Postdoctoral Position in Human Health Risk Assessment

Postdoctoral Position in the University of Cincinnati, Risk Science Center

A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Lynne Haber in the Risk Science Center of the Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine. Dr. Haber’s career has focused on applied research in the area of human health risk assessment. In particular, her work focuses on improving risk assessment methods, including characterizing interspecies differences, and consideration of human variability. Other interests include use of mode of action data in risk assessment, use of biomarkers in risk assessment, mixtures assessment, and more recently hazard evaluation and dose response for exposure to nanomaterials.  We seek someone with strong critical thinking skills and strong writing skills, for work assessing the health effects of nanomaterials and other industrial chemicals. If interested, please contact Lynne (haberlt@ucmail.uc.edu).

My thanks to ETOX Alumna, Virunya Bhat for sending the announcement.   

Faculty position in Environmental Health Sciences at UC Santa Cruz

I received the following in an email from Chad Saltikov, the chair of the Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology at UC Santa Cruz.  He was seeking help in getting the word out for a tenure track faculty position at UC Santa Cruz in the area of Environmental Health Science. The application deadline is coming up, Nov 30, 2018.

Job Link: https://recruit.ucsc.edu/apply/JPF00654

-Assistant professor (tenure track) level position in the area of environmental health, emphasizing a mechanistic understanding of how organisms are affected by environmentally-derived stressors, such as chemical or biological agents.

-Research areas might include (but are not limited to) exposome/exposure biology, mechanisms of contaminant action and defense, gene-environment interactions, or microbiome-contaminant interactions that influence host susceptibility.

-Link to the Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology department: https://www.metx.ucsc.edu

-Other notes: UC Santa Cruz is a Hispanic-Serving Institution with a high proportion of first-in-family undergraduate students.  We welcome candidates who understand the barriers facing women and minorities who are underrepresented in higher education careers (as evidenced by life experiences and educational background), and who have experience in equity and diversity with respect to teaching, mentoring, research, life experiences, or service towards building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment.

WHO Expert Group on Genotoxicity

 David Eastmond, ETOX faculty member and blog master, recently participated in a WHO Expert working group as part of a project to update the genotoxicity section in the WHO guidance for health effects.  Virunya Bhat, ETOX alumna who works for NSF International, is working with the WHO this year and one of her projects is to draft and compile the updated section.  The picture above was taken in front of NSF International at the expert group meeting earlier this week.  Virunya was the local host and did an excellent job. 

Toxicologist Position Available with the State of Michigan

The State of Michigan has a posting for a Masters-level toxicologist to work in Lansing, Michigan.  The listing is scheduled to close on Oct. 7, 2018.  For more information and to apply, please use this link.  My thanks for ETOX alumnus Efrem Neuwirth for forwarding the information.

SOT Provides Funding for Supplemental Training

The Society of Toxicology sponsors the Supplemental Training for Education Program which provides funding to doctoral students to support participation in a workshop, training course or event which will help the students achieve their future career goals. The proposed activity should be outside the scope of their graduate program and graduate research. The next deadline for applying for STEP funding is October 9. The next deadline is May 1.  Examples of successful, previously funded proposed ideas can be found on the SOT website. For more information, please click the following link: http://www.toxicology.org/education/st/step.asp.  Good luck

Glyphosate and Eastmond in the News

Glyphosate has been in the news a lot over the past couple of years.  Most recently as the result of a jury verdict that awarded a very large sum to the plaintiff.  In 2016, Dr. David Eastmond, an ETOX faculty member, served on a WHO committee that conducted a fairly exhaustive review of the toxicological information on glyphosate.  As a result, over the past couple of years, he has been interviewed by a number of media outlets about glyphosate and cancer.  Below are links to some recent interviews.

Interview by Larry Mantle of KPPC on AirTalk
https://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2018/08/13/63506/after-jury-rules-against-monsanto-in-roundup-lawsu/

Interview by Michael Krasny of KQED on its Forum program
https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101866711/jury-links-cancer-to-roundup-awards-289-million-to-groundskeeper

In addition to glyphosate, he was also interviewed about acrylamide and coffee by Kendall Powell for Knowable digital magazine.  The interview can be found here. 

