An electronic newsletter from the Marine Biological Laboratory
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Message from the Director:
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Spring 2008 at the MBL is off to a spectacular start. We’ve just completed a brisk conference season, welcoming top-notch international gatherings such as the Sea Urchin and Immunoparasitology meetings back to Woods Hole. While conferences have now given way to the first of this year’s courses, there are a record 26 conferences scheduled for the fall season to date and we look forward to continuing to host many of world’s scientific leaders at these meetings come September.
I’m pleased to announce that this spring the
MBL hired Dr. Joshua Hamilton to be the laboratory’s new Chief Academic and Scientific Officer. Josh comes to us from Dartmouth College where he is the director or associate director of several programs including the Center for Environmental Health Sciences and the Toxic Metals Research Program. Josh will be responsible for leadership, planning, oversight, and administration of all MBL academic programs and will develop and oversee policies relating to scientific research and commercial relations with private enterprise, including intellectual property and technology transfer. Josh and his wife, Melissa (Missy) and two children, Ross and Kelsey, will arrive at the MBL early next month.
In other exciting news, a number of MBL scientists and faculty have recently been recognized by prestigious scientific organizations for their contributions to science. Ecosystems Center scientists John Hobbie and Bruce Peterson received achievement awards from the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography, the leading professional organization for researchers and educators in the field of aquatic science. And just a few weeks ago, we received the exciting news that John was named a 2008 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Also among this year’s Academy fellows are four MBL alumni and ten MBL course faculty, including Tim Mitchison, co-director of the Physiology course, and Mike Dickinson, present instructor and former co-director of the Neural Systems & Behavior course.
We also offer our congratulations to Molecular Biology of Aging course co-director Gary Ruvkun who, in the same week last month, received a 2008 Gairdner International Award, which recognizes the world’s leading medical research scientists, and was elected to The National Academy of Sciences.
The recognition of the remarkable achievements of John, Bruce, Tim, Mike, Gary, and other MBL faculty and alumni by these distinguished organizations reinforces the MBL’s reputation as a leader in the biological sciences and is a true testament to our discovery-based research and education programs. You can read more about the accomplishments of your MBL colleagues in the
“Announcements & Accolades” section of this newsletter.
I hope you will enjoy catching up on all of the latest MBL news in this issue of
LabNotes—be sure to also review our events section and mark your calendars for our 2008 Friday Evening Lectures, MBL Gala, and other special events. And for those of you who will be in Woods Hole this summer, I look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks.
With all best wishes,
Gary Borisy, Director and CEO
