Sunday, December 22, 2013

Martins-Green's Wound Healing Research is Spotlighted

The research of Manuela Martins-Green, professor in the Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience and member of the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, on the role of reactive oxygen species and bacterial biofilms was recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology and spotlighted by UCR Today.  The story has also been picked up by a number of science-related news sites on the web.  The work of Dr. Martins-Green, her associates Sandeep Dhall, Monika Garcia, Danh Do and Neal Schiller showed that by lowering the levels of reactive oxygen species, they could enhance wound healing and reduce the duration of a chronic wound.  Our congratulations to Dr. Martins-Green and her collaborators for their progress in their research and for these nice recognitions. 

Update:  A short video on Dr. Martins-Green's wound healing research has also been produced by the American Society for Cell Biology and can be seen here.  

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Virunya Bhat's Research Published in Toxicological Sciences

The research of Virunya Bhat, a current ETOX student, was recently published in the journal Toxicological Sciences.  The research, conducted in collaboration with Susan Hester and Stephen Nesnow of the US EPA, describes a comparison of risk assessment estimates derived using gene expression data and those derived from more traditional toxicological endpoints.  Our congratulations to Virunya for this achievement.  Below is a screenshot of the 1st page of the article.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Williams and Talbot Featured Speakers in Webinar on E-cigarettes


 ETOX graduate student Monique Williams (on the far right in the photo above) and Professor Prue Talbot were recently featured speakers in a webinar on e-cigarettes sponsored by the Tobacco-related Disease Research Program.  The webinar had more than 1000 online registrants with another 150-200 individuals present in the audience.  Monique was the only graduate student invited to speak.  Her talk was entitled "E-Cigarettes Liquids and Vapors: Is it Harmless Water Vapor?" In her talk she reviewed the literature and presented work from laboratories around the world that had analyzed the contents and emissions of EC fluid and vapors.  Our congratulations to Monique and Prue for this nice recognition of their research.  Below is an image of the flyer announcing the event and the speakers.

Postdoctoral and Postgraduate Positions at the EPA

I recently received a note from Bob Sonawane of the US EPA who indicated that through their affiliated ORISE program, the Agency is looking to hire scientists with an interest in risk assessment. In the position description it states that "Graduate student, postgraduate or postdoctoral research project training opportunities are currently available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA). Appointments will be served in Arlington, Virginia; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; or Cincinnati, Ohio."  More detailed information can be found at this link

Analytical Chemist position at Primus Labs

We were recently notified by ETOX alumnus Zhenshan Chen that Primus Labs where he works is looking to hire an analytical chemist with experience in mass spectrometry. Below is description of the position and the contact information.  Good luck. 




Thursday, October 17, 2013

UCR at the SCC SOT meeting

The Southern California Chapter of the Society of Toxicology held its annual meeting today and UCR was well represented by a number of ETOX students and a postdoctoral fellow from Prof. Prue Talbot's lab.  Our congratulations to Monique Williams who won third place in the graduate student poster competition. Below are some pictures from the event.  My thanks to Virunya Bhat who took and sent me the photos.

Monique Williams receiving the 3rd place award

Monique at her poster


 Vasundra Bahl and Sabrina Lin (postdoctoral fellow) in front of Sabrina's poster

Sunday, October 6, 2013

ETOX Fall Social

On Friday, Oct. 4, The director of the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, Yinsheng Wang and his wife Shuli, hosted the annual fall social at their house.  It was a pot-luck and in addition the the food brought by others, Shuli made sure that there was plenty of good food.  There was also very good company. Below are some pictures from the event. 

 The hosts, Shuli and Yinsheng Wang











Wednesday, September 25, 2013

UCR alumni at EMGS meeting

The Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society held its annual meeting this week in Monterey, California.  A number of ETOX alumni and former postdoctoral fellows attended the meeting and participated by chairing sessions, speaking, presenting posters and serving in leadership positions.  It was good to see them all.  Below are a few pictures from the meeting.

Alumna Catherine Gibbons, with the EPA's IRIS program in Washington, DC

Alumna Krista Dobo, Genetic Toxicology Group at Pfizer, CT

 Former postdoc Maik Schuler, Genetic Toxicology Group, Pfizer, CT
Former postdoc Rupa Doppalapudi, SRI International, Palo Alto, CA

Morning light at Pacific Grove, CA

Dance after the banquet.  Catherine was in the middle and looked to be having a great time. 