Wang Research Published in Science

 Lin Wang, an alumnus of the ETOX Program is currently a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.  He did his dissertation research with Roger Atkinson and Janet Arey.  He is the corresponding author on a nice paper published in Science that describes the influence of sulfuric acid and amine precursor molecules on the formation of new particulates in Shanghai.  The article itself can be found here.  Our congratulations to Lin for this admirable recognition of his research. 

Another Alumnae photo

This spring CNAS Dean Kathryn Uhrich traveled to the Bay area and met with UC Riverside alumni working at Genentech.  Two of our alumnae, Yehong Wang and Jennifer Sasaki who work as scientists for Genentech, met for the first time at the gathering.  Below is a photo that they sent to me of their meeting.  It was great to see the two of them and hear that they are doing well. 

Alumnae photo and update - Bhat and Sankaran

Recently, Virunya Bhat, an ETOX alumna and principal scientist at NSF International, was in Singapore for a WHO meeting and was able to get together with Gayatri Sankaran, another ETOX alumna who works for the National Environment Agency of Singapore on air pollution issues.  Both are doing well.  Above is a picture of the meeting that Virunya forwarded to me.  

Camacho begins his residency

After completing his Ph.D. and working for a few years, Homero Camacho, ETOX alumnus, decided to go to medical school which he completed this spring.  He recently began a residency program in psychiatry at the UCLA-affiliated Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California.  Above is a picture of Homero (1st on the left) at this white coat ceremony as he begins his residency.  Our congratulations to Homero.  We wish him success as he begins this new step in his career and begins working full-time treating patients.

Toxicology positions at the FDA

I received the following information from my colleague Dan Levy this morning. 

Various programs within the FDA are looking to hire toxicologists.  More details about the types of positions can be found here.  Dan indicated that they would likely have some openings in the food packaging group within the coming weeks.  If interested, let me know at my UCR address and I can put you in touch with him. 

UCR Tobacco-related Research Highlighted

 Barbara Davis and Monique Williams

The Tobacco-related Disease Research Program website is highlighting the research of two UCR Environmental Toxicology research groups.  The first is an article on a recent paper published by Monique Williams (ETOX grad student) and Barbara Davis (CMDB grad student) (shown in the photo above from the TRDRP website) who work in Prof. Prue Talbot's research group.  The publication is on new heat-not-burn cigarettes and focuses on characteristics of the purchased cigarettes such as quality control, performance and  heating-related changes of these new types of cigarettes.  The second is an article on third-hand smoke and highlights the work of the California Consortium on Thirdhand Smoke Exposure and Human Health of which Prof. Manuela Martins-Green, an ETOX faculty member, plays an important role.  The web article on the heat-not-burn cigarettes can be found here and the one on third-hand smoke can be found here.  Our congratulations to these two groups of researchers. 

More Open Biologist/Toxicologist Positions at the EPA

Heidi Bethel, an ETOX alumna, sent me information about some additional positions at the EPA in the Washington, DC area.  There are two announcements, the first for a permanent GS 12-13 position and the second for a 1 year position for recent graduates at a GS 9-11 level that may become permanent.  Links for more information can be found below.

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/502960100

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/502951800

2018 Annual Student Symposium

On Monday June 18, the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program held its annual student symposium.  It was a very fine event highlighting the research of 31 students and 2 postdoctoral fellows.  The first year student presentations were made during the weekly seminar series in late May and early June. Below are a series of photos of the event.  Our thanks to the organizing committee and all who helped make this an outstanding and memorable event. We give a special thanks to Yinsheng Wang who is stepping down from the Program Chair position after 10 years of service.  He did a great job in all aspects of the position.

ETOX students participating in the symposium

From the left, Yinsheng Wang, Program Chair, Monique Williams, winner of the Fukuto award for best presentation, Macon Abernathy, Stefani Andrews and Stacia Dudley, honorable mentions for the award.  

