Toxicology Track

Weekly Newsletter of the MSU Center for Integrative Toxicology
Director: Norbert Kaminski/Editor: Lois Furry

February 18, 2008, Vol. 31, Number 7

Seminars this week / Seminars Upcoming / Recent Grants /
Trainee Enrichment and Professional Development / Conferences and Other Events / Positions

Seminars this week

Tuesday, February 19
The Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department presents Dr. Clegg Waldron, Dow Agrosciences, to speak on “Molecular Genetics of Spinosyn Biosynthesis: An Example of the Ups, Downs and Ups in Industrial Research” on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. in 1415 Biomedical Physical Sciences.

Wednesday, February 20
The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition presents Dr. James Trosko, MSU,to speak on “Cows and Dogs Cause Human Breast Cancers: How Biological and Cultural Evolution Impact on Diet, Stem Cells, and Chronic Diseases” on Wednesday, Febrary 20, 2008 at 4 p.m. in 1135 S. Anthony Hall.

Thursday, February 21
*The Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program presents Dr. Sean Mooney, Indiana University, to speak on “Understanding the Biochemical Effects Nonsinonymous SNPS and Mutations” on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. in 101 Biochemistry.

*The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering presents Dr. Dionysios Dionysiou, University of Cincinnati, to speak “Advanced Oxidation Technologies and Nanotechnologies for Water Treatment: Fundamentals, Development and Applications – Case Study in the Destruction of Cyannobacterial Toxins” on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. in 3540 Engineering Building. 

*The College of Social Science’s Risk, Values, and Decisions Initiative Speaker Series will take place on Thursday, February 21. The featured speaker: Baruch Fischhoff, Carnegie Mellon University, on "Integrating Risk Analysis and Communication". A MSU reaction panel will respond with members: James Detjen, James Potchen, and Pam Whitten. The program begins at 8 a.m. and adjourns at noon. If you plan to attend, please email to Carol Zimmermann  (zimme136@msu.edu), but if you forget to do so, please come anyway. An informal reception with Dr. Fischhoff on risk exchange will also be held from 5 to 7 p.m. in 106 Henry Center.

The Neuroscience Program presents Dr. Italo Biaggioni, Vanderbilt University, to speak on “Sympathetically-Mediated Hypertension in Obesity” on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. in 1425 Biomedical Physical Sciences.

Friday, February 22
*The Respiratory Research Initiative presents Dr. Elizabeth Gardner, Food Science and Human Nutrition, MSU, to speak on “Age Related Changes in Natural Killer Cells After Primary Influenza Infection in Mice” on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. in 162 Food Safety and Toxicology.

*Fulfills seminar requirements for the Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences Graduate Programs. Seminars that fulfill this requirement are archived at Seminar List.

Seminars Upcoming

*The Respiratory Research Initiative presents Dr. Mary Lee Hultin, Air Quality Division, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, to speak on “Translating Research Into Regulation” on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. in 162 Food Safety and Toxicology.

*The Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation presents Ebony Gilbreath, DVM, to speak on “A Case of Copper Toxicity” on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 12 noon in 101/115 Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, 4125 Beaumont Road.

*The Chemistry Department presents Dr. Jason Shearer, University of Nevada at Reno, to speak on “Biometric Model Compounds for Nickel Superoxide Dismutase: From Transition Metal Compleses to Metallopeptides” on Wednesday, March 12, 2008  at 11:20 a.m. in 136 Chemistry.

*Fulfills seminar requirements for the Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences Graduate Programs. Seminars that fulfill this requirement are archived at Seminar List.

Recent Grants

Alison Bauer received $106,129 for the second year of a project titled “The Role of Toll-Like Receptor 4 in 03-Induced Lung Inflammation and Injury” from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

John Kaneene received $51, 664 for the second year of a project titled “Michigan - Stride System to Report Integrated Disease Events: 2007” from the Michigan Department of Community Health.

James Pestka received $196,704 for the fourth year of a project titled “Dietary Lipids and Experimental IGA Nephropathy” from the National Institutes of Health.

Greg Swain received $135,094 for the third year of a project titled “Sympathetic Neural Control Mechanisms In Hypertension” from the National Institutes of Health.

James Tiedje, James Cole, and George Garrity received $350,283 for the fourth year of a project titled “The Ribosomal Database Project; Automation; Integration and Education” from the US Energy Department.

James Wagner and Jack Harkema received $280,362 for the fourth year of a project titled “Preclinical Evaluation of Cam Therapies for Asthma (Project 2)” from North Carolina University.

Trainee Enrichment and Professional Development

The Graduate School presents the following workshops and seminars open to all MSU graduate students. A calendar of these workshops is also available at http://www.grad.msu.edu/stuwork.htm.

"Securing Academic Positions - Planning, Preparation and Interviewing for Success" videoconference on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Room 145 Communication Arts and Sciences Building. Registration required by emailing gradwrsp@msu.edu.

“Objectivity & Conflicting Interests in Academic Research” on Thursday, February 28, 2008 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Room, Kellogg Center.  For more information and to register, go to http://grad.msu.edu/all/respconduct.htm.

"Navigating the Ph.D.: A Writing Workshop Series Part I; Demystifying the Dissertation, Personal Managment, Forming Committees, Working with Committees, and Comprehensive Exams" on Saturday, March 15, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 300 Bessey Hall. (Part I will also offered on March 22, 2008). Students are encouraged to also register for Part II (see April 12 workshop listed below). For more information, go to http://writing.msu.edu/ntp/.

