More photos of the 2019 Superbloom

Below are some more photos of the superbloom that is taking place to the south of UCR.  The orange flowers are California poppies.  These were taken on March 27 in the Lake Matthews area about a 35-40 minute drive from campus.  It is on the backside of the mountains by Lake Elsinore that have been featured in the news.  There have also been blooms on the Box Springs Mountain behind campus although these have not been as large and are hard to see up close.

Cranor featured in UCR News

Carl Cranor's research and thinking are featured in a new article appearing in UCR News.  Carl discusses water pollutants such as PFAS and the state of regulations for controlling them. More information can be found on the UCR News website.  Our congratulations to Carl for this recognition of his work. The photo above is from the UCR News website. 

Superbloom in Riverside Co.

The wildflowers are amazing this year because of the rain and cooler weather.  Below are some photos taken this morning from the Lake Matthews area south of Riverside.

Positions at the EPA in Environmental Risk Assessment

Postgraduate Research Opportunity in Environmental Risk Assessment

 

DEADLINE: June 3, 2019 3:00PM ET (applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis)

https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/EPA-OLEM-ORCR-2019-0010

 

Two full-time paid opportunities in environmental risk assessment are available with the U.S. EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR). 

 

ORCR works with state and regional partners to implement the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Our mission is to protect human health and the environment by ensuring responsible management of hazardous and nonhazardous waste. ORCR's goals are to conserve resources by reducing waste, prevent future waste disposal problems through regulations, and clean up areas where waste may have spilled, leaked, or been improperly disposed.  

 

The selected participants will collaborate with EPA scientists in one or more areas related to environmental human health and ecological risk assessment. Under the guidance of a mentor, the participants will develop novel risk assessments, improve tools used for evaluation of exposure, and/or characterize chemical hazard results. As part of this project, the participant will have the opportunity to become familiar with EPA risk assessment practices and policies. The participant will also gain an understanding of the ways in which scientific analyses influence and support environmental regulatory decision-making.

 

The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level (at this time master's degree >$55K/year, doctoral degree >$67K/year) and experience. Funding may be made available to reimburse the participant’s travel expenses to present the results of his/her research at scientific conferences.

 

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a graduate degree from an accredited university related to biology, chemistry, engineering or a similar field, or be currently pursuing the degree and will reach completion by the start date of the appointment. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

 

Desirable experience includes interdisciplinary coursework or professional experience in human health and environmental risk assessment, chemical toxicity assessment, exposure assessment/modeling, computer modeling, and/or statistics. Desirable skills in addition to a strong scientific education include attention to detail and strong teamwork and communication skills.

 

For a full description of this opportunity and to submit your application, visit https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/EPA-OLEM-ORCR-2019-0010. 

 

If you have any questions, send an email to EPArpp@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity (EPA-OLEM-ORCR-2019-0010) in your email. 

EPA hiring Toxicologists

Apparently the EPA is looking to hire a number of toxicologists as part of the implementation of new Toxic Substances Control Act.  The positions are with the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Risk Assessment Division in Washington, DC. More information can be found here (for the GS 9-11 step positions) and here (for the GS 12-13 step positions).  The submission window for the applications ends on March 21.  Thanks to Efrem Newirth for letting me know about the positions.

UCR well represented at the 2019 SOT meeting in Baltimore

The annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology was held this week in Baltimore and there was a good group of UCR students, alumni and a few faculty in attendance.  We got together at the Southern California Chapter of the SOT mixer on Tuesday night and had an enjoyable time.  Below are some photos from the the mixer as well as some students and alumni that I saw at the meeting.  It was particularly enjoyable meeting for me as five of my former PhD students and one current student were in attendance. 

 Group shot of ETOX students and alumni

 Group shot at the mixer.  Two CMDB students from UCR were also there. 

 Sharada Balakrishnan and Catherine Gibbons

 Three alumnae - Alison Kupsco, Virunya Bhat and Sharada Balakrishnan

 Connie Mitchell, recent graduate scheduled to begin at the EPA in Washington DC next week.

 Lok Tam, current student in Yinsheng Wang's lab

 Catherine Gibbons, currently a scientist at the EPA in Washington, DC

Sabbir Ahmed in front of his poster

Allison Kupsco, currently a postdoc at Columbia University

 Luisa Bertotto, currently a postdoc at the EPA lab in North Carolina

Chris Franz, currently at Genentech

Victor (Hongwei) Chen, currently head of the Covance Lab in Shanghai.  Victor was my first PhD student

Lauren Walker Fellowship Experience in Washington DC

As posted recently, Lauren Walker, a Ph.D. student working in Prof. Nicole zur Nieden's lab, was selected by the Teratology Society as the first Howard Garrison Public Affairs Fellow.  As part of her fellowship, she traveled to Washington DC and met with various Congressional staff and FASEB members.  Below are some photos of her in DC showing some of the offices that she visited.  She said that it was a great experience.

SOT dinner in Baltimore for UCR students, faculty and alumni

Hi All:

Rather than have a formal dinner and reception like we had last year, we will be having a more informal getting together those who are available and interested in getting together for dinner Tuesday evening in Baltimore.  If you are interested in joining us, please let me know (david.eastmond@ucr.edu). 

Toxicologist/Risk Assessor Position at the FDA

I recently received an email informing me of the open position below. 

The US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Silver Spring MD, is hiring a Research Toxicologist/Risk Assessor (SOT Job Bank ID 105585J, posted February 28, 2019).   The successful candidate will design, implement, and conduct research to develop predictive toxicology and risk assessment approaches focused on in vitro toxicology and computational methodologies; conduct multiple, concurrent health risk assessments for medical device materials, extracts and leachables; make recommendations to management and regulatory review staff pertaining to findings; and conduct risk assessment research to develop and incorporate methods and procedures that advance the science of risk assessments.  For additional information about the position, click here. 

Toxicology and Risk Assessment Positions

ETOX alumnus Efrem Neuwirth forwarded announcements for two open toxicology and risk assessment-related positions.  The key information is below. 

1) Toxicologist Manager, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Division
The purpose of this position is to supervise staff in the Toxics Unit who work in the area of air toxics, environmental health and risk assessment, to maintain unit operation, and to manage programs in this area. The work of the unit includes evaluation of the human health and environmental impacts of toxic air pollutants; providing toxicological expertise for the development and implementation of the AQD's air toxics program; and the development, coordination, and implementation of air toxic programs for the protection of the Great Lakes ecosystem and inland lakes.
Click here for more information. 

2) The Vermont Health Department is accepting applications for a Senior Environmental Human Health Risk Assessor. Work will include (1) research and development of human health-based guidance values for water, soil and air following processes and procedures established by the Vermont Department of Health. This work requires research to identify and obtain relevant documents including but not limited to chemical-specific information regarding environmental fate and persistence, toxicology, and exposure assessment and conduct in depth review of such; (2) research and development of processes and procedures that may be used to derive action levels/guidance values for human exposure to chemicals in other media as warranted e.g., food, sediment; (3) maintenance of a Vermont-specific mercury-based fish consumption advisory for sensitive subpopulations and the general public; (4) review, and as requested assist in development of, site-specific quantitative human health risk assessments in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Conservation or other state entities; (5) review of permit applications and pesticides proposed for use in the State; (6) participation in chemical and radiological emergency preparedness.

The position will be expected to review work conducted by federal agencies, other states and international entities. Extensive experience in quantitative human health risk assessment is preferred. Click here to apply online.