In this Issue
2024 International Education Week
SBP-SN Breakfast Club
GSBS Annual Holiday Luncheon
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Graduations
Postdoc & Graduate Student Highlights
Postdoc & Graduate Student Counts
The OETIS Chronicle
Office of Education, Training & International Services
2024 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference Connections with the Next Generation of