E-Board No. 59

December 4, 2007

eboard overview:

The eboard this month includes a number of items of interest to the ISDCI members. Tributes to René Stet are included followed by a meeting announcement and a symposium that will be dedicated to René Stet and John Marchalonis and their contributions to the field of comparative immunology. This is followed by descriptions of a number of postdoctoral positions that are currently open. Finally, there is an announcement of a special honor that has been bestowed upon one of our members.

L. Courtney Smith, Secretary of Education

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Tributes to René Stet:

I first met Rene 20 years ago, at a fish immunology conference organised by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. It was held in Plymouth, and although we were both working in Aberdeen at the time, we had not met previously. It was one of those encounters where you hit it off with someone straight away. We were contemporaries with many experiences in common and a marked enthusiasm for our respective research areas. Rene moved to Wageningen University shortly afterwards and as his work on the fish MHC took off we had the opportunity to collaborate on a couple of projects, which were great fun and very productive. The fish MHC molecular biology was running ahead of cytokine biology and at the ISDCI congress in Portland in 1991 Rene was incredibly supportive of our attempts to isolate cytokines and predicted that the first genes would be through for the next congress. He helped us on the way meantime, with Laura Hardie visiting his lab to learn about the use of degenerate primers for homology cloning. As it happened, the next ISDCI congress was also in Wageningen. The meeting had a real buzz about it with the wealth of new data on MHC genes and their polymorphism and the cloning of the TcR for the first time in fish, but unfortunately no cytokine genes had yet been cloned. However, using the techniques learnt the year before, within a couple of months of the meeting Laura cloned our first cytokine gene and we never looked back; so Rene was pretty close in his prediction really. As we cloned more genes it was not uncommon to ask Rene to cast a critical eye over our data, as we found our way with molecular biology. We could rely on sound feedback and he was always happy to discuss science and offer advice freely. Over the next decade we met most years at various comparative immunology conferences and fish immunology workshops, and had a particularly memorable time at the fish vaccination meeting in Bergen in 2003, where science and socialising went on till late most evenings! We had discussed moves around this time and a year or so later a possibility arose when Aberdeen launched a campaign for so-called “6th century chairs”, to recruit quality scientists to the University. There was a real sense of excitement that Rene would be joining our fish immunology centre, and we were not disappointed. He proved to be a great colleague, and was quickly at the heart of our research at all levels. Unfortunately I had the pleasure of working alongside Rene for only two and a half years.

Chris Secombes, Scottish Fish Immunology Research Centre, Aberdeen.

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About three years ago, René asked me to be one of his references for a professorship at the University of Aberdeen. Here’s part of a letter of recommendation I wrote on his behalf that describes what I thought about René as a colleague in the small world of evolutionary immunobiologists. Sadly, I’ve had to change the text from the present to the past tense.
“I knew Dr. Stet from the time he joined the faculty of Wageningen University, and over the years, I followed his research with great interest. Dr. Stet was a world-class scientist with a keen interest in molecular immunogenetics and evolutionary immunobiology. Pretty much single-handedly, he brought contemporary molecular technology to Wageningen University’s group in fish immunology where he developed into an international leader in his field. René’s contributions to our understanding of the structure and genetic organization of the major histocompatibility complex in fish are seminal. So too are his immunogenetic and functional analyses of resistance and susceptibility of salmonids to disease. René’s independent and collaborative research programs were neither static nor repetitive. Rather, they revealed continual growth and development of new ideas and applications.”
These rather formal remarks do not touch upon my great respect for René as a person and friend. They do not speak to his joie de vivre; they do not address his frankness, integrity, warmth, and high standards. They do not touch upon his sensitivity and sense of adventure. They do not address his love of nature, in particular, of a class of higher vertebrates with wings. I will miss René as will so many of his colleagues who also thought of him as a friend. I offer my heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Noortje, and his children.

