- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ants, bees, flies and other insects--and people--ought to scatter from the Briggs Hall lawn on the UC Davis campus, on Friday afternoon, July 16.
That's the date of the eighth annual Bruce Hammock Lab Water Balloon Battle, aka Bruce's Big Balloon Battle at Briggs.
Entomologists and other scientists, along with other faculty, staff, spouses and children, will engage in some summer fun.
Bruce Hammock, a distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology who holds a joint appointment in cancer research with the UC Davis Medical Center, launched the water battle back in 2003 as a way to develop camaraderie and lessen the scorching summer heat.
At 1:30 p.m. participants will fill some 2200 water balloons in 82 Briggs, and at 3:45 p.m., they'll head to the north end of the Briggs Hall lawn to do battle.
Last year the eager warriors tossed all the balloons in 15 minutes--15 minutes of aim.
When the balloons are gone, any water remaining in the tubs and other containers is put to good use over an unsuspecting head.
Lately Hammock has been in the news for several reasons:
- He directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Program on the UC Davis campus, which recently received a $13.2 million, five-year grant renewal to study the health effects of hazardous chemicals
- His entomological studies on "bugs" have led to new hope for diabetes and heart patients. (See latest story on diabetes)
- He recently presented a public lecture on “The Development and Potential of Genetically Engineered Viruses for Insect Control in Agriculture" as part of the COSMOS Distinguished Lecture Series on the UC Davis campus. This is the four-week California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science summer residential program for high achieving math and science students, grades 9 through 12.
Hammock, a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1999, also directs the National Institutes of Health Training Program in Biotechnology and the NEIHS Combined Analytical Program.
He's considered a talented scientist, a dedicated mentor, a superb teacher, and...(drum roll) a water warrior extraordinaire.
As one former member of the lab said: "Nobody but nobody can beat Bruce at water balloons."
![DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR Bruce Hammock of the UC Davis Department of Entomology gets doused with a series of water balloons at last year's water balloon battle but emerges victorious. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR Bruce Hammock of the UC Davis Department of Entomology gets doused with a series of water balloons at last year's water balloon battle but emerges victorious. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4391.jpg)
![LET US SPRAY--Christophe Morisseau (far left), a scientist in the Bruce Hammock lab who coordinates the annual water balloon battles, gets soaked at last year's event. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) LET US SPRAY--Christophe Morisseau (far left), a scientist in the Bruce Hammock lab who coordinates the annual water balloon battles, gets soaked at last year's event. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4392.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The economy is tanked. The cuts keep coming. The smiles fade.
Not tomorrow.
Friday afternoon, July 17 is the seventh annual Bruce's Big Balloon Battle at Briggs.
Bruce? That would be Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, and a longtime member of the National Academy of Sciences. He and fellow researchers, faculty, staff and students will leave their offices and labs at 1:30 p.m. to fill up 2500 water balloons, and then exactly at 3:45 they will...ahem... throw them at each other on the north lawn of Briggs Hall.
Fact is, they work hard and they play hard. The annual balloon battle is how they spell R-E-L-I-E-F.
Hammock's research and daily schedule would overwhelm most scientists. He holds a joint appointment in cancer research with the UC Davis Medical Center. He directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Program on the UC Davis campus, as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Program in Biotechnology and the NIEHS Combined Analytical Laboratory. His discovery of an enzyme inhibitor that holds promise to control human diseases (such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma and cystic fibrosis) is now a first-in-class drug in human clinical trials.
But this noted entomologist who switched his research from pest control to human pain control, also excels at water balloon battles--so much so that nobody, but nobody can beat Bruce Hammock.
Still, Hammock lab researcher Christophe Morisseau, coordinator of the 2009 and 2008 battles, tries. Morisseau's aim is good, but Hammock's feet are faster.
The best part is when the water warriors deplete their water supply and chase each other with tubs and buckets of water.
Check out the 2008 battle, the 2007 battle and the 2006 battle.
Just water--nothing else--is tossed.
Oh, but what if...
Aftter the 2006 battle, we asked Jason Graham, a forensic entomology researcher who works with blow flies and maggots, if he planned to compete the following year. "I'd like to participate next year," he said, "but I don’t think they’d appreciate what we have to throw.”
![BRUCE HAMMOCK knows how to dodge water balloons and he'll do so again Friday at Bruce's Big Balloon Battle at Briggs at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) BRUCE HAMMOCK knows how to dodge water balloons and he'll do so again Friday at Bruce's Big Balloon Battle at Briggs at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/2099.jpg)
![GOTCHA! Bruce Hammock is hit by a water ballon. When the water warriors deplete their supply of water balloons, they turn to tubs and buckets. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) GOTCHA! Bruce Hammock is hit by a water ballon. When the water warriors deplete their supply of water balloons, they turn to tubs and buckets. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/2100.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a sense of urgency.
When UC Davis researchers Bruce Hammock and Nipavan Chiamvimonvat and their team discovered that a prototype drug reduces heart enlargement--one of the most common causes of heart failure--and published their work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the response was overwhelming.
Electronic and print news media throughout the world picked it up. So did bloggers and other social networkers. But the most heartwarming responses came from heart patients.
One person e-mailed Hammock: "I've been following your research in cardiac hypertrophy for sometime and we really thank you." He said his family has a history of cardiac hypertrophy and wants to know more about the developments.
And to think this research sprang from studies on insect pest control in the Hammock lab.
The research in the Chiamvimonvat and Hammock laboratories showed that the new class of drugs reduces heart swelling in rat models with heart failure.
“This holds promise to treat heart failure and other cardiovascular as well as kidney problems,” said nephrology professor Robert Weiss, Department of Internal Medicine.
Similar compounds are now in clinical trials.
