IMSD Congratulates New PhDs!

Ten IMSD trainees and senior scholars were conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy the Brown University Commencement ceremonies held on May 25th.

Congratulations and best wishes to all of our graduates!

Kristin M. BealeMolecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

Caitlin Westberg Brown Pathobiology

Angel Byrd Pathobiology

Jessica Chery Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

Courtney Elaine FrederickMolecular Pharmacology and Physiology

Diana B. Lizarazo Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology

Cristina Y. López-Fagundo Biomedical Engineering

Danya Mazen Qato Health Services Research

Teresa Ramirez Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology

Bethany J. Wilcox Biomedical Engineering

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Message from the Director: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1IMSD Congratulates New PhDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Congratulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Fellowships, Awards & Achievements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Trainee Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2New Training Program STEMs from IMSD Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2New Training Module Highlights Brown Core Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3SACNAS Chapter Presents Inspiring Women in STEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3IMSD Hosts Partner Students Visit to Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Funding and Training Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2014

-06

INITIATIVE

TO MAXIMIZE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT VOLUME 5 ISSUE 3

IMSD scholars Angel Byrd, Diana Lizarazo and Courtney Frederick with Dean Jabbar Bennett at Brown Graduate School Commencement 2014

Message from the DirectorThe Re-Imagined Pipeline

The STEM pipeline analogy is the long-standing conceptual framework representing how

trainees move through the scientifi c educational and training process. An important measure of pipeline success is the degree to which trainees advance to the postgraduate levels and workforce from precollege levels. In the May 2014 on-line issue of Bioscience (Ramdial and Campbell*, 2014), former Brown University IMSD Senior Scholar and MARC Program Assistant Stacy-Ann Allen-Ramdial (PhD, Brown University, 2013) describes a Re-Imagined Pipeline. Th e Re-Imagined Pipeline is presented as a vertical structure to illustrate the persistent challenge posed by STEM trainee attrition, exit and under-employment counter-balanced by the investments needed to achieve success. Ramdial’s perspective as a recent trainee off ers unique insights into the relationship between pipeline input and fl ow, and subsequent output. Th e paper also outlines key intervention steps that, when applied alongside current practices, can yield meaningful improvements in STEM trainee success and increased uniformity of practices. Th ese steps, however, are only as eff ective as the system in which they operate. A recent article by Alberts et al on the systemic fl aws underlying the U. S. biomedical research system points to the causal relationship between outmoded institutional models for supporting scientifi c practice and STEM pipeline function. Th e Re-Imagined Pipeline and acknowledged unsustainable nature of the biomedical enterprise in its current form should help to change the ethos of the scientifi c community.

Andrew G. Campbell*, PhDAssociate Professor of Medical ScienceIMSD Program Director and Co-PICo-author

SAVE THE DATES!Training Modules:Introduction to Statistical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 21-24Analysis of DataScientifi c Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 28 – Aug. 1Demystifying the PhD Experience . . . . . . . Aug. 18-22Reading Scientifi c Publications . . . . . . . . . .Aug. 18-22

ExcellenceCongratulationsCaitlin Brown, IMSD Trainee in Pathobiology successfully presented her doctoral dissertation on “Notch3 Signaling in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer” on April 21, 2014. Caitlin conducted her research in the laboratory of her thesis advisor, Professor Richard Freiman. She will continue her research over the summer as she explores career opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.

Angel Byrd, MD/PhD student and IMSD senior scholar in Pathobiology, successfully presented herself for the Doctor of Philosophy degree on April 11th, 2014. Her dissertation research on “Regulation of Human Neutrophil Functions by the Integrin CR3 - an Extracellular Matrix-based mechanism of Rapid Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation” was performed in the laboratory of Professor Jonathan Reichner. Dr. Byrd is currently working on her M.D. degree at the Brown Alpert Medical School.

Jessica Chery, IMSD Senior Scholar in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, successfully presented and defended her doctoral dissertation research on April 18, 2014. Jessica conducted her research in the laboratory of Professor Erica Larschan. Jessica will begin a postdoctoral position at Harvard Medical School in the Fall.

L to R: Bethany Wilcox , Cristina López-Fagundo & Diana Lizarazo, Teresa Ramirez

Fellowships, Awards & Achievements Rosa Martinez Garcia, IMSD Trainee in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, was awarded a 2014 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for her research project on “Th e role of feedback inhibitory circuits in thalamic circuit function”.

Several IMSD Trainees and Senior Scholars were recognized for their research presentations at the New England Science Symposium held at Harvard Medical School on April 6th:

Hawasatu Dumbuya, PhD student in Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology received an IMSD Travel Award to present a poster, her research on “Th e Roll of Sigma-1 Acceptor in Cancer”.

Angel Byrd, IMSD Senior Scholar and MD/PhD Candidate in Pathobiology, shared 1st place for Th e Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Neonatology’s Poster Award.