Yinsheng Wang with Ali Reddam and Tori McGruer, two of the winners of the best presentation by a 1st year student.  Not shown is Miranda Aiken who also received the award. 

Prof. David Volz, winner of the outstanding mentor award, with members of lab.

 Sara Vliet, Chair of the organizing committee with Monique Williams, winner of the students' choice award.  

 A photo at the end of the symposium

Sara Vliet with Antonio Knox, the new ETOX student affairs representative.

Commencement Photo

Commencement for the University of California, Riverside was held this weekend and Nicole Sparks sent me this photograph of the Environmental Toxicology students who have completed their doctoral work and are receiving their Ph.D. degrees this year.  Our congratulations to each of them for their dedication and perseverance in achieving this goal.  Shown from left to right are Justin Dingle, Marcus Pennington, Luisa Becker Bertotto, Nicole Sparks, and Pete Shanta.  Not shown is Nicole Williams who also completed her degree in December. 

Openings for Multiple Science and Engineering Positions at the EPA

Again, I received notice this morning from Heidi Bethel, one of our ETOX alumna, that her office is looking to hire 35 scientists to fulfill the statutory requirements of the new TSCA law.  Information on the positions and to apply can be found at:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/501517700

Note that the announcement closes on June 19 so you need to move quickly.  They hope to fill all 35 positions by Oct. 1.  For alumni, if you have questions, please let me know (david.eastmond@ucr.edu) and will help you get in touch with Heidi. 

UPDATE:

Here additional postings.  Some have different educational and experience requirements, pay scales, etc.  Check them out if interested.  The links are below.

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/502108000

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/502166600

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/502313200

ORISE Research Opportunities - Dept. of Defense

I received the following information in an email form Mike Janney this morning. 

I am writing to let you know that we are still recruiting candidates for  many ongoing ORISE research opportunities with a variety of Department of Defense sponsors.  Please share this e-mail with  any students or recent graduates that might be interested in applying for the following opportunities.  Most of the ORISE opportunities are twelve month research opportunities, with the possibility to be renewed for additional twelve month  research periods (5 years max).  U.S. Citizenship is required to participate at the DoD installations.

To see all of our available opportunities, please visit: www.orau.org/dodprograms

We also encourage individuals to sign up for our Talent Network to received alerts with new opportunities that match candidate interests:  https://stayconnected.orau.org/en-us/

Project Title & Project ID:

Chemical Eng. & Physical Science Research (BS&MS)               APHC-1911526380
Molecular Biology Research (BS)                                                 APHC-1637893744
Analytical Chemistry (MS/PhD)                                                    APHC-1817392923
Chemistry/Physics Research (MS/PhD Candidates)                      APHC-1768507089
Molecular-Based Testing (BS or MS)                                            APHC-1894785476
Data Analysis Research (MPH)                                                      APHC-1577623820
Public Health Data Research                                                           APHC-1012174837
Chemistry Research (BS Candidates)                                             APHC-1813938639
Lab Assistant Research (AA or BS Candidates)                             APHC-7074581681
Nanomaterial Research                                                                   USACE-EL-9004168835
Geochemistry (PhD)                                                                       USACE-EL-1829709278
Opportunity in Infectious Disease Research                                   MAMC-6702227045
Biomimetic Nanofibrous Scaffold Research (MS/PhD)                 N39467-027
Wound Infection Research (PhD)                                                   N39467-047
Battlefield Health and Trauma Fellowship (PhD)                          N39467-034
Combat Casualty Care Postdoctoral Research                                NAMRU-SA-1934167300
Concussion & Head Injury Research (BS - PhD)                           AARL-2029475795
Injury Biomechanics Researcher                                                    USAARL-5922256836
Defense Opportunity in Olfactory Science (MS -PhD)                  ECBC-8778949652
Synthetic Biology Research (BS Candidates)                                ECBC-1534316068
Inhalation Toxicology Postdoctoral Research                                MRICD-5749861507
Neuroprotection Research (BS Candidates)                                   MRICD-5519479992
Medicinal Countermeasures Postdoctoral Research                      MRICD-1440454992
Cyanide Countermeasures - Postdoctoral Research                       MRICD-1364081190
Cellular Responses to Toxic Chemicals (BS)                                MRICD-9215848906
Chemical Threat Countermeasures (BS Candidates)                     MRICD-2669633143
Chemical Threat Medical Countermeasures  (PHD)                      MRICD-1898138247
Military Cognitive Performance Research                                     USARIEM-3532383181
Program Analysis Research (BS/MS)                                            USARIEM-1857696418
Epidemiology-Population Health/Analysis (MPH/MS)                 NMCPHC-3487387313
Health Informatics Research (BS/MS)                                           NMCPHC-3346146432
Malaria Vaccine Postdoctoral Research                                         WRAIR-4937463993
Biochemistry Research (BS & MS Candidates)                             WRAIR-1259684897

