In Brief

TSRI Graduate Students Win NSF Fellowships

Four current and four incoming graduate students at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have won National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships, supporting outstanding students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The fellowship recipients are:

Aaron Feldman, second-year graduate student in the Romesberg lab, who is studying the chemical optimization of an unnatural base pair for in vivo expansion of the genetic alphabet
Christopher Glinkerman, second-year graduate student in the Boger lab, whose proposal detailed the synthesis of plant growth hormone analogs and evaluation of their biological activity
Samantha Green, an incoming TSRI graduate student from Emory University
John Gurak, an incoming TSRI graduate student from the University of Texas, Arlington
Michael Ledbetter, first-year graduate student in the Romesberg lab, who is engineering bacterial (E. coli) cells to improve their uptake and replication of unnatural basepairs within their genome, ultimately to produce novel therapeutics agents and materials
Jeishla Melendez, first-year graduate student in the Shenvi lab, whose research focuses on developing an array of new reactions toward the stereoselective manipulation of unstabilized carbocations to fill a major methodological gap in organic synthesis
Sydney Morris, an incoming TSRI graduate student from The George Washington University
Tyler St. Denis, an incoming TSRI graduate student from Columbia University.

This year, the NSF awarded fellowships to just 12 percent of the 16,000 applicants from accredited U.S. institutions.

Joanne Doherty Receives Florida Center for Tumor Brain Research Grant

Joanne Doherty, senior staff scientist in the Guo lab, has received a grant from the Florida Center for Brain Tumor Research, in partnership with Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, supporting work on the cutting edge of scientific inquiry, including development of innovative gene, virus, nanoparticle and immunity-based therapies, according to the award announcement.

Grant recipients also include three scientists from the University of Florida and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.

Doherty’s research focuses on interfering with protein synthesis machinery to specifically kill glioblastoma tumor cells. High levels of malformed proteins are lethal to cells, and this research proposes using unique characteristics of tumor metabolism to induce this scenario in glioblastoma cells.

Disney Lab Intern Takes First Place in STEM Competition

Tevin Ali, a 23-year-old intern in the laboratory of Professor Matthew Disney on the Scripps Florida campus, won first place in the oral presentation competition at the 2015 Life Sciences South Florida STEM Undergraduate Research Conference—and walked away with an iPad Air for his efforts. The conference was hosted by Indian River State College.

His presentation focused on his current work in the Disney lab—figuring out ways to inhibit microRNA function in various disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Ali’s internship, which is in its fourth month, finishes up on May 1. He is in a two-year biotech program at Palm Beach State College and is considering another local school, Florida Atlantic University, to complete his undergraduate degree—perhaps focusing on the business side of biotechnology.

Funding Fest Workshop: Grant Writing Fundamentals

Three Scripps California faculty members will conduct a grant-writing workshop, open to TSRI postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, on Wednesday, April 29, 1 to 3 PM.

Presented by Professor Luc Teyton and Associate Professors Ashok Deniz and Bruce Torbett, “Grant-Writing 101” will cover targeted grant searches, online resources, common grant-writing mistakes and tips for writing grant sections.

Reservations to the event, which will be held in the Beckman building’s Keck Amphitheater, are required.

The session is part of the Spring 2015 Funding Fest, an annual series of informational workshops provided by the Torrey Pines Training Consortium, a collaboration of TSRI, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and University of California, San Diego.

A video of the grant-writing workshop will be posted on the TSRI Career and Postdoctoral Services website. Information on other Funding Fest workshops is also available on the website.

Do Mother Nature a Favor: Recycle E-Waste at Green Feat Event

Scripps California faculty, students and staff will have the opportunity to recycle unwanted household electronics at the 2015 Green Feat E-Waste Event, sponsored by the Green Team on Thursday, April 23, from 8 AM to 1 PM, at the CIMBio building.

Recycling e-waste—one of the fastest growing segments of the waste stream in the U.S—diverts hazardous materials from landfills, conserves natural resources and reduces pollution.

