OETIS Chronicle
In this issue: ‣ Reaffirming our Accredited Status ‣ GSBS Faculty Profile ‣ SBP Trainees at the 2018 Society for Neuroscience Meeting ‣ Congratulations to Our Recent Ph.D. Graduate & More!
Reaffirming our Accredited Status By Diane Klotz, Ph.D. | Director, Office of Education, Training, and International Services
While most of you reading this are aware that in 2015 SBP was granted accreditation for the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) PhD program, you may not know what goes into maintaining our accredited status, i.e., receiving reaffirmation of our accreditation. In brief, after the initial accreditation, schools and institutions are given a 5-year period to continue to grow, evolve, and address areas for improvement. So, in 2020, at the end of our 5 years, SBP will receive a visit from our accreditation body, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), to see how we are doing. Sounds simple, right? In theory, yes; in practice, it’s a little more complex, and we wanted to let you know what to expect from OETIS over the next 16 months until our visit from WSCUC in April 2020… Continued on page 2
GSBS Faculty Profile: Cosimo Commisso By Andrew Bankston, Ph.D. | Program Manager, Graduate School of Biomedical Science
Cosimo Commisso is an Assistant Professor in the Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program and the NCIdesignated Cancer Center. Cosimo is also a member of the Graduate Program Executive Committee, a member of the GSBS Admissions Committee, and Chair of the GSBS Program Review Committee focusing on Admission/Recruiting & Diversity/Inclusion. Cosimo grew up in Toronto, Canada in a predominantly Italian neighborhood. While he most enjoyed Biology and English in high school, he was fascinated by genetics and hereditability. The possibility of hearing more stories of Gregor Mendel and his peas was too irresistible, and Cosimo went to study human biology and genetics at the University of Toronto. Cosimo started to seriously consider an academic career when he participated in the Biochemistry Summer Research Program at the University of Toronto. He studied meiosis in yeast for two summers and discovered his love of research. Continued on page 2 1