Toxicology Track

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

December 4 , 2006, Vol. 29, Number 46

Seminars / Publications / Grants / Course Announcement / Positions

Seminars

The Chemistry Department presents Chuan He, University of Chicago, to speak on "Silver Oxidation Chemistry and Bacterial Regulation of Metal Ions, Virulence, and Antibiotic Resistance" on Monday, December 4, 2006 at 11:30 a.m. in 136 Chemistry.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering presents Erdogan Gulari, University of Michigan, to speak on "Development of Low Cost Tools for Genetic Monitoring of Pathogens and Medical Diagnostics" on Tuesday, December 5, 2006 at 12 noon in C103 Research Complex Engineering.

The Pharmacology and Toxicology Department presents Wei Ni, MSU, to speak on "The Presence of a Local Serotonergic System in Peripheral Arteries" on Tuesday, December 5, 2006 at 12 noon in B448-49 Life Sciences. 

The Pharmacology and Toxicology Department presents Jessica Diaz, graduate student, to speak on "Chronic 5-HT: An Unexpected Depressor in Mineral Ocorticoid Hypertension" on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at 12 noon in B448-49 Life Sciences. 

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

Publications

IL-1R antagonist gene and prenatal smoke exposure are associated with childhood asthma. Ramadas RA, Sadeghnejad A, Karmaus W, Arshad SH, Matthews S, Huebner M, Kim DY, Ewart SL. Eur Respir J. 2006 Nov 15; [Epub ahead of print].
 
IL-1 Receptor antagonist as a positional candidate gene in a murine model of allergic asthma. Ramadas RA, Li X, Shubitowski DM, Samineni S, Wills-Karp M, Ewart SL. Immunogenetics. 2006 Oct;58(10):851-5. Epub 2006 Oct 5.
 
Role of the Kupffer Cell in Mediating Hepatic Toxicity and Carcinogenesis. Roberts RA, Ganey PE, Ju C, Kamendulis LM, Rusyn I, Klaunig JE. Toxicol Sci. 2006 Nov 22; [Epub ahead of print].
 
Influence of Dangling End and Surface Proximal Tail of Targets on Probe-Target Duplex Formation in 16S rRNA Gene-Based Diagnostic Arrays.  Stedtfeld RD, Wick L, Baushke SW, Tourlousse D, Herzog A, Xia Y, Rouillard JM, Klappenbach J, Cole JR, Gulari E, Tiedje JM, Hashsham SA. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Nov 17; [Epub ahead of print].
 
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. 2006 Nov 27; [Epub ahead of print].
 
MFI Zeolite with Small and Uniform Intracrystal Mesopores. Wang H, Pinnavaia TJ. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2006 Nov 20;45(45):7603-7606.
 
Intravenous and intratracheal administration of trimetoquinol, a fast-acting short-lived bronchodilator in horses with 'heaves'. Camargo FC, Robinson NE, Berney C, Eberhart S, Baker S, DeTolve P, Derksen FJ, Harkins JD, Lehner AF, Tobin T. Equine Vet J. 2006 Nov;38(6):563-9.
 
The Upper Midwest Health Study: a case-control study of primary intracranial gliomas in farm and rural residents. Ruder AM, Waters MA, Carreon T, Butler MA, Davis-King KE, Calvert GM, Schulte PA, Ward EM, Connally LB, Lu J, Wall D, Zivkovich Z, Heineman EF, Mandel JS, Morton RF, Reding DJ, Rosenman KD; The Brain Cancer Collaborative Study Group. J Agric Saf Health. 2006 Nov;12(4):255-74.
 
The bacterial species definition in the genomic era. Konstantinidis KT, Ramette A, Tiedje JM. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006 Nov 29;361(1475):1929-40.
 
Proteomic analysis of Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5 during growth at subzero temperatures. Bakermans C, Tollaksen SL, Giometti CS, Wilkerson C, Tiedje JM, Thomashow MF. Extremophiles. 2006 Nov 23; [Epub ahead of print].
 
Respiratory Nitrate Ammonification by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Cruz-Garcia C, Murry AE, Klappenbach JA, Stewart V, Tiedje JM. J Bacteriol. 2006 Nov 10; [Epub ahead of print].
 
Biogeography: An Emerging Cornerstone for Understanding Prokaryotic Diversity, Ecology, and Evolution. Ramette A, Tiedje JM. Microb Ecol. 2006 Nov 8; [Epub ahead of print].

Grants

James Peska received $202,784 from the National Institutes of Health for "Dietary Lipids and Experimental IGA Nephropathy."

James Tiedje, James Cole, and George Garrity received $345,751 from the US Department of Energy for "The Ribosomal Database Project: Automation, Integration, and Education."

Course Announcement

Topics in Toxicology: New Course, Spring 2007, VM 820, Section 02; Molecular Journeys to Cell Death; Tuesdays and Fridays, 8-9 a.m., in 162 Food Safety and Toxicology Building.  This is a 1-credit, seminar course that will meet two hours per week for the first half of the semester. The focus will be recent developments in understanding the molecular signaling that leads to cell death. Potential topics include ADP ribosylation, endoplasmic reticulum stress responses, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation and others. Students will be expected to present original research articles and/or reviews on assigned topics. This course will apply toward the Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences Program requirements. Prerequisite: One course in  biochemistry/molecular biology. Moderators: Drs. Patti Ganey, Bob Roth, and Vilma Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan.  Contact Dr. Ganey (ganey@msu.edu) or Dr. Roth (rothr@msu.edu).

Positions

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a Post-Doctoral Fellow to conduct modeling of food and water safety problems in the context of developing countries. The successful candidate should be able to develop and analyze probabilistic models addressing human health and ecological risk associated with policy options. Topics will range from modeling the likelihood of entry and spread of plant and animal diseases to modeling the probability of microbial and environmental contaminants on food products produced by smallholders in developing countries. This is two-year, fixed term, renewable appointment based at IFPRI headquarters located in Washington, D.C. but will involve travel to countries in which IFPRI carries out its research. The Post doc Fellow will help to develop a cross-divisional research program to search for policy options to improve food and water safety in developing countries and will conduct research and provide risk modeling support. Fuller description available at www.ifpri.org/careers Required Qualifications: Ph.D. a field relevant to modeling some of the risks described above, or be working towards the completion of such a degree, which must be awarded by 31 May 2007; strong evidence of research potential; excellent written and spoken English; strong team-building skills; and ability to work across disciplines. Preferred: experience working in developing countries; fluency in a second language, such as Spanish or French. IFPRI offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits. IFPRI is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. We encourage women and developing country professionals to apply. TO APPLY: Log on to www.ifpri.org . Click on “Careers” and “IFPRI’s Most Recent Positions” to link you to Position # 06-158 – Post Doctoral Fellow, Food & Water Safety Theme. Please complete on-line application including a complete curriculum vitae and a detailed letter of interest. Also complete section providing 3 references.