Eric James, IMSD Trainee and Senior Scholar in Neuroscience, received third place for the Ruth and William Silen, M.D. Award in the Cellular Biology, Neuroscience, Biochemistry, or Physiology Category for his poster presentation “Xenopus tadpole model for valproate-induced neurodevelopmental disorders”. Eric received an award for his oral presentation of the same title at the 2014 Yale Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education.

Trainee Publications:Cyr NE, Steger JS, Toorie AM, Yang JZ, Stuart R, Nillni EA. Central Sirt1 Regulates Body Weight and Energy Expenditure Along With the POMC-Derived Peptide α-MSH and the Processing Enzyme CPE Production in Diet-Induced Obesity Male Rats. Endocrinology. 2014 Apr 28:en20131998. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID:24773342.

New Training Program STEMs from Brown IMSD PartnershipsTh e Brown IMSD program partners with four minority-serving institutions in its eff ort to increase the number of trainees from underrepresented groups who pursue STEM careers. Th ese partnerships have led to the development of a new program involving faculty from Brown University and partner institutions. Th e Brown Team Research and Inter-Institutional Networking (T.R.A.I.N.) program increases training for students underrepresented in STEM fi elds by providing year-long, intensive research experiences via collaborative projects established between MSI partner faculty and faculty at Brown.

In collaboration with Brown University Professor Kim Boekelheide, T.R.A.I.N. partner institution faculty member Professor Janet Rollins of the College of Mount St. Vincent (CMSV) and her student, Katiuska Hernandez, are exploring the eff ects of environmental toxicant induced injury on fertility. Th e Boekelheide group studies these eff ects in humans and animals and translates this work to the fruit fl y, Drosophila melanogaster - the system in which Rollins and colleagues work. As a result of Ms. Hernandez’s involvement in this project, she and fellow CMSV students recently presented their research fi ndings at the Tribeta Regional Research Conference in New York. Prof. Rollins and Ms. Hernandez will continue their research at Brown this summer in the Boekelheide Lab. Funding for the T.R.A.I.N. program is provided by NIGMS Grant # 1T36GM101995-01. For more information, please visit http://biomed.brown.edu/imsd/train/. -JFD

Community

Brown SACNAS Events Highlight Inspiring Women in STEM

From left , Jean King, Robin Wellington, Nicole Renaud, Janet Blume and Suzanne de la Monte discuss the rewards and challenges of STEM careers.

Th e Brown IMSD Program was pleased to partner with the Brown SACNAS Chapter to present “Inspiring Women in STEM” in March. As explained by Brown SACNAS chapter president and IMSD trainee Eric James, the event was organized to provide opportunities to engage with women scientists of diverse backgrounds and at diff erent career stages. Associate Provost for Academic Development and Diversity Liza Cariaga-Lo moderated the discussion as Panelists from Brown, MIT, and University of Massachusetts Medical School, shared their perspectives about gender bias within STEM fi elds and how to achieve work/life balance. During an NPR radio interview, Brown IMSD scholar and SACNAS Chapter Vice President, Heather Bennett noted that

students and faculty at Brown oft en talk about how to diversify STEM careers, but those conversations happen in isolation. Th is event was conceived “to provide a forum for open discussion, to reach across all the STEM departments at Brown, and also to engage the community and invite them to take part.” In addition to the panel, IMSD co-hosted breakfast and a career conversation with Robin Wellington (Associate Professor of Psychology, St. John’s University, NY) and Nicole Renaud (Computational Biologist, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research). Both events were well attended and have stimulated ongoing discussion. A feature article on the panel discussion appeared in the Brown Daily Herald. -KZB

IMSD Hosts Partner Students Visit to Brown

Th e Brown IMSD Program hosted a campus visit for seventeen undergraduate students and several faculty & program staff representatives from the Brown IMSD partner institutions in April. Th e visit provided an opportunity for undergraduate partner students and

prospective graduate program applicants to get a glimpse into “a day in the life of a graduate student”. Th e visit began with a special guest lecture with Brown alumnus Dr. Nikia Laurie, Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology and Epigenomics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Following her seminar, Dr. Laurie engaged in informal conversation and with the partners and guests at a welcome reception and dinner. Also attending the dinner was Leadership Alliance Executive Director, Dr. Medeva Ghee who conversed with partner students about research opportunities. Th e partners’ itinerary included a tour of the Brown campus, meetings with Brown graduate students, faculty and program directors, scientifi c seminars and research presentations. Many of the students also had the opportunity to tour research laboratories and talk with lab members. John Patterson, MARC Program Coordinator at North Carolina A & T University commented that “students were really impressed with Brown, they only had wonderful things to say about the visit, all said they would be applying.” –KZB

Visiting partner students at welcome reception with IMSD senior scholar and MD/PhD student, Dr. Angel Byrd

