Faculty postion in Environmental Sciences at Baylor University

I was forwarded the following information from Dr. Sascha Usenko earlier today.  If interested, please use the email address or web links below. Good luck. 

We are looking to fill an assistant or associate tenure track position in the Department of Environmental Science at Baylor University beginning August 2015. Successful candidate will be expected to develop and maintain a nationally competitive research program, while teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level. Immediate needs include environmental health science. Rank and salary are dependent on qualifications and experience. Additional information regarding the Department of Environmental Science, and this position announcement is available at www.baylor.edu/environmentalscience, Dr. Sascha Usenko, Search Committee Chair (Sascha_Usenko@Baylor.edu), or at http://www.baylor.edu/hr/index.php?id=81289. 

Profs. Bahreini and Bailey-Serres recognized as being among the world's most cited scientists from 2002-2012

Environmental Toxicology faculty members, Roya Bahreini and Julia Bailey-Serres, have recently been recognized by Thompson-Reuters as being among the world's most influential scientists based on the large number of citations that their articles have received.  Their highly cited papers rank inthe top 1% by citations for their field and year of publication.  As described in an article in UCR Today, Prof. Bahreini’s research interests include airborne, ground-based and laboratory measurements of aerosol composition and microphysical properties; air quality; and aerosol direct- and indirect-effects on climate. Prof. Bailey-Serres works on providing modern solutions to agricultural challenges by unraveling the complexities of plant response to environmental challenges. Our congratulations to both Drs. Bailey-Serres and Bahreini for this nice recognition. 

Position at FDA in Environmental Assessment of Pharmaceuticals

Hiedi Bethel forwarded the following information to me about an interesting position opening at the FDA.  Please follow the link below if interested in more information. 

A research fellowship opportunity recently opened here at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Please distribute.

The candidate should have or be pursuing a doctoral degree in aquatic ecology, biology, biochemistry, toxicology or a closely related field, with education and/or experience primarily with low-dose chemical-induced (preferably from pharmaceuticals) perturbations of the endocrine systems of aquatic vertebrates.  Other useful qualifications include education and/or experience with other adverse endpoints, including stressor additivity/synergism and antimicrobial resistance; testing assays and strategies currently established at or undergoing development by other FDA Centers, agencies, and countries/regions; and the regulatory science framework regarding environmental assessments at CDER and other FDA Centers, agencies, and countries/regions.

As background, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires all Federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of their actions. To comply, FDA implements 21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 25, which includes a requirement for an environmental assessment (EA) if "extraordinary circumstances" indicate that the specific proposed action may significantly affect the quality of the human environment.  Some drugs with hormonal activity have been shown to affect the environment, and thus FDA is examining whether additional ecotoxicity testing should be required for applications submitted for drugs with hormonal activity. In addition, antimicrobial, additivity/synergism, and other properties have been implicated for possible adverse environmental and human effects.

See http://orise.orau.gov/fda/applicants/description.aspx?JobId=17033 for more details.

Bahreini lab participates in the FRAPPE study in Colorado

Prof. Roya Bahreini and her two Environmental Toxicology graduate students, Kennedy Vu and Justin Dingle, sent the summer working on the FRAPPE air pollution study in Colorado.  As described by Kennedy, their group "recently completed an intensive air quality study over the Colorado Front Range in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), NASA, and NSF. The campaign acronym “FRAPPE” (Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Experiment) has an overall goal of studying the sources and sinks that may be contributing to the ozone problem in the greater Colorado area. We were representing UC Riverside and the Environmental Toxicology Program among two dozen teams with various instrumentation. This flight campaign utilized the spacious cabin of the C130 to house several instruments in which we deployed our Aerosol Mass Spectrometer and our Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift Spectrometer to measure aerosol composition and extinction. Over 80 flight hours later, we have successfully completed our missions with promising results. We will be spending the next few months critically analyzing our data which will drive policy and control measures for the future air quality of Colorado!" Kennedy provided the following photos.  For more information, please see the FRAPPE web page with its associated links.  It sounds like it was a great experience for our UCR participants.  My thanks to Kennedy for the information and the photos.

 Kennedy Vu, Prof. Roya Bahreini and Justin Dingle

Roya Bahreini and Justin Dingle

 Kennedy and Justin

Visit of Undersecretary Abdelbagi

Today, one of Roy Fukuto's last graduate students, Prof. Azhari Omer Abdelbagi, stopped by to visit.  He has had a very successful career at the University of Khartoum in Sudan.  In addition to his university work, he is currently serving as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for the Republic of Sudan.  Below is a picture of Undersecretary Abdelbagi (middle) with Prof. Mike Adams (on left) and David Eastmond (on right).  It was good to hear of Dr. Abdelbagi's success.  He will be meeting with administrative officials later today, which will hopefully lead to closer collaborations between UC Riverside and those in the Sudan.

Toxicology positions at the FDA

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Services of the Food and Drug Administration is searching for toxicologists to fill positions at its Silver Springs, Maryland location.  If interested, more information can be found here. 

Cranor awarded the Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship in Philosophy for 2014-15

Carl Cranor, Professor of Philosophy and ETOX faculty member, has been awarded the prestigious Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship in Philosophy for 2014-15.  As described in the UCR press release (that can be found here), Dr. Cranor is well known for his research on the regulation of toxic substances, the ethics of risk, and the philosophy of law and science.  Our congratulations to Carl for this nice and well deserved recognition.