UCSF Chancellor Part of Facebook Board UC San Francisco
Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, M.D., has been added as a member to Facebook’s board of directors. Facebook announced the decision on March 6. Dr. Desmond-Hellmann is the second female and ninth overall member of the board the board, joining Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreessen, Erskine Bowles, James Breyer, Donald E. Graham, Reed Hastings, Sheryl Sandberg and Peter Thiel. Before becoming chancellor of UCSF in 2009, Desmond-Hellman was president of product development at Genentech, a biotech company. She received a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine and a medical degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, and her master’s in public health at UC Berkeley.
Assistant Professor Suckjoon Jun Wins Allen Foundation Award
UCSD assistant professor of physics and molecular biology Suckjoon Jun was awarded $1.6 million from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation last week. Jun, one of UCSD’s newest faculty members, was one of five researchers who won the award for projects that “aim to unlock key questions in the areas of cellular decision making and modeling dynamic biological sciences.” This is also the foundation’s first award given to a UCSD recipient. Jun won the award for his research project involving evolution and control at the cellular level, and he is currently continuing his work to understand the roots of cancer by mathematically determining how cells evolved to sense when to divide.
Stranded Sea Lion Rescued
A sea lion pup was rescued near Mission Beach on Saturday, after being stranded between a trash can and a boardwalk wall that morning. SeaWorld animal care specialists took the pup after residents near Zanzibar Court reported the animal to lifeguards. The pup was then put inside a net and transported to SeaWorld; reports say it appeared dehydrated and underweight and had an injury to its eye, but according to a rescuer, the sea lion would recover. Rescuers also said that there have been a large number of stranded animals, including sea lion, harbor seal and elephant seal pups, perhaps due to the rainy weather. The weather and rough waves exhaust the pups, who come up to the sand to take a break, and they become dehydrated if they are out of the water for too long.
Man Killed in Sailboat Race
Craig Thomas Williams, a San Diego resident, was killed on Friday during the offshore islands sailing race when his crew’s sailboat, Uncontrollable Urge, tore apart near San Clemente Island. A Coast Guard air team rescued the crew 70 miles northwest of San Diego but could not save 36-year-old Williams. Five other people were injured. Uncontrollable Urge was one of 41 sailboats registered for the race and met all standard requirements, according to San Diego Yacht Club Commodore Chuck Hope. The crew was also said to be experienced; crewmembers tried to deploy a life raft and anchor their sailboat before it was torn apart. Uncontrollable Urge was not the only boat that was damaged in the race — the wreck marks the second fatal sailboat crash in less than a year.
Former Deputy Defense Attorney Fixes Seatbelt Ticket
Former San Diego Deputy District Attorney Allison Worden was sentenced to a $1,500 fine, one day of custody, three years on probation and 200 hours of community service for fixing a seatbelt ticket in 2011. Worden, who received the ticket at a “Click It or Ticket” checkpoint, called a friend from the San Diego Police Traffic Division, Sgt. Kevin Friedman, to get rid of her ticket from the citation bin. Worden resigned as defense attorney and Friedman has since retired from the San Diego Police Department, pleading no contest to a count of destroying a traffic citation and a sentence of 40 hours of community service, two years of probation and a $500 fine. Had Worden paid the ticket in 2011, it would have cost a minimum of $142.