Toxicology Track

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

March 26, 2007, Vol. 30, Number 12

Seminars/Publications/Grants/Conference/Short Course/Positions/

Seminars

The Environmental Science and Policy Program presents Andrew J. Hoffman, University of Michigan, to speak on "Third Wave Enviornmentalism: A Social Science Perspective on How We got Here and Where We May be Going" on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 3:30 p.m. in 273 Giltner Hall.

*The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology presents Chou-Zen Giam, Uniformed Services, University of the Health Sciences, to speak on "Activation of the Anaphase Promoting Complex and I-kappaB Kinases by HTLV-1 Tax: Chromosome Instability Senescence and Adult T-cell Leukemia" on Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. in 101 Biochemistry.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering presents Alison Cupples, Assistant Professor, to speak on "Investigating the Microorganisms Responsible for the Biological Degredation of Environmental Contaminants" on Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 4:10 p.m. in 2320 Engineering Building.

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

Publications

Methylmercury-induced increase of intracellular Ca2+ increases spontaneous synaptic current frequency in rat cerebellar slices. Yuan Y, Atchison WD.  Mol Pharmacol. 2007 Apr;71(4):1109-21.
 
C57BL/6 and congenic interleukin-10-deficient mice can serve as models of Campylobacter jejuni colonization and enteritis. Mansfield LS, Bell JA, Wilson DL, Murphy AJ, Elsheikha HM, Rathinam VA, Fierro BR, Linz JE, Young VB. Infect Immun. 2007 Mar;75(3):1099-115.
 
Endoscopic scoring of the tracheal septum in horses and its clinical relevance for the evaluation of lower airway health in horses. Koch C, Straub R, Ramseyer A, Widmer A, Robinson NE, Gerber V. Equine Vet J. 2007 Mar;39(2):107-12.

Grants

William Atchison received $58,097 from the National Institutes of Health for "Murine Models of Presynaptic Neuromuscular Disease."
 
Norbert Kaminski received $43,687 and $204,381 from the National Institutes of Health for "Cb1/Cb2 Dependent and Independent T Cell Modulation."
 
David Long and John Giesy received $288,900 from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for "A Strategic Environmental Quality Monitoring Program for Michigans Surface Waters: The Inland Lakes Sediment."
 
L. Karl Olson received $5,000 from Complegen Inc. for "Effect of CDK5 Inhibitor on Glucose-Induced Insulin Release."
 
James Pestka received $43,345 from the National Institutes of Health for "Dietary Lipids and Experimental IGA Nephropathy."

Conference

The Society of Toxicology's 46th Annual Meeting takes place March 25-29, 2007 in Charlotte, North Carolina (http://www.toxicology.org/ai/meet/am2007/index.asp).  All MSU alumni, current students, faculty, or friends attending the meeting are invited to the Center for Integrative Toxicology Alumni and Friends Reception on Monday, March 26, 2007 from 9-11 p.m. in the Westin Charlotte Trade Room.  Dessert and coffee will be served.  Cash bar available.

Short Course

This year, the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at MSU will offer its third annual, NIGMS-sponsored Short Course in Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology.  The Course will be offered 5-17 August 2007.  The objective of the course is to offer students, especially (but not only) those who generally focus on cellular and subcellular physiology and pharmacology in their work, the opportunity to explore issues that are more integrative in nature. Students participating in the past have included graduate students,
postdoctoral trainees, university faculty and industry-based scientists at junior and senior levels.  More information can be obtained from Peter Cobbett [cobbett@msu.edu]  or from Candace Winslow (Candace.Winslow@hc.msu.edu).  Alternatively, information can be obtained at  http://phmtox.msu.edu/summercourse.php.

