Dr. Keith Redenbaugh previously the Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs at Seminis Vegetable Seeds (Woodland, CA) now works as the Senior Regulatory Manager at Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.(Davis, CA). Dr. Redenbaugh also served as Chairman and Vice Chair of the Biotechnology Committee for the American Seed Trade Association from 2004-2010; and received the following honor: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) awarded the Specialty Crops Regulatory Initiative (SCRI) team with a special recognition and Certificate of Merit. Daniele Rosellini has published the following articles: Rosellini D (2011) Selectable marker genes from plants: reliability and potential. In Vitro Cell. Devel. Biol.-Plant (invited review) 47:222-233 DOI: 10.1007/s11627-011-9348-5  Outplanting Trifoliium stoloniferum on the EKU experimental site in Richmond, KY, in June, 2012. Valerie Pence and CREW staff and volunteer recently provided 150 plants of Trifolium stoloniferum (Running buffalo clover), which will be used for several outplantings. T. stoloniferum is a federally endangered species that apparently thrived in the habitat created by the buffalo that frequented the Ohio valley prior to settlement by Europeans. As buffalo herds no longer roam the area, the plant has become quite rare. Plants were produced at CREW using traditional propagation, in vitro germination, and micropropagation in order to compare the long-term survival of plants produced by these methods. Seventy-five plants were planted at an experimental site near Eastern Kentucky University that will be studied by faculty and staff of EKU to test management techniques for the plants. Other plants will be used by Toyota in Georgetown, KY, as part of an educational display, and the rest will be used for restoration on private lands. More plants are being propagated at CREW for plantings at other sites later in the year. Funding and coordination of the project comes from the Kentucky Fish & Wildlife Service and Kentucky Natural Heritage. Valerie Pence also co-authored a revision of a chapter on Collecting In Vitro for Genetic Resources Conservation, in Collecting plant genetic diversity: Technical guidelines. 2011 update, published online by CGIAR at: http://cropgenebank.sgrp.cgiar.org In April 2012, Dan Brown moved to the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine at St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. CCARM is a unique partnership between St Boniface Hospital, The University of Manitoba and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and is located within St. Boniface Hospital Research and at the I.H. Asper Research Institute. The Centre is dedicated to investigating and understanding the potential health-related benefits found in nutraceuticals, functional foods, and natural health products (health food). CCARM’s vision is to add value to agricultural commodities and finished products through innovative functional food and nutraceuticals research. The CCARM research program aims to translate positive results from basic laboratory science into new and safe dietary supplements and food products that will directly impact the health of the Canadian public. From laboratory to in human research, CCARM conducts clinical research studies (clinical trials) of functional and health food products and nutraceuticals identified by our laboratories as having potential beneficial effects on diseases that are of clinical and financial significance to Canadians. Diseases targeted thus far include, immune disorders, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular and vascular diseases. Dan will continue his research on North American Ginseng as well as expand the program to look at red berries such as cherry and raspberry. Dr. Olalekan Banwo has received the following awards and honors.
www.cies.org/vs_scholars/2011-2012/alpha-list.htm Fulbright Scholar List 2011-12
tekedia.com/28387/african–scientific–institute-asi-fellows-announced/ (New African Scientific Institute Fellows Announced)
www.africanviews.org/component/… Sean Michael Halloran started a new job in January 2012 at Conrad Fafard, Inc. as an Assistant Scientist. He noted to the Editors: News from the Mike Kane’s Lab Where are They Now? Dr. Carmen Valero Aracama (Ph.D., 2005) has been accepted into the AuD (audiology doctorate) program at Washington University in St. Louis. Daniela Dutra-Elliott (MSc., 2008) is completing her doctorate in plant conservation at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Scott Stewart (Ph.D., 2007 graduate) is currently the Dean of Careers & Technology at Morton College in IL. Scott worked for several years as the Director of Horticulture & Agriculture Programs at Kankakee Community College. Dr. Phil Kauth (Ph.D., 2009 graduate) has been working as a Research Associate with Carrie Adams. Recently he accepted a research position working with Dr. Patrick Biber at The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, MS. Dr. Tim Johnson (Ph.D., 2011 graduate) is employed as a Conservation Horticulturalist with Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. Jonathan Jasinksi (MSc. 2011) is now working on his doctorate degree in the area of grape biotechnology with Dr. Dennis Gray, Horticultural Science Department. Awards  In March 2012 Dr. Mike Kane was selected to become a member of the University of Florida Academy of Distinguished Teacher Scholars. Members are selected based on applications that provide strong evidence of the integration of superior teaching and research and a record of distinguished scholarly accomplishment that has garnered recognition at the national and/or international level. Mike was recognized at the annual University Faculty Awards Ceremony (photo with University of Florida President, Bernie Machen)) on April 4, 2012. Publishing Opportunity from Jameel Al-Khayri Call for Papers: Special Issue on Date Palm Biotechnology Update:
