DEM Weekly Snapshot

Weekly Snapshot

Week of November 15, 2021 | Edited by: Meredith Lew Tan

On Friday, November 12, 2021, we shared that Pheroze Joshi, PhD a professional researcher in our Division, passed away unexpectedly. Pheroze was a founding member of the Division and long-standing colleague of Dr. Cheryl Stoddart.

Pheroze earned a BS from the University of Bombay in Chemistry with Honors, a MS from the University of Bombay in Zoology with Honors, and a PhD from the University of Bombay in Virology. He completed his post-doctoral work in virology at Yeshiva University, where he was first inspired to help fight the HIV epidemic. Pheroze started his career at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and in 2005, joined the Gladstone Institutes with Cheryl Stoddart. In 2006, Pheroze transitioned to UCSF with the Stoddart Lab when the Division of Experimental Medicine was formed. Using biochemical assays and functional genetic screens, he identified Hsp90 as an essential host factor for HIV replication and sought ways to inhibit this pathway to prevent HIV rebound.

Pheroze loved working at the bench and was ever willing to share his reagents and deep knowledge of techniques in molecular and cellular biology and virology. He took great pride in performing his experiments with the utmost care and rigor. His generosity in sharing extended beyond his immediate colleagues and associates, and he was invaluable in helping new members of the DEM with procedures and equipment, and with troubleshooting. Pheroze is survived by Rasheed Joshi, brother, and Laila Langer, sister.

In times of crisis and grief, you may need to speak with someone. Please consider contacting the UCSF Faculty & Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) by email at fsap@ucsf.edu or call the main line at (415) 476-8279 to make an appointment. If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Additionally, the San Francisco 24/7 Crisis Line is available by calling (415) 781-0500.

On Tuesday, November 16, the Division hosted a celebration of life for Pheroze's family and lab mates. You can view Pheroze's memorial photo album here. We mourn his passing and will remember him fondly. Thank you for your kindness and support of Pheroze's family during this time of mourning.

Announcements

THIS WEEK: OPEN ENROLLMENT ENDS

Open Enrollment for faculty, staff, and health employees began on Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 8 AM. The enrollment period is open until Friday, November 19, 2021 at 5 PM.

All Open Enrollment changes will be effective January 1, 2022.

Three will be Open Enrollment Help Desks available at the dates and times listed:

Thursday, 11/18/2021: 10am - 11am

Employees who are considering changing their medical plan may benefit from an individual consultation from a health plan expert. Click here to schedule a 30-minute phone consult with a UCSF health plan expert.

If you are not planning to make any changes to your benefits or enrolled family members and you are not planning to participate in a Flexible Spending account next year, NO Open Enrollment action is required.

Native American Heritage Month

Native American Heritage Month acknowledges and celebrates the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and history of Native Americans and Alaska Natives in the United States. According to the U.S. Census, about 3300 Native Americans live in San Francisco; the Indigenous population in the Bay Area is 18,500 strong and is projected to grow over the next few decades. The Ohlone are the predominant Indigenous group of the Bay Area, including the Ramaytush Ohlone in San Francisco.

You may have noticed that many public meetings, including the Health Commission, now open each of its meetings with a land acknowledgement that demonstrates honor and respect for the contributions and sacrifices of the ancestors that inhabited and cared for the land before us, an important way of honoring our local indigenous peoples.

12th Annual Gift Drive for Foster Youth

It’s once again time for the annual UCSF/ZSFG/OSR Toy Drive for Foster Youth - our 12^th year in a row! Since so many people are still working from home, and Mattress Firm still isn’t collecting toys for foster youth, we are going to do what we did last year – an SF Girl Scout Troop is once again leading the To Kids From Kids (Foster Youth) Gift Sign Up. You can click on the link below and sign up to see the list of youth, their age, gender, wish, and maybe a little information about them.

A link to the Google spreadsheet to sign up can be found here: https://bit.ly/TKFKgiftsignup. Please only sign up if no one else has already typed their name/info on the line in columns A-C.

Four important bits of information before you sign-up:

When you find a youth you would like to buy a gift for fill out your name and email address and under “ADOPTED BY TROOP#” list Troop 62684 on the google doc. (Troop 62684 is my Girl Scout Troop’s # – we don’t get a prize for having folks sign up – a “top troop” isn’t acknowledged - we just want as many foster youth to receive gifts as possible).
Please purchase what is requested – if the child asks for a Paw Patrol sleeping bag please buy them a Paw Patrol sleeping bag, not a Pup Academy sleeping bag. If the youth is a 15 year old boy and he wants a makeup kit, please buy him a makeup kit.
Only sign up if you will be able to purchase/drop-off/ship that item by the deadlines listed below.
Gifts should not be wrapped – various Girl Scout Troops will wrap the gifts.

Five delivery options to choose from:

Drop off on 11/27 (Saturday) between 11:00am - 2:00pm at Camp Ida Smith (1100 Lake Merced Blvd, SF, CA, 94132)
Drop off on 11/28 (Sunday) between 11:00am - 2:00pm at Camp Ida Smith (1100 Lake Merced Blvd, SF, CA, 94132)
Mail/Ship to GS62235 at 1406 24th Avenue, SF CA 94122 for arrival no later than Saturday 11/27.
Arrange for alternate drop off time by contacting GS62235@gmail.com by Saturday 11/27.
If gift cards, drop through mail slot at 1406 24th Avenue no later than 11/27 or email to GS62235@gmail.com if bought online.

