Summer Student Internships in Clinical Labs at Mayo Clinic

The Mayo Clinic has contacted the Chemistry Department about opportunities for summer student internships in the clinical lab setting in 2013. Students will be able to start applying electronically on January 1, 2013. Students can find out more about job duties, salary, lab descriptions etc. at http://www.mayoclinic.org/intern-labmed-rst/details.html.  Apply to the Summer Lab Science Program (which is different than Summer Employment).  

Students must have ALL required documents (i.e. unofficial transcripts, resume, letters of recommendation, etc.) attached at the time of application. If something is missing, the application should be saved as a draft. If the application is submitted and not complete, it will automatically be rejected.

This is a very competitive, 10 week program that starts the first week in June and goes to the end of August. The application deadline is February 28, 2013.

MN Green Chemistry Conference - Jan 25, 2013

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Minnesota Green Chemistry 2013: Beakers to Business Plans 

Friday, January 25, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
University of Minnesota Carlson School
Click here for more information and to register
This day-long conference will include keynotes, panels and breakout sessions. Morning sessions will focus on research, technology, work force and labor issues, and academic partnerships. The focus of the afternoon will be business success stories, and the “nuts and bolts” of implementing green chemistry for either start-ups or established companies.
Dr. Paul Anastas of Yale University, one of the “fathers of green chemistry,” and Jim Hobbs, Vice President of Business Development at BioAmber, will present the keynotes. A detailed agenda can be viewed online. 

The Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum is convened by:

Summer Research Opportunity at Sanford Research/Augustana College

http://www.sanfordresearch.org/education/undergraduates/

Summer Research Opportunity at Purdue

engineering.purdue.edu/EEE/REU

Invitation to Biology Seminar

Protecting Your Proteome: the Upside of Folding Under Stress

Monday December 3rd, RNS 410, 4:00

Kevin Strange
Zoology and Physiology
Mountain Desert Island
Biological Lab

Maintenance of the conformation, concentration, interactions, localization, and hence function of cytoplasmic proteins is termed protein homeostasis or “proteostasis”. Proteostasis is maintained by the tightly integrated and balanced activities of gene transcription, RNA metabolism and protein synthesis, folding, assembly, trafficking, disassembly and degradation.  Because protein structure is inherently unstable and can be readily disrupted by gene mutations and cellular stresses, cells “live on the edge of a proteostasis catastrophe”.  My laboratory uses the nematode worm C. elegans to understand how cells cope with environmental stress. This seminar will describe how one cellular stress, dehydration, damages proteins and how cells recover and protect themselves from this
damage.

2013 NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP)

2013 NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP)
June 9 - August 2, 2013

The NASA Airborne Science Program invites highly motivated junior and senior undergraduates to apply for participation in the NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP 2013).  SARP provides students with hands-on research experience in all aspects of a major scientific campaign, from detailed planning on how to achieve mission objectives to formal presentation of results and conclusions to peers and others. 

Participants will fly onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft where they will assist in the operation of instruments to sample and measure atmospheric gases and to image land and water surfaces in multiple spectral bands.  Along with airborne data collection, students will participate in taking measurements at field sites.  Students will work in multi-disciplinary teams to study surface, atmospheric, and oceanographic processes.  Each student will develop his/her own individual research project.  Many students have gone on to present their results at conferences such as AGU, AMS, and ASLO.

Instrument and flight preparations, and the research flights themselves, will take place at NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, in Palmdale, CA.  Post-flight data analysis and interpretation will take place at the University of California, Irvine.  Applicants must have a strong academic background in any of the physical, chemical, or biological sciences, or engineering and an interest in applying their background to the study of the Earth system.  We especially encourage applications from students majoring in Earth, environmental or atmospheric sciences and related disciplines.

SARP participants will receive round-trip travel to California, housing and transportation during the 8-week program, a $3000 stipend and a $2500 meals allowance.

The deadline for all applications is Feb. 8, 2013.

Applicants must be US citizens currently enrolled in a four-year college or university. 