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Update from Brad Updam, the IVACS Chair The 2012-SIVB World Congress was a success at many levels. The overall theme of the IVACS/joint plenary sessions was “Translational Biology in the 21st Century, the Essential Need of In Vitro Systems”. Attendances at the sessions were excellent and each session generated many enthusiastic questions and discussions. This meeting clearly afforded our participants from around the world opportunities to learn from a myriad of experts about the latest scientific achievements in the development and use of advanced in vitro cell systems in human health. Participants were able to meet with other scientists including leaders in their respective disciplines as well as networking with friends and colleagues from around the world in a very friendly setting. The contributed oral and poster presentations were also excellent, and I was particularly impressed with the scientific quality and delivery of the presentations by our student participants. The students also organized a roundtable discussion on” how to fund your research” with a panel of experienced scientists. This was a well attended session with excellent questions and discussions that generated much enthusiasm. These students are the future of our professional society, and I firmly believe that SIVB should and will contribute to the responsibility of training our future scientists in a discipline that will play a pivotal role in unraveling the mysteries of how biological organisms function and the application of this knowledge to improve human health and the environment we live in. The meeting was also a time for our society to recognize the significant contributions of selected scientists to the field of in vitro biology, as well as recognizing the outstanding service that many of our members contribute to our organization. We also had several well attended socials and excursions that provided a time to relax and have fun.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Names Lab Facility after Gordon H. Sato On June 8, 2012 in a dedication ceremony for the newly built Alfred D. Hershey Building the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) named the flow cytometry facility for Gordon H. Sato. The speakers at the ceremony included Dr. Bruce Stillman, CSHL President, Dr. James Watson, CSHL Chancellor Emeritus, and Dr. Jack Dixon, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Sato taught a highly regarded summer tissue culture course at CSHL from 1963 through the late 1970s, and he organized several meetings at CSHL on the use of tissue culture to elucidate the roles of hormones and growth factors in cell physiology. Dr. Sato was president of the Tissue Culture Association from 1984-1986, editor-in-chief of In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology from 1987-1991, and recipient of the SIVB Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1984. Dr. James Troska will be attending several international meetings where he will give lectures ( Merida, Mexico; Sao Paolo, Brazil; Bangkok, Thailand; Sendai, Japan, and Palermo, Sicily) related to various aspects of his in vitro studies on cell-cell communication and stem cells. The following abstract title is related to an in vitro assay to detect both tumor promoters and chemopreventive agents: Babica, P., Sovadinova, I., Lenčešová, Z., Trosko, J., Upham, B. (2012): In vitro assessment of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) as a tool for identification and characterization of chemopreventive activity of phytochemicals. In: Natural Anticancer Drugs 2012 International Congress, Biomedical Papers 156(Supplement 1):S34-S35, Olomouc, CZ, Jun 30-Jul 4, 2012 (platform presentation). Dr. Troska’s laboratory has also published the following papers: 1) Leone, A., Longo, C., Troska J.E. The Chemopreventative role of dietary phytochemicals through gap junctional intercellular communication. Phytochem. Rev., DOI 10.1007/s11101-012-9235-7, 2012; 2) Troska J.E. Pre-Natal Epigenetic Influences on Acute and Chronic Diseases Later in Life, such as Cancer: Global Health Crises Resulting from a Collision of Biological and Cultural Evolution. J. Food Sci. Nutr., 16:394-407, 2011; 3) Jung, J-W., Park S-B., Lee, S-J., Seo, M-S., Trosko, J.E., Kang, K-S. Metformin Represses Self-Renewal of the Human Carcinoma Stem Cells via Inhibition of Estrogen Receptor-Mediated OCT4 Expression. PloS One, 6:11, 2011. |
The following Biotechnology training courses are being offered at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. These Workshops are sponsored by the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences. For more information on these workshops please visit www.biotrac.com.
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