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Vasundhra Bahl receives fellowship to study 3rd hand smoke


Vasundhra Bahl, an ETOX student working in the laboratory of Dr. Prue Talbot, has recently been awarded a dissertation research award from the Tobacco-related Disease Research Program for her proposed work entitled, "Toxicological Evaluation of Third-hand Smoke".  Our congratulations to Vasundhra for this nice recognition of her research. 

Monday, July 29, 2013

Earlier posts about positions at UNEDC

Recently I posted about internships and an environmental officer position at the United Nations Economic Development Council.  Some questions have arisen as to whether the posted positions are legitimate.  As a result, I have removed the posts and recommend that anyone following up on the earlier posts be careful and make sure to verify the legitimacy of the positions and organization before applying.  I apologize for the inconvenience.

Update:  Apparently, they are fraudulent position listings so I would disregard them entirely.  

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Postdoctoral position at the U.S. EPA

Below is information on a postdoctoral position at the U.S. EPA that I received this morning.  If interested, please follow the information below to apply.  Good luck. 

Research Opportunity Description

Applying Novel Data Streams to Advance Human Health Risk Assessment
Research Participation Program
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Assessment
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Arlington, VA; Research Triangle Park, NC; or Cincinnati, OH

EPA-ORD/NCEA-2013-01

Project Description:

A postdoctoral research training opportunity is currently available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), in Arlington, Virginia, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, or Cincinnati, Ohio. This project will be a cross-organizational effort that involves close collaboration with other programs, including EPA’s National Center for Computational Toxicology.

This project is focused on applying state-of-the-science computational tools and methods to enhance the efficiency, reduce costs, and promote innovation and sustainability in human health risk assessment. The participant will collaborate with EPA scientists in the design and application of novel approaches to advance EPA’s critical effort assessing the health hazards of environmental chemicals. Specific research opportunities may include one or more of the following:

Developing approaches and methods to apply novel data streams (e.g., molecular, systems biology, biomonitoring) in human health risk assessments, including in hazard identification, mode of action analyses, dose-response evaluation, and characterization of variability and susceptibility;
Applying decision-support methodologies that interpret across diverse data streams to enhance human health risk assessment;
Developing novel approaches to access, capture, evaluate, and apply exposure information relevant to human health risk assessments;
Applying computational approaches to advance chemical screening and priority-setting, and health assessment;
Expanding implementation of tools and guidance for sustainable molecular design of chemicals;
Addressing efforts to improve sustainability of EPA’s human health assessment products and processes;
Addressing unmet challenges in evaluating human health and sustainability impacts, including:
Developing data, methods and tools to improve efficiency and robustness of cumulative risk assessment methods;
Developing risk assessment methods for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs);
Improving environmental sustainability and life cycle analyses;
Supporting economic analyses of impacts on human health and sustainability.
Through this training opportunity, the participant will learn to develop, pilot and implement approaches for applying novel data streams, bioinformatics analyses and other tools to address unmet challenges in evaluating human health and sustainability impacts. The participant will have access to a team of experts collaborating in and across disciplines on problems crucial importance to the EPA’s mission.

The participant will be involved in addressing cross-cutting scientific issues that support sustainable decision-making in different risk contexts regarding new and existing chemicals in commerce, and the design of emerging chemical products and processes.

Qualifications:

Applicants must have received a doctoral degree in toxicology, biology, molecular biology, systems biology, bioinformatics, biological, systems or chemical engineering and/or computational biology within five years of the desired starting date, or completion of all requirements for the degree should be expected prior to the start date. Knowledge of risk assessment is desired.

The program is open to all qualified individuals without regard to race, sex, religion, color, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, or status as a Vietnam era or disabled veteran. U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status is preferred (but can also hold an appropriate visa status, however, an H1B visa is not appropriate).

The appointment is full-time for one year and may be renewed upon recommendation of EPA and subject to availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend. No funding will be made available to cover travel costs for pre-appointment visits, relocation costs, costs of tuition and fees, or a participant’s health insurance. The participant must show proof of health and medical insurance. The participant does not become an EPA employee.

Technical Questions:

The mentor for this project will be one of the following, based on the participant location:

Dr. Weihsueh Chiu, who can be contacted at chiu.weihsueh@epa.gov.
Dr. Jason Lambert, who can be contacted at lambert.jason@epa.gov.
Dr. Lyle Burgoon, who can be contacted at burgoon.lyle@epa.gov.
How to Apply:

The Research Participation Program for EPA-ORD is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Please reference Project # EPA-ORD/NCEA-2013-01 when calling or writing for information. For additional information and application materials contact: Research Participation Program/EPA-ORD, Attn: Betty Bowling, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-0117, Phone: (865) 576-8503 FAX: (865) 241-5219 e-mail: betty.bowling@orau.org.