For more information and to download the program application, visit: http://www.nserc.und.edu/learning/SARP2013.html. 
To watch a video about the program, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2-jqE43PG0

Specific questions about the program should be directed to SARP2013@nserc.und.edu

Webinar Opportunity

Join us for an on-line seminar, yes it will count towards the seminar credit requirement - but you must be there in person.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

RNS 310

Time: 1:00-2:00 pm

Rational Design of Safer Chemicals 

Green Chemistry involves more than reduce, reuse & recycle, it can mean using better designed products that are less toxic and more sustainable.  Join Dr. Julie Zimmerman as she explains how rational design can create the next generation of molecules.

What You Will Learn

• The role of Green Chemistry in innovation
• Molecular design guidelines for reduced acute and chronic toxicity
• Correlation of physiochemical properties to toxicity endpoints
• Use of mechanistic toxicology to advance the design of safer chemicals
• And much more!

 Meet Your Experts

Dr. Julie Beth Zimmerman is an Associate Professor of Green Engineering jointly appointed in the School of Engineering and Applied Science (Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering) and the School of Forestry and Environment at Yale University.  Dr. Zimmerman also serves as the Acting Director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale.

Joseph Fortunak is a PhD organic chemist. He spent 21 years in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as head of global chemical development at Abbott Labs (2004). Joseph is a professor at Howard University, specializing in green chemistry and global access to medicines. He works with organizations including the WHO, UNITAID, the Clinton Foundation, and the Kilimanjaro School of Pharmacy.

Summer Teaching Internships in St. Paul

Breakthrough Saint Paul helps motivated students overcome adversity to prepare for college with the support of older students passionate about education. Each year, they seek a diverse group of talented undergraduate and high school students (juniors/seniors) to apply for the paid, nine-week summer teaching internship, complete with training and classroom teaching experience. In addition to teaching middle school students from the Saint Paul Public Schools, interns work closely with professional instructional coaches to create lessons and get feedback on their teaching throughout the summer. This internship was ranked as one of the TOP TEN SUMMER INTERNSHIPS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS by the Princeton Review. 

This year's application deadline is Monday, February 25th. 

This opportunity is open to ALL MAJORS!

Please visit their website for more details!

http://www.breakthroughsaintpaul.org/summer-teaching-internship.html

2013 Fossil Energy Fellowship & Internship Program US DOE

Are you interested in working at a Department of Energy National Lab over the summer?  Do you wonder how the USA will continue to meet its energy needs in the future using fossil energy?  Ever wonder how science, technology, engineering and mathematics come together to shape the direction of research?  If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, the Mickey Leland Fellowship Program might be for you.

The Mickey Leland Fellowship Program is now open for applications.  It is designed to serve women and underrepresented students who are studying academic disciplines related to coal, oil, and natural gas resources.  You can find more details below or by going to the DOE Fossil Energy web site.

If you have questions please contact the Mickey Leland Program at MLEF@hq.doe.gov

Summer Research Opportunities at Caltech

Caltech is excited to announce two summer research opportunities available to continuing undergraduate students. Questions about these programs can be directed to Carol Casey atcasey@caltech.edu or (626) 395-2887.

MURF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

The MURF program aims to increase the participation of underrepresented students (such as African American, Hispanic, and Native American, females who are underrepresented in their discipline, or first-generation college students) in science and engineering Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. programs and to make Caltech's programs more visible to students not traditionally exposed to Caltech.

Eligibility: Students must be current sophomores through non-graduating seniors and must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents. A minimum GPA of 3.2 is required.

Competitive applicants will have completed sophomore-level courses in desired research field, have demonstrated through academic and/or co-curricular activities a passion for research, and can articulate how their research interests align with Caltech's research areas. The most competitive applicants will have prior research experience.

Support: MURF students will receive a $6000 award for the ten-week program. An additional $500 housing and travel supplement will be provided.

Application: Online applications are due January 9 2013.

For more information, visit www.murf.caltech.edu.

AMGEN SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Caltech's Amgen Scholars Program is geared towards students in biology, chemistry, and biotechnology fields. Some of these fields include biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, and chemistry.

Eligibility: Students must be current sophomores through non-graduating seniors, must be attending a four-year university, and must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents. A minimum GPA of 3.2 is required.

Support: Amgen Scholars will receive a $5500 award, round-trip air transportation, a generous housing allowance, and a food allowance.

Application: Online applications are due February 15, 2013.

