October 2009 - GSO News

Volume 1, Issue 1, October 2009

The GSO News

Medical College of Georgia Graduate Student Organization

Inside this Issue Welcome Back from the GSO President

1

2009/10 GSO Officers

1

2009 Start! Augusta Heart Walk

2

Current Student Spotlight

3

Alumni Student Spotlight

4

Clinical Nurse Organization

5

GSO Camping Trip

6

Student Accomplishments

7

GSO Bingo Night

8

2009/10 GSO Officers Samuel Herberg

In addition to the GSO president’s welcome note, the GSO officers would also like to take the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves. Here we provide you with some basic information about the work we do at MCG and highlight the goals each one of us is eager to achieve within this academic year.

Welcome Back from the GSO President!

My fellow graduate students, It’s a new academic year and we’ve got a lot planned for you, already!

This year, the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) is proud to welcome you back with its long awaited issue of the GSO Newsletter. Here, you will be updated with the latest news about MCG graduate students, read our interviews with recent alumni and senior students, learn about our organization’s activities, and even announce your own personal news!

Our main objectives for this year are to improve the communication between GSO and its approximate 500 members,

www.mcg.edu/gradstudies/students.htm

to connect graduate students from different programs at MCG, and establish new relationships with graduate student organizations at different institutions around the state of Georgia. In doing so, GSO continues to advance interests of graduate students, identify and protect their rights, and make sure their voice is heard at different institutional levels. GSO is equally committed to the community at large organizing service and fundraising events, and creating many volunteering opportunities for graduate students year round.

Please, feel free to contact us any time at GSO@mail.mcg.edu or join our blog on facebook at Students of MCG GSO, let us know what’s on your mind and how we can serve you better. Finally, I want to thank my fellow GSO Officers and volunteers for their sincere dedication and enormous efforts. We all wish you a very successful year.

Moataz (Taz) Elkasrawy

photography by Moataz Elkasrawy

President Moataz (Taz) Elkasrawy: 4th year BIOMED PhD student in Dr. Mark Hamrick’s lab, research interest in

…to“Officers”, pg. 2 The GSO News

from “Officers”

photography by Moataz Elkasrawy

“bone regeneration and fracture healing.”

Goal(s) for this year: “To make sure our GSO services reach all 500 graduate students at MCG, to establish better communication between students from different graduate programs, and to act as an invaluable link between them and the different administrative levels at MCG. Ultimately, I wish GSO becomes part of graduate students’ positive intellectual, social, and cultural experiences here at MCG.”

Vice president Samuel A. Herberg:

Secretary Crista Royal: 5th year BIOMED PhD student in Dr. Richard White’s lab, research interest in “estrogen’s signaling pathways and physiological effects in resistance arteries in models of postpartum and menopause.”

Goal(s) for this year: “To help improve communication between the different graduate programs and increase job networking opportunities for GSO students.”

…to“Officers”, pg. 4

The GSO News

2009 Start!

Augusta Heart Walk Colleen Carey

On September 29, individuals from all over the CSRA participated in the American Heart Association’s annual Heartwalk, and among them was ‘Team GSO’.

As many of you may know, the American Heart Association is one of the premier voluntary health organization in not only working towards the prevention and treatment of heart disease, stroke and cardiovascular disease, but also in raising awareness about cardiovascular health. In the past, research funded by the AHA has contributed to discoveries and advancements such as CPR, pacemakers, bypass surgery and many others.

The AHA is also an invaluable source of funding to the MCG community and annually contributes approximately $6 million to researchers here at MCG. This is more than to any other institution in the southeast and signifies the importance of the research being done right here on campus that ultimately will benefit all communities.

This year Team GSO, captained by Davies Agyekum and made up of both graduate students and faculty, worked very hard to raise a team total of $1003 towards the total event goal of approximately $170,000.

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who help to support this cause as we, as a research community, understand firsthand how the funds raised will continue to allow for advancements in cardiovascular research to be made. Your generosity in the face of this uneasy economy goes beyond helping our team reach goals and in fact goes as far as touching the lives of those affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. Because of your support, those facing cardiovascular disease or stroke will have an organization that is better equipped to educate and assist them. We hope that next year you choose to join us again in supporting this fight against heart disease and stroke. O

photography by Moataz Elkasrawy

2nd year BIOMED PhD student in Dr. William Hill’s lab, research interest in “stem cells for tissue regeneration.”

Goal(s) for this year: “To improve the interaction and communication within GSO as well as between the GSO and all MCG graduate students, school officials, and GSO representatives of other Georgia universities. Also, to create and publish a ‘welcoming booklet’ for all incoming new graduate students with the idea of making the transition to Augusta and MCG as smooth and fun as possible.”

