UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Scott Carroll,  founding director of the Institute for Contemporary Evolution and affiliated with the Sharon Lawler lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will speak Thursday, Jan. 30 at a scientific forum of the Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco.

Carroll will discuss “An Approach to Conservation that Reconciles Past, Present and Future Landscapes in Nature” at The Club, located at 595 Market St., second floor. This is part of the ongoing forum topic, “Science of Conservation and Biodiversity in the 21st century.”

Biologists are now considering the “conciliation approach,” said spokesperson Chisako Ress, chair of the Science & Technology Member-Led Forum.  “This approach recognizes that mutual adaption of native and non-native species is changing best practices for promoting biodiversity. Dr. Carroll investigates how organisms respond to human-caused environmental change. He advocates for interdisciplinary solutions to problems of environmental conservation.”

A networking reception begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6. The cost is $20 for non-members; $8 for members, and $7 for students (with valid ID). Registration is available through the website, http://www.commonwealthclub.org/ or by telephoning (415) 597-6705.

Ress said non-club-members can enjoy the program at the discounted rate of $8 (rather than $20), using the coupon code listed below:

Thursday, Jan. 30, 6 p.m. - Dr. Scott Carroll: Conciliation Biology: An Approach to Conservation that Reconciles Past, Present and Future Landscapes in Nature.  Coupon Code: friendsforcarroll.  For program detail and registration, please see: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-01-30/scott-carroll-conciliation-biology

Carroll, who directs the Institute for Contemporary Evolution, does research on patterns of ongoing evolution in wild and anthropogenic environments. His studies on evolutionary changes in soapberry bugs in response to plant introductions are seminal contributions to our understanding of diversification.

The UC Davis evolutionary ecologist is the co-editor of the book, Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action (Oxford University Press, 2008). with Charles Fox, professor of insect genetics, behavior and evolutionary ecology, University of Kentucky. 

Carroll co-authored a research paper that was selected in 2013 as one of the top 100 most influential papers ever published by the worldwide British Ecological Society, headquartered in London. The 13-page article, “Adaptive Versus Non-Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity and the Potential for Contemporary Adaptation in New Environments,” published in April 2007 (Volume 21) in the British Ecological Society’s journal, Functional Ecology.

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. It brings more than 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy to 20,000 members. Its mission: to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. 

Founded in 1903, The Commonwealth Club has played host to a diverse and distinctive array of speakers, from Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Alec Baldwin and author Christopher Hitchens in recent years. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have all given landmark speeches at The Club.

For members outside the Bay Area, the Club's weekly radio broadcast — the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 — is carried across the nation on public and commercial radio stations. The website archive features audio and video of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history.

Two UC Speakers Pending
Two more UC speakers, butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro of the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology and forest ecologist Joe McBride of UC Berkeley, are booked for talks at the Commonwealth Club. Ress said non-club-members can enjoy the programs at the discounted rate of $8 (rather than $20), using the coupon codes listed below:

Monday, March 24, Noon - Arthur M. Shapiro, UC Davis: Ecological Communities and the March of Time. Coupon Code: friendsforshapiro.  For program detail and registration, please see:  http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-03-24/arthur-m-shapiro-ecological-communities-and-march-time

Wednesday, April 9, Noon -  Joe R. McBride, UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management: The History, Ecology and Future of Eucalyptus Plantations in the Bay Area.  Coupon Code: friendsformcbridge.  For program detail and registration, please see: http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-04-09/joe-r-mcbride-history-ecology-and-future-eucalyptus-plantations-bay-area

Renowned nematologist Dewey John Raski, 96, of Davis, who served as the first chair of the statewide Department of Nematology at UC Davis and UC Riverside as part of his 31-year UC career, passed away Jan. 21. (Information on his memorial service is pending.)

Dr. Raski, known for his research on nematodes in the vineyards and sugarbeet fields, made great strides in establishing relationships between nematodes and the plant viruses they transmit. He and other campus researchers pioneered alternative approaches to nematode control that support sustainable agricultural practices.

He authored the book, “The Biology and Morphology of the Sugar-Beet Nematode, Heterodera schachtii (Schmidt)” and was the main author of the book, “Nematodes and Their Control in Vineyards.”  He retired from UC Davis in 1987.

Dr. Raski received his doctorate in entomology in 1948 from UC Berkeley. He began his academic career on the UC Berkeley faculty that same year and then transferred to UC Davis in 1954 to establish the teaching and research program on campus. He chaired the UC Davis Department of Nematology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology) from 1959 to 1964, and from 1969 to 1973.

