In Brief

Dale Boger, Benjamin Cravatt Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Two scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI)—Dale Boger and Benjamin Cravatt—have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research,” the academy has announced.

“Simply put, Dale and Ben are outstanding scientists," said TSRI President and CEO Michael A. Marletta. "Their contributions are remarkable and it is fitting they have been recognized by the nation's most prestigious scientific society. Additionally, I admire their dedication to Scripps—they are exemplary citizens of our community. I have always been immensely proud of them and, if possible, I am even more so today."

Dale Boger, who is chair of the Department of Chemistry, Richard and Alice Cramer Professor of Chemistry and member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at TSRI, works on the total synthesis of biologically active natural products, using the tools of organic synthesis to identify, imitate, understand, exploit and sometimes surpass what nature provides.

Benjamin Cravatt, an alumnus of the TSRI graduate program (class of ‘96) who is chair of the Department of Chemical Physiology, professor in the Dorris Neuroscience Center and member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at TSRI, studies the action and regulation of chemical messengers, particularly the fatty acid amides, which mediate physiological phenomena such as pain sensation, sleep and thermoregulation. He designs and uses chemical probes for "active site proteomics," the global analysis of protein function.

Boger and Cravatt are among the academy’s 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 15 countries.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership and, along with other groups, provides science, technology and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

Other National Academy of Science members at TSRI are Floyd Bloom, Francis Chisari, Gerald Edelman, Gerald Joyce, Richard Lerner, Michael Marletta, Michael B.A. Oldstone, Julius Rebek, Paul Schimmel, Peter Schultz, K. Barry Sharpless, Peter Vogt, Charles Weissmann, Chi-Huey Wong, Peter Wright and Kurt Wüthrich.

Jakob Fuhrmann Receives Schroedinger Fellowship

Jakob Fuhrmann, postdoctoral fellow in the Thompson lab, has received a Schroedinger Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund, Austria’s central funding organization for basic research. The fellowship targets young and highly qualified scientists and promotes scientific work at leading foreign institutions, supporting the ongoing development of Austrian science and basic research at a high international level.

An Austrian native and graduate of the Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna, Fuhrmann’s fellowship project is titled “Chemical tools to study protein arginine phosphorylation.” His research focuses on developing novel compounds and chemical probes to characterize the biological function of the protein arginine phosphorylation, thought to play a role in bacterial pathogenicity.

Ruben Martinez Wins NIH Fellowship

Ruben Martinez, a first-year graduate student in the Shenvi lab, has received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship, designed to promote diversity in health-related research, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NRSA fellowships enable promising predoctoral students to obtain individualized, mentored research training from outstanding faculty sponsors while conducting dissertation research in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of NIH Institutes and Centers.

A former research associate in medicinal chemistry at Gilead Sciences, Martinez’s fellowship project is titled “Synthesis of Anti-Trypanosomal Terpenoid Oligomers.” His research is focused on the synthesis of a family of molecules that holds potential leads in treating Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease caused by a parasitic infection endemic to Latin America.

Kristin Baldwin to Speak at May 14 Faculty Lecture Series

Kristen Baldwin, associate professor and member of the Dorris Neuroscience Center at TSRI, will speak on “The Malleable Genome: Programming and Reprogramming Cell Fate” at the next Faculty Lecture Series presentation, Wednesday, May 14. The lecture will begin at 5 PM in the Timkin Amphitheater in the Green Hospital in La Jolla, California. A reception will follow in the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Building, first floor. For further information, see the Faculty Lecture Series webpage. The series is supported by an endowment from the Cochrane-Cartan families, established by TSRI Professor Emeritus Charles G. Cochrane.

Career Workshops: Networking, Teaching Science and Industry Skills

A selection of workshops and trainings will be sponsored by the Career and Postdoctoral Services Office this month on both Scripps California and Florida campuses.

