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In Brief


Dale Boger Wins Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry

Dale Boger, the Richard and Alice Cramer Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute, has received the 2013 American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry.

Sponsored by Merck Research Laboratories, the award recognizes outstanding contributions in the chemistry, biochemistry, and biophysics of peptides.

The Boger lab’s research focuses on the total synthesis of biologically active natural products, development of new synthetic methods, heterocyclic chemistry, bioorganic and medicinal chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, the study of DNA-agent interactions, and the chemistry of antitumor antibiotics.

The award will be presented at a ceremony during 245th ACS national meeting in New Orleans next April.


David Gokhin Awarded Muscular Dystrophy Association Grant

David Gokhin, a senior research associate in the Fowler lab, has been awarded a development grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) for his project, "Structure, regulation, and function of gamma-actin in the sarcoplasmic reticulum."
 
MDA development grants are awarded to “exceptional postdoctoral candidates who have the best chance of becoming independent researchers and future leaders of neuromuscular disease research,” according to the award announcement.
 
Gokhin will study the role of a protein called gamma-actin in muscle degeneration and weakness in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies.


Interns Wrap Up Summer of Science

This summer, laboratories on both the California and Florida campuses opened their doors to high school students, teachers, and undergraduates. These internships offered the students and teachers the opportunity to experience the dynamics of biomedical research, hone their critical thinking skills, and learn about the variety of career opportunities in science
 
On the California campus, 23 students from high schools across San Diego County were selected for Scripps Research internships as part of the Life Sciences Summer Institute, a collaboration of research institutions, the San Diego Workforce Partnership, and Biocom. Following spring tutorials on biomedical research topics, the students participated in an intensive hands-on, seven-week summer lab internship, working with a Scripps Research investigator and a mentor, and concluding with oral presentations. High school intern alumni now total more than 500 since the California campus program began in 1993.
 
On the Florida campus, 15 high school students and two teachers brought the total of “Kenan Fellows”— participants in the Florida campus’s eight-year old high school internship program—to past the 100 mark. Sponsored by the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, student interns spent six intensive weeks working in labs and attending research seminars presented by Scripps Florida faculty members.
 
On both campuses, 25 undergrad students—representing colleges and universities from throughout the United States and as far away as Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—took part in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) Program and the Kenan Fellows Internship Program (supported by the Kenan Trust). During the 10-week program, each intern learns about the scientific method with the help of a Scripps faculty mentor, attends research seminars, and participates in discussions, culminating with a formal research presentation. The Florida undergraduates also compete in a poster competition (see below).


Poster Competition Recognizes Winning Florida Undergraduate Interns

It’s probably just a coincidence that most undergraduate research internships run the same length as Army basic training. Granted, spending 10 weeks working in a lab bears little resemblance to boot camp, but the dedication and energy invested by summer interns were on full display at an August 10 poster competition at Scripps Florida.

“I was pretty amazed by how much knowledge they had gained in 10 weeks,” said Sonali Deshpande, a postdoctoral fellow from the lab of Assistant Professor William Ja and one of the judges from the Scripps Florida Society of Research Fellows. “Most of them had a really good sense of how to present and go through the data. It was very professional, and I think it speaks to the mentoring they received.”

Interns were scored based on the various components of their poster—such as methods, results and discussion—as well as the overall style and effectiveness of their presentation. Each of the top three presenters won a $2,000 travel award to present the poster at a national conference of his/her principal investigator’s choice. After the scores were tallied, the winners were:

  • 1st Place - Tate Storey, a senior at the University of Florida studying pre-professional biology. Storey interned in the Chemistry lab of Assistant Professor Brian Paegel
  • 2nd Place - Jacqueline Cox, a junior at the University of California, Berkeley studying chemical biology. Cox worked in the Chemistry lab of Professor Tom Kodadek
  • 3rd Place - Angela Phillips, a senior at the University of Florida studying chemistry. Phillips worked interned in the Molecular Therapeutics lab of Associate Professor Laura Bohn

Honorable mentions went to James Alburger, a senior at Grove City College and Chemistry intern in the Roush lab, and Ankit Kaushik, a junior at Georgia Tech and Neuroscience intern in the Page lab.

poster
A poster competition gave Scripps Florida undergraduate interns a chance to present their summer projects. Shown here is Angela Phillips, who placed third.


Scripps California Fall Research Symposium Slated for September 19

Oral and poster presentations in four research areas, two keynote speakers, and the announcement of the winner of the 2012 Outstanding Mentor Award will be highlights of the Scripps California 2012 Fall Research Symposium, scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, in the Beckman Building’s Keck Amphitheater. Co-hosted by the Society of Fellows (SOF) and the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, the annual symposium aims to encourage presentation and discussion of research emphasizing the most exciting research projects in the Scripps Research community.

Keynoter speaker John Cambier, the Ida and Cecil Green Distinguished Professor and chairman of the Integrated Department of Immunology at the University of Colorado, Denver, will speak on “Management and Mismanagement of Autoreactive B cells; from Mouse to Man” from 10 to 11 AM.