New Training Module Highlights Brown Core Research FacilitiesTh e Spring semester featured the roll-out of a new training module on “Resources, Tools and Techniques in Biomedical Research”. Th e module provided an introduction to key methodologies in modern biology and an overview of Brown University’s shared resource facilities. It included brief tours of facilities that provide services in Biobanking, Microscopy, Structural Biology, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Transgenics, Molecular

Pathology, Proteomics, Behavioral Phenotyping, XROMM and MRI. Participants met the people who run the facilities, learned the basics of how the equipment works, how the technology is used, and how the data can be analyzed. Many thanks to Associate Professor Robbert Creton for organizing and presenting the module and to all the facilities that off ered tours and informational sessions. -KZB

CollaborationFunding and Training Opportunities

F31 Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA)

Annual Diversity Deadlines: Aug. 13, Dec. 13, Apr. 13

AIDS-related applications: Sept. 7, Jan. 7, May 7

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual

Predoctoral Fellowships (F31) provide support for promising doctoral

candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in

scientifi c health-related fi elds relevant to the missions of the participating NIH

Institutes and Centers. Individual opportunities may have different deadlines,

please check the sites: http://grants.nih.gov/training/F_fi les_nrsa.htm

Dissertation Support

R36 Dissertation SupportThe National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announces the availability of NIH

Dissertation Award grants (R36) to support drug abuse doctoral dissertation

research in NIDA areas of priority. Areas of focus include research on

basic and clinical neuroscience and behavior, developmental trajectories,

epidemiology, prevention, treatment, services, and/or women and sex/gender

differences. Standard application deadlines apply. Further information can be

found at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-fi les/PAR-13-182.html

Standard Deadlines: June 16, Oct. 16, Feb. 16,

AIDS-related applications: Sept. 7, Jan. 7, May 7

Note-Individual Opportunities may have different deadlines, please check the sites.

Conference Travel Awards:

ASCB MAC, FASEB MARC, Keystone SymposiaThe Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)

provides information on their web site about science training and education

awards made available through FASEB’s member societies for students,

trainees and science mentors. A complete list of upcoming eligible national

meetings for travel awards can be found at: http://www.faseb.org/MARC-

and-Professional-Development.aspx

Eligible National Meetings Mtg. Location Mtg. Dates Adv. Reg. Deadlines

MARC Deadlines

ACSM Conference on

Integrative Physiology of

Exercise

Miami Beach FLSep 17-20,

20146/16/14 7/11/2014

GSA: Mouse Molecular

Genetics Conference

Pacifi c Grove

CA

Sep 29 - Oct

3, 20146/26/14 new

2014 APS Intersociety

Meeting: Comparative

Approaches to Grand

Challenges in Physiology

San Diego CA Oct 5-8, 2014 9/5/14 8/15/14

2014 SACNAS National

ConferenceLos Angeles CA

Oct 15-19,

2014 – 8/15/14

Society for Developmental

Biology 2014 Midwest

Regional Meeting

Saint Louis MOOct 16-18,

2014– 8/22/14

American Society of Human

Genetics (ASHG) Annual

Meeting 2014 ***

San Diego CAOct 18-22,

20148/29/14 8/1/14

Biomedical Engineering

Society 2014 Annual MeetingSan Antonio TX

Oct 22-25,

20149/10/2014 8/15/14

Keystone Symposia

The Keystone Symposia have made important enhancements to their

scholarship program. For a list of 2014-2015 meetings and scholarship and

travel award deadlines, please visit www.keystonesymposia.org/meetings.

NSF/FDA Scholar-in-Residence at FDAThe National Science Foundation and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

have established the NSF/FDA Scholar-in-Residence Program at FDA for the

investigation of scientifi c and engineering issues concerning emerging trends

in medical device technology. This solicitation provides fl exible opportunities

for 1) Faculty at FDA; 2) Graduate Student Fellowships; 3) Postdoctoral

Fellowships; and, 4) Undergraduate Student Research Experiences. For

information visit: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5605.

Northeast Scientifi c Training Programs (NEST) RetreatMarch 6–8, 2015 http://biomed.brown.edu/imsd/nest/

See you in 2015.

PROGRAM STAFF:

Andrew G. Campbell, Ph.D.Program Director, Associate Professor of Medical Science, Bio Med Molecular Microbiology & Immunology

Elizabeth O. Harrington, Ph.D.Co-Program Director, Associate Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Biology and Medicine

Karen Ball – Program Coordinator

Brown University’s Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) is a predoctoral research training initiative that aspires to signifi cantly increase the number of PhDs from groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research. Th e program is funded by a fi ve-year continuation grant (2 R25 GM083270) by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIGMS/NIH).

PARTNER INSTITUTIONS:

St. John’s University, New York, NY

York College of the City University of New York

North Carolina A&T State University

Th e College of Mount Saint Vincent

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: IMSD ProgramBrown UniversityBox G-B495Providence, RI 02912Phone: 401-863-3777Email: IMSD@brown.eduhttp://biomed.brown.edu/imsd/

Newsletter layout and design by Karen Ball and Brown Graphic Services

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