An application can be found at http://orise.orau.gov/epa/applicants/application.htm.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Yinsheng Wang receives Biemann Award

Dr. Yinsheng Wang, professor of chemistry and Director of the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, was awarded the Biemann Award by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry during its annual meeting in June.  The Biemann Award is given to a scientist who is within 15 years of receiving his Ph.D. in recognition of significant achievement in basic or applied mass spectrometry.  Dr. Wang was recognized for his work studying DNA damage, its repair and mutational consequences. More details on the award can be found at the UCR Today website.  Below is a picture of Yinsheng receiving the award as well as a group picture of Yinsheng with current and former students at the meeting.  Our congratulations to Yinsheng Wang for this nice and well-deserved recognition. 


Yinsheng Wang receiving the award from Susan E. Weintraub, president of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.  (photo from UCR Today)

Yinsheng Wang with current and former students at the meeting. 

Friday, June 28, 2013

Annual Student Symposium and Award Winners

On June 21, the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program held its Annual Student Symposium.  I was only able to attend during the morning session but the presentations that I saw were all very good.  The winners of the best student presentation awards and the titles of their presentations are listed below. 

T. Roy Fukuto Outstanding Student Presentation

Shuo Liu, “Quantitative analysis of Tet-induced oxidation products of 5-methylcytosine in human cells and mammalian tissues”

Honorable mention
Monique Williams, “Evaluation of the design, performance, and emissions of electronic cigarettes”

Honorable mention
Eric Stephens, “Analysis of cell surface membrane proteins in a metastatic melanoma cell line”

Honorable mention
Lindley Maryoung, “Molecular and physiological impacts of hypersaline acclimitation on the sublethal toxicity of chlorpyrifos to salmonid olfaction”

Best presentation by a 1st year student
Nicole Sparks, “Predicting skeletal teratogenicity: An alternative approach with pluripotent stem cells”

Students' Choice Award
Ashley Swanson, "In-Vitro Replication Studies of Ribonucleotides in DNA"

The outstanding faculty mentor award was presented by the students to Prof. Jay Gan. 

Our congratulations to these students and Dr. Gan for their fine work and excellent presentations.

Below are a few pictures from the event. 


ETOX Program Director Yinsheng Wang with Prof. Dan Schlenk looking on. 

 From the left: Lindley Maryoung, Yinsheng Wang, Eric Stephens, Nicole Sparks, and Shuo Liu

Students' Choice award winner - Ashley Swanson

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Summer internship opportunity at Janssen Pharmaceuticals in La Jolla, CA

Below is the message that I receive today about the summer internship opportunity.  If interested, please follow the instructions below. 

Dear All:
We have a student summer internship position here at our Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ La Jolla site. The project involves developing a sertoli cell model for drug transport, requires application of primary cell culture techniques, small animal handling experience, as well as general familiarity with standard lab instrumentation and techniques. Southern California based candidates are encouraged to apply. Deadline for applications is May 27th, 2013.

If you have or know a student who may be interested, please email your CV to either Dr Peter Ward at : PWard4@its.jnj.com or myself at: andifor@its.jnj.com

Regards,
Tony Ndifor


Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Marylynn Yates' Research is highlighted on UCR website

There is a nice write-up about the research and expertise of ETOX faculty member and Dean Marylynn Yates that can be found on the UCR Living the Promise website.  There is also a short video clip where Marylynn discusses water and water quality issues.  I recommend taking a look to find out more about this talented researcher, teacher, and leader. 

ETOX Faculty Featured in College Science Lecture Series

The College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences is sponsoring a lecture series focusing on the Science of Disease.  Three of the Environmental Toxicology faculty are featured - Marylynn Yates who is currently serving as Dean of the College, Yinsheng Wang, the director of the ETOX Graduate program, and Nicole zur Nieden, an assistant professor who works in stem cell research.  A flyer describing the presentations and the dates and times is shown below.  The talks are intended for a lay audience but should be excellent. 