To those of you who hate to shop but want to take part, most of the older youth request gift cards.

Please contact me if you have any questions. Best to call or text Olive Giovanetti at 415-260-5861, or list “FOSTER YOUTH TOY DRIVE” in the Subject line of your email and I will respond in the evening.

A Full Circle of Native and Indigenous Scientists in Quantitative Biology

The symposium will highlight Native and Indigenous scientists across the United States and provide them with professional development and community building opportunities. The long term goal is to build a welcoming community of Native basic scientists at UCSF and this is the first step towards achieving that goal. This event represents the full circle of career stages for Native scientists, including learners, faculty, and faculty emeritus.

Click here for more information.

Toward a History of Black AIDS Activism | Archives Talk

On Monday, December 6 from 3:00-4:10 PM, join historians Dan Royles and Antoine Johnson for a conversation about the long—and little told—history of responses to HIV/AIDS in African American communities. They'll discuss Royles's book To Make the Wounded Whole: The African American Struggle against HIV/AIDS, Johnson's research on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the Bay Area's Black communities, their favorite finds in the UCSF archives, and more.

Dan Royles is an Assistant Professor of History at Florida International University in Miami, where he teaches courses on United States, African American, LGBTQ, public, and oral history. His first book, To Make the Wounded Whole: The African American Struggle against HIV/AIDS, was published in 2020 by University of North Carolina Press. He also runs the African American AIDS History Project, a digital archive of responses to HIV/AIDS in Black America.

Antoine Johnson is a History PhD candidate in UCSF's Humanities and Social Sciences program. His dissertation examines Black AIDS activism in the Bay Area and ways structural racism increased African Americans' disease vulnerability. His dissertation is tentatively titled, "The Other Epidemic: AIDS, Activism, and Anti-Black Racism in the Bay Area, 1981-1999," which he will be defending next April.

This event is brought to you by the UCSF Library Archives & Special Collections.

Archives Talks are free and open to the public.

Step It Up Challenge 11/15-12/17

The annual Step It Up wellness challenge is returning to help you prioritize your wellbeing during this fall and holiday season. Registration for the challenge is now open! The challenge will run from November 15-December 17 and you'll earn points for physical activity and your daily steps along with acts of recognition and gratitude.

You can join the challenge as an individual or grab some colleagues and create a team. By reaching weekly and overall points, you will be eligible for prize drawings. There is also a recruitment challenge where you could be one of 50 winners to receive a free white noise machine.

Visit tiny.ucsf.edu/stepitup to sign up and learn more.

UCSF staff & student 5% discount at Safeway!

UCSF student and staff are eligible to receive a 5% discount card at Safeway. Simply show your UCSF employee ID badge at the Customer Service window. It can only be used for in-store purchases and some restrictions apply.

UCSF COVID-19 Policy

UCSF Recovery Operations Center has updated it's guidelines. Though our events at ZSFG follow more restrictive guidelines, in DEM, we are preparing for the return of in-person meetings through the following:

To maintain the required 50% capacity and/or 6’ of separation, please sit 1 person per table and/or space your chairs out in the room.
Email ExperimentalMedicine@ucsf.edu with names of people who attend your meetings in-person in case contract tracing is required.
We will return to posting the weekly meeting calendar outside the conference rooms so you can see when the room is unavailable.

To reiterate, the ROC has stressed that Business & Morale meetings should, to every extent possible, be conducted virtually.

It has been a while since we have had conference room reservations and a booking process. Please take a moment to review the DEM Conference Room booking information so that we are all following the same process.

505 Conference Room
501 Collaboration Room and 601 Oval Office
Please contact ExperimentalMedicine@ucsf.edu if there are any changes to your meeting plans.

Updates will be forthcoming regarding plans for the Seminar Series, other committee meetings, and Quality of Life events.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resource

Confronting racism to renew America's promise

"Theodore R. Johnson, author of 'When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America," is the guest speaker at the Harvard Extension Alumni Association's Author Spotlight series.

He sees progress among marginalized groups when moral issues are attached to national interests.

Today's racial climate has been compared to some of the darker periods of the American past. From the murder of George Floyd to the Kyle Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Arbery cases, violence, extremism, and unrest have put the nation on edge."

Click here to continue reading this feature by Harry Pierre of The Harvard Gazette.

Committee Updates

DEM Flow Committee

Reminder about CST beads: CST beads are being made too often. They don't need to be made every day; please refer to the email Tash sent.

Emergency only CST backup vial is in the Aria room - but it is a different lot (there may be a backup bead vial in the cold room.) This topic will be revisited at the next meeting.

We are finding that the CS&T beads are being used up quickly. From now on, please:

CHECK FOR and REUSE CS&T beads that are already made (they can be used for up to 7 days)
If you make CS&T beads, please add only 1 drop of vortexed beads to 300uL PBS (see diagram on fridge in flow room for depiction of 300uL)
When you make CS&T beads PLEASE label them with the date, your initials, and STORE THEM IN THE FRIDGE so they can be reused.
If you add more than 1 drop of beads, add more PBS so the event rate is similar when running the CS&T beads (target rate = ~300 events/second).