Staff News
WELCOME TO BBE!
George Hernandez
George Hernandez comes to us most recently from Telecare Corporation where he was Regional Senior Financial Analyst. Previously, George worked in various financial positions at Kaiser Permanente, Keck School of Medicine of USC and St John’s Cancer Institute. George will be working closely with Joan Sullivan and David Warren, tracking division accounts, creating financial reports and helping analyze ways we might apply our fiscal resources more efficiently.
George enjoys spending time with his partner, his two Dobermans and three cats which are rescues. His hobbies include watching mystery films and hosting family game nights.
George is located in Kerckhoff 105B, his extension is x3277 and his email is ghernan2@caltech.edu.
Congratulations Corey!
Corey Tran is now a full time Material Handler Associate. He is also training to become our Audio Visual expert! You can reach him at ext. 2163 or via bbereceiving@caltech.edu.
BBE Job Posting
Assistant Grants Manager - The Division of Biology and Biological Engineering is seeking a full-time Assistant Grants Manager (AGM) who will provide support to our Grant Managers. This is a terrific opportunity for an administrative professional who is well-organized, detail-oriented and interested in learning all about pre- and post-award grants management. The successful candidate will report to the Division Operations Officer or their designee and will assist with administrative, financial, and research administration duties for faculty, postdocs, students, and research staff, as directed by senior grant managers. More information can be found here.
Dr. Wen Chen to Speak About Human Rights of Women and Girls in China
Dr. Wen Chen from Caltech Women in BBE will give an overview of the current human rights situation of women and girls in China. Dr. Chen, a long-term activist for Amnesty International, prepared this presentation for Washburn University Women's and Gender Study as a guest speaker. More details about this presentation can be found in this article published by Washburn Review.
Monday, May 22, 2023 - 1:30pm to 2:30pm - Hameetman Center 210
Our option managers Liz Ayala (Biology), Lauren Breeyear (NB/CNS), and Kenya Zeigler (BE) put together amazing visits for BBE graduate recruits that included meet and greets, poster sessions, lab tours, faculty interviews, hosted meals, food trucks, and even a trip to Huntington Gardens! New Grad students will be introduced in the next Newsletter, Summer edition.
The CEMI Spring Microbiology Science Symposium and Celebration was a Great Success!
The annual CEMI (Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions) science symposium and poster session took place on April 7th. It began with a poster session in the Chen Breezeway followed by an afternoon symposium with an amazing lineup up speakers in Chen 100. The celebration was finished with a lovely reception and dinner at the Huntington Chinese Garden.
The exciting lineup of speakers this year included:
Lisa Racki, Scripps Research Institute Department of Integrative structural and computational biology
Julia Schwartzman, Assistant professor, USC Department of Biological Sciences
Bil Clemons, Professor of biochemistry, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Caltech
Christa Schleper (Keynote), Professor, University of Vienna, Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division
Please join us for an incredible opportunity to hear about the latest and most exciting work being carried out in biodata, biopharma, biotech, life sciences, medical devices and synthetic biology across Caltech. We expect this highly visible event to be attended by undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, alums, and Caltech professors, as well as the Caltech community.
The event will kick off with keynote speaker, Dr. Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, followed by a poster session.
Keynote, Dr. Noubar Afeyan is founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, a company that creates bioplatform companies to transform human health and sustainability. An entrepreneur and biochemical engineer, Dr. Afeyan holds more than 100 patents and has co-founded more than 70 life science and technology startups during his 35-year career. He is co-founder and chairman of the board of Moderna, the pioneering messenger RNA company addressing the global COVID-19 pandemic through life-saving vaccines, and chairs the boards of several private and public companies.
For your Information...
BBE Library News
Thesis Season!
Thesis season and the library has a variety of resources to help you: The Caltech Theses LibGuide, You & Your Thesis workshop on May 9th, and multiple ways to connect with our subject Librarians. The official deadline for defending theses is May 26, and all theses need to be deposited in CaltechTHESIS by June 3. Students should carefully read through the Thesis LibGuide as it provides information that can help avoid unnecessary errors that can slow down final approval of their thesis.
Libby App
The Caltech Library offers access to Libby, the library reading app from Overdrive that lets users borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free. To access Libby, go to your app store of choice, download and open the app, and then choose "I have a library card," search for Caltech in the list, and log in using your Access credentials. If you save an item to your wishlist, you'll be notified when it's added to the Library catalog. Recent updates make Libby more accessible for all readers, including users with a diverse range of visual, motor, and cognitive needs.
NIH Data Management & Sharing Policy now in Effect
The new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy went into effect on January 25th. It requires the submission of a 2-page data management and sharing plan (DMSP) for all grants that generate scientific data and that researchers maximize the sharing of scientific data. The Library has several helpful resources available to support you, including: a webpage, a handout of guidance on writing a DMSP, an example DMSP, and DMSP/DMP standard language. We are happy to answer any questions you have on the new policy; please email data@caltech.edu.
