In Brief

Michael Marletta Joins Board of FL Inventors Hall of Fame

Michael A. Marletta, president and CEO of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), has accepted an invitation to join the Advisory Board of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, now in its inaugural year.

“I’m delighted to join this exciting new venture,” said Marletta, “and I look forward to helping to recognize innovation and discovery in Florida.”

The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame was founded to honor and celebrate those inventors whose achievements have advanced the quality of life for Floridians, the state and the nation. It also encourages individuals of all ages and backgrounds to strive toward the betterment of Florida and society through continuous innovation. The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame will be located on the campus of University of South Florida in Tampa. Honorees will be selected annually through a nomination process open to all inventors in the State of Florida.

Dawn Johnson Named Healthcare Power Leader in South Florida

Dawn Johnson, senior director of scientific operations on the Florida campus of TSRI, has been named a Power Leader in Healthcare by the South Florida Business Journal. The annual Business Journal leadership list recognizes decision-makers who play a key role in health care institutions that significantly impact South Florida.

Amanda MacLeod Receives NIH Career Development Award

Amanda MacLeod, research associate in the Havran lab, has received a K08 Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. This Mentored Clinical Research Scientist Award supports a five-year, intensive, mentored research career development experience in biomedical research, including translational research, leading to research independence.

MacLeod joined the Havran lab in 2009 after earning an MD degree from Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Germany. Her project is investigating the role of extracellular ATP in regulating skin-resident T cell immune responses to ultraviolet light (UV) to provide a novel understanding of how skin-resident T cells participate in the repair response of solar skin damage. The goal is to develop strategies for therapeutic intervention in UV-induced skin cancers, such as squamous cell carcinoma.

Yannan Zhao Wins Young Investigator Award

Yannan Zhao, a research associate in the Ghadiri lab, received a Best Young Investigator Presentation Award at the 2013 American Peptide Symposium in Hawaii in June. The award recognizes the three top oral presentations by postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.

A native of Beijing, China, who earned her PhD at Iowa State University, Zhao’s research focuses on understanding lipoprotein mimetic peptides and synthetic nanolipid particles, with the aim of developing peptide-based therapeutics for hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis.

Bala Vummidi Receives Swiss National Fellowship

Balayeshwanth (Bala) Vummidi, a research associate in the Disney lab, has received a Swiss National Science Foundation fellowship, which supports postdoctoral fellows pursuing their research abroad.

Vummidi’s research focus is designing small molecules that selectively target gene products that cause cancer, with the ultimate goal of developing selective, non-toxic cancer therapeutics.

CA Outstanding Mentor Nominations Due August 15

Nominations for the California campus 2013 Outstanding Mentor Award are due Thursday, August 15. The annual award, sponsored by the Society of Fellows (SOF) and the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, recognizes "the considerable dedication of faculty who consistently and enthusiastically serve as effective mentors of graduate students and postdocs.”

Postdocs and graduate students may nominate any faculty member who has guided and contributed to their personal or professional development through a mutually trusting and respectful relationship. Specific award criteria and nomination forms and details are available at the SOF website.

The award recipient, to be announced during National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week, September 16-20, will be honored with a plaque and $1,000 in funding to support team building or training efforts in his or her lab. Previous winners include TSRI Professor Ian Wilson and Adjunct Professor M.G. Finn.

CA Seminar: Financial Planning Seminar for Early-Career Scientists

Ten tips for long-term financial success will be presented in a financial planning seminar for early-career scientists, “Smart Money Moves in Your 20s and 30s,” scheduled on the California campus Thursday, August 15, noon to 1:30 PM, in the 3377 Building, Suite 205.

Arranged by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, the seminar will feature James R. Lingelbach, Lisa Saxton and John R. Tokar, MetLife financial advisors and PlanSmart financial education facilitators. Topics will range from creating a budget and establishing an emergency fund to optimizing retirement savings.

Seating is limited; registration is required. For information on other resources from the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, visit the department’s website.

CA Onsite Clinics Offered August 19 and 21, New TB Testing Policy

The next California campus onsite immunization clinic is scheduled for Monday, August 19, and Wednesday, August 21. The clinics will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 AM in Building 3366, room 240. Conducted by Sharp Rees-Stealy staff, the clinics provide hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all TSRI employees. Appointments are not needed.

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, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccines; and other titers, immunizations and procedures. Employees authorized for the one-visit Quantiferon tuberculosis test may find further information at the Centers for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet

As of July 31, 2013, TSRI no longer requires TB testing for TSRI faculty and staff whose work includes exposure to animals. TSRI will, however, continue to provide TB testing for employees who, in the scope of their TSRI positions, meet one or more of three criteria:

Provide human health care, such as registered nurses
Work with human subjects
Work with nonhuman primates

Employees with questions regarding the new policy may contact EH&S Director Carolyn Keierleber at ckeier@scripps.edu or x4-8240. Employees who have been contacted previously to complete a TB test before working with animals may disregard the email requests. Employees no longer require a TB test prior to working with animals.

For further information, contact Rachel Longville, rachellv@scripps.edu or 4-8457.

Leadership Role Available in CA ScrippsAssists Hunger Project

ScrippsAssists offers TSRI employees on the California campus an opportunity to lead an effort to help provide relief to some of the estimated half-million San Diego residents who face hunger daily. The TSRI employee volunteer group seeks a project leader to collaborate in a new service program with the Beth Israel Hunger Project to serve a monthly Sunday brunch from 9 to 11:30 AM at the Paul Mirable Center at the St. Vincent de Paul Village in San Diego.

This project coordinator will work with Congregation Beth Israel (CBI) Hunger Project managers to set a once-a-month Sunday schedule, solicit 12 to 15 volunteers to set up, serve brunch and clean up, and report program progress at ScrippsAssists monthly meetings. As an option, two TSRI employees may share the coordinator position as co-leaders. Volunteers in this project must be at least 12 years old and be accompanied by a parent if under 18.

The CBI Hunger Project, organized in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul Village, was established in 1981 and has served more than 1 million meals to those in need. Patrons include all ages, ethnicities and religions, from the homeless to those who must make the difficult choice between buying essential medicine or their next meal. Additional Hunger Project information is available at the CBI website.

For further details or to volunteer as the ScrippsAssists Hunger Project lead, contact ScrippsAssists at sagroup@scripps.edu.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

“I look forward to helping to recognize innovation and discovery in Florida,” says TSRI President and CEO Michael Marletta, who has joined the Advisory Board of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. (Photo by Michael Balderas.)

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