For more information, please visit www.amgenscholars.caltech.edu

Summer Research Opportunities at Nebraska

Nebraska's summer program offers research opportunities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. A complete listing of faculty mentors and research project descriptions can be found on their website. Students can also find information about program benefits including a competitive stipend, room and board, travel expenses, and more.   Summer 2013 programs include: Applied Mathematics Bioenergy Systems Biomedical Engineering Chemistry Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Nanomaterials and Nanoscience Optics and Laser Physics Redox Biology Virology During the Nebraska Summer Research Program, students receive first-hand exposure to research and the experience of graduate school. They work closely with faculty mentors and research teams of graduate students and other summer scholars. Students also have opportunities to participate in meaningful social and professional development activities outside of the laboratory.   The online application makes it easy for students to apply. Priority review begins Friday, February 1 and all applications are due Friday, February 15. Students historically underrepresented in graduate education and students from academic institutions where research programs are limited are especially encouraged to apply.   Contact:   Justina Clark Director of Graduate Recruitment University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Office of Graduate Studies (800)742-8800 in the U.S. & Canada; (402)472-2875 International justinaclark.graduate@unl.edu

Career Panel

Your St. Olaf Chemistry Society has planned a Chemistry Career Panel for this Thursday. We have invited several recent St. Olaf graduates to come and speak about their work with chemistry in industry.

The two Olaf grads speaking on their careers will be:

Patrick Wadzinski '09:

An Analytical Chemist with Aurora Pharmaceuticals, a Veterinary Pharmaceutical Company in Northfield. He works with a variety of analytical instruments (HPLC, GC, FTIR, UV, Karl Fischer, TOC), testing Raw Materials and Finished Products for FDA submissions and, as well as the current product line. In addition, he writes and validates in-house analytical methods.

Mark McNairy '01:

Previously, an analytical chemist, he is currently a scientist at WuXi Apptec, a contract medical device testing laboratory. While the company is primarily focused on the biological sciences, he was able to join a newly formed chemistry team. They are mainly focused on testing a wide range of client products to determine their safety and adherence to FDA regulations (IV sets, titanium joint replacements, neuro-stimulators, ocular implants, etc.).

This is a great event if you are wondering about what a person does in day-to-day life as an industrial chemist. In addition, if you are thinking about your own plans after Olaf, this event will give you insight into the pros and cons of attending graduate school, or going directly into the work force.

The panel will take place this Thursday, 7-8pm in RNS 290, and is worth seminar credit. Dinner and discussion with speakers will be at 6:15pm in BC144, and you are welcome to bring your caf tray.

Hope to see you Thursday!

Elite Medical Scribes Employment Opportunity

Are you interested in pursuing a career as a health care provider? Working as a medical scribe provides a firsthand opportunity to work with a physician in the medical field.  We are currently seeking college students or recent graduates in your area who have future aspirations to enter the medical field.   While employed as a medical scribe, you will be working with physicians to expedite patient care.  The scribe is responsible for accompanying the physician during the examination and transcribing the patient’s history and physical exam. Scribes gain valuable experience working in a medical setting which will benefit them in their future career as a health care provider.
.
We have part-time openings (approximately 20-30 hours/week) available in the dermatology department in Owatonna, Minnesota. Starting wage is $9.50/hour.

Qualified candidates will be detail-oriented, will have a mastery of the English language, excellent verbal/written communication, and strong observation and listening skills. All applicants must plan to pursue a future career as a health care provider (such as a PA, NP, MD, or DO), and either be in the process of or have completed the prerequisite coursework. Applicant’s majors may be from a broad range including biology and chemistry. Knowledge of medical terminology is a plus. Applicants must be adaptive and flexible to a variety of situations and must strive to be constantly improving their knowledge and usefulness.

Interested candidates are encouraged to visit our website  and submit an application and resume. Please contact our Recruitment Coordinator, Hayley Olson, at hayleyo@elitemedicalscribes.com with any questions!

Grad School Resources from ACS

In addition to this week's seminar about graduate school in chemistry, the American Chemical Society has a number of good resources for those interested in exploring if graduate study might be the right option.  A general guide to chemistry related graduate study was created by the ACS for prospective students.  It is titled "Graduate School Reality Check" and contains preparation tips, application strategies, visits, and opportunities to connect to ACS resources.  Click GSRC to download it.  The other is the Directory of Graduate Research in Chemistry.  This is an on-line resource that allows you to search for specific research faculty or explore departments at institutions across the United States.  Click dgr.rints.com to explore. 

