Cohen, senior administrative assistant in the Baran lab. The food will be distributed through the San Diego Food Bank.

Monetary donations are also accepted, said Cohen, noting that every dollar donated buys 10 pounds of food, enough for three meals. Checks can be made out to “San Diego Food Bank” and delivered to Cohen at BCC 169.

Donated food item labels must list ingredients and expiration dates. Suggested food donations include:

    • Canned meat, tuna, chili, stew, soups, beans, fruits, and vegetables
    • Tomato product
    • Dry cereal
    • Macaroni and cheese
    • Peanut butter
    • Powdered milk
    • Pasta and rice

Safety precautions prohibit donations of home-canned or baked products, glass containers, leaking or bulging cans, and baby food in glass jars.

Red donation bins will be located across the campus, including:

    • Beckman Building lobby (second floor)
    • Immunology Building
    • Dorris Neuroscience Center
    • Molecular Biology Building (first floor)
    • 3301 Administration Building
    • 3377 Building, Human Resources office (second floor)
    • CimBio Building • 3030 Science Park Building
    • Gluck Child Care Center

For additional information, contact Cohen at x4-7370 or taycoh@scripps.edu.



FL Campus Collects Toys for Tots

The Florida campus will once again collect donations for the Toys for Tots campaign in conjunction with the Scripps Florida holiday party, according to project coordinator Kathy Ryan, executive assistant to Harry Orf, vice-president for scientific operations.

New, unwrapped toys can be deposited in designated Toys for Tots boxes located in the lobbies of the three campus buildings until the holiday party, scheduled for Saturday, December 10. Collection boxes also will be available at the party registration table. 

All toy donations will be delivered to children in Palm Beach County. The national Toys for Tots program is sponsored by the United States Marine Corps Reserve.



Adopt a Family for the Holidays

The numbers are staggering: nearly 15 percent—more than 446,000 people—in San Diego County live at or below the poverty rate; the child poverty rate in the county is more than 11 percent, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

The 2011 ScrippsAssists Adopt-a-Family program seeks to help brighten the holidays for some of these families through Home Start, a San Diego community-based effort reaching out to children and families at risk and working to prevent child abuse and neglect, according to Marcia McRae, administrative manager in Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department, who serves as ScrippsAssists liaison to Home Start. 

Individuals and groups are invited to adopt a Home Start program family by Friday, November 18. Participants are matched to a specific family in need of donations such as toys, food for the holidays, and basic household items.

Adopt-a-Family sponsorship forms are available from McRae. She will also collect individual financial and grocery gift card donations.

For further information, contact McRae at x4-8402 or mjmcrae@scripps.edu.



Craft Fair Offers Holiday Gifts, Supports ScrippsAssists

Forgo the “Black Friday” retail crowds; shop at the 2011 ScrippsAssists Craft Fair Thursday, December 1, for unique holiday gift items and products, while supporting the institute’s employee volunteer group.

This year’s fair, scheduled from 11 AM to 1:30PM in the Immunology Building breezeway, will feature 31 vendors offering a wide range of handcrafted and artisan products, from home décor and furnishings to pet treats, jewelry, fashion accessories, and children’s items.

The Craft Fair Raffle—with a grand prize of two unrestricted Southwest Airlines tickets provided by Culinary Concepts—provides an opportunity for Scripps Research staff and faculty to support ScrippsAssists-sponsored programs. Raffle tickets—$1 donation per ticket—will be sold in advance and at the fair. There is not limit on the number of tickets purchased per person, and ticket holders need not be present to win. Other confirmed prizes include:

    • Gift certificates for one-night accommodations at the Hilton San Diego/Del Mar, Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, and Hyatt Regency at Aventine.
    • Dining-out gift certificates to Café Japengo at Aventine and Souplantation
    • $25 Ralphs gift card
    • Premiere Regal Cinema movie tickets
    • Handcrafted holiday stocking
    • Scripps Research HR Store credit towards merchandise or theme park tickets. 

Raffle proceeds will directly benefit community non-profit organizations in a variety of ways, according to raffle organizer Mishelle McClanahan-Shinn, senior administrative assistant in the Barbas lab. This year, for example, the group donated gardening tools to the Torrey Pines State Reserve, replaced critical distribution machinery for the San Diego Food Bank, and provided funds for several nonprofit projects.

For further information regarding the Craft Fair and raffle, contact mjmcrae@scripps.edu or McClanahan-Shinn .





Send comments to: press@scripps.edu

Faculty Club Welcomes Open House Visitors
facclub1


facclub2
The Faculty Club and Conference Center’s recently hosted an open house to acquaint current and prospective members, and administrative personnel with the center’s facilities and catering services. Welcomed by Faculty Club Coordinator Nancy De Monte, guests sampled fare from Come On In, the Hyatt Regency La Jolla/Cafe Japengo, The Wild Thyme Company, Feast on This, and WineSellar Brasserie. Guests included (top) Professor Art Olson (right), shown here taste-testing hors d’oeuvres, and (bottom) Associate Professor Marisa Roberto (left) and Assistant Professor Claudio Joazeiro (right), shown here relaxing by the fire in the Faculty Club Salon with caterer Salvatore Ercolano. (Photos by Cindy Brauer.)