O

Heather Cathcart Jessica Osmond

Heather Cathcart is a Biomedical Sciences graduate student in the Cellular Biology and Anatomy Department. Heather

Limor Raz Paramita Pati

Limor Raz is a fourth year Biomedical Sciences PhD student in the Neuroscience program. She is doing her dissertation research in the laboratory of Dr. Darrell Brann, where she studies mechanisms of neuroprotection in stroke as wells as estrogen down regulation of free radical production and estrogen epigenetic modification of proapoptotic factors. Some factors that led Limor to choose her lab include her interest in the nature of the research, interaction with her mentor, and the environment of the lab.

Limor originally moved from Israel to Columbus, GA at the age of twelve. She attended Columbus State University where she majored in Biology. When asked why

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is conducting her thesis work in Dr. Sally Atherton’s laboratory where she is investigating the role of interferons and infiltrating immune cells in the response to ocular viral infections. Among other things, Dr. Atherton’s approach to mentoring graduate students led Heather to her lab. Prior to entering the Biomedical Sciences program at MCG, Heather obtained an M.S. in Biology at Georgia Southern University. She chose to continue her graduate training at MCG because of “location, common admissions, and class size.”

When asked about rewarding experiences at MCG, Heather replied with a Latin proverb, “By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn.” She explained, “My most rewarding experience while at MCG has been the opportunity to formally and informally teach medical, un-

dergraduate, and graduate students, especially in the laboratory. I enjoy the interaction involved in teaching, and I always end up learning something, too.” Additionally, she added, “I also love when I design and execute an experiment independently and it works the very first time. That makes up for all the days when the experiments do not work.”

While at MCG, Heather has been actively involved in GSO and has participated in SGA events. Away from campus she enjoys traveling and cooking for friends. Last year she took up dance lessons and rowing classes on the Savannah River. Heather is also a longtime fan of vampire novels and movies.

Currently, much of her time is devoted to writing her dissertation. GSO wishes Heather well as she completes her PhD! O

she decided to attend MCG, Limor said she wanted to “be in a medical school environment with a clinical perspective.

MCG is an excellent school, and it has a very friendly environment.” Limor’s recent major achievements include winning the American Physiological Society First Place Research Recognition Award for her poster presentation in July 2009 and a publication in press in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Moreover, Limor has been involved in a number of other activities at MCG. She says her most rewarding experience while being here was giving an evening seminar on Estrogen Neuroprotection in Stroke to students in the MCG Student Educational Enrichment Program (SEEPs), which is a summer program for undergraduate stu-

…to “Limor”, pg. 5

photography by Moataz Elkasrawy

photography by Moataz Elkasrawy

Current Student Spotlight

In future issues the ‘Current Student Spotlight’ will continue to highlight current graduate students throughout each department in the School of Graduate Studies with regards to their current research. If you would like to nominate someone to be featured please email us at GSO@mcg. edu with ‘Student Spotlight’ in the subject line.

Alumni Student Spotlight:

from “Officers”, pg. 2

Treasurer Renee Bozard:

Anh Le

4th year BIOMED PhD student in Dr. Sylvia Smith’s lab, research interest in “folate transport in the retinal Müller cell.”

Goal(s) for this year: “To start a fundraising program to better supply GSO with funds to serve MCG and our community.”

Samuel Herberg

Social Chair Colleen M. Carey:

When asked about why she decided to come to MCG in the first place, Anh replied “because of its reputation as one of the top research institutions in Georgia”. During her time here, she considers her most rewarding experience at MCG as “getting to know the MCG community and the friendly faculty and staff in her department”. In addition, Anh explained “I’ve been a part of many projects and studies where I had opportunities to work along with faculty to provide statistical analysis and results. [Also] I was one of the first students from SGS to be a member of MCG’s honorary service organization AUPhi.”

2nd year BIOMED PhD student in Dr. Jin-Xiong She’s lab, research interest in “Type 1 Diabetes biomarker discovery.”

Goal(s) for this year: “To increase the overall involvement of the graduate student body in events both on campus and within the community, and specifically to integrate the involvement of the various programs falling under the School of Graduate Studies. It is my hopes, through volunteer events, and ‘just for fun’ outings, that increased involvement will result in an increase in recognition of the GSO within the MCG community.”

GSO representatives at the Student Government Association (SGA):

photography by Moataz Elkasrawy

Davies Agyekum Tiffany Nguyen Yashoda Puttabyatappa Scott J Webster Christina Wilson O

GSO Officers in action at the Student Organization Fair

The GSO News

While here at MCG, Anh “became active on campus the moment she arrived”.