More information on Yinsheng Wang's upcoming lecture can be found here.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Retirement Reception for Janet Arey and Roger Atkinson

On Thursday, April 25 the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program and the Department of Environmental Sciences held a program and a reception to recognize the many contributions of Prof. Janet Arey and Roger Atkinson who have recently retired from UC Riverside after 30+ years of service.  Paul Ziemann started the program an overview of the professional careers of Dr. Arey and Dr. Atkinson interspersed with some great photos of them over the years.  His presentation was followed by brief comments by Sara Aschmann, Yinsheng Wang, Michael Anderson and Noriko Nishino.  David Eastmond, then presented each of them with an engraved glass plaque recognizing their extraordinary service to their students, their profession and the University as well as some other gifts provided by many generous individuals.  The program was followed by a reception where the students, alumni, current and emeritus faculty and staff were able to visit and express their personal thanks and best wishes to Janet and Roger.

Janet sent me a nice message following the reception.  Excerpts from the message are below.


"Thanks so much for the wonderful sendoff!!  I was so pleased to see P.J. and Sumandeep and, of course, Noriko.  I’m really looking forward to seeing the remembrance book that April is working on. It was great talking to colleagues I haven’t seen in a while and everyone agrees that we’re moving to a beautiful area.  You all made us feel really appreciated and that means a great deal to both Roger and me."

"Thanks so much for having the gathering for us.  The gifts were very thoughtful.  I know the sweatshirts will feel really comfy in the cooler coastal weather.  I plan to keep in touch through social media (LinkedIn and maybe Facebook) now that I’ll have time to learn how to use them."

 Janet and Roger will be moving to northern California next month. 

Below are some photos from the event.  I expect to get some more which I will add at a later time.
Janet Arey and Roger Atkinson

Janet Arey looking at flowers sent by an alumnus.

Janet Arey and Roger Atkinson 

 Paul Ziemann and David Eastmond

 Noriko Nishino, ETOX Alumna and former Ph.D. student

Michael Anderson, Chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences

 A view of the audience during the program.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Retirement reception for Janet Arey and Roger Atkinson at UC Riverside

After many years of dedicated service, Professors Roger Atkinson and Janet Arey are retiring from the University of California, Riverside.  The Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program and the Environmental Sciences Department will be hosting a short program and a reception in their honor.  The event will be held on Thursday April 25 beginning at 4 pm in Chung Hall (ENGR 2) room 205/206.  For those of you who will be in the area, we would love to have you join us.  If you will be attending, please send let me know so we can plan for refreshments. We look forward to seeing you there.  



Toxicology Positions within California EPA

Below is a flyer sent by UCR ETOX alumnus Albert Wang which provides an overview hiring at the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.  OEHHA is actively recruiting toxicologists and others with related expertise.  Please see the flyer for more information. If you click on it, the image will be more readable. 


Saturday, March 16, 2013

Virunya Bhat wins award at SOT



Virunya Bhat, ETOX student working with Dave Eastmond, won the Perry J. Gehring Best Graduate Student Abstract Award from the Risk Assessment Specialty Section at the SOT meeting for her abstract entitled, "Concordance of Transcriptional and Apical Benchmark Dose Levels for Conazole-induced Liver Effects in Mice".  Dr. Eastmond also received a plaque for mentoring Virunya.  Our congratulations to Virunya for this nice recognition of her work. 

Monique Williams Wins Award at SOT



Monique Williams, an ETOX graduate student working with Prue Talbot, won the graduate student award from the Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section at the annual Society of Toxicology meeting in San Antonio for her presentation entitled, "Identification of Metal and Silicate Particles Including Nanoparticles in Electronic Cigarette Fluid and Aerosol".  In addition, Crystal Hoa, an undergraduate student working with Dr. Talbot was also selected for the undergraduate award presented by the RSE specialty section.  Our congratulations to Monique and Crystal for these nice recognitions. 

UCR well represented at the SOT Meeting

UCR was well represented at the annual Society of Toxicology meeting held earlier this week in San Antonio, Texas.  Below are photos of current and former ETOX students as well as some photos of San Antonio.  Others in attendance that I did not get pictures of were Krista Dobo, Prue Talbot, and Jennifer Sasaki. 


 Dave Eastmond, Xiaoqin Ye and Chris Frantz


Monique Williams, Vashundra Bahl and Rachel Behar (CMDB student)

 Victor (Hongwei) Chen

 The Alamo

 Vasundhra Bahl
Drew Olaharski

  Sharada Balakrishnan and Virunya Bhat
 Jean Wong


 Xiaoqin Ye


Monique Williams