The Awards and Honors Committee, Rox Anderson, Chair, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 1986 ASP Awards.
Philip Hanawalt,Stanford University is the recipient of the ASP 1996 Research Award. He will be presenting his talk, "The Role of Transcription in Cellular Responses to Photoproducts in DNA", on June 19, 1:10 - 2:10 PM at the ASP Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
Robert Redmond, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, will receive the ASP New Investigator Award. He will be presenting his talk, "Triplet Energy and Electron Transfer in Nucleic Acid Model Systems", on June 19, 11:10 AM - 12:10 PM.
Phil Hanawalt graduated from Oberlin College as a physics major, then studied biophysics at Yale University for a Ph.D. Following postdoctoral research fellowships at the University of Copenhagen and Caltech he joined the faculty at Stanford University in 1961 where he is now Professor of Biology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and currently holds an Outstanding Investigator Research Award from the National Cancer Institute. He has coauthored a number of books, including Molecular Photobiology (with Kendric Smith). As a graduate student with Richard Setlow at Yale, Hanawalt obtained the first quantitative assessment of the inhibitory effects of ultraviolet light (UV) on DNA synthesis in E. coli using radioactive precursors. During postdoctoral study (with O. Maaloe in Copenhagen) he discovered that protein synthesis is required to initiate the bacterial DNA replication cycle. That work was important to the formulation of the "replicon" concept in the early 1960s and it pioneered a standard procedure for synchronizing DNA replication cycles.
Hanawalt has been an internationally acknowledged leader in the field of DNA repair ever since he and his graduate student, David Pettijohn, discovered repair replication in UV-irradiated E. coli in 1963. He and his students have developed a number of important experimental approaches for studying excision repair, beginning with the 5-bromouracil density labeling method for resolving semiconservatively replicated DNA from parental DNA containing repair patches. Hanawalt's method was subsequently used by James Cleaver to document the DNA repair deficiency in xeroderma pigmentosum.
More recently Hanawalt and his colleagues have turned their interest to the intragenomic fine structure of DNA repair. They documented a deficiency in the repair of bulky chemical adducts in the centromere-associated a DNA sequences in primates. Then they discovered that repair of some types of damage (e.g., cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers) is selective; active genes are preferentially repaired, and in fact a special repair pathway operates on the transcribed strands of expressed genes. This so-called transcription-coupled repair pathway was documented in mammalian cells, in E. coli and in yeast, so it probably is ubiquitous. For the record, Phil is a charter member of the ASP.
Recipient of the ASP New Investigator Award, Robert W. ("Bobby") Redmond's research interests concern the photochemistry of purine and pyrimidine bases and potential next-neighbor energy and electron transfer interactions of excited state bases in nucleic acids leading to sequence dependence of DNA photoproduct formation. He also employs high intensity irradiation to study novel reaction mechanisms induced by resonant and non-resonant biphotonic absorption and their consequences in living systems. He has also designed and developed specific free radical generators and examined the effects of relative radical toxicities in cellular systems.
On the phototechnology side he has developed diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques to probe photosensitization mechanisms in vivo and the influence of tissue oxygen tension.
President Albert Girotti announces the results of the recent mail ballot:
PRESIDENT:
Ana Moore, elected to Council last year, received her undergraduate degree from the University of La Plata, Argentina, a M.Sc. from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. She was a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington in St. Louis and continued her career in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona State University in Tempe as an Academic Professional in the Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis. ln 1989, she accepted a faculty appointment and is now Associate Professor of Chemistry. Also, on several occasions she has been associated with the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, and a CNRS laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Polyphasic Systems, Montpelier, Prance, as a Visiting Research Scientist.
For more than fifteen years, Ana has been collaborating with Devens Gust and Thomas Moore on the design, synthesis and spectroscopy of multichromophoric systems that mimic aspects of photosynthetic energy conversion. These supramolecular ensembles consist of porphyrins or chlorophyll derivatives covalently linked to carotenoids, quinones and other donor and acceptor species. Photophysical processes studied with these biomimetic systems include intramolecular photoinitiated multistep electron transfer, singlet-singlet and triplet-triplet energy transfer, singlet oxygen sensitization and photoprotection by carotenoids. Recently, this work has expanded to include the design, synthesis and photochemistry of drugs that can be used for the detection and imaging of neoplastic tissue. In these projects she collaborates with Giulio Jori and Elena Reddi of University of Padua and Sharon Thomsen of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS - Elizabeth Gantt
University of Maryland plant biology professor Elisabeth Gantt, a charter member of the ASP, was elected into the National Academy of Sciences April 30 during the annual meeting of the Academy. Election to membership is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer. Gantt has been involved in pioneering studies that span several areas in basic plant biology, with emphasis on the photosynthetic apparatus of algae. Her research has been highly significant over the years and has stimulated work in a number of important problems in biology and biophysics. Her contributions have centered on the absorption and transfer of light energy in photosynthesis, the organization and assembly of intracellular supramolecular complexes, the acclimation strategies and responses of photosynthetic microorganisms to environmental stress, and, more recently, structural domains or photosynthetic membranes. She is the 1994 recipient of National Academy of Sciences' Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal and the 1981 recipient of the Botanical Society of America's Darbaker Prize. She has been a strong supporter of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the American Society for Photobiology, and the American Society of Plant Physiologists for which she served as president in l988-1989.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS - Dutch Photobiologists
On the tenth anniversary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the United Nations Environmental Program honored those people and organizations whose outstanding contributions have assisted in the success of the ozone layer protection. Two ASP members, Jan van der Leun (Utrecht) and Manfred Tevini (Karlsbad) were among the honorees. Jan has been a member of the ASP since 1973 and Manfred since 1989.
