Another Successful Annual Student Symposium

On Wednesday May 28, the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program held its annual Student Symposium which consisted of student oral and poster presentations, several meals, a career panel discussion with two alumni Drs. Zhenshan "Hill" Chen and Vanessa Cheng, and a host of awards.  The symposium was a great success with many excellent student presentations.  The award winners were: 

Fukuto Award   Benjamin Maki

Best Oral Presentation Awards: Xiaochen Liang & William Troxel

Honorable mention: John Hoang & Lillian Tran

Audience Choice Award: John Hoang, William Troxel

Best Poster Presentation Award: Anthony Rios

Honorable mention: Zhixin Fang

Best presentation in the weekly seminar series: Ting Zhao

ETOX Faculty Mentor of the Year: Prof. Adler Dillman

We would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Ying-Hsuan Lin, Dustin Domingo, John Hoang and other members of the organizing committee, the moderators (John Hoang, Ting Zhao, Jacob Perkins, Benjamin Maki), the career panel facilitator (William Troxel) and our alumni (Drs. Zhenshan Chen and Vanessa) and the faculty judges. Below are photos of the event, almost all taken by the Program Director Linlin Zhao.  

Beni Maki, the Fukuto Award Winner

The Career Panel with William Troxel (moderator), Zhenshan Chen and Vanessa Cheng (ETOX Alumni)

Prof. Dave Volz Publishes Article Advocating Restriction of Flame Retardants in Furniture

Dave Volz, professor in the Environmental Sciences Department and ETOX faculty member, recently published an opinion piece in the journal Environmental Sciences & Technology advocating that California permanently ban the use of flame retardants in furniture.  He describes the history and problems associated with flame retardant use in California, and foresees that there will be a resurgence in the use of flame retardants if California does not update its furniture flammability standard to ban their usage.  More information about his proposal and the use of flame retardants can be found in a recent UC Riverside News article.  Our congratulations to Dave for this recognition of his work, and for addressing this important issue. [The photo above is from the UC Riverside News article.]

Ting Zhao Selected to Attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany

Ting Zhao, a 4th year ETOX graduate student working in Prof. Yinsheng Wang's lab has been selected to attend the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany, where she and Ashley Pimental, another UCR graduate student, will join young scientists from around the world in a week of dialogue with Nobel Prize winners.  Ting's work focuses on understanding how human cells respond to DNA and RNA damage caused by environmental agents. More information about Ting, Ashley and the conference can be found in a recent Inside UCR article.  Our congratulations to Ting and Ashley for these recognitions and the opportunity to learn directly from Nobel Laureates.  [The photo above is from the Inside UCR article]. 

Prof. Adler Dillman Featured on the YouTube Series Ask a CNAS Professor

Adler Dillman, Professor in the Department of Nematology and an ETOX faculty member, and his research have been featured in the YouTube series Ask a CNAS Professor.  In the short video, Adler briefly describes his research in nematology including his recent studies on a parasite in the Colorado that infects dogs.  Our congratulations to Adler for this recognition of his research.    

Ester Omaiye Appointed Chair of the SOT's Postdoctoral Association Executive Board

Dr. Ester Omaiye, an ETOX alumna and currently a postdoctoral fellow working with Prof. Prue Talbot, has recently been appointed as Chair of the Postdoctoral Association Executive Board of the Society of Toxicology.  Our thanks to Ester for this service to our profession and our congratulations to her for this nice recognition.  

Concern about Exposure to Menthol in eCigarettes during Pregnancy

Recent studies by Prue Talbot, a Professor of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology and ETOX faculty member, and Shabnam Etemadi, a bioengineering graduate student, have shown that concentrations of menthol, similar to those from exposure to cigarettes, adversely affect human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).  The effects occurred through activation of stress-related channels in the cells which, as described in a recent UCR News article, "led to inhibition of cell growth, increased cell death, and abnormal cell movement in the hESCs,” said Shabnam Etemadi, the first author of the research paper.  Our congratulations to Shabnam and Prue for this interesting and important work.  [The photo of Shabnam and Prue shown above is from the UCR News article.]

Adler Dillman to Speak in the CNAS Science Lecture Series

Adler Dillman, a Professor in the Nematology Department and ETOX faculty member, will be speaking in this year's College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Science Lecture Series.  His presentation is entitled, "Parasitic Nematodes: Masters of Disguise" and will be presented on Saturday, May 3 at 2 pm.  To find out more and to reserve a seat, go to the CNAS website.  Our congratulations to Adler for this recognition of his work.