AOCS Analytical Division
Newsletter February 2008

AOCS ANNUAL MEETING SPECIAL

AOCS 2008 Annual Meeting in Seattle May 18-21, Discounted Registration Available Through February 29

AOCS is planning an excellent 99th Annual Meeting and Expo, offering participants a full technical program and many networking events. Here are some key division events to take note of:

The current draft of the technical program is online. Updates and other conference information can be found at the official Annual Meeting webpage, including Hot Topic Symposia, short courses, and a complete schedule. Check back; the website will be continuously updated as new information becomes available.

Division members may have an interest in the short course Method Performance and Analytical Uncertainty.

Register by February 29 to receive a discount. Remember to sign up for the division luncheon when registering. Click here for registration information.

Dates to Remember

Please share this information with your colleagues. We look forward to seeing you in Seattle. Click here for the Seattle visitor's guide.

King.Message from the Chair
Jerry King

This is a busy time of year for AOCS and its respective divisions, and the Analytical Division is no exception. The focus of this newsletter is primarily to update you with respect to divisional events at the upcoming AOCS Meeting in Seattle which is the keystone of our society’s activities. Due to the hard work of our session chairs the Analytical Division program is again very full for the annual meeting. Let me try and give you a summary of what our division offers in its program.

The program kicks off with a session that I organized involving "Analytical Standards for Lipid Analysis." To date we have ten invited speakers scheduled for this session along with a concluding roundtable discussion on the current status and future needs for lipid and related standards or standard methods. The theme of this session embraces a wide range of topics including standards use in fatty acids, sterols, CLA, as well as biodiesel analysis. A balance has been struck between speakers representing professional societies, government regulatory agencies, and companies that have the difficult task of producing these standards for routine use. Our array of speakers is as follows: Kathy Sharpless—NIST, Walt Shaw—Avanti Polar Lipids, Darryl Sullivan—Covance Labs, Pierlugi Delmonte—FDA, Brian Schaneberg—ChromaDex, Rich Adlof—USDA, Len Sidisky—Supelco/Sigma Aldrich, Walt Rahul Lall—Univ. of Arkansas, C. Coston—Cargill Inc., and Richard Cantrill—AOCS.

Monday afternoon features two sessions: one entitled "Antioxidants and Natural Products Analysis" organized by Rick Della Porta and Andy Proctor, while the second session, organized by Randall Weselake and Ken Lin, is on "Analytical Methodology in Functional Genomics." The first of these two sessions features presentations by several well known investigators concerning assays and protocols for antioxidants and includes contributions from the research groups of Pamela White, Eric Decker, Ed Frankel, and Kathy Schaich.

Dr. Weselake reports that their session, which is a joint session between both the Biotechnology and Analytical Divisions will feature papers in the area of functional genomics including large-scale analysis of gene expression at the level of the transcript, protein and metabolite. Among the benefits of functional genomics is the ability to reveal relationships in gene expression and metabolism which can lead to more effective diagnosis of disease states, as well as strategies for the modification of diet and crop improvement. The ability to analyze thousands of macromolecules and small organic molecues at the same time requires rapid and sensitive techniques in molecular genetics, biochemistry and analytical chemistry. Drs. Lin and Itabashi will deliver presentations on methods in the analysis of neutral lipids, while information on the profiling of chemical and flavor components of genetically modified peanut varieties will be presented by Dr. Nurhan Dunford of Oklahoma State University. Dr. Sue Abrams, research officer with the Plant Biotechnology Institute (National Research Council of Canada), will deliver a presentation on the targeted profiling of hormones in plants. Note that information on this hormone profiling methodology can be found at the following website: http://pbi-ibp.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/en/research/planthormoneprofiling.htm.

Co-chair Dr. Weselake, will speak on a novel method for the detection and quantification of TAG accumulation in recombinant yeast systems. Finally, Dr. George Haughn of the University of British Columbia, Canada, will provide an overview of TILLING, a reverse genetic technique which can be applied to all plant species. This exciting session should prove useful information for scientists and students from a range of disciplines.

Tuesday's afternoon session has been organized by Craig Byrdwell and X. Han on "Mass Spectrometry-Based Analysis." Dr. Byrdwell reports that this year's analytical session on mass spectrometry will include reports on diverse lipid classes from short-chain TAGs to oxidized lipids, and from sphingolipids to tetragalactosyl-diacylglycerols, and even a presentation on vitamin D. The session will include techniques applicable to lipidomics to regioisomer identification, using methods including APCI-MS and ESI-MS coupled to normal-phase, reversed-phase and argentation chromatography. Craig notes that there should be something for anyone interested in mass spectrometry of lipids.

