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In Brief


Michael Marletta Reaches Out at West Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce Event

Michael A. Marletta, president and CEO of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), spoke to a sold-out crowd of more than 500 business leaders, elected officials and community members at the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting November 13 in celebration of Scripps Florida’s 10th anniversary.

“Over the last 10 years, Scripps Florida has become the preeminent biomedical research institution in the state,” said Marletta, citing Scripps Florida’s research achievements, educational outreach programs reaching thousands of local students every year, and more than $375 million in federal grant awards. He also extended his thanks to the many partners and friends in Palm Beach who have made Scripps Florida’s achievements possible.

Audience members expressed their appreciation with a standing ovation. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who was a key player bringing TSRI to the state, also sent his congratulations to Marletta and Scripps Florida via a video message.


Faculty Promotion: Vadim Cherezov Becomes Associate Professor

Vadim Cherezov has been promoted to associate professor in The Scripps Research Institute’s Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology as announced at the recent meeting of institute’s Board of Trustees meeting.

The Cherezov lab is focused on understanding how the environment of the biological membrane affects the function of proteins residing within it. Cherezov and his colleagues use lipidic cubic phase as a primary tool to study lipid/protein interactions and to crystallize membrane proteins directly from the lipidic environment, targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels and transporters.

For additional information, see the Cherezov lab website.


Andrew Ward Wins Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation Award

TSRI Assistant Professor Andrew Ward is the recipient of the 2013 Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation Career Development Award, recognizing promising early-career scientists performing biomedical research initiated in San Diego County.

The award will support Ward’s HIV vaccine research, which utilizes various biophysical techniques to investigate how neutralizing antibodies recognize HIV.

The Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation awards this prize each year to a scientist from TSRI, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies or the University of California, San Diego, who is within the first three years of his or her first faculty assignment.


CA Campus Career Workshop: Moving Your Career Forward

How to take charge of your career will be the focus of a workshop for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students on Friday, December 13, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, on the CA campus.

Sponsored by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, the training will employ a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory instrument and an online Individual Development Plan, myIDP, to set participants’ individual short- and long-term professional goals. In addition, the session will feature hands-on exercises and interaction activities.

Reservations to the event, which will be held in the Human Resources Training Room, Building 3377, suite 205, are required. For other resources offered by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, visit the department’s website.


Find Holiday Gifts at ScrippsAssists December 12 Craft Fair

Just in time for holiday gift-giving, the 2013 ScrippsAssists Craft Fair & Raffle will be held on Thursday, December 12, from 11 AM to 2 PM, in the Immunology Galleria on the California campus. Handcrafted jewelry, accessories, scarves, housewares, wood and stained items, plus hand-made candy, pickles and even dog treats from TSRI and Torrey Mesa exhibitors will be featured.

This year, special raffle prizes are a pearl and crystal necklace valued at $1,100 and a new Apple iPad Air Wi-Fi, worth $799. In addition, the first 100 raffle ticket buyers will receive a gift certificate for a free pearl necklace from the Diamond Boutique. Other raffle prizes include restaurant, hotel lodging and retail gift cards, jewelry and passes to local attractions. Raffle tickets are priced at $1 each, with no purchase limit; ticket holders need not be present to win.

Craft fair proceeds fund ScrippsAssists charitable projects, which support San Diego community organizations in need. Further information on exhibitors and the raffle is available at the ScrippsAssists website. Contact craft fair organizer Mishelle McClanahan-Shinn at mshinn@scripps.edu or x 4-2738 with questions about exhibiting.


Blood Drive Comes to CA Campus December 16

During the holiday season, the need for blood donations traditionally grows more urgent. Eligible TSRI staff and faculty are encouraged make appointments to donate at the ScrippsAssists-sponsored blood drive on the CA campus on Monday, December 16. The TSRI drive will help supply the nearly 400 units of blood distributed daily to local hospitals by the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB).

Donation appointments are available every 10 minutes from 9 AM to 2:15 PM at the bloodmobile, located in front of the MB/Skaggs building (10596 N. Torrey Pines Rd.). Appointments can be made online at the SDBB website. All donors will be entered automatically in a drawing for raffle prizes.

Donor eligibility guidelines and requirements are outlined on the SDBB website. For additional information on the blood drive, contact Leslie Madden, ScrippsAssists project organizer, at lmadden@scripps.edu.


ScrippsAssists and Standing Tall Together Support U.S. Vets

To support U.S. servicemen and women, many now home from deployment, CA ScrippsAssists once again partners with Standing Tall Together, a nonprofit agency benefitting the nation’s military personnel, in the Holiday Soldier Drive collection of clothing and supplies.

The drive, held through December 13, will gather donations of warm clothing, backpacks, sleeping bags, personal hygiene items, undergarments, grocery gift cards, healthy snacks, and books, magazines and other recreational materials for delivery to Veterans Administration facilities and military hospitals in San Diego. A list of recommended donations is available on the ScrippsAssists website. The drive also accepts cash donations, with checks made out to “Standing Tall Together.”

Send donations to ScrippsAssists project lead Deborah Witherden, staff scientist in the Havran lab, through interdepartmental mail (mail code IMM-8) or deliver large items to Witherden at Room 303 in the Immunology Building. All donations are tax-exempt. To obtain a receipt for tax purposes, include a mailing address with the donation or contact Meghan McCann with Standing Tall Together at mmccann44@gmail.com.

Donors interested in helping distribute items directly to the service men and women can contact ScrippsAssists at sagroup@scripps.edu to sign up for a one- or two-hour shift. For additional information on Standing Tall Together, visit the group’s Facebook page.


Onsite Clinics Scheduled for December 2 and 4 on CA Campus

The next onsite immunization clinics on the California campus are scheduled for Monday, December 2 and Wednesday, December 4, 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.

TB testing is provided for employees who, in the scope of their TSRI positions, provide human health care, such as registered nurses or who work with human subjects or nonhuman primates. Employees authorized for the one-visit Quantiferon tuberculosis test may find further information on the Centers for Disease Control TB Fact Sheet.

After EH&S pre-authorization, individuals who cannot attend the onsite clinic may visit the Sharp Rees-Stealy occupational medicine clinic by calling (858) 526-6150. The clinic is located at 10243 Genetic Center Drive, off Mira Mesa Boulevard. For further details, contact Rachel Longville, rachellv@scripps.edu or x4-8457.


News&Views Takes a Holiday

In observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday, News&Views will not be published Monday, December 2. Regular weekly publication will resume Monday, December 9.





Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

marletta
President and CEO Michael A. Marletta chats with Emma Ratchford, a fifth grader and STEM Club member at Beacon Cove Intermediate, after he delivered the keynote address to a West Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. (Photo by David R. Randell.)

cherezov
Associate Professor Vadim Cherezov studies biological membranes. (Photo by Cindy Brauer.)

ward
Assistant Professor Andrew Ward has won the 2013 Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation Career Development Award. (Photo by Cindy Brauer.)