Kristin Briney specializes in helping scientists navigate information resources and in managing research data. You may contact her a briney@caltech.edu.
BBE's New EOD Representative - Annie Reed
Annie Reed arrived at Caltech January 9, 2023, as an Employee & Organizational Development Consultant whose portfolio includes BBE. Annie has an extensive background in employee and labor relations, specifically in higher education. Her experience includes consulting with faculty and administration on confidential employee relation matters such as investigations, performance management, progressive interventions, creating and presenting professional development workshops, and employee discipline. She’s also trained in safety and threat assessment and prevention for faculty, staff, and student populations. In addition to her primary role at the Institute, Annie is an Associate Adjunct Professor of Law in the Los Angeles Community College District, teaching Constitutional and Civil Rights Law during spring and fall semesters.
Annie holds a M.A. in Psychology and a Juris Doctor. Annie works on campus Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm, and is more than happy to consult with BBE for any employee relations matter in person or through zoom/teams. Her direct dial is (626) 395-6366 and email is annier@caltech.edu.
Presidential Distinguished Speaker Series
Presidential Distinguished Speaker Series kicked off on April 10th with an address by Caltech Distinguished Alumnus Leroy (Lee) Hood (BS’60 biology; PhD’68 biochemistry). The lectures are being held on weekdays at 5 p.m.
Lee is emblematic of the profile sought for the series: an individual whose discoveries have transformed an intellectual realm, with implications across the disciplines, and, in his case, led to technologies that have improved the human condition.
Caltech's Advancement & Alumni Relations Introduce "Initiative for Students Campaign"
The Initiative for Caltech Students is your chance to ensure the student experience remains as strong and innovative as our academics. Learn more about our giving priorities, how to give, and how your investment will enhance the student experience and the success of the institution.
Campus Tree Lost in High Winds
Unfortunately Caltech lost a tree near Hameetman during the storms and high winds in March.
"We are planning on planting another tree in the Hameetman location after we treat and prepare the site. The specific species of tree is being evaluated to fit best with the surrounding landscaping and area uses. We need to be thoughtful about this process, as this is a high use area. Once all the details are worked out, we will notify the campus community." – Delmy Emerson, Building and Grounds Director, Facilities Operations.
Marianne Bronner and Lulu Qian Receive Caltech's Highest Honors for Teaching and Mentorship
The 2023 Shirley M. Malcom Prize for Excellence in Mentoring has been awarded to Marianne Bronner, the Edward B. Lewis Professor of Biology and director of Caltech's Beckman Institute.
The 2023 Shirley M. Malcom Prize for Excellence in Mentoring has been awarded to Marianne Bronner, the Edward B. Lewis Professor of Biology and director of Caltech's Beckman Institute.
The prize honors senior trustee Shirley Malcom's long-standing commitment, via her personal mentorship, national leadership, and international advocacy, to make STEM education and access equitable for all. The prize honors annually a professor who, through mentoring, supports the achievement and well-being of students. Full article.
The 2022–23 Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Caltech's highest teaching prize, has been awarded to Lulu Qian, professor of Bioengineering.
The Feynman Prize was established in 1993 to annually honor a professor who demonstrates, in the broadest sense, unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in undergraduate and graduate classroom or laboratory teaching. It has been endowed through the generosity of Ione and Robert E. Paradise and an anonymous local couple. Full article.
New Publication
Caltech researchers have developed a new at-home test for COVID-19 that is more than twice as sensitive as current state-of-the-art antigen tests. While the test was developed for COVID-19, the technology can be used as a platform for designing tests to detect other pathogens as well. Read Full Article Featured in ACS Infectious Diseases.
Faculty Archives
George Beadle (1903-1989) Professor and Division Chair of Biology
A Launcher of the Molecular Age
Known to close friends by his childhood nickname “Beets,” George Wells Beadle (1903-1989) developed pioneering experiments in the field of Neurospora genetics, heralding a shift from the prewar “classical age” of genetics to the modern study of what Beadle called biochemical genetics. To more recent admirers, capable of surveying his impact in a modern context, Beadle and his collaborators ushered in something more expansive; namely, the age of molecular genetics and the study DNA structure and its influence on the entire organism.
Born in Wahoo, Nebraska to a farming family, Beadle’s mother died when he was four years old. He grew up on the farm where he honed his skills with tools, plants, and animals that would serve him well later in life. Beadle’s father, who saw little value in a secondary education for farming, intended for his son to join the family business, and that was Beadle’s likely path if not for a high school science teacher who encouraged him to pursue a university degree. At the University of Nebraska, Beadle majored in agronomy, and with the support Professor Franklin Keim, his study of wheat hybrids soon led him to more fundamental questions about the nature of genetics. Keim fostered Beadle’s acceptance to Cornell, where he joined Professor Rollins Emerson’s group which was studying the cytogenetics of maize. Over the course of his graduate study Beadle published over a dozen papers, all focused on maize, but which contributed more generally to the foundational advances in contemporary genetics of his day.