Nicholas Cohen
Rochester, NY

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René Stet was my friend, collaborator and mentor. I first met him at the ISDCI conference in Portland, Oregon in 1991, where we realized that we had a mutual interest in fish MHC research. We instantly started a collaboration and friendship that lasted over 16 years and 13 publications. René did his science with a gusto that he also put into life. For example, working with him was extremely easy, as he was always willing to listen to another’s ideas and discuss science at the drop of a hat, but liked to combine it with a nice dinner, or other activity. One particularly pleasant dinner that comes to mind was blackened Mahi Mahi that he and I shared in the Florida Keys after the MHC and Evolution workshop in 1994, accompanied with musings on the population dynamics of MHC genes in fish. A meal of lamprey that we shared in Portugal with Pedro Rodrigues in ’95 was less pleasant in taste, but not in the quality of company. René and I shared an office for two years, but funnily enough it is the road trips we shared that I remember the most – sometimes for his passion of bird watching, other times to attend conferences. We drove thousands and thousands of kilometers together – around the Southern half of Nova Scotia, around the Southern half of Florida (in which we were mistaken for Bikers attending bike week one day and then another woman was certain René was Irish because of his “beautiful brogue”), around northern Portugal, a return trip from Wageningen to Prague and another from Wageningen to Uppsala, plus many, many more, always discussing fish immunology and planning the next steps in our research. René was a master of constructive criticism and could see the key flaws in research or experiments instantly, but managed to point them out in a constructive way – the best type of colleague one could hope for. He was the most valuable of colleagues for this. We could bounce ideas off each other, criticize, comment and synthesize conclusions easily and quickly – it never seemed like work when researching or writing with René. I was honoured to call him a friend and colleague, and will miss him dearly.

Brian Dixon

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I have always considered René to be my twin brother, separated at birth (and I have the matching amulet to prove it!). Our careers followed similar trajectories: we both received our doctorates in the mid-80’s, examining the MHC of cold-blooded creatures; we both got our first “real jobs” in the late 80’s/early 90’s, continuing the work on MHC at the heady time when the first MHC cDNA clones were being isolated; and we both became ISDCI Vice Presidents of our respective continents in the early 2000’s. He got the brains; I got the looks! I always enjoyed getting together with René at the ISDCI and Evolution of the MHC meetings—his protégés were always so enthusiastic about their work, and it was always fun watching René “work the crowd” at the receptions. He was one of the kindest and most congenial scientists I have ever known.

René sincerely believed that all of the molecular work on the fish MHC (or fish MH, as René would say) could someday reap great benefits for aquaculture. A recent paper studied MHC class II variability in wild salmon, with strong evidence for pathogen-mediated selection on class II loci (Proc Biol Sci, 2007, 274:861). It takes great courage to leave the relative “safety” of the bench and tackle such difficult problems with wild populations. It is my hope that someone will take up the standard that René was forced to relinquish and realize his dream.

Martin Flajnik

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2nd November 2007

Early in September we heard that René was rushed to the hospital in Aberdeen (Scotland, UK). Initially, we hoped and expected that the doctors and their staff were in control, but it went differently. In the beginning it was hard to believe, that he was not longer with us…

In the eighties René did his PhD at the University of Groningen (NL) with Paul Nieuwenhuis as his supervisor. In those days kidney transplantation was a hot issue in the Netherlands and René was studying the rejection problems that arose after experimental and clinical transplantations. I remember him from that period as an active and sharp debater at national meetings of Dutch immunologists. After finishing his PhD in 1986 he could easily have continued in medical immunology, but it was obvious that he was more interested in fish genetics and fish health. It was therefore not surprising, that he chose post-doc projects in Aberdeen and in Wageningen (NL) that focused on fish. Later, he became an associate professor in the Cell Biology & Immunology group of Wageningen University. In 2005, he became full professor at the Scottish Fish Immunology Research Centre in Aberdeen. This was the type of challenge he was looking for.

During the Wageningen period, René and his students analyzed the genetic structure and function of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of carp (and later of many other fish species). As a result of René’s enourmous effort, he put the Fish MHC on the international map. He was also instrumental in introducing the molecular approach both in the research laboratory and in our practical courses. Moreover, he was keen to co-operate with other people – both in Wageningen (e.g. the Zoology group in the Lake Tana project) and outside Wageningen (e.g. successful EC-projects with colleagues in Ireland, Norway, UK and Sweden).

Not too many people knew him as an excellent nature photographer and ornithologist. He loved to see birds in the open sky. It is sad to realize, that he is now a bird who flew away from us much too early. We will be thinking of his family in the days to come…..

Willem B. Van Muiswinkel
Professor emeritus at Wageningen University (NL)

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Meeting Announcement:

International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology (ISDCI): Symposium of Comparative Immunology, Celebrating the Careers of Jack Marchalonis and Rene Stet

San Diego Convention Center, Tuesday 8 April, 12:30-2:30

Chair, Dr. Kenneth Söderhäll, Uppsala University (Sweden), President of ISDCI

Speakers
Kenneth Söderhäll: "The pro-PO system in innate immunity in the invertebrates"

Christopher Secombes, University of Aberdeen (Scotland, UK): "How conserved are Th cytokine loci in vertebrates?"