Anh was involved with GSO (as SGA rep, then President), Graduate Council, the International Students Org., Junior Medical League as PR chair, and served on the MCG Judicial Committee. In addition she was also a part of many intramural sports teams with other graduate students including flag football, basketball, and softball.

Of her involvement Anh mentions “I have developed great friendships through these [activities] and they remained some of my fondest and happiest moments at MCG”.

Currently Anh is working as a biostatistician at UAB-Birmingham and fondly ex-

submitted by Anh Le

Anh Le is from Conyers, Georgia and graduated in 2008 with a Masters degree from the Department of Biostatistics. Her dissertation was entitled ‘Bone mineral content in adolescents is related to dairy intake and vigorous physical activity’.

plained, “[Of MCG] My department has prepared me very well to carry out the job duties that I have now.” When she is not working, Anh loves to read, participate in outdoor sports, and enjoy time with friends and her pets.

When asked about some general advice for current students, Anh suggested “Be active and don’t be afraid to get involved in student and campus organizations or make new friends outside your areas of comfort.” Last but not least, specifically for current students biostats students, Anh came up with the following advice, “Your work experience with a faculty member on consultant projects will contribute greatly to the skills you need later on as a biostatistician. Also, don’t be afraid to talk to any faculty if you have questions about your future career or education because they know their stuff.”

GSO wishes Anh well as she continues to build her career in the biomedical field! O The ‘Alumni Spotlight’ will continue to highlight alumni from departments within the School of Graduate Studies with regards to their accomplishments since graduation. If you would like to nominate someone to be featured please email us at GSO@mcg.edu with ‘Alumni Spotlight’ in the subject line.

from “Limor” dents interested in health careers. Limor felt that she used knowledge obtained here at MCG—her area of expertise and presentation skills— to open the students’ eyes to something that might change their minds and cause them to take an interest in research. She served as the GSO Social Chair for the 2007-2008 school year and has participated in other activities as well.

Limor’s advice for current students is to take advantage of every opportunity such as teaching and national conferences. She said, “The more you invest, the more rewarding your experience in grad[uate] school will be.” In her spare time, Limor enjoys ballroom dance and traveling. The GSO wishes her the best in her future endeavors! O

Clinical Nurse Leader Student Organization

Emmie Norville, CNL-SO Historian and Social Chair The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) program was established at MCG in 2006 on the Augusta campus, and has continued to expand across the state to Athens, Macon, and Americus. CNLs are used in the clinical setting to improve patient outcomes by coordinating care among the health care team, and evaluating problems in the delivery of treatment. The program at MCG is a 16-month pre-licensure program, and draws individuals from many different educational and career backgrounds to join

the field of nursing. The CNL is the first new role in nursing in over 35-years.

As a student in the CNL class of 2010, it is very exciting to announce the creation of the CNL Student Organization, which was established by members of the 2009 class. We are a group that has big ideas about reaching out in the community, preparing ourselves for the work force, and creating strong lines of communication between students and the faculty.

For more information on the CNL-SO contact Joshua Dunn at jodunn@students.mcg.edu. O

Biomedical Science PhD. Class of 2014

photography by Moataz Elkasrawy

The GSO would like to share a recent photograph of the (now) 2nd year Biomedical Science students and congratulate them all for successfully passing their First Qualifying exam. We wish you the best of luck in your research!

The GSO News

compiled by Colleen Carey

GSO FALL CAMPING TRIP 2009

GSO Fall Camping Trip a Success Colleen Carey

As a first event for this school year the Graduate Student Organization organized a weekend long camping trip at Mistletoe State Park in Appling, Ga. This trip was intended for any and all graduate students to come out and take a weekend away from the labs and classrooms to go out and enjoy the beautiful Clark’s Hill Lake together. Through this event students who may not otherwise cross paths in a given day were able to meet new people and form friendships that will surely last!

Additionally this trip provided an opportunity for those students who are new this

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year to get to know some of their fellow students, both within their programs and outside. In total about 50 students from different programs including Biomedical Science PhD., Biostatistics, and Medical Illustration were able to create memories of a great trip!

For many of our international students this was a first experience with ‘camping’ and both teaching and learning of this pastime became a great way interact with and get to know other students. Such things as pitching tents, starting fires and even the idea of cooking s’more became a learning experience for those who had never camped before. In addition the weekend consisted of a multitude of activities that a state park can offer. Individuals looking to be more active formed groups that

went canoeing and kayaking, hiking, swimming, or played volleyball while others, wanting to relax more played card games, and just chatting around the fire.

All in all this trip was enjoyed by all who attended and has laid the foundation for what (hopefully!) will turn into an annual GSO tradition.