There will occur on Wednesday morning a follow up session on last year's successful session on biodiesel analysis and characterization. This year's session is being co-organized by Teresa Alleman of NREL and I. Clark of Grace Davidson and is entitled, "Biodiesel Analysis and Characterization." Featured presentations include biodiesel cold soak time and trace component characterization, a comparison of analytical techniques for glycerin analysis, advances in FT-IR spectroscopy for quality control in the biodiesel industry, and evaluation of biodiesel characteristics by impedance spectroscopy. As of this date there are seven papers in the general analytical session featuring topics ranging from the use of ionic liquids in GC analysis and fractionation of lipid classes to identification of steroidal hydrocarbons in deodorizer distillate, as well as two FT-IR-based papers.

One of the two student best paper awardees will also make their presentation in this session.

There are over twenty-five poster presentations in the Analytical Division's Poster Session organized by program Chair, Ken Lin. These posters remain up for viewing during most of the annual meeting and include an opportunity to meet with the poster authors one-on-one at a designated time noted in the final program. Please make sure and consult the final annual meeting program for the specific time for this event as well as the subject content of this large poster session.

As had been traditional in the Analytical Division's program at the annual meeting, the winner of the Herbert J. Dutton Award will receive her/his award followed by an award address describing their research. This year's winner is Dr. Magdi Mossoba of the US Food & Drug Administration. The award nomination process was presided over by Vice Chair Fred Eller, who will also announce at the luncheon the two student awardees the division annually recognizes for their research. We encourage both members and non-members of the division to nominate worthy individuals for the Dutton Award as well as deserving candidates for the division's student awards. More information on the award nomination procedures can be obtained by contacting Barbara Semeraro at AOCS. We hope that you will join us at this year's Analytical Division luncheon at noon on Wednesday for fellowship and to honor this year's awardees.

A sub-division of a professional society can only be as strong as its leadership, and we are once again in our two-year cycle for nominating and confirming a new slate of officers. This process has traditionally been monitored by the immediate past chairperson of the division, who this year is Dr. Craig Byrdwell of USDA. I would encourage you to contact Craig at Craig.Byrdwell@ARS.USDA.GOV and nominate candidates for the division governance. This can include one of the two-year rotating positions of chairperson, vice chairperson, and secretary/treasurer, or a member-at-large position, which is an excellent way to assist in the division governance and activities as well as and to learn more about the responsibilities of the division's officers. The nomination process and officer confirmation process takes place in February and March of this year, so please contact Craig or one of the current division officers and nominate one—or better yet volunteer to serve in divisional activities.

At the upcoming annual meeting, the Analytical Division traditionally has both their Board Meeting and Round Table Meeting. This is an excellent opportunity for member participation and to let your voice and opinion be heard on a range of subjects. For example, Program Chairperson Ken Lin, will need input on suitable topics for the division's program at the next AOCS annual meeting. I urge your participation in these meetings in order to steer the division and to inform its leadership as to your needs and wishes. The next annual meeting will be the 100th anniversary of AOCS and the division needs to develop a program or activities featuring a historical perspective of analytical chemistry as applied to lipid analysis. We need to be thinking right now what we can do as a division to fulfill this goal in 2009.

Finally AOCS Publications Department Editor William Gillespie—who does an excellent job in coordinating the production of all of the division newsletters—has requested that we inform our divisional members of the AOCS's expanded career center. The AOCS career center delivers opportunities for advancement at any stage in your professional development. AOCS and JobTarget have partnered to create a new full-service online career center. The career center focuses on assisting job seekers in the fats and oils industry and can be found on the AOCS website:

http://www.aocs.org/member/jobcent

AOCS knows how hard it is for employers to find top quality professionals, and for job seekers to find the right employer. Our career center connects member and non-member professionals in their search to find the optimal career fit. The career center includes a Job Alert system that notifies you by email of new job opportunities that match your search criteria, and an Anonymous Résumé Bank feature that enables you to list your experience and qualifications in a protected environment. The anonymous posting option allows you to stay connected to the employment market while maintaining full control of your confidential information. In return, employers have the option to pay only for the résumés that are appropriate for their job opportunity with the Pay-Per-Résumé feature. Again, for all your career needs and resources, visit us at http://www.aocs.org/member/jobcent.

As I sign off, let me say that I look forward to meeting all of you at the upcoming AOCS meeting in Seattle. Please let the divisional officers—myself, Fred Eller, and Rick Della Porta—know if we can help you in any way.

Sincerely,
Jerry W. King — Analytical Division Chairperson