US EPA Greater Research Opportunities Fellowship

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowships program, is offering undergraduate fellowships for bachelor level students in environmental fields of study. The deadline for receipt of applications is December 5, 2012, at 11:59:59 PM ET.  Subject to availability of funding and other applicable considerations, the Agency plans to award approximately 40 new fellowships in the summer of 2013.  Eligible students will receive support for their junior and senior years of undergraduate study and for an internship at an EPA facility during the summer of their junior year. The fellowship provides up to $20,700 per academic year of support and $8,600 of support for a three-month summer internship.  Chemistry major Ben Auch '12 is a past recipient of this fellowship!

For more details, please see the program web site

 

http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2013/2013_gro_undergrad.html#Synopsis

America's Science Problem and Politics

The November 2012 issue of Scientific American has an article by Shawn Lawrence Otto called "America's Science Problem" and I would encourage all chemistry majors to read it.  (It is renamed "Antiscience Beliefs Jeopardize U.S. Democracy" in the online version.)  The author discusses the origins of the anti-science movement in the USA, beginning with the attacks on the theory of evolution by Democrat William Jennings Bryan.  It develops its thesis by describing denial of scientific processes, scientific outcomes and personal attacks on scientists through today.  Included in this description are Democrats who believe vaccines cause autism, have knee-jerk reactions to possible health implications for technology (cancer & mobile phones), and Republicans who deny anthropogenic climate change, evolutionary biology, the meaning of the fossil record over geologic time, and an anti-regulatory zeal against environmental protections among a host of other examples.  As a student of science you should be aware of this continuing development in the social context of scientific work.  This is the job climate you are entering.  Those of you with voting privileges in the USA, I would strongly encourage you to take a close look at the candidates on your ballots and consider these issues among others you value. 

You can access the digital version of the Scientific American article using the above link.  In this same issue is an analysis of the candidates for President and what they say (and don't say) about their support of science.

Attention Chem Majors --

Interested in a "real world" part-time job? It's a bit of a drive, but there are openings at 3M for Technical Aide positions. http://jobs.3m.com/go/3M-Technical-Aide-Jobs/183575/ Hours are very flexible and it is a great opportunity to get some experience doing chemistry in the "real world."

Bill Moser (St. Olaf '91) writes: "I'm currently working on a project developing new materials to help reduce shrinkage stress that is encountered under typical conditions of polymer curing. We have some internal funding for this project, and thus have an opportunity to hire one or two tech aides to help us. A tech aide could begin almost immediately, and we would have funding to support them at least through next summer and possibly beyond."

The requirements for tech aides include: minimum GPA of 3.0 and completion of at least one semester of college course work. Tech aides are limited to less than 900 hours of work each year. The hours that tech aides work are highly flexible and are negotiable with their supervisor. Since most tech aides are currently college students, they will typically work much less during the school year (some as low as 10 hours per week or so) and more during summer (perhaps 20-30 hours per week, limited to a max of 40 hours for any week).

If you would like to know more, please don't hesitate to contact Bill directly by e-mail (wmoser@mmm.com). He'd be happy to provide additional details.

Organometallic Chemistry Seminar

We will be hosting a seminar tomorrow in RNS 390 with refreshments at 3:00 and seminar to start at 3:15.   I would like 3 students again to volunteer to take our speaker to lunch at noon tomorrow.  If you would like to do this, please email Karen ASAP so she can make arrangements in the King's Dining Room.

Reaction discovery with pincer complexes

Oleg V. Ozerov

Texas A&M University

The name “pincer” has become reserved for tridentate chelating ligands that bind to a metal center in a meridional (T-shaped) fashion. They are typically denoted by the three donor atoms attached to the metal. Our group has devoted considerable attention to the chemistry of the T-shaped three-coordinate pincer-ligated fragments of group 9 metals (Co, Rh, or Ir). These are highly unsaturated species that cannot be isolated in their free form, but can be generated in solution. They display remarkable propensity for insertion into various X-Y bonds in oxidative addition reactions. The presentation will describe the various oxidative addition reactions of aryl halides and pseudohalides, and show how the study of these reactions can lead to discovery of new catalytic transformations. The emphasis will be on how molecular design, elementary reaction discovery, and development of effective new catalysts are intricately but not always obviously related.