Florida

Scientific Peer Review at the NIH
A workshop targeting young scientists, from graduate students to junior faculty, will explore the NIH grant process Tuesday, May 6, from 2 to 4 PM, in Classroom B159. Bita Nakhai, scientific review officer at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and Leroy Worth, scientific review officer at the National Institute of Environment Health Sciences (NIEHS), will conduct the session, focusing on the scientific review process of NIA and NIEHS and NIH fellowship and grant mechanisms. Register online.

Teaching Science
Based on its successful debut last year, another “Effective Teaching in the Sciences” session will be held this year on Wednesday, May 7, from 9 to 11 AM, in classroom B159. This session will focus on the helping students and postdoctoral fellows transition to first-year faculty.

Juan Burciaga, assistant professor in the Department of Physics at Mount Holyoke College, will conduct the workshop, which is co-sponsored by the Scripps Florida Graduate Program, Education Outreach and Society of Research Fellows. Designed to examine the expectations of a new faculty member in the classroom, the session will focus on essential classroom management and leadership skills and will include tips on writing a teaching statement and applying for a teaching/research position.

California

Networking
A new series to develop and improve personal communications skills, “Introduction to Networking,” will begin Thursday, May 15, from 4 to 5 PM in the Faculty Club Tennis room. Designed for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, the first workshop, “Networking for Success,” will focus on learning the basics of this business skill, developing an “elevator pitch” and gaining proficiency conducting meaningful conversations. The small group setting will also include a speed networking activity.

Registration is required. Light refreshments will be served.

Industry Skills
Targeting junior scientists, a three-session workshop on science industry careers will begin Wednesday, May 14. Barbara Preston, executive recruiter for PharmaScouts, a national recruiting firm specializing in chemists and biologists with advanced degrees, will lead the program.

The May 14 session, to be held from 2 to 3 PM in the Beckman building’s Keck Amphitheater, is titled “Resume Writing for Industry.” Topics will cover the differences between a CV and a resume and effective communication with industry hiring managers. Register online.

The second session, “Getting in the Door with Industry,” is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, from 4 to 5 PM, in the Committee Lecture Hall in the Skaggs/MMB building. Attendees will learn such proactive steps as identifying personally compatible companies and connecting with appropriate company contacts. Register online.

The final session, “Interviewing for Industry Jobs,” will be held on Tuesday, July 15, from 2 to 3 PM in the Committee Lecture Hall. The workshop will cover universal job interviewing insights and tips specific to new-to-industry postdoctoral applicants. Register online.

SoF to Host 24th Vendor Show May 13

More than 100 companies offering new research technologies, products and services will participate in the Society of Fellows (SoF) 24th Annual Vendor Show on Tuesday, May 13, from 9 AM to 2:30 PM, in the Beckman and Immunology Gallerias and the Immunology Plaza. The event, which is open to the public, is one of the largest life sciences industry shows in the area.

Attendees may enter a raffle to win prizes including $100 Amazon gift cards, iPod shuffles and Kindle Touches. Raffle forms will be available from SoF members at the event. Many vendors also are raffling prizes or distributing giveaways, according to the SoF Vendor Show organizing committee.

Profits from the Vendor Show fund SoF events and programs, such as a distinguished lecture series, travel awards, education course reimbursement as well as many social and career development events. For further information on the Vendor Show and other SoF activities, visit the organization’s website.

CA Campus Participates in Bike-to-Work Challenge

Scripps California faculty, staff, postdocs and students are encouraged to give their commute a green spin in May to help the institute win the 2014 Bike-to-Work Corporate Challenge, sponsored by iCommute and the San Diego Association of Governments.

Organized by the Human Resources Department, event participants will compete with other local organizations and companies to amass the highest number of work commutes by bicycle from May 12 to 16.

To enter the challenge, TSRI employees must log onto their account at 511sd.com/icommute—or create a new account using their institute email addresses. Using the iCommute Trip Tracker tool, participants will log each bicycle commute to and from campus (including one-way rides and routes including other transportation). Each one-way trip will be counted automatically as one point toward the institute's total and will give each registered employee chances to win prizes.