Acceptable e-waste items include televisions, microwaves, computer towers, monitors, keyboards, wires, speakers, scanners, fax machines, printers, laptops, cell phones (with or without batteries), radios and stereo equipment. No hazardous waste (including paint, oil, aerosols, pesticides, pool chemicals, fluorescent light bulbs and alkaline batteries) will be accepted.

An event map and additional details are available on the Green Feat website. For e-waste event questions, contact Green Team member David Hinton, djhinton@scripps.edu, or email the TSRI-CA Green Team at sustain@scripps.edu.

To further commemorate Earth Day’s 45^th anniversary, the Scripps California Green Team has produced a new e-flyer, “Recycling: what do I do with… ”, listing local and regional resources to heighten awareness about recycling at home and in the community. The flyer will be posted on the Green Team website.

“The Green Team also continues to champion recycling,” says Pete Herold, the group’s current chair. “Last year, TSRI’s highly successful Single Stream Recycling program diverted almost 1 million pounds of materials used in our labs and offices. Your efforts really add up.”

CA ScrippsAssists Supports 'I Love a Clean San Diego'

California campus faculty, students, staff, family and friends are invited to participate in the 13^th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup, sponsored by ScrippsAssist’s community partner I Love a Clean San Diego, on Saturday, April 25, 9 AM to noon.

The Scripps Assists team will remove debris and graffiti, work on landscaping and stencil storm drains at the Del Mar Heights-Gonzales Canyon at Torrey Highlands Park, 4506 Lansdale Dr., San Diego 92130.

Volunteers must sign a waiver, provided prior to the event; those under age 18 require a parent or guardian signature. Participants are advised to wear closed-toe shoes and long pants and bring a reusable water bottle. All supplies will be provided by trained site captains, although volunteers are asked to bring their own buckets or burlap bags to minimize plastic bag waste at the cleanup.

Parking is available in the Torrey Pines Park lot, on the street and at Torrey Pines High School. Car pools can be arranged. For directions and a map of the location, visit the Creek to Bay website.

To sign up or for further details, contact ScrippsAssists project lead Jess Sheu-Gruttadauria at jgruttad@scripps.edu.

Onsite Clinic Scheduled for April 22 on CA Campus

The next onsite immunization clinic on the California campus will be held Wednesday, April 22, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, in the Hazen Theory building, rooms 203/205. 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.

CA Biosafety Committee Meeting Materials Due April 29

The TSRI Institutional Biosafety Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday May 13, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM, in the P2 conference room, Building 3301. To receive committee consideration, registration documents must be submitted by Friday, April 29, to Environmental Health and Safety via email to rachellv@scripps.edu.

At the Auditorium: Solo Cello, Chamber Music

The La Jolla Music Society closes its annual Discovery Series concert season with a performance by award-winning cellist Han Bin Yoon on Sunday, April 26, 3 PM. The program includes solo cello works by Schumann, Beethoven and sonatas by Franck and Debussy. A Musical Prelude featuring the San Diego Youth Symphony is scheduled for 2 PM. Ticket and additional program information is available on the society’s website.

The San Diego Symphony’s Chamber Music Series continues with a concert featuring pianist and composer Conrad Tao in his Chamber Series debut on Tuesday, April 28, 7:30 PM. Tao, with members of the Symphony, will perform his own composition Iridescence for iPad and Piano, Michael Gordon’s AC/DC for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano, and Bartok’s Piano Quintet in C Major. Visit the Symphony’s website for ticket and program information.

The Auditorium at TSRI is located at 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, San Diego 92121.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

Scripps Florida Reaches Out
SF wellness
The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach recently hosted a Health and Wellness Festival, including a Scripps Florida booth that provided information about research on the Jupiter campus and an opportunity to talk to scientists and staff. The event was sponsored by local ABC affiliate WPVF, which featured several news stories on Scripps Florida scientists in the week leading up to the event. Above, Sukhi Mahal (left), senior staff scientist, and Ainhoa Nieto, research associate, staff the TSRI booth. (Photo by Eric Sauter)

Ali_Tevin
Scripps Florida intern Tevin Ali won first place in the oral presentation category at the Life Sciences South Florida STEM Undergraduate Research Conference.

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