DEM Weekly Snapshot

Weekly Snapshot

Week of April 4, 2022 | Edited by: Meredith Lew Tan

DEM faculty member,

Dr. Cheryl Stoddart to retire

Cheryl, a Professor and founding faculty member of the Division of Experimental Medicine, has announced her intention to retire at the end of June 2022.

Cheryl earned her PhD in Virology from Cornell University on the study of feline coronaviruses infections and did postdoctoral training on cytomegalovirus in the laboratory of Edward S. Mocarski at Stanford University School of Medicine. She then joined Shaman Pharmaceuticals as a staff scientist to discover novel antiviral compounds in plants used in traditional medicine, culminating in FDA approval of the antidiarrheal crofelemer (Mytesi) for adults living with HIV on ART. In 1995, Cheryl was recruited to the Gladstone Institutes to lead the NIAID-funded contract for HIV drug discovery in humanized mice that had recently been brought from SyStemix by Mike McCune. She became the contract PI in 2000 and was then promoted to Investigator at the Gladstone, heading a lab focused on the preclinical development of new HIV therapeutics. Cheryl was then recruited by Dr. McCune in 2006 to the newly formed Division of Experimental Medicine at SFGH where she maintained the NIAID contract funding and expanded her research program into the molecular biology of cellular factors that promote HIV infection; in particular, heat shock protein 90.

Cheryl is co-PI of the UCSF Regional Biorepository for the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource and has been a member of the UCSF Institutional Biosafety Committee since 2008.

As a scientist, Cheryl broke new ground, and her work provided important results in evaluating new antiretroviral drugs for HIV treatment and prevention. She worked to continuously improve the use of a small animal model for studies of HIV, and to optimize the immunological background and methods for reconstituting them with specific immune cell populations. As a colleague, Cheryl has contributed creativity, rigor, humor, and leadership to all of us in the Division. Beyond the DEM, Cheryl has been a generous contributor of her time and wisdom to multiple UCSF committees and initiatives.

Cheryl and her husband, Alan, are looking forward to returning to Alan’s home in the South Island of New Zealand.

We wish Cheryl all the best!

Announcements

BSL2* and Bathrooms to be cleaned - April 14

BSL2* anteroom and all bathroom floors being cleaned on April 14^th from 5:00pm – 11:00pm.

Stoddart Lab Items to Give Away

The Stoddart Lab is closing up shop with Cheryl’s retirement. They are having an “Everything Must Go” sale, only it’s free to the division members. This is a first come, first served program, so don’t ask what they have, just go to 521, see, and take.

Room 521 has multiple pieces of equipment labeled with “Give Away” tags. If it’s small enough to take away now, please do so. If it’s a large item, or you’re not ready for it, write your name/Lab on the tag so someone else doesn’t take it.

Ramadan Resources

On April 1, Muslims in the U.S. will honor the start of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. Because this holiday centers around daily fasting, it is important for us at UCSF to be aware of the needs of our patients, colleagues, students, staff, faculty, and community members who observe this holy month by fasting. Fasting includes refraining from consuming any food or drink, including water, during daylight hours.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and the month begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon, so the dates of Ramadan’s beginning and ending may vary in different locations. Lasting for 30 days, in the U.S. Ramadan will end on Sunday, May 1, with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr starting on Monday, May 2.

During Ramadan, Spiritual Care departments at our hospital locations offers resources for iftar, including dates, prayer mats, and other items to support observance. Spiritual Care is also available to facilitate visits with community Muslim leaders.

More information on how to support our Muslim community at UCSF during Ramadan and what is available at each of our campuses may be found in this Box folder (log-in required).

UCSF Non-Employee Guest Policy

Non-UCSF guests (individuals that are not UCSF faculty, staff and learners including vendor staff) must be fully vaccinated to attend or support an in-person meeting or event. Non-UCSF guests/attendees require visitor approval before arriving on campus. Event planners should obtain such approval at least one week prior to the event date.

Non-employee guests may continue to attend UCSF events—on or off site—for the following purposes:

To preserve the safety of a patient or research subject; or
To preserve the results of a research activity (e.g., research monitoring or equipment repair); or
To permit interview and related, limited activities involving final candidates for UCSF positions; or
To meet a graduation requirement for students/trainees;
Participate in a UCSF-approved meeting, event, or activity

Either the guest or the UCSF host can apply for approval by going completing the Pandemic Guest Approval to Enter Campus Form. This applies to all campus indoor and outdoor meetings at UCSF campus facilities and UCSF-sponsored off-site events.

UCSF International Travel Update

International UCSF-sponsored travel requires approval for UCSF-sponsored work or study. Domestic UCSF-sponsored travel requires no approval.

For faculty, staff, post-docs, residents, and fellows

The new approval form must be signed and attached to your reimbursement request via MyExpense.
Approval now comes from the Department Chair who can delegate the approval authority from chair/director to vice chair, division chief and/or CAO. A record must kept of the delegation approval.
Travel criteria have changed (trip doesn’t need to be determined as essential) and now relate to staffing issues. If 3 or more staff from same dept. are to travel together please consider the impact on the dept. if all or some of the travelers were affected by COVID, or impacted by travel delays.

Two-step COVID-19 testing is required following international travel.

WINGS Staff Development Grant Program

The School of Medicine is committed to employee career growth and development and to supporting educational activities for our staff. If you are a staff employee in the School of Medicine, you are eligible to apply for a grant to support the cost of a course or other educational opportunity.

The next application deadline for the WINGS Staff Development Grant Program is May 6, 2022. Applications will cover classes starting on May 15, 2022, running through and including August 31, 2022. Grant amounts range between $200-$400, depending on the number of applications received for the grant cycle.

WINGS Program Description

Online Application

UCSF DOMINOs Program

DOMINOs (Department of Medicine Informal Networking Opportunities ), a new DOM-sponsored program for faculty, staff, and trainees. DOMINOs was created to provide opportunities for in-person community building. DOM employees are welcome to join or host an event – with a goal of having many of them in your neighborhoods or other convenient gathering spots.

The DEM is now on Twitter

The Division has joined Twitter in order to recognize our incredible people and highlight your innovative work! Please follow us on Twitter @UCSF_EXPM and send suggested information our way.

UCSF COVID-19 Policy Updates

On April 1, UCSF will be removing the masking requirements for the campus – it will remain in place for clinical/hospital settings. However, since we are based at ZSFG, our actions must align with SFDPH policies. Masks must still be worn when onsite at ZSFG.

Awards and Honors

Congratulations to Zach Howard, BMS graduate student in the Ernst Lab on his NIH F31 predoctoral fellowship application titled, “Mechanistic investigation of differential T cell responses to distinct Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens”, that received an Overall Impact score of 10.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resource

Ignoring Racism in Schools Actually Increases Prejudice

Created in 1996 and taking place on April 22 this year, Day of Silence is a campaign that seeks to shed light on what many LGBTQ youth experience daily. Initially intended to focus on this problem within the school system, it has since expanded into workplaces, university campuses, and sporting events. Yearly, millions participate by staying silent for the duration of their day, representing the silencing of LGBTQ students.

Click here to read this article in National Today.