1AWIS-CJC News

AWIS-CJC News

Volume 7 Issue 3December 2002

1AWIS-CJC News

PresidentÕs Outgoing Message

Jeanette Figueroa, President

I canÕt believe itÕs already December. ItÕs amazing how an entire year has gone by so quickly. The roller coaster ride has been quite an adventure with many challenges and successes. All of our speakers were incredible and interesting people and the new ÒthingÓ for this year, networking meetings, was definitely a ÒhitÓ among our membership. It almost seemed as if there were more people attending the networking gatherings than our regular meetings! We should definitely continue them next year. IÕd like to thank everyone for their support, especially the strong board we had this year. There were only a few of us because we lost two board members to relocation at the beginning of the year. Special thanks and much appreciation to Sandy Saouaf, Shoreh Miller, and Lisa Iype. I couldnÕt have done it without you! Many thanks to our dedicated members who volunteered their time to the World Genomics Symposium. Also, a thank you to our membership who keep the organization alive by attending our meetings consistently every other month. Good Luck to our incoming board and a few words of encouragement to those of you out there ready to actively participate in our organization: itÕs definitely worth it. We are still looking for a President Elect (to be President in 2004). Now is the time to step up and fine tune your leadership skills. ItÕs definitely best to be on the board as president elect to help first and then take on the reigns yourself the next year. AWIS needs YOU, yes YOU! After all, we ARE the Association for Women in Science, Central Jersey Chapter. LetÕs show everyone what weÕre made of: strong, enthusiastic, intelligent, and successful people in the sciences!

Upcoming AWIS-CJC Events

December 5, 2002 Holiday Dinner Meeting, Radisson Hotel, Princeton, NJ

January 8, 2003 Board Organizational Meeting

February 2003 speaker: Lisa Drakeman, PhD CEO of Genmab

March 2003 Networking Gathering

CJC-AWIS August Picnic

Shoreh Miller, DVM, Ph.D.

Mercer County Park - a beautiful day!

Pictures available in the printed version only.

Member and Company Profiles

Jeanette Figueroa, B.S.

Shoreh Miller, DVM, PhD

"I think we are in a slow cycle for discovery right now but it will pick up, it's part of the cycle."

Dr. Miller has been a member of AWIS since 1996. She received her PhD in Medical Microbiology at the SUNY at Buffalo in New York, her MA in Biology at the State College of Buffalo in New York, and her DVM at Tehran University. Her most recent employment was at EpiGenesis from 2000 to late 2002 where she worked in the in-vitro high throughput screening area developing assays and validating antisense oligonucleotides for asthma. Dr. Miller is currently looking for job opportunities in R&D. She enjoys photography, computers, and exercise.

PharmaSys

Founded in 1998, PharmaSys is a full service contract validation company that specializes in FDA regulated industries. The company is based out of Carey, North Carolina and has satellite offices in Washington, NJ and Boulder, Colorado. Audits, validation and compliance support for information, manufacturing and laboratory systems are just a few of the services provided. They have the knowledge and understanding of GMP's, GLP's, and GCP's. PharmaSys consists of talented validation professionals who work together to meet client needs from different industries (Drugs, Biotech, Medical Devices, and Clinical Trials). To find out more about this company and to look up any job opportunities, you can find them on the web at "

CJC-AWIS 2003 Board Candidates

President

Min Xu, PhD

I am a scientist with great interest in the development of technology, product and application for diagnostic and drug discovery studies. Since we moved to New Jersey about five years ago, I have participated CJC-AWIS activities whenever time permits. It has been truly a joy to be among such a group of women scientists. During this past year, I have volunteered for the mentoring at World Genomics Conference in Atlantic City and helped with the organization of the October monthly gathering. It was with great pleasure to be able to contribute to such a wonderful organization. Look forward to another year of fun and learning experience.

Vice President

Shoreh Miller, DVM, PhD

I have been an AWIS-CJC member since 1996 and during this past year served on the CJC-AWIS board as vice president. I have enjoyed being involved with CJC-AWIS over the years as it has given me the opportunity to meet and develop friendships with many scientists in the central NJ area. I graduated from Tehran University with a DVM and also earned an MA at State University College at Buffalo and a Ph.D. at SUNY at Buffalo Medical School. I enjoy working with computers and self-studied to become a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). I have also completed many college level computer courses. Before the closure of the Discovery branch at EpiGenesis Pharmaceuticals, I was a project leader in High Throughput Screening department. My duties included developinghigh throughputcell-based assays and validating antisense oligonucleotide hits for asthma therapy. Currently, I am actively seeking a research scientist position in the central NJ area. I have enjoyed being involved with CJC-AWIS over the years and look forward to another successful year.

Secretary

Sandra J. Saouaf, PhD

During this past year I have served on the CJC-AWIS board as secretary. This has been an enjoyable and varied position. I have been a member of CJC-AWIS since our first public meeting in 1995. During the past three years I have served as the corporate sponsor chairperson soliciting companies for donations. I have completely enjoyed being involved with CJC-AWIS over the years and look forward to another successful year. I am a research specialist at the University of Pennsylvania Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine where I study signal transduction pathways through cell surface receptors.

Treasurer

Rose Oughtred, PhD

I joined CJC-AWIS in 2002 and will be serving as the Treasurer of this chapter in 2003. I hope to be able to contribute to the success of CJC-AWIS and am looking forward very much to the upcoming seminars and networking meetings. I am currently working as an Annotator at the Protein Data Bank (PDB) at Rutgers University. The PDB is a database for 3-D molecular structures determined by x-ray crystallography or NMR. In this position, I combine my scientific knowledge with some programming and data mining.

AWIS-CJC corporate sponsors

Wyeth

Firmenich

FMC

On Assignment Inc., Lab Support

This newsletter is sponsored by

Bristol-Myers Squibb

AWIS on the Web

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