“From CV to Resume: Developing Written Credentials for Nonacademic Positions” on Thursday, March 19, 2008 from 5 to 7 p.m. in 6 Student Services. For more information and to register, go to http://grad.msu.edu/current/jobseries.htm.

“Mastering the Interview” on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 from 5 to 7 p.m. in 6 Student Services. For more information and to register, go to http://grad.msu.edu/current/jobseries.htm#interview.

“Identify the Obstacles To Your Thesis/Dissertation” on Saturday, March 29, 2008. For more information and to register, go to http://www.grad.msu.edu/stuwork.htm.

“Translating Academic Success into Expanded Career Opportunities in Agencies, Industry, and Academia” on Saturday, April 5, 2008 in Big Ten B, Kellogg Center. For more information and to register, go to http://grad.msu.edu/professional.htm.

"Navigating the Ph.D.: A Writing Workshop Series Part II; Topics and Proposals, Writing Strategies, Revision Strategies, The Defense, and Beyond" on Saturday, April 12, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 300 Bessey Hall. (Part II will also offered on April 19, 2008). Students are encouraged to also register for Part I (see March 15, 2008 workshop listed above). For more information, go to http://writing.msu.edu/ntp/.

Conferences and Other Events

If you are making plans to attend the 2008 Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting in Seattle next month, please include the MSU Center for Integrative Toxicology's Alumni and Friends Reception in your itinerary.  The CIT reception will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 from 9 to 11 p.m. in the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Tower's Wallingford Room.  Dessert and coffee will be served.  A cash bar will be available. An invitation flyer is available at http://www.cit.msu.edu/News/SOT2008.pdf.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is looking for exceptional science and engineering graduate students for the NSF-sponsored project Debating Science. Graduate students in the humanities and social sciences working on science and technology issues are also encouraged to apply. The program explores the debates surrounding global climate change, nanotechnology and agricultural biotechnology. It consists of a 5-day workshop (August 4 - 8, 2008) at The University of Montana-Missoula and an online course. The National Science Foundation provides support for program participants to attend the workshop in Missoula and covers tuition for the online course. Please visit our Web site for details. Interested students can find more information and apply online at http://www.umt.edu/ethics/debating_science.

Professional Analytical and Consulting Services (PACS) will provide short courses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this May.  For a complete schedule and course offerings, check our website at www.pacslabs.com or call 724. 457. 6756. These courses are provided in New Orleans, LA in February and March; Las Vegas, NV in March; Houston, TX in April; Pittsburgh, PA in May; Baltimore, MD in June; Boston, MA in July. Topic areas include spectroscopy, chromatography, environmental safety, technical writing, and advanced carbon.

Positions

A postdoctoral position at the National Institutes of Health is available to study drug-induced liver disease during the summer of 2008). This position is for research training to study the role of cytokines and other factors in regulating susceptibility of patients to drug-induced liver diseases (DILD) that are mediated by toxic metabolites and cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems.  Genomic, proteomic, bioinformatic, and systems methods as well as transgenic animal models are used to discover risk factors and elucidate their molecular and cellular signaling pathways that either promote or control the incidence and severity of DILD.  Our long term goals are to translate our findings into new approaches for identifying patients who are susceptible to DILD and designing safer drugs and treatments for DILD. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or M.D. with less than five years of postdoctoral experience, and a strong background in liver pathology, toxicology, drug metabolism, immunology, and/or systems biology.  Send C.V. and list of three references to Lance R. Pohl, Pharm.D. Ph.D., Chief, Molecular and Cellular Toxicology Section, NHLBI/NIH; E-Mail: pohll@nih.gov. For more information please visit our website at: http://dir.nhlbi.nih.gov/labs/lmi/mct/.

Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) is seeking a molecular toxicologist to help build on our strong history in human health risk assessment and risk science methods in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is a growth position for someone recently completing a Ph.D. or postdoctoral program in toxicology or a related field.  Knowledge of risk assessment methods is a plus, but not required.  Experience in computational biology and/or PBPK modeling is also a plus.  The successful candidate will be actively involved in diverse tasks using knowledge of toxicology and molecular biology, including: preparing critical summaries of toxicity, epidemiology, toxicokinetics, and mechanistic studies for comprehensive  toxicological reviews; learning and applying human health risk assessment guidelines and methods for the development of toxicity values (e.g., RfDs,  RfCs) and cancer assessments; critically evaluating and applying mechanistic and mode of action data in evaluating the toxicity of chemicals and relevance of animal toxicity findings to humans; evaluating and incorporating biomarker data in risk assessment; and participating on project teams in the development of documents and research projects related to diverse areas of risk assessment science. TERA is an independent, non-profit corporation with a mission to support the protection of public health through the best use of toxicity and exposure information in the development of human health and ecological risk assessments.  TERA offers an exceptional work environment where career growth and development are strongly supported.  TERA also offers the atmosphere of a small organization, together with the opportunity to collaborate with leading scientists worldwide.  We hire the best people, maximize their talents, and help them achieve their career goals.  We are seeking scientists who are energetic, enjoy scientific challenges and technical details, are excellent writers, and are committed to helping shape the future of a dynamic organization to further our contribution to public health protection.  Visit our website at http://www.tera.org. Salary: negotiable. Electronic resumes may be submitted to: Poehlmann@tera.org.  Any questions may be directed to Maier@tera.org.