Adler Dillman Discovers Tarantula-killing Nematode

Adler Dillman, a professor in the Department of Nematology and ETOX faculty member, and his research team recently discovered a new nematode that kills tarantulas.  They named the nematode Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi, after Jeff Daniels, the actor in the 1990 film Arachnophobia whose character  saves a town from a deadly infestation of spiders.  As quoted in the UCR News release, Jeff Daniels received the recognition with humor saying “Honestly, I was honored by their homage to me and Arachnophobia. Made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you haven’t really made it until you’ve been recognized by those in the field of parasitology.” In addition to UCR News, the story has been picked up by a variety of news outlets including Salon, Popular Science, Newsweek, Daily Mail, New York Post, among others.  Our congratulations to Adler and his research group for the discovery and recognition.  [The photo was taken by Adler and shows a tarantula infected by the nematode parasite.] 

Exposure Science and Air Pollution Review Position at USEPA

Dr. Peter Byrley, a UCR alumnus working at the Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment at the USEPA, is looking to hire a graduate with a fairly recent (within 60 months) Masters or Doctoral degree that would be interested in working on exposure science issues through the lens of systematic review and analysis at the U.S. EPA, specifically those issues related to the criteria air pollutants (Lead, particulate matter, ozone, CO, NOx, SOx) and the EPA Integrated Science Assessments. Full information for the position can be found here: https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/EPA-ORD-CPHEA-HEEAD-2022-02.

The participant would be hired through an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellowship and would learn skills related to systematic review, writing large scientific documents, exposure science, and risk analysis. Any toxicology graduate students who are expecting to graduate this Spring/Winter (or have graduated previously) and have worked with air pollution-related toxicology before would be good candidates for the position. The fellowship will be based in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.

Candidates can email him (byrley.peter@epa.gov) with any questions that you may have.

Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka Receives Award from Japanese Association

Prof. Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka of the Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology and an ETOX faculty member, has recently been awarded  the Young Investigator Research Award from the Japanese Association for Study of Taste and Smell.  Our congratulations to Sachiko for this nice recognition of her research.   

Krista Dobo Receives the 2021Excellence in Science Award from the Genetic Toxicology Association

ETOX alumna Krista Dobo, the former Senior Director of the Genetic Toxicology Department at Pfizer in Groton, CT and currently a Research Fellow there, was recently recognized by the Genetic Toxicology Association (GTA) with its 2021 Excellence in Science Award. This award is given annually to a GTA member who has made valuable contributions to the field of genetic toxicology.  Our congratulations to Krista for this very nice recognition.  

Curras-Collazo's Study Recognized as One of the 10 Best Research Stories of 2021 by the University of California

The polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) research of Professor Maggie Curras-Collazo and her current and former Neuroscience graduate students, Elena Kozlova and Matthew Valdez as well as former ETOX graduate student Gwendolyn Gonzalez and others, was recently featured on the University of California's website as being one of the 10 Best Research Stories of 2021.  As described in the UC website, the "research team led by UC Riverside scientists found that when female mice exposed to PBDEs pass on these chemicals to their developing offspring, the female offspring show traits similar to autism spectrum disorders. In addition to shedding light on a potential cause of autism, the study signals the importance of toxicology studies so that chemicals like PBDEs can be investigated before they are commercially released."  Additional information on their research can be found on the UC Riverside News Site.  Our congratulations to Maggie, Elena, Matt, Gwendolyn and their collaborators for this nice recognition of their work and for demonstrating the role of toxicology in identifying adverse effects of environmental chemicals.