About ORISE:
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) connects the most talented and diverse students, recent graduates, faculty and educators to programs closely aligned with the interests of a variety of research facilities, including those managed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and more than a dozen other federal agencies.

ORISE administers a broad range of internships, fellowships, and research experiences available primarily to those pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, including undergraduate and graduate students, recent graduates, postdocs, and university faculty members. Programs are offered at DOE national laboratories and other federal agencies with research facilities located across the country as well as some locations outside the United States.

Mike Janney
ORISE Sr. Recruiter - DoD Participant Programs
ORISE
4692 Millennium Drive, Suite 101 | Belcamp, MD 21017
(410)  306-9217 (office)
(410) 306-9306 (fax)
michael.janney@orau.org

Summer Internship at Allergan

I received this announcement in an email.  

The Safety Assessment team at Allergan is looking for a student to fulfill an 8 week Summer Temp position (Irvine, CA).  The student should be in a Bachelors, Masters, or Veterinary school program and will be supervised by Dr. Andrea Rodrigues, PhD Toxicology; Dr. Lydia Andrews-Jones, DVM, PhD, DACVP; Dr. Steve Matsumoto, PhD Chemistry, and will be working with laboratory animal veterinarians, technicians, pharmacologists, histologists, toxicologists, and a veterinary pathologist.

In the attachment:

2018 Summer Internship in the Safety Assessment Department at Allergan (Irvine, California)

Summer Temporary Associate, 8 weeks duration, paid internship

Qualifications: Current or recent student in a college degree program (Bachelors or Masters)

The internship will encompass:

Learning about:
Cell biology and immunology of the foreign body reaction
Anatomy and physiology of the skin and the eye
Safety evaluation, toxicology, and animal welfare using rats as a model
Skin histology – fixation, sectioning, and staining
Skin and Eye histopathology – structure and function
Pharmaceutical drug development

Hands on work:
Observation of dermal responses in rats
Assistance in collecting, fixing, sectioning, and staining skin samples
Obtaining and evaluating microscopic images of skin sections
Evaluation of foreign body reactions to materials in skin

The ideal Intern will have interests in one or more areas:

Toxicology
Pathology
Veterinary Sciences
Drug development

Please provide a Resume, preferred start and end dates to:

andrea.rodrigues@allergan.com

Deadline June 15, 2018  (applicants will be notified by June 22, 2018)

NIEHS-funded postdoctoral postion at the University of Michigan

I received the following information this morning. 