Valerie Hohman, University of San Diego: "Evolution of the J chain"

John Butler, University of Iowa Medical School: "Antibody repertoire development in fetal and neonatal piglets"

http://www.aai.org/2008Meeting/Program.htm

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Positions Open:

Genomic Enablement of Aquaculture, An Interdisciplinary PhD Program to Improve Aquaculture Through Genomic Sciences: Molecular Mechanisms of Immunity to Disease

The Department of Zoology at North Carolina State University announces the availability of a Fellowship beginning in 2008 for PhD studies of Genomic Sciences in Aquaculture. This fellowship will involve interdisciplinary study and result in a scientist who is broadly trained in applying genomic science to research and development of technologies for advancing aquaculture. It will provide a stipend of $24,000, tuition, health insurance and research support. The fellow will join two other fellows in this program who work in the laboratories of internationally recognized faculty members who have been pioneers in applying the methodologies of genomic sciences to the reproduction, growth and rearing of fish. Research for this particular fellowship will be focused on Molecular Mechanisms of Immunity to Fish Pathogens. For details about the research focus, see: www.cvm.ncsu.edu/cbs/noga_ed.htm

Review of applications for this fellowship will begin on 15 December 2007 and will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified. The chosen applicant will be expected to begin the fellowship no later than 15 May 2008. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Applicants should submit a brief résumé, a statement of research interests and goals, copies of previous transcripts and GRE scores, and 3 letters of recommendation. Please send applications to the Department of Zoology graduate program (http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/zoology/graduate.html). Address all enquiries to Edward J. Noga, Professor of Aquatic Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, 4700 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 (ed_noga@ncsu.edu). North Carolina State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or national origin.

Funded by the National Needs Fellowship Program of the US Department of Agriculture.

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POSTDOC Position
PHYSIOLOGY & IMMUNOLOGY OF MARINE ORGANISMS

Postdoctoral position is available immediately to study the integration of physiological and immunological responses to disease pathogens in shrimp, crabs and oysters. Our laboratory uses a broad array of molecular, cellular, tissue and whole animal techniques to understand the impacts of environmental change on the host:pathogen relationship in marine organisms. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in a relevant area of research. Preference will be given to candidates who have used multiple techniques to address a single scientific problem, and to individuals who can work well in a collaborative team. Training or experience in marine biology is preferred, but not required. The research laboratory is located in the Hollings Marine Laboratory (http://www.hml.noaa.gov/) at Fort Johnson in Charleston, South Carolina, a facility occupied by 5 partner institutions including the College of Charleston. This NSF/NOAA grant-funded position has a minimum duration of two years. Candidates should send a c.v. and the names of three references to Dr. Karen Burnett (burnettk@cofc.edu), College of Charleston, Grice Marine Laboratory, 205 Fort Johnson, Charleston, SC 29412. Additional information about the lab’s research and location is available at www.cofc.edu/~burnettk, www.cofc.edu/~burnettl. The College of Charleston is an equal opportunity employer.

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POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF INVERTEBRATE IMMUNITY.

A two year postdoctoral position financed by a specific grant from ANR (French National Research Agency) is available at the Pasteur Institute of Lille. Lille is a very lively french university town of over 80 000 students, conveniently located at one hour from Paris (by TGV), 38 min from Brussels and 1hr 40min from London (by Eurostar).

The general scope of our project is to characterize the level of specificity, regulation and priming of the immune response and to analyze the underlying molecular processes in the lophotrochozoan species Biomphalaria glabrata (gastropod snail), a first intermediate host of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni.

The postdoctoral fellow will be in charge of the expression studies from the 3 parts of the project. He/she will work mainly at the Pasteur Institute in Lille, with experiments in collaborating laboratories (J-M Reichhart, IBMC, Strasbourg and A. Thèron, CBETM, Perpignan). He/she is expected to strongly interact with several project participants and to assist in coordinating collaborative experiments between labs. The postdoctoral applicant should be dynamic and highly motivated, have a demonstrated experience with gene expression studies, and show a strong interest in invertebrate models. Ability to perform collaborative work, and mobility are expected.

The applicant should send a CV, brief statement, and contact information for three references to: Christine.coustau@pasteur-lille.fr

Christine Coustau, Ph.D
U547 Inserm “Schistosomiase, Paludisme et Inflammation”
Institut Pasteur de Lille
1 Rue du Prof. Calmette
59 019 Lille cedex
France

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Announcement:
Edwin L. Cooper, Historian, ISDCI and Founding Editor in Chief of DCI has recently been elected to the Erfurt Academy of Science and Mathematics in Germany. He has also just received the Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Pecs, the oldest university in Hungary for his contributions to Comparative Immunology.

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