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In Brief


Ryan Shenvi Wins Amgen Young Investigator Award

Ryan Shenvi, assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has received one of four nationwide Amgen 2013 Young Investigator‘s Awards, recognizing young researchers’ scientific contributions and commitment to academic excellence that greatly impact the drug discovery field.

Shenvi will present a one-hour seminar at Amgen’s Young Investigator’s Symposium in October. Other award winners are Gong Chen of Pennsylvania State University, Seth Herzon of Yale University and Javier Read de Alaniz of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Research in the Shenvi lab focuses on complex molecule synthesis, exploration of chemical reactivity and expansion of the tools available to synthetic chemists.


Cesare Orlandi and Kristine Griffett Named Travel Award Winners

Cesare Orlandi, research fellow in the Martemyanov lab, and Kristine Griffett, research associate in the Burris lab, have been named winners of the Spring 2013 Mark A. Hall Travel Award, presented by the Society of Research Fellows (SRF) on the Florida campus.

Named in honor of the late Mark Hall, a TSRI postdoctoral fellow in cancer biology, the $1,000 grants are presented twice per year to full-time research associates. The award aims to support postdoctoral fellows pursuing advanced training by offering the opportunity to participate in a premier scientific meeting.

The award supported Orlandi’s participation in the Experimental Biology 2013 conference, held in Boston April 20-24, for an oral presentation of his paper “GPR158 and GPR179: a subfamily of orphan GPCRs as a new class of G protein signaling modulators," selected as a finalist for the Postdoctoral Scientist Award in the Neuropharmacology Division. At the conference, Orlandi also attend the 4th GPCR Colloquium, presented by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and featuring 2012 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka.

The SRF award will support Griffett’s poster presentation, “Liver Selective Inverse Agonists as Effective Therapeutics for Liver Disease,” at the Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting and Expo in San Francisco in June. Griffett’s research focuses on the Liver X Receptor (LXR) and its therapeutic potential as a target for the treatment of fatty liver diseases.

The deadline for the SRF Fall cycle travel award is October 1. Additional details are available at the SRF website.


SOF Vendor Show to Showcase New Products May 14

Showcasing new products and services, the 23rd annual Society of Fellows (SOF) Vendor Show will be held May 14, 9 AM to 2:30 PM on the California campus.

More than 90 vendors will exhibit at the show, staged in the Beckman and Immunology Gallerias, and the Immunology Plaza. One of the largest life sciences industry shows in the area, the event is open to the public.

“Many vendors are featuring new products and technologies that will likely make research more efficient and effective,” said Devin Sok, graduate student in the Burton lab who is organizing the event with Sheena Saayman, research associate in the Morris lab, and Joey Garcia, senior research associate in the Gallay lab.

In addition to vendor giveaways, SOF will hold an attendee raffle for such prizes as $100 Amazon gift cards, iPod Shuffles and Kindle Touches.

Profits from the show fund SOF events and programs including career development seminars, the Distinguished Lecture Series, mentoring lunches, the annual research symposium, travel awards, monthly happy hours and recreational activities.

Additional event information, including a list of participating vendors, is available on the SOF website.


CA Blood Donors Offered Cash Compensation

To meet 2013 demand for normal human blood products used by institute investigators, TSRI’s Normal Blood Donor Service (NBDS) seeks to expand its donor pool on the California campus. Donors are immediately compensated $25 to $100 for a single blood draw.

The NBDS donor pool is open to all healthy individuals in the TSRI community who are readily available during working hours. Potential donors must meet the following criteria:

  • Age: 18 to 65 years
  • Weight: at least 110 pounds (50 kg)
  • Blood pressure: between 90 to 180 mm Hg systolic and 50 to 100 mm Hg diastolic
  • No major surgery within the past six months
  • Adequate hemoglobin test scores
  • Negative screening for HIV and Hepatitis B and C, upon entry to the program and every subsequent year
  • No daily use of aspirin or anti-inflammatory medication

Further details, including applications to become a paid donor, can be found at the NBDS website. NBDS Coordinator Priscilla Crisler can be reached at x4-5418; by fax, (858)-652-5556; or email, corelab@scripps.edu.


CA Biosafety Committee May Meeting Materials Due

The TSRI Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, May 8, in the Faculty Club Tennis Court Room. To receive committee consideration, registration documents must be submitted to Environmental Health and Safety via email to rachellv@scripps.edu by Friday, April 26.


Reservations Open for Annual CA Golf Tournament

Reservations are now open for the California campus’s 18th Annual Golf Tournament and Dinner, to tee off Tuesday, July 16, from 1 to 8 PM at the Riverwalk Golf Club.

The $65 per-person tournament fee includes green fees, warm-up/driving range balls, dinner and “swag,” according to event organizer Todd Maxwell, safety officer with Environmental Health and Safety.

Thirty-six four-person teams will play in the scramble-format tournament. Team slots are available on a first-paid, first-play basis and are open to family or friends, but must include at least two TSRI employees. Less-than-full foursomes and single players may be matched to complete a team.

Reservation deadline with full payment is July 1. Additional details and a reservation form are available at http://intranet.scripps.edu/california/sports/. For further information, contact Maxwell at x4-9566 or toddmax@scripps.edu.





Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

Environmental Services Earns McKeown Award
green team
Environmental Services received the California campus’s 2013 Keith McKeown Green Feat Award for collecting more than 1 million pounds of recycled materials in 2012 via the single-stream recycling program. Shown here with the plaque are Larry DeGreif (left) and Ramon Juarez of Environmental Services. (Photo by Cindy Brauer.)