Received from Mayo Graduate School, Dept. of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

 

Are you seeking Ph.D. training for a career that melds the unparalleled thrill of discovering basic biological mechanisms with the excitement of translating those findings into the novel therapies for human diseases? 

 

In other words, Basic Science on Steroids, where you not only perform cutting-edge basic research that leads to new insights in biology, but also see how your discoveries can make a difference.  If so, please consider the Mayo Clinic’s Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Program (MPET) in the Mayo Graduate School.

 

You may not even be aware that Mayo has a graduate school that offers Ph.D. degrees.  We do!  And it’s just one part of Mayo’s commitment to research and education that includes a yearly research budget of over $500,000,000 (mostly from NIH grant awards) and full institutional support of Ph.D. training. What we offer:

 

Exceptional Student Outcomes

Examples of our student’s successes include:

 

• Tremendous productivity during student training—Ph.D. (and M.D./Ph.D.) students graduating in the last 10 years averaged 5.8 publications, with publications in some of the very best journals in the world (e.g., Molecular Cell, Nature Immunology, Nature Genetics, Nature Cell Biology, PNAS, Neuron, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Genes & Development, Nature Biotechnology).

• Nearly all students go on to academic postdoctoral training at top-notch institutions

• Former students now have careers as leaders in academia and industry.

• Funding of a highly competitive, peer-reviewed NIH predoctoral pharmacology training grant (T32GM072474) that received rave reviews.

• Students complete Ph.D. training in an average of 5.2 years.

 

Committed Mentors

Our faculty members are committed to fostering the intellectual development of students into future leaders in biomedical science (as demonstrated by our student outcomes!). 

 

Cutting-Edge Research

Our research programs are firmly rooted in basic science research that integrate across the disciplines of pharmacology, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, physiology, genomics, and proteomics.  The goals of these programs are to discover the basic mechanisms that regulate cell function and to translate these findings into novel therapies. 

 

• Cancer Biology and Therapeutics—Discover the molecular underpinnings that drive cancer and new approaches to treat these diseases

• Regenerative Medicine—Research how to program (or reprogram) human cells to regenerate organs and develop novel therapeutics

• Pharmacogenomics and Genetics—Employ cutting-edge genetic technologies to discover, at the molecular and genetic levels, why humans have vastly different responses to drugs

• Drug Discovery—Use supercomputers and chemistry to discover and develop mechanism-based drugs

• Neurobiology and Genetics of Addiction—Develop sophisticated genetic models and methods to understand addictive behaviors

• Cardiovascular Biology and Therapeutics—Identify the molecular mechanisms and genetic defects that contribute to heart disease and develop improved therapies

 

Full Student Financial Support

Student stipend, tuition, and, benefits (including health insurance) are paid by the institution for 5 years! So, students don’t have to worry about how to fund their stipends and can focus on research. 

 

To Apply

Applications are due by December 1, 2012. (Be sure to indicate MPET as your first choice!) http://www.mayo.edu/mgs/phd-admissions.html

 

To learn more about the MPET program and mentor’s research programshttp://www.mayo.edu/mgs/mpet.html

 

Questions

Please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

 

               

 

Richard Weinshilboum, M.D.

Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

  and Medicine

Graduate Program Director

Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Mayo Graduate School

Mayo Clinic

Rochester, Minnesota

Phone: 507-284-4308

Email: weinshilboum.richard@mayo.edu

Chemistry Job Fair

The Minnesota Local Section of the American Chemical Society is pleased to announce our upcoming

Chemistry Job Fair

The Chemistry Job Fair will be held from 4 - 7 PM on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at Saint Catherine University in Saint Paul, MN, in the 3rd floor Atrium of the Coeur de Catherine Building.

The Job Fair will be followed by the seminar 
Job Hunting Skills for Chemists 
delivered by ACS Career Consultant John Engelman at 7 PM in the 3rd floor Ballroom.

This is an opportunity to meet with technical recruiters from the Twin Cities area, and is open to professionals and students from chemistry and related fields. Résumé review will also be provided. Please arrive with copies of your current résumé, and attired to meet with professional recruiters. Food and beverages will be served.

To RSVP for this free event, please pre-register at

http://www.mnacs.org/2012schedule/oct16jobfair.html