Supported by the National Research Council, Beadle arrived at Caltech as a postdoctoral fellow in 1931 to join the research group of Thomas Hunt Morgan. He became deeply engaged in Drosophila research, focusing on chromosomal rearrangements. In 1934, Beadle formed a key collaboration with the French geneticist Boris Ephrussi, and a year later in Paris, their transplantation experiments on Drosophila larva tissues to understand gene expression and cell differentiation of eye pigmentation established the theory that chemical reactions in the cell were controlled by genes. After a brief appointment at Harvard, Beadle joined the faculty at Stanford in 1937 to pursue even more fundamental inquiries into the nature of biochemical sequencing, and how genes influence this process. These questions formed the basis of the seminal work by Beadle and his Stanford colleague Edward Tatum, whose experiments in 1941 advanced the one gene-one enzyme hypothesis, made possible by their strategic and daring decision to shift from Drosophila research to a completely different organism, the Neurospora bread mold. In switching to a microbial organism with relatively simple and reducible autonomous traits, Tatum and Beadle were able to induce mutations via X-ray radiation, adjust the nutrient medium in which the mold grew, and then observe which mutant strains developed and which did not. Their subsequent ability to infer biochemical reaction sequences in cells that make amino acids led to a profound conclusion, which was central to the founding of biochemical genetics: the function of one gene directs the formation of one enzyme. For this work Beadle and Tatum were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1958.
Following the death of T.H. Morgan in 1945, Caltech saw in George Beadle an obvious and eminent successor to lead the Division of Biology, and he soon switched his attention to administrative matters. Beadle oversaw the recruitment of numerous world-class biologists to Caltech, he ensured that the Division was at the vanguard in modernizing molecular and cellular biology, and he secured significant resources to build new laboratory space and acquire state of the art instrumentation. These accomplishments attracted the University of Chicago, which was looking for a president to lead the school into a new era of revitalization. During his tenure, Beadle capitalized on the federal government’s heightened support of basic science, he oversaw significant expansions in Chicago’s budget, faculty, and campus building, all the while leading during the extreme social and political turbulence of the 1960s. Famously, Beadle grew corn in his backyard and on other nearby plots, and more than once he was taken for a campus gardener. This pursuit was more than a hobby; facing mandatory retirement in 1968, Beadle settled in nearby Hyde Park, and returned to a research question he first encountered in graduate school: maize only grows by human cultivation and will not survive in the wild. So, what are its origins? In one of his last public lectures delivered at Caltech in 1978 to commemorate the founding of the Division of Biology fifty years earlier, Beadle summoned a wide array of disciplines—scientific and not—to conclude that, however maize arose, the American Indians who created it must be credited with “the most remarkable single plant-breeding achievement of all time.”
Nearing the end of his life, George Beadle could reflect on scientific achievements that modernized genetics specifically and molecular biology generally. And his leadership at Caltech connects the foundational years of classical Drosophila research to current advances throughout campus that rely on genetic discovery to drive translational applications.
Article written by David Zierler, Director, Caltech Science Heritage Project
BBE Announcements
Visiting Committee to Arrive on April 24th.
Caltech’s visiting committees assess each division’s research and teaching programs to affirm their strengths and to identify weaknesses and opportunities. Visiting committees occasionally are asked to appraise facilities and to provide recommendations for improvement or change as well. To provide focus for each meeting, the President issues a charge that seeks guidance, recommendations and opinions on specific questions and issues.
Each visiting committee convenes formally every five years in a meeting that spans three days. BBE’s last visiting committee was in 2016 and the current one is scheduled for 24-26 April 2023 accounting for a one-year delay due to COVID. The visiting committee consists of seven members from the Caltech Board of Trustees along with five academic members from external institutions. Following the meeting, the committee will issue a written report summarizing their findings and recommendations for the division.
Green Labs Update
To celebrate Earth Day (April 26th), Green Labs has three exciting new adventures this month!
First, Green Labs are installing Lomi tabletop composters in the kitchen areas of the Chen building. These are our first pilot program! These tabletop composters will hopefully encourage labs to reduce food waste and contribute to our community by adding our compost to the lovely gardens throughout campus. Instructions will be on the devices. Composting should be a simple addition to our lunchtimes!
Secondly, Green Labs is hosting Lightning Talks on April 28th, where we are inviting folks to give 3-minute talks from labs highlighting sustainable initiatives in their labs. We are providing food, drinks, and sustainable giveaways for attendees and giving RocketBooks (sustainable notebooks) to our presenters. If you would like to attend or present at this event, please use the link below!