"It certainly gives a feeling of urgency," agreed Hammock.
![DEDICATION--Entomologist Bruce Hammock,a distinguished professor at UC Davis, confers with a researcher at a recent meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Hammock holds a joint appointment in Cancer Research with the UC Davis Medical Center. He directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Program on the UC Davis campus, as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Program in Biotechnology, and the NIEHS Combined Analytical Laboratory.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) DEDICATION--Entomologist Bruce Hammock,a distinguished professor at UC Davis, confers with a researcher at a recent meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Hammock holds a joint appointment in Cancer Research with the UC Davis Medical Center. He directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Program on the UC Davis campus, as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Program in Biotechnology, and the NIEHS Combined Analytical Laboratory.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1264.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Call it serendipity. Call it a major collaborative effort. Call it a keen eye for science.
Whatever you call it, research that sprang from studies on insect pest control in the Bruce Hammock lab at the
We all know of people suffering from heart failure, which occurs when the heart can’t pump enough blood throughout the body. The condition affects 5 million people in the
The research in the laboratories of cardiologist and cell biologist Nipavan Chiamvimonvat, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, and entomologist Bruce Hammock, Department of Entomology, showed that the new class of drugs reduces heart swelling in rat models with heart failure.
“This holds promise to treat heart failure and other cardiovascular as well as kidney problems,” said nephrology professor Robert Weiss, Department of Internal Medicine.
Similar compounds are now in clinical trials.
"The study of rat models showed that heart failure is driven by high angiotensin associated with high blood pressure, artery disease and some kidney disease,” Hammock said. “When that occurs, a key enzyme called soluble epoxide hydrolase is increased."
The 11-member research team showed they could inhibit the enzyme with a drug made by Paul Jones, a former postgraduate researcher at UC Davis. The swelling and ultimate failure of the heart is blocked and reversed, Hammock said.
“Interestingly, the increase in heart size associated with extreme exercise does not increase levels of the epoxide hydrolase, and exercise induced heart enlargement fortunately is not blocked by the drug.”
This research follows earlier studies reported from the Chiamvimonvat laboratory on cardiac hypertrophy. The two UC Davis laboratories collaborated with the laboratories of John Shyy at UC Riverside and Yi Zhu, Cardiovascular Sciences,
The paper, “Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Plays an Essential Role in Angiotensin II-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy,” is online.
This is definitely a significant discovery that could result in saving scores of lives. And to think it all started with the Hammock lab discovering an enzyme inhibitor that regulates insect larvae development.
![Bruce Hammock and Nipavan Chiamvimonvat look at enzyme distribution in a heart muscle cell. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Bruce Hammock and Nipavan Chiamvimonvat look at enzyme distribution in a heart muscle cell. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1222.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Friday lite.
That's what it was.
But it was more than that, too.
Every year, Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at UC Davis, wages a water balloon battle for faculty, researchers, graduate students, staff, family and friends.
It takes place on the lawn, north side of Briggs Hall, near his basement lab and offices. We like to kid around that he's located on the “garden level” of Briggs. When Hammock hosts Bruce's Big Balloon Battle at Briggs, it becomes the “water level.”
This year (Friday, Aug. 15) they filled 2500 water balloons and then threw them at one another. Every year when the water balloons are all gone, they empty the buckets—which really makes for some nice photos. I'm glad Bruce Hammock can be so accommodating!
“Nobody can beat Bruce Hammock at water balloons,” said former administrative assistant Jeanette Martin, who returned for the big balloon battle.
The Hammock lab works hard and plays hard.
Bruce Dupree Hammock just won the 2008 UC Davis Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching; he was nominated for his "dedication to his students, his interdisciplinary thrust, and his scientific and professional career guidance."
“This award is one of the most prestigious granted on the UC Davis campus and recognizes consistent outstanding teaching and commitment to student success,” said Krishnan Nambiar, chair of the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award Committee in a letter to Hammock nominator Michael Denison, professor of environmental toxicology.
Chemical ecologist Walter Leal, professor of entomology at UC Davis, described Hammock as an excellent teacher and mentor. “I can unequivocally tell you that teaching is Dr. Hammock's passion. He considers teaching the most important role of his university career...He motivates, encourages and inspires, molding a whole new generation of scientists who are discovering ways to benefit humankind.”
Hammock is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and holds a joint appointment in Cancer Research with the UC Davis Medical Center. He directs the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Program on the UC Davis campus, as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Program in Biotechnology, and the NIEHS Combined Analytical Laboratory.
In the last five years Hammock has hosted more than 40 postdoctoral fellows or senior scientists. He has helped train future entomologists, biochemists, engineers, chemists and biologists.
You could say he also trains them to be water warriors.
Make that water warriors, extraordinaire.
![Wei Xu, of chemical ecologist Walter Leal's lab, gets drenched. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Wei Xu, of chemical ecologist Walter Leal's lab, gets drenched. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/616.jpg)
![Research scientist Christophe Morisseau of the Hammock lab scores a hit on graduate student Karen Wagner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Research scientist Christophe Morisseau of the Hammock lab scores a hit on graduate student Karen Wagner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/617.jpg)
![Jun Yang (left), a postdoctoral fellow in the Bruce Hammock lab and an analytical chemist, gets drenched by entomologist Junaid ur Rehman, who is visiting the Bruce Hammock lab from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Jun Yang (left), a postdoctoral fellow in the Bruce Hammock lab and an analytical chemist, gets drenched by entomologist Junaid ur Rehman, who is visiting the Bruce Hammock lab from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/618.jpg)
![Bruce Hammock wipes water from his face. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Bruce Hammock wipes water from his face. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/619.jpg)
![Splat! Someone scores a direct hit on Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Splat! Someone scores a direct hit on Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/620.jpg)