Those of you who missed out on this trip need not worry as we will be planning a spring camping trip as well. In the meantime, please enjoy some of the photos taken at this fall trip in hopes that it will hold you over! O

The GSO News would like to congratulate the following individuals on some recent accomplishments!

Davies Agyekum:

Aisha Cobbs:

(Biomedical Science) was recently awarded the Doctoral Scholars Fellowship Award from the South Regional Education Board (SREB). The SREB has this award in place as a means of increasing the number of minority students who earn doctoral degrees and become faculty at America’s colleges and universities. The award comes in the form of a yearly stipend support for 3 years as well as providing professional development at an annual ‘Teaching and Mentoring’ meeting.

(Biomedical Science) recently received The American Physiological Society’s Porter Physiology Development Fellowship Award. In addition, she was awarded an American Physiological Society (APS)/ NIDDK Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend ET-11: APS International Conference on Endothelin in Montreal, Canada.

Kirti Bhat: (Biomedical Science) was awarded the GSA (Greater Southeast Affiliate) Spring 09 Predoctoral fellowship of the American Heart Association (AHA) for a period of two years.

Paresh Chothe : (Biomedical Science) was awarded the National Biotechnology Graduate Student Symposium Award at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists-National Biotechnology Conference in Seattle WA in June, where he was also the invited speaker in the Graduate Student Symposium.

Paresh also just had a first author paper published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science entitled “Identification of a Novel Sodium- coupled Oligopeptide Transporter (SOPT2) in Mouse and Human Retinal Pigment E Epithelial Cells.” Also, in May Paresh was married to Sheetal Malke!

The GSO News

Aimee Hartle: (School of Nursing BSN), a first year student, was awarded, in May 2009, Student of the semester from Georgia Perimeter College for “Outstanding Performance and Excellence in Survey of Chemistry II Lab” She was chosen among 23,000 students to receive this award!

Nagendran Muthusamy: (Biomedical Science) has had his first paper accepted in the Journal of Molecular Evolution that is entitled “Phylogenetic Analysis of the NEEP21/Calcyon/ P19 Family of Endocytic Proteins: Evidence for Functional Evolution in the Vertebrate CNS.” Also, he and his wife Tharkika Nagendran, a graduate student in the neuroscience program would like to announce their daughter, Niharika Nagendran, who is 18 months old.

Jeniel Parmar: (Biomedical Science) also has a lot to share. He has a paper in preparation for submission entitled “Adrenal glomerulosa specific expression of aldosterone synthase (Cyp11b2) promoter in transgenic

mice.” In addition, Jeniel has an abstract submitted for the 35th meeting of the International Aldosterone Conference entitled: “Tissue expression pattern of aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) mRNA in the mouse.“ Last, but certainly not least he has been involved in the writing of two book chapters:

•Parmar J, Rainey WE Adrenocortical cell lines. Adrenal Cancer Textbook.

2009. GD Hammer and T Else.

Springer and Humana press. Chapter 3, 2009 •Parmar J, Rainey WE Comparisons of adrenocortical cell lines as in vitro test systems. Adrenal Toxicology. PW Harvey, DJ Everett and CJ Springall.

Taylor and Francis Publishers. Chapter 8 pp. 183-204, 2009

Crista Royal: (Biomedical Science) has been busy! She recently won a MCG Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology Graduate Seminar Presentation Award, in the Upper Level Students’ Division. In addition she was asked to be a committee member for American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Division for Integrative Systems, Translational and Clinical Pharmacology (iSTCP) Young Scientists Committee.

She also presented an abstract at the Experimental Biology conference and was a symposium speaker for the ASPET breakout session. In her ‘spare’ time she has also been appointed Adjunct Faculty at Augusta Technical Institute. O

dent Graduate Stu Presents...

Organization

A Community Ser vice Event!! !

Come with us as we sponsor a Halloween Bingo Night at the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home or DONATE CANDY! Candy donations can be dropped off in the SGS office starting 10/12!

09 Date: 10/27/

Time: 7:00pm

We will meet at the Student Center at 6:40p m!

Questions?

Contact Colleen Carey at GSO@mail.mcg.edu

Contact Information

Newsletter Staff

Website

Address

Layout Design

Chief Editor

http://www.mcg.edu/gradstudies /students.htm

Graduate Student Organization School of Graduate Studies Medical College of Georgia 1120 15th St. CJ 2201 Augusta, GA 30912-1500

Michelle Reinke

Colleen Carey

Facebook Group Students of MCG GSO

Editors Moataz (Taz) Elkasrawy Jessica Osmond

Email

Feature Articles

GSO@mail.mcg.edu

Emmie Norville

The GSO News

Samuel Herberg Paramita Pati