WashU Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences: May 2008

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Welcome BioMedRAP Class of 2008!!

After receiving 225 applications, our 2008 BioMedRAP class has arrived! 13 Students were accepted and this year we have 4 BONUS students joining us as guests.

The Biomedical Research Apprenticeship Program (BioMedRAP) is a 10 week summer research internship for exceptional students interested in pursuing biomedical research careers. The program is designed to provide a rigorous, in-depth research experience to prepare participants for top-quality Ph.D. and M.D/Ph.D. programs in the biomedical sciences.

BioMedRAP is in its 7thyear with 80+ students participating in the program thus far.

This year's participants are:

Taiwo Aderibigbe (Washington University in St. Louis)
Katherine Amato (Lee University)

Adam Canver (Johns Hopkins University)

David Dadey (Morehouse University)

Joshlean Fair (Alcorn State University)

Vovanti Jones (University of Maryland- Baltimore County)

Kirsten Kepple (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Xiaoxiao Li (Sarah Lawrence College)

Victor Ocasio (University of Puerto Rico- Mayaguez)

Benjamin Soloman (Cornell University)

Iboro Umana (Washington University in St. Louis)

Clorissa Washington (Benedict College)

Norelle Wildburger (Baylor University)

2008 Guests to BioMedRAP:

David Cotter (University of Nevada- Las Vegas)

Anil Meena (Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur)

Carlo Mejia (University of California- Riverside)

Marwan Mustafa (University of Arizona)

We welcome them all and hope they have a FANTASTIC summer at Washington University!!

Delayed flights, wacky St. Louis weather, lack of sleep- and they're still smiling!!!!

Paperwork and lunch.. what more could you ask for???

Students enjoyed dinner and welcoming remarks by Dr. David Harris and Dr. John Kauwe.

Victor Ocasio (left) will be working in Dr. David Harris' (right) lab this summer.

Monday, May 19, 2008

35 Years, 1000 Graduates ONE Celebration

Washington University's Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) celebrated two milestones May 1-2: its 35th anniversary and the graduation of its 1,000th student. Established in 1973, DBBS has become the national model for graduate education in Biology and Biomedical Sciences because of its collaborative interdisciplinary approach.

The Division spans both the University's Danforth and Medical campuses to provide Ph.D. training programs in biology and the biomedical sciences. Established in 1973, the Division has become the national model for graduate education in biology and biomedical sciences because of its collaborative, interdisciplinary approach.

Unlike traditional doctoral training programs, which are organized along departmental lines, the Division trains students in programs organized around 12 scientific interests - computational biology, developmental biology, human and statistical genetics, and neurosciences among them.
Faculty and graduate students regularly cross disciplines, devising novel questions and approaches that might otherwise go unexplored. The Division currently consists of 662 graduate students and 385 faculty members from 34 university-wide departments.

To mark its celebratory events, the DBBS held an opening reception May 1. Events on May 2 included scientific talks by four alumni and career-path panel discussions on academics, science policy and regulatory affairs, government labs, and patent law and intellectual property.

Floyd E. Bloom, M.D., a member of the WUSTL Board of Trustees and professor emeritus at The Scripps Research Institute, gave the keynote address. Dr. Steven Wise (Neural Sciences 1977), the Division's First Graduate was on hand to present Dr. Zhen Mahoney (Molecular Genetics and Genomics 2007) with an award as the Division's 1000th Graduate.