The Mount Buller International Conferences on Environmental Radiation is sponsoring the inaugural conference on The Environmental and Health Effects of Solar Radiation which will be held at Mount Buller (3 hrs from Melbourne, Australia) from Dec 8-13 1996 (it's almost summer there).
Contact:
PHOTOBIOLOGY ONLINE:Photobiology Discussions
Have you ever found yourself searching futilely for some tidbit of information that is probably common knowledge if you could just ask the "right" person? If so, Photobiology Discussions may be your salvation.
Photobiology Discussion is 1 of the 17 sections of Photobiology Online (POL), the World Wide Web home of both the American and European Societies for Photobiology. POL provides a wealth of online information to photobiologists, all at no charge to you,the user.
Photobiology Discussions is a listserve which was initiated in response to requests from ASP members. It is an excellent means to query your colleagues regarding any aspect of photobiology. Participation is easy, just send an e-mail message to listproc@listproc.bgsu.edu to register. (Complete instructions can be found in POL.) Once registered you simply send e-mail messages to the listserve at POLDIS-L@BGNET.BGSU.EDU (Note this is a different address than that at which you register.) Your message will be automatically distributed to everyone else who is registered. They, in turn, can respond to your query or assertion. This is an excellent way to find that unusual reagent that you can't find, or to locate a reference that you just know is "out there" somewhere.
The Photobiology Discussions listserve is being run at Bowling Green State University by Bob Midden. Bob also acts as moderator of the group, which means that if things get too far out of hand, he may have to rap your electronic knuckles.
So the next time your stumped by one of those nagging little uncertainties that you're just sure is well known if you could just ask the right person, give Photobiology Discussion on POL a try.
How Do I Access Photobiology Online?
To access POL you will need a web browser software program such as Netscape or Mosaic. You can also access POL in a text-only mode with software such as Lynx. Contact your information technology personnel for procedures to obtain these programs. You can then access POL at the following address (URL): http://www.kumc.edu/POL or at http://www.chemres.hu/POL
ASSOCIATE MEMBER TRAVEL AWARDS
Rox Anderson, Chair of the Awards and Honors Committee, reports that 29 Associate Members were granted travel awards to attend the 24th Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. The recipients are as follows:
PREDOCTORAL AWARDS
In association with this year's symposium on sunscreen photobiology, there will be a workshop (sun evening 6-9 PM). The workshop will start off with mini-presentations of 8 submitted abstracts. The open forum will be devoted to discuss the following questions:
BANQUET
A special banquet is scheduled for Tuesday, June 18, 7:30 PM and is one of the highlights of the meeting. Tickets are available in advance at the reduced rate of $40 members; $20 Associate Members. Tickets may be purchased at the meeting registration desk in Atlanta (slightly higher rate). Be sure to attend and take this the opportunity to visit informally with colleagues and enjoy an excellent meal as well!
ATLANTA: Home of the World Champion Braves
The site selection committee checking all pertinent details before making a final decision looked in the Braves schedule so it is no surprise that the Braves are playing in Fulton County Stadium during our meeting. They are playing the Dodgers and the Padres. Night games on the 14, 17 and 18 begin at 7:40. The Saturday and Sunday games begin at 1 PM.
OTHER AREA HIGHLIGHTS
Kennesaw Mountain - a national battlefield with hiking trails 25 miles from downtown/ 404 427 4686
Stone Mountain Park 20 miles East of the city 404 498 5600
The World of Coca-Cola Museum 55 Martin Luther King Drive (across from the Underground Atlanta - a below the street-level mall occupies turn of the century viaducts.)
SOME RESTAURANTS
Burton's Grill (barbecue chicken) 1029 Edgewood, 404-658 9452
Fat Matt's Rib Shack (barbecue ribs) 1811 Piedmont Ave, 404-467 1622
coffee is hot every where else - so in Atlanta try Caffeinds 3095 Peachtree RD NE 404 262 7774
Two Restaurants Owned by Tom Coohill's Son:
Ciboulette (French) 1529 Piedmont Avenue, NE (Ansley Park) 404-874-7600
Bistango (Mediterranean) 1100 Peachtree Street (Midtown) 404-724-0901
Excerpt from USA Today, May 17, 1996 "Some Top Draws"
Ciboulette - 1529 Piedmont Avenue N.E., in Clear Creek Shopping Center, 404-874-7600; French. Once you get past the strip-mall exterior, this enormously popular special-occasion place quickly turns on the charm. Chef/owner Tom Coohill presents light-sauced French fare in a pretty room featuring a dining bar and open kitchen. A wine list is highlighted by Oregon pinot noire and pinot gris. Roasted meats and fish are standouts, particularly the coriander crusted sea bass served on a brandade of pureed salt cod.
LAST CHANCE FOR NEWSLETTER EDITOR NOMINATIONS
A new editor will be appointed by the Council at this year's meeting. If you are interested, please submit a letter describing your vision for the Newsletter. Send letter to Frank Gasparro:
1997
July 5-10, 1997
St. Louis, Missouri
1998
Snowbird, Utah (tentative)
1999
Washington, DC
2000
Photobiology 2000, joint meeting with ASP and ESP
San Francisco, California (tentative)
American Society for Photobiology| Photobiology Online | |