The challenge is held in conjunction with the national 2014 Bike-to-Work Day, scheduled on Friday, May 16, when local businesses and organizations throughout San Diego County will host pit stops, offering drinks and snacks for event-registered cyclists. Challenge participants who commute by bike on May 16 will earn double points. For further information on the Bike-to-Work Challenge, email Sylvia Saiz, HR analyst, at ssaiz@scripps.edu.

ScrippsAssists to Hold CA Blood Drive May 8

To help the San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB) collect the 350 blood components needed daily to aid patients battling life-threatening illness, ScrippsAssists will hold a blood drive Thursday, May 8, from 9 AM to 2:30 PM, on the California campus. The bloodmobile will be located in the parking lot adjacent to the Skaggs/MMB building, 10596 N. Torrey Pines Road.

Eligible donors are asked to make an appointment on the SDBB website. Walk-in donors also will be accepted. Guidelines and eligibility requirements are listed on the blood bank website. Donors should bring photo identification, a record of medications they currently take and a list of locations visited outside the United States in the past three years.

All donors will automatically be entered into a prize raffle. For further information on the blood drive, contact project coordinator Leslie Madden at lmadden@scripps.edu.

CA ScrippsAssists Volunteers Support ElderHelp

Volunteers for ScrippsAssists, the TSRI employee service group, recently helped stage two events for a new community partner, ElderHelp of San Diego, a nonprofit organization that provides programs and services to help senior citizens living independently in their own homes.

ScrippsAssists volunteers helped with silent and live auctions and raffle activities and with set-up and take down at ElderHelp’s Essence of Life awards reception and fundraiser in March and the group’s Benefit on the Bay fundraising gala in April. Volunteers included postdoctoral fellow Siobhan Hughes, graduate students Emily Greene, Jessica Sheu-Gruttadauria, Peter Thuy-Boun, Ana Wang and Matthias Pauthner, administrative assistant Shirley Sanchez and former visiting student David Madariaga.

ElderHelp has assisted more than 90,000 older San Diegans and their families with care management, grocery shopping, home share, home safety and referrals, as well as elder abuse information and education. Programs are provided free to low-income seniors.

For more information on this and other ScrippsAssists projects and activities, visit the group’s website.

Onsite Clinics Scheduled for May 5 and 7 on CA Campus

The next onsite immunization clinic on the California campus will be held Monday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 7, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, in Building 3366, room 150. Appointments are not needed.

Conducted by Sharp Rees-Stealy staff, the clinic will provide hepatitis B vaccination free of charge to all TSRI employees. Environmental Health & Safety 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. For further details, contact Rachel Longville at rachellv@scripps.edu or x4-8457.

At the Auditorium: Music and the Mind, Mainly Mozart Concert

The Mozart and the Mind series explores “Music that Moves Us: How Rhythm Shapes Social Behavior in Children,” Saturday, May 10, 5 PM, featuring research scientist Laurel Trainor, professor at McMaster University and director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A “Music and the Brain” expo follows the lecture. Additional program and ticket information is available at the Mainly Mozart website.

Mainly Mozart’s Spotlight Chamber Music series will feature Anne-Marie McDermott, member of the Chamber music Society of Lincoln Center and director of several music festivals, and San Francisco-based pianist, composer and conductor Stephen Prutsman on Saturday, May 10, 7:30 PM. The duo will perform Mozart’s Sonata in D for two pianos, K. 448; Saint-Saëns’s Variations on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 35; Ravel’s La valse and Prutsman’s Triptych. Visit the Mainly Mozart website for ticket information.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

TSRI’s Dale Boger (top) and Benjamin Cravatt are among the National Academy of Science’s newly elected members.

eldercare
ScrippsAssists volunteers supported two events for new community partner, ElderHelp of San Diego. Volunteers included (left to right) Peter Thuy-Boun, Ana Wang, Jessica Gruttadauria and Siobhan Hughes.

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