Lastly, Green Labs is celebrating Green Labs Certified Labs! Green Labs Certification takes less than 30 minutes, but there are huge benefits. Your lab will even be awarded a brag-worthy plaque to post outside your lab. Your lab will also gain access to special deals and events, and you can include this certification to boost your grant applications. If your lab is certified by April 22nd (Earth Day), we will invite your entire lab to a special event to celebrate!
Do you want to get more involved in sustainability initiatives, attend Green Labs meetings, or learn more about Green Labs? If so, check our their website for more information.
Wellness and Lactation Rooms Available
Introducing four Wellness and Lactation rooms! These lockable rooms are open for all to use as a temporary quiet space, with priority given to nursing mothers. Currently you may book your time by using the calendar on the whiteboards within the room.
Chen 262 has a chair, fridge, sink, baby changing station and whiteboard.
Broad 114D has a couch, fridge, and whiteboard.
BBB B18 has a couch, fridge, sink, table and whiteboard.
Alles B292 has a private room with chair, table and whiteboard plus a bonus lounge with two couches and a kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, and toaster oven.
All rooms have a locking door from the inside that displays "Occupied" or "Unoccupied" from the outside.
Environmental Health and Safety Reminder
With Spring bringing nicer weather, be aware of heat illness by staying hydrated and recognizing signs of heat illness. Also remember to always wear the proper attire in the lab such as long pants and closed-toe shoes.
Please contact our EHS Rep, Dr. Leyma De Haro, Associate Biosafety Officer for any questions or concerns. Ext. 8794
COVID Testing and Requirements Update
As of March 17th the Institute closed its Caltech-sponsored surveillance testing program, and suspended the twice-weekly testing requirement for students and employees. Please read full update HERE
Because the Caltech community has maintained a low level of reported COVID-19 case activity, on Monday, April 17, 2023, Caltech relaxed campus masking rules in all instructional spaces; masking will be recommended, but no longer required. https://together.caltech.edu/dashboard
Note that these changes do not alter other health and safety requirements related to the use of masks in research settings as part of traditional laboratory protocols, or public health requirements for masking as part of an individual’s isolation period. https://wellness.caltech.edu/health/infectious-diseases
BBE Facilities Update
- Two new back-up -80 and -20 freezers are available in BBB B115 and Broad 196. Both are Division back-ups for temporary emergency needs only and are all connected to the E-Control Monitoring devices. We now have back-ups in Kerckhoff, BBB, Broad, and Chen. We will continue to look for ways to improve emergency freezer back-up opportunities as space becomes available in Braun labs and the BI building.
- As we go to press, two new Getinge autoclaves are being added to Broad 140 and 344. This will help serve the building/labs for the next 20 plus years.
- Cleaning carts have been added to Alles Courtyard (by door), and Chen Breezeway (by the kitchen). Please use these to clean up after using the tables.
- BBB - Renovation to basement rooms B128, B143, B145 and B149 will be starting in May, affecting adjacent spaces. Please be aware of PPService center notifications for more information as this project moves forward.
- Kerckhoff – Construction on the 2nd floor for new faculty Julia Tejada has begun and is expected to run through the end of the calendar year. This renovation will also include a new women’s and ADA restroom on the first floor of Kerckhoff across from the copier room. In addition, Kerckhoff will be receiving a new modernized elevator for building use. Construction will begin 8 May 2023 and is expected to run through mid-July.
Please contact Jesse Flores or bbereceiving@caltech.edu for more information.
Green Labs Lightning Talks - April 28th, 1:00-3:00pm, Chen 100
Caltech Bioscience Futures Day - May 9th, 12:00-3:00pm, Chen Breezeway and 100
CES Spring Symposium - May 12th, 2:00pm-6:30pm, Chen Breezeway and Chen 100
Seminar Day - May 13th, 7:30am-5:00pm, Beckman Auditorium/Online
Spring Term Ends - Graduate Students, June 2nd
Spring Term Ends - Undergraduate Students, June 9th
129th Commencement - June 16th, 10:00am, Beckman Mall
Stay Tuned
2nd Annual Town Hall Meeting - Save the Date for this in-person event: Weds 24 May 2023 from 3-5pm – More details soon
All upcoming events can be found on the BBE Calendar
This newsletter is intended to be a valuable resource for the Division of BBE. Please email your feedback and ideas to bbenewsletter@caltech.edu
Please email bbenewsletter@caltech.edu if you would like to be removed from this mailing list
Photo Credits: Caltech, Tasha Cammidge, Katie Fisher, Sara Torres
Credits:
Created with an image by BillionPhotos.com - "Blueprints construction and a yellow hardhat with a compass"