A postdoctoral training position is available at the University of Michigan under the mentorship of faculty conducting cutting‐edge cross‐disciplinary research in environmental health sciences. Supported by a NIEHS/NIH Institutional Training Grant in Environmental Toxicology and Epidemiology, postdoctoral trainees have opportunities to participate in research in mechanistic toxicology and mechanistically‐oriented environmental epidemiology with applications to human disease prevention. In addition, trainees benefit from our NIEHS‐supported Michigan Center on Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease. Research areas of the faculty include genetic, epigenetic, cell signaling, metabolic and oxidative stress mechanisms of toxicity with respect to
reproductive, developmental, neural and immune systems, as well as research on cancer, metabolic disorders, micro‐ and nanosensor development, human exposure assessment, and environmental epidemiology. The development of skills for an independent research career is emphasized. The University of Michigan provides an enriching environment that includes multiple centers and core facilities to ensure access to state‐of‐the‐art methodologies. This is a full time position for 1‐2 years. Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements to be considered for these fellowships: 1) Have a PhD, MD, or comparable doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution at the time of appointment; and 2) be US citizens, a noncitizen national of the United States (e.g., born in born in outlying possessions of the USA), or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the USA (e.g., possess a current Permanent Resident Card) at the time of appointment. Applicants who fail to meet these eligibility requirements will not be considered.

Applications are currently accepted for a position available immediately. Interested candidates will be verified as eligible early in the process through direct communication between the program director and either the mentor or the candidate.
Applications for the postdoctoral fellowship should include the following:
• A letter from a training program mentor supporting the application;
• A letter from the applicant describing interest in toxicology and/or environmental epidemiology training and career goals (applicants with previous postdoctoral support should provide a clear explanation for pursuing additional postdoctoral research training);
• A brief description of intended research area if the fellowship is awarded, prepared by the applicant (may be included in the letter of interest or may be separate document);
• The applicant’s CV;
• The applicant’s graduate transcripts; and
• Two additional letters of recommendation.
To apply, please email a single pdf of application materials (except the letters of recommendation, which should be sent separately by recommenders) by May 20, 2018, to:
Michelle Daoud, Administrative Coordinator
Department of Environmental Health Sciences University of Michigan
Tel: 734‐764‐4345
Email: lowdenm@umich.edu
Please put “ETEP postdoc” in subject line of email. Thank you!

Sharon Walker named Dean of the Drexel University College of Engineering

Sharon Walker, Interim Dean of the Bourns College of Engineering and ETOX faculty member, as been appointed Dean of the College of Engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Below are excerpts from the email that was sent out by our Provost Cindy LaRive. 

"Sharon was appointed interim dean in July 2016, after Dean Reza Abbaschian stepped down following 11 years leading the Bourns College. She brought continuity of leadership, a keen focus on student success, and intense advocacy for her faculty colleagues and the needs of the College. Sharon eagerly initiated new collaborations with other academic units and embraced the decanal role with her characteristic optimism and perseverance. She has continued to champion diversity and made a number of impressive faculty hires during almost two years as interim dean. An accomplished scholar, Sharon also worked to raise academic sights for the College, prioritized student achievement, and has been an active and successful fundraiser.

Sharon arrived as a new assistant professor in 2005 and quickly earned the respect and admiration of her faculty peers. Her research program focuses on water quality, particularly the fate and transport of bacteria and nanoparticles in water. She was recently awarded a prestigious Fulbright Grant to continue her research into desalination and water treatment at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Sharon has also received multiple awards from the National Science Foundation including a CAREER award and was a co-PI on NSF ADVANCE and IGERT grants. She received the Chancellor’s Award for mentoring undergraduates in research and previously served as associate dean of the graduate division.

... She will begin her new role at Drexel on September 1, 2018, so we will have an opportunity before then to celebrate her service and wish her well. In the meantime, please join me in thanking Professor Sharon Walker for her service as interim dean of the Marlan & Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering"

Photos from the ETOX mixer at the SOT meeting

On Sunday March 11, the ETOX Program held a mixer at the Iron Cactus restaurant during the Society of Toxicology meeting that was taking place in San Antonio, Texas.  Below are a few photos of the gathering.  Our thanks for Dave Volz for organizing the event. 

Cindy LaRive to receive ACS award

 

Cindy LaRive, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and ETOX faculty member has been selected to receive the 2018 Distinguished Service Award for the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry from the American Chemical Society's Division of Analytical Chemistry.  An article about the award as well as an overview of her research and previous awards can be found in the latest UCR Today issue.  Our congratulations to Cindy for this very nice recognition.  [The photo is from the UCR Provost's website.]