In 1998, he received a UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Award of Distinction. He was a founding member of the Society of Nematologists, bringing representation of the discipline in California to the attention of national and international nematologists. In India, he served as the catalyst that developed its first department of nematology, modeling it after UC Davis.

Dr. Raski was the lead author of “A History of Nematology in California,” with colleagues Ivan Thomason, John Chitambar and Howard Ferris. In the document, they related how they and fellow researchers sought to reduce the impact of nematodes on California's agricultural production, and to foster safer pest control that promotes sustainable agricultural practices by decreasing agricultural impact of plant and animal parasitic nematodes and reducing use of toxic pesticides; advancing knowledge of fundamental nematode biology; and promoting the beneficial uses of nematodes, including the biological control of insect pests. 

Born Dec. 12, 1917 in Kenilworth, Utah, Dewey was three years old when he moved with his family to Los Angeles. He graduated from UC Berkeley in entomology in 1941. The start of World War II interrupted his graduate studies. He and two fellow students drove to Sacramento to enlist in the then Army Air Force: Dewey for pilot training, Phil Crane for gunnery training and Harold Reynolds for navigator training. All three returned to Berkeley and entomology after the war ended in 1945.

At first, there were few or no job opportunities, he recalled in “A History of Nematology in California.” Professor E. O. Essig, then chair of the UC Berkeley Department of Entomology and Parasitology, advised most of the returning students to continue their education toward a doctorate of philosophy.

Dewey opted to do that and enrolled in a program directed by Arthur “Dick” Borden, a specialist on insects affecting California’s pome fruit production. Midway through the project, however, he met Professor Merlin Allen and changed direction to work on nematode problems. His thesis covered detailed descriptions on the morphology and biology of Heterodera schachtii, a serious pathogen of California sugar beets.

Beginning in 1948, Dr. Raski taught a formal course in plant nematology at UC Berkeley. In 1954 he was transferred to UC Davis to establish “teaching and research on the campus” in the newly created Department of Plant Nematology. He taught formal courses in general plant nematology, principles and techniques of nematode taxonomy and morphology, nematode taxonomy and comparative morphology.

"The evolution of nematology at Davis was slow but sure, gaining wider acceptance every year and ultimately succeeded as a full-fledged department for research and teaching,” Raski wrote in the “A History of Nematology.” 

On Jan. 9, 1954, Harrison “Harry” Wellman, then UC vice president for agricultural sciences announced plans for a statewide Department of Nematology and selected Dr. Raski of UC Davis as the chair, with the vice chairs at UC Berkeley and UC Riverside.

At UC Davis, “there was, from the beginning, a constant flow of national and international visitors of every sort and for variable periods of time,” Dr. Raski said. “The shortest period must have been one chap who arrived at the door asking for a briefing of what we knew about nematodes. He requested that this be done in less than one hour as he had a tight schedule! Some were post-doctorals or visiting scientists more likely to be three months to a year in collaborative research with a prearranged and agreed-upon subject. The collaborative research projects carried out at UC Davis covered a wide range of subjects the results of which made significant contributions to nematology.” 

Dr. Raski recalled that space was tight in his first years at UC Davis. The Department of Entomology faculty “occupied a building that had previously served as the garage for University cars and trucks. Imposing three more faculty into that tightly crowded facility was an unreasonable burden on that department. The answer was found in a tiny corner room used for storing cans of old insecticide chemicals, diluents, lubricants, etc. That storage room was cleared, then together with a small adjacent area which served mostly for coffee breaks was thoroughly cleaned and painted. Finally a temporary wall and door were added and the resulting space proved barely adequate for three desks and chairs. It served as office quarters for Raski, (Bert) Lear and (B. F.) Lownsbery for several years in the early humble beginnings of Nematology at UC Davis.” 

“Fortunately the special appropriations by the State Legislature provided funds for a full greenhouse and headhouse/laboratory. The site chosen to build these facilities was conveniently in the central part of campus and fully equipped to carry out various research projects. Later, campus plans designated this site as within the 10-minute zone, so-called to define the central part of campus within which students could walk between classes from one to another anywhere within that zone. Greenhouse work was to be located in a more distant area to the west and Nematology’s greenhouse itself was moved and reassigned to another department. The original headhouse/laboratory was reassigned to the Department of Botany but Nematology was privileged to redesign completely new, up-to-date facilities and equipment.”

Dewey Raski and his wife, Evelyn (Calmett), celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on April 20, 2013.  The couple raised four children: Carole Juergenson of Oakdale, Paul Raski of Dixon, Maya Bodine of Davis and the late Bill Raski.  A Davis Enterprise news article of May 16, 2013 related that they had 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, with “two more on the way.”