Keynote speaker Chris Vanderwal, associate professor of organic chemistry at University of California, Irvine, Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow, and 2003 alumnus of the Scripps Research graduate program, will address “Synthesis of Terpene and Alkaloid Natural Products,” from 2 to 3:15 PM.

Postdoctoral talks are scheduled from 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM and 3:30 to 5:15 PM in the Keck Amphitheater. A moderated poster session and lunch reception will be held in the Beckman Galleria from 12:45 to 2 PM.

The Outstanding Mentor Award will be presented at 2 PM. Nominated by postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, the award honors a faculty member “who has guided and contributed to their personal or professional development through a mutually trusting and respectful relationship,” according to the SOF.

Additional Fall Research Symposium information is available at the SOF webpage.


Careers in Industry: Paul Burke of Burke Bioventures

Advice and guidance in pursuing a scientific career in industry will be offered at an upcoming Society of Fellows (SOF) coffee featuring Paul Burke, biopharmaceutical executive and industry consultant. The coffee, co-sponsored by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, is scheduled for Friday, September 7, from 2 to 3 PM in the graduate office conference room, Building 3377, Room 300.
 
Principal of Burke Bioventures, Burke’s background includes 15 years’ experience in launching and leading new technology initiatives for transforming discovery and preclinical pipelines. He has served in leadership positions at Pfizer, Amgen, and Merck. A graduate of Harvey Mudd College (BS chemistry) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD, biological chemistry), Burke is also an affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington.
 
Reservations to attend the coffee are required and may be made at http://hris.scripps.edu/training/class/IND2010CPD.
 
For other SOF activities, visit the group’s website. Additional career training resources are available at the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office website.


CA Onsite Immunization Clinics August 27 and 29

The next California campus onsite immunization clinics will be held Monday, August 27, and Wednesday, August 29, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in Room 325 of the 3366 Building.

Conducted by Sharp Rees-Stealy staff, the clinics provide hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all Scripps Research employees. 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
  • A new one-visit Quantiferon tuberculosis test (For information on this test, read the Centers for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet)
  • Other tests, including titers, immunizations, and procedures according to the Scripps Research employee job function

Individuals who cannot attend the onsite clinic may visit the Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Center in Sorrento Mesa after EH&S pre-authorization. In addition, appointments can be scheduled at the Sharp Rees-Stealy Occupational Medicine Office by calling 858-526-6150.

For further details, contact Sunny Gold Schmidt, x4-9299 or gschmidt@scripps.edu


First ScrippsAssists Backpack Drive Helps Local Students

Thanks to ScrippsAssists’ first Back-to-School Backpack Drive, 30 elementary and high school students throughout San Diego will start classes equipped with essential school supplies their families could not afford to purchase.

According to the drive’s project lead, Mishelle McClanahan-Shinn, ScrippsAssists is once again partnering with the Home Start organization to distributed backpacks filled with binders, paper, pens, crayons, and other classroom basics to children in at-risk families struggling to make ends meet.

“For our first year, the backpack drive was a success. It has been gratifying to see all the donations. And Home Start will make sure the backpacks are delivered directly to children who need them,” said McClanahan-Shinn. Cash donations, including funds from ScrippsAssists, were also collected to help complete each backpack.

A long-time ScrippsAssists partner, Home Start provides services to children of at-risk families. The organization accepts toy and food donations, and financial contributions to fund its services, which include programs to end family violence and assist child victims of abuse. Additional information about the organization is available at the Home Start website.

For information on other ScrippsAssists volunteer activities, visit the group’s website.

backpacks
In its first Back-to-School Backpack Drive, ScrippsAssists collected 30 backpacks filled with basic school supplies for San Diego County elementary and high school students in at-risk families.


News&Views Observes Labor Day
News&Views will not be published next week due to the Labor Day holiday. Regular, weekly publication will resume with the Monday, September 10, 2010, issue.





Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ca students
Life Sciences Summer Institute high school students participated in research tutorials and experienced seven-week summer lab internships on the California campus. Shown here at a research funding tutorial are (left to right) Neil Rens, St. Augustine H.S.; Walter Parker, Crawford H.S; Brandon Hernandez, Sweetwater H.S; and Erick Espinoza, Mt. Miguel H.S. (Photo by Marisela Chevez.)

ca surf
Among the 15 undergraduate students participating in the California campus SURF program were Macalester College’s Nicole DePolo (left) of the Wiseman lab and Michigan State’s Kelly Montgomery of the Kelly lab. (Photo by Skip O'Donnell.)

fll students 3
The “Kenan Fellows”— participants in the Florida campus’s eight-year-old high school internship program—included Lauren Fremont (right), a student at Jupiter Community High School, shown here with her mentor Bethany Strunk, a postdoctoral fellow in the Karbstein lab. (Photo by Jeremy Pyle.)

fl_surf
This summer’s undergraduate intern group on the Florida campus included (left to right) Alexandra Morgan, Matthew Feldman, Sergine Brutus, Yimin Chen, Kasey Haugen, Jacqueline Cox, Angela Phillips, Ankit Kaushik, Jamie Alburger, and Tate Storey. (Photo by Jeremy Pyle.)