Positions

The Center for Integrative Toxicology (CIT) at Michigan State University invites applications for a tenure-track academic year faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level in chemical carcinogenesis or developmental toxicology. The CIT has over 40 affiliated faculty members and administers a Superfund Program Project grant and a Training grant, both awarded by the NIH, NIEHS. We are seeking candidates with expertise in either chemical carcinogenesis or developmental toxicology to strengthen our growing interest in these areas. Candidates should have a Ph.D. degree in Toxicology or a related discipline, postdoctoral research experience and demonstrated success in obtaining extramural funding. This position involves a joint appointment in the CIT and in a biomedical science department (e.g., Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Physiology) consistent with his/her expertise and interests. In addition to contributing to the CIT, the candidate will have the opportunity to participate in one or more other interdisciplinary research and training programs including the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, the Center for Biological Modeling, Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers and the Genetics and Neuroscience Programs. He/she will be expected to establish and maintain an independent and extramurally-funded research program and to contribute to the teaching and service missions of the department and the CIT. Interested individuals should send their curriculum vitae, statement of research interests and future research plans, and 3 letters of recommendation to: Chair, Faculty Search Committee, Center for Integrative Toxicology, 165C Food Safety and Toxicology Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824. Electronic submissions may be sent to: swagart@msu.edu. Review of applications will begin March 2007 and will continue until the position is filled.

SCS Engineers in Sacramento, CA has an immediate opening for a risk assessment scientist with 2 to 5 years of consulting experience preparing health and ecological risk assessments for contaminated sites and/or landfill sites. The ideal candidate would have a B.S. or M.S. in an environmental science or environmental engineering discipline and be very proficient using Microsoft Excel. Strong writing skills are required. Coursework in chemistry is required. Position will include compiling chemistry analytical data, setting up risk assessment calculations in Excel, deriving estimates of health and ecological risk, and writing risk assessment reports. The position may also include assisting in assessing the air quality impacts of landfills. Opportunity for growth. Competitive salary and great benefits. EOE/M/F/V/H.  Please send letter of interest, resume, and salary history to pdamian@scsengineers.com or fax to (916) 361-1299. No calls please.
 
The Army Corps of Engineers in Northern New York has an opening until April 17, 2007 for a Supervisory Toxicologist.  The salary range is $75,414 to $98,041.  The successful candidate serves as Chief, Environmental Health Team, plans, directs, reviews and coordinates the work of subordinate engineers, scientists, and technicians; serves as the District's technical expert in the broad range of health physics and industrial hygiene issues and ensures correct parameters are identified for hazardous, toxic, and radiological waste investigations; provides chemical, biological, and physical test methods, test results, and interpretation for preparation of environmental documents; prepares, reviews, and approves generic and site specific work plans, chemical data acquisition plans, and health and safety plans for HTRW projects; responsible for human health and ecological risk assessments for HTRW projects; develops and implements consistent Quality Assurance procedures associated with HTRW activities; and responsible for establishment and maintenance of district Radiation Protection Program.  Job announcement # SWFT07851075D.  The Job Application Kit can also be found on the Internet at http://cpol.army.mil/library/employment/jobkit/index.html.
 
The University of Guelph has a Post-Doctoral Fellow (Multi-factorial Framework for Risk Prioritization) opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Guelph, University of Massachusetts, Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada to develop a Risk Prioritization Framework. The framework will focus on microbial risks in food systems and will include measures of public health impacts, consumer perception/acceptance of risks, effects on industry performance (domestic and export markets) and the vulnerability of particular groups. The post-doctoral fellow will develop alternative methods to combine multiple risk dimensions into a single ranking factor or risk representation for each of the four major areas as well as methods that represent the four areas collectively. These alternatives will be refined through discussion with risk managers and decision-makers in provincial and federal agencies. Current members of the research team have expertise in food engineering, risk assessment and economics. We are seeking a post-doctoral fellow with a background in quantitative risk assessment, applied mathematics, statistics, decision analysis and/or related areas. While the current posting is for a 2-year fellowship, the position includes the potential for longer-term career options. Interested candidates should apply by April 13th to Professor Valerie Davidson Professor Valerie Davidson, School of Engineering, University of Guelph, vdavidso@uoguelph.ca. 519 824-4120 ext. 54367 and Aamir Fazil, Public Health Agency of Canada aamir_fazil@phac-aspc.gc.ca; enclosing a CV and the names of 3 referees.