Toxicology internship at Amgen

I received a message from UCR's career center indicating that Amgen is actively working to recruit summer interns in various areas of the translational sciences, one of which is toxicology.  Apparently, the deadline for application has been extended until March 29.  I found on Amgen's website one toxicology graduate intern position located in South San Francisco.  More information can be found here.  There may be more.  If interested, I would more thoroughly check the Amgen website. 

Sharon Walker selected for Fulbright Fellowship

 Sharon Walker, interim dean of the Bourns College of Engineering and ETOX faculty member, has been selected to conduct research into desalination and water treatment at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.  More information on her project and the Fulbright program can be found in this UCR Today article.  We congratulate Sharon on this recognition and wish her the best in her research. {The photo is from UCR's 2014 Living the Promise brochure.}

Crystal structure of DNMT3A solved by ETOX team

A research team lead by Jukui Song, a professor in the Biochemistry department and an Environmental Toxicology faculty member, has solved the crystal structure of DNMT3A, a key enzyme involved in de novo DNA methylation.  The study has been recently published in the journal Nature.  Other members of the team include Yinsheng Wang, Director of the ETOX program, Linfeng Gao, current ETOX student, and Pengcheng Wang, Yang Yu and Shuo Liu, recent ETOX graduates.  More information can be found in an article in UCR Today or in the Nature article itself.  Our congratulations to Dr. Song and those involved in the project for this impressive accomplishment. [The image above is from the UCR Today article.]

Frances Sladek co-principal investigator on new Keck Foundation grant

Associate Dean and ETOX faculty member Frances Sladek is a co-principal investigator on a new Keck Foundation grant to study that mechanism by which estrogen hormones enter cells.  Together with the principal investigator Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka and co-principal investigator Naoki Yamanaka, Professor Sladek plans to investigate the potential of membrane transport proteins in the uptake of hormones.  More information can be found on the UCR Today website.  We wish Frances, Sachiko and Naoki success in their studies.  [The photo is from the UCR Today article and was taken by Iqbal Pittalwala.] 

UCR ETOX Mixer at SOT Meeting in San Antonio

The ETOX program will be hosting a UCR ETOX Mixer from 8-10PM on Sunday, March 11, 2018 at the Iron Cactus Mexican Grill and Margarita Bar (within the Cactus Room) on the Riverwalk in San Antonio immediately following the SOT 2018 Welcome Reception from 6:30-7:30PM.  This informal reception (cocktail party) will be an excellent opportunity for current ETOX students/postdocs to network with ETOX alumni, as well as ETOX alumni to reconnect with ETOX faculty.  With the exception of a few introductory remarks, we will not have a formal program in order to allow attendees to network and reconnect during the entire reception.  Heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be provided courtesy of the ETOX program.

We are anticipating about 25-30 people to attend.  If you haven’t RSVPed already (thanks to those who already have!), please let Dave Volz (david.volz@ucr.edu) know as soon as possible if you will be attending the SOT 2018 meeting and plan to attend the UCR ETOX Mixer.  He needs to provide a final headcount to the Iron Cactus within the next few weeks, so want to ensure that our order is roughly aligned with actual attendance.  Details about this reception will also be published within the Event Calendar of the final program for the SOT 2018 meeting.

Two Toxicologist Positions at the USEPA - deadline is tomorrow

The USEPA is searching for two Biologist/Toxicologist positions in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the EPA headquarters in Arlington, VA.  If you are interested, more information can be found here and here.  Please note that the closing date for the positions is coming up very soon (Jan. 10, 2018). 

Our thanks to Dave Volz for letting us know about the openings. 

Assistant Professor position at Western Washington University

The Department of Environmental Sciences at Western Washington University is accepting applications for a full-time, tenure-track position in the areas of applied environmental chemistry and global change.  The position is at the Assistant Professor rank and will begin in September 2018. More information about the position can be found here. 

Thanks to Sara Vliet for passing on the information.