“My grandparents are loved by many; they have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that may not be blood, but are as dear to them as family,” granddaughter Angela Raski said in the news article. “They are some of the kindest, most compassionate, loving, faithful, and generous people you will ever meet. Seventy years of marriage is a rare and priceless jewel, and only becoming more so!”

Dr. Raski was also a humanitarian. Responding to a need for affordable housing in Davis, Raski helped organize the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.

Said colleague and emeritus professor of nematology Harry Kaya: "Dewey Raski led a wonderful life as a caring husband, father, grandfather, scientist and chair of the Department of Nematology.  I believe he was a
wrestler in college and I do know that he trained pilots during World War II. He is known in India as the scientist who was instrumental in bringing nematology to the fore front and trained many Indian scientists.  He was an excellent nematode systematist and taxonomist, but also did significant work in nematode control.  He was involved in the research that showed that grapevine fanleaf virus was transmitted by a nematode."

Related Links:
Living Legends: An Interview with Dewey Raski, Nematology Newsletter
Dewey Raski's work on the grapevine fanlaf virus transmitted by a nematode

Sources: “A History of Nematology in California” (as of January 2003); UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Outlook publications, and the Davis Enterprise. Special thanks to nematologists Steve Nadler and Harry Kaya.

DAVIS--Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock, who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, is the recipient of the biennial Bernard B. Brodie Award in Drug Metabolism, sponsored by American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

The award consists of a $2,000 honorarium and a commemorative medal. His work will be published in the journal Drug Metabolism and Disposition.

A member of the UC Davis faculty since 1980, Hammock will receive the award April 28 during the joint annual meeting of the ASPET and the Chinese Pharmacological Society, set for April 26-30 in San Diego. He will present a keynote speech about his research.

The award recognizes Hammock’s outstanding original research contributions to the understanding of human drug metabolism and transport and the continued impact of his research in the area of drug discovery and development.

Hammock, who directs a laboratory of more than 40 scientists and students in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, explores the biochemical basis of human and environment interactions and their implications for improving both human and environmental health.

For more than 35 years, Hammock has worked on the mechanism of certain hydrolytic enzymes and their effect on human health. His work has helped identify new targets for the action of drugs and other compounds to improve health and predict risk from various environmental chemicals.

In selecting Hammock, ASPET acknowledged Hammock’s collaborative studies in drug metabolism and metabolomics. The society also noted his tradition of sharing reagents for research to enable investigators in both the private and public sectors to make substantial advances for the development of potentially useful therapeutic compounds to treat stroke, atherosclerosis, heart failure, renal failure, inflammation and neuropathic pain.

Hammock is best known for his work on epoxide hydrolases and in particular, the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), but also has made major contributions to the esterase field and other enzymes involved in drug metabolism. He has received many awards for his work in agriculture, toxicology and chemistry.

Hammock directs the campuswide Superfund Research Program, National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Training Program, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Combined Analytical Laboratory. He is a fellow of the Entomological Society of America, a member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, and the recipient of the 2001 UC Davis Faculty Research Lecture Award and the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching. 

Hammock received his bachelor of science degree magna cum laude from Louisiana State University in entomology and chemistry and his doctorate from UC Berkeley in entomology and toxicology, working in xenobiotic metabolism.

KEY DISCOVERIES ON sEH FROM HAMMOCK LABORATORY

• Discovery of sEH (1972)
• First rapid radiochemical assay methods (1979, 1980)
• First spectral and fluorescent assays for the enzyme (1982, 1988, 1994)
• Fluorescent high throughput assay for screening (2005, 2006)
• First high throughput screen (90,000 compound National Institutes of Health library) (2007, PubChem)
• Initial determination of substrate selectivity (1979, 1980)
• Discovery that fatty acid epoxides are good substrates for sEH (1979)
• Discovery that PPAR alpha agonists induce the sEH (1983)
• Development of first antibodies to sEH (1981)
• Development of 1 step affinity purification procedure for sEH (1985, 1988)
• Cloning and expression of rodent and human sEH cDNA (1993)
• First cloning, expression and characterization of a plant sEH (1994)
• Cloning of first sEH gene (1994)
• First irreversible inhibitors (1982)
• Discovery that arachidonate epoxides are substrates of sEH (1983)
• First study of regio and stereospecificity of enzyme (1980, 1993)
• Regio and enantiospecificity of sEH with epoxyeicosanoids (1993)
• First isolation of substrate-enzyme complex (1994)
• Elucidation of the catalytic mechanism of epoxide hydrolases (1995)
• Discovery that linoleate diols are chemical mediators (1997)
• Blocking linoleate epoxide toxicity with EH inhibitors (1998)
• X-ray structure of the sEH (1999)
• Discovery of first transition state mimics of EH (1999)
• Reduction of blood pressure in vivo with sEH inhibitors (sEHI) (2000)
• Development of the first potent mEH inhibitors (2001)
• Characterization of eicosanoid profiles by LC-MS including EETs (2002)
• Demonstration that sEH is a divalent enzyme with lipid phosphatase activity (2003)
• Demonstration that sEHI can treat rodent models of chronic pulmonary obstructive     disease (copd) and lipopolysaccharide induced sepsis (2005)
• Demonstration that sEHI shift the entire arachidonate cascade from a pattern of initiation of inflammation to a pattern of resolution of inflammation (2005)
• Founded a company and acquired funding to develop sEHI clinically (2005)
• Demonstrated sEHI synergize COX inhibitors and reduce thromboxanes (2006)
• Optimized picomolar sEHI with good ADME in rodent, canine and primates (2007)
• Demonstration sEHI synergize LOX and FLAP inhibitors (2007)
• Demonstration sEHI are strongly analgesic (2007)
• Demonstration that sEHI are strongly analgesic with neuropathic pain (2008)
• Successful treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain with sEH inhibitor in double blind cross over trial (2012)
• Demonstration that the ω-3 epoxide, DHA, is more potent at reducing blood pressure, pain, and inflammation than ω-6 ARA (2011-13)
• Demonstration that DHA epoxide reduces angiogenesis, tumor growth and metastasis (2013)
• The sEHI and other compounds from the Hammock laboratory have been used to dissect the basic biology of the P450 branch of the arachidonate cascade and to identify numerous clinical targets ranging from cardiovascular disease to diabetes.

ASPET is a 4800-member scientific society whose members conduct basic and clinical pharmacological research in academia, industry and the government. Their efforts help develop new medicines and therapeutic agents to fight existing and emerging diseases.

Last year’s Brodie Award recipient was Yuichi Sugiyama of the University of Tokyo, a world leader in the pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences via integrative studies on the pharmacokinetics and membrane transport of drugs. 

As a child, Tom Hammock captured, sketched and released dragonflies, damselflies and wasps.

His interest in “all things bugs” stemmed from his entomologist father, Bruce Hammock, now a distinguished professor at the University of California, Davis.

It was not just entomology and art, though, that interested Tom. He listened attentively to the southern folklore and childhood memories that his father, reared in the Deep South, shared:
Black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck; a mischievous pet raccoon named Willy; the comings and goings of a scientist operating a biological supply company in a swamp; and
the ever-present will-o’-the-wisp lighting up Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Swamp.

Tom Hammock not only drew it all in; he made it his own and then some.

Entomology and art, pyramided with writing, landscape architecture, film production and storytelling, evolved into an original graphic novel, “An Aurora Grimeon Story—Will O’ the Wisp,” authored by Tom Hammock, illustrated by his friend Megan Hutchison and edited by Rebecca Taylor.

“It’s about wicked delights and dark things,” said Tom, “and it has a girl-science component.” In fact, it is billed as the first graphic novel with a strong girl scientist as the main character.  The publisher, Archaia, will release the book Jan. 28. It is already drawing rave reviews, including “This book shows the beginning of fine careers as creators of stories.”

It has already been nominated for "best young adult graphic novel" award from the American Library Association.

The Hammock-Hutchison novel is the first of a planned trilogy starring a 12-year-old orphan, Aurora Grimeon, who goes to live with her grandfather on Ossuary Isle, a cemetery island in a southern swamp. Her grandfather, Silver, operates a biological supply business in the basement of a mansion,providing universities with skeletons, venoms and “various other unsavory things,” Tom says. Aurora works with him.

“Almost no one writes for girls and almost no one writes for girls dealing with girls and science,” Tom said. “Graphic novels for girls are rare and have a tough road in the publishing world.”

Assorted bugs, including butterflies, scorpions, fireflies, mosquitoes, beetles and spiders, find their way into the book. So does a pet raccoon named Missy, patterned after Bruce’s childhood pet, Willy.

“As a parent, it is always interesting to see what your kids pick up in their childhood,” said Bruce Hammock, a Little Rock, Ark. native who graduated in 1969 from Louisiana State University (LSU) and then obtained his doctorate in entomology/toxicology from UC Berkeley. “I think my Willy stories were recreated in the tale about Aurora.”

Aurora’s last name is Grimeon, named for one of Bruce’s LSU roommates, Jim Grimeon. “I am so thrilled that so much of this history,” Bruce said, “has resurfaced in Tom’s book.”

Aurora, accompanied by Missy the raccoon, explores the fog-shrouded island as “ghostly things happen and residents disappear,” Tom said. Aurora follows a will ‘o’ the wisp, an eerie blue light floating several feet off the ground. “The will-o’-wisp is a natural phenomenon,” Tom said. “It’s actually a natural swamp gas.”

Aurora uses science and hoodoo to uncover secrets “better left uncovered,” said Tom. He defines the hoodoo that weaves throughout the novel as “a blend of Native American, Northern European and West African traditions.”

Quipped Bruce: “I never knew that my family in Arkansas practiced hoodoo—I thought everyone ate black-eyed peas, hog jowl and burned a bayberry candle on New Year’s Day. We still do.”

Bruce and his wife, Lassie, reared their three offspring to love nature. “The Atchafalaya certainly is as much a wilderness as the Sierra Nevada with islands that move with the tides, different cultures, and a rich biological diversity—much of which bites,” said Bruce, who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“Tom has always had a love of biology and landscape,” Bruce said. “He was always sketching nature in his childhood. He could not stand to kill insects for his high school insect collection so instead, he made exquisite drawings of insects that he captured.”

Tom, a 1994 graduate of Davis High School, initially studied biology at UC Berkeley and then switched to landscape architecture. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture, he left Berkeley to study film design at the American Film Institute. He then went on to work in such film productions as “Breaking Bad,” “Dexter,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” He is now involved in the hugely popular young adult and horror film genre.

“At first I wanted to be a scientific illustrator,” Tom said. He took private art  lessons from Mary Foley Benson of Davis, former chief USDA scientific illustrator at the Smithsonian Natural History. Her work graces Bruce Hammock's office in Briggs Hall and in a conference room.

Tom’s family and friends say that his upbringing—exposure to biology, art, landscape architecture, storytelling and movie production—strongly influences his current work. “In his book and his movies, one can see the theme, that the landscape sets the mood,” Bruce said. “Certainly the Atchafalaya swamp sets a mood in their book as it does in some of the writings of William Faulkner.”

The Hammock family is a three-doctorate family. In addition to Bruce the entomologist, son Bruce (UC Davis doctorate), is an aquatic entomologist in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and daughter Frances (UCLA doctorate), is a mathematician in San Diego.

Tom, known for his sense of humor, wrote in his biography published on Oscillary Isle website: “My father studies venoms, insects and other odd creatures. As such, most family vacations were spent in the wilderness, often hunting for previously said creatures and their venoms. I've lived a number of places around the world including, but not limited to Australia (home of many venomous creatures) and England (home of not so many venomous creatures.)"

"Presently I live in Hollywood where I drink tea and design films when I'm not writing graphic novels."  Some of the films he’s designed include “You're Next,” “All The Boys Love Mandy Lane,” and “V/H/S 2.”

Tom’s parents, Bruce and Lassie, appeared in a 2013 movie that Tom directed and produced. The film, as yet untitled, is expected to be released sometime this year.

“I watched a lot of movies in my childhood,” said Tom, who remembers growing up without a TV or with a black and white TV in high school. One of his favorite films?  “Blade Runner.”

Tom recalls working on the film, Dexter, and blowing up a boat. “Then when we arrived at the airport they wouldn’t let us on the plane because of the residue on our hands.”

Meanwhile, Tom Hammock and Megan Hutchison are excited about the graphic novel and pleased with the design. It resembles a diary, complete with lock, and is printed with a gold foil-embossed hard cover. “It looks as if it belongs in Silver’s old library of curiosities,” Tom said.

They are also growing increasingly fond of their adventuresome, strong and science-loving character, Aurora. They are eagerly looking forward to Part 2 of the trilogy.

So are the fans. One online comment: “"OMG!! This was so good. I hope and hope and hope there will be more!!!!"

Another commented: "I love Aurora and everything about this story. The art is fantastic. 10 out of 10.”

Others described it as “deliciously moody,” “impressively creepy” and “a blend of macabre and whimsy (which) makes for some fun and unexpected reading.”

Looking back, entomologist Bruck Hammock said: "Tom was always interested in landscape, art, and biology.  However, film and graphic novels are so far from my background I never saw this as a career path.  In retrospect it is obvious."

For more information:
Website: http://www.ossuaryisle.com
Book Trailer: http://www.ossuaryisle.com/trailer.html
Preview, PDF: http://ossuaryisle.com/preview.pdf
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ossuaryisle
Preview by Comic Book Resources: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=18246
Goodreads.com: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18125353-will-o-the-wisp
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Will-Wisp-Aurora-Grimeon-Hammock/dp/1936393786
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZf1wJDMSG0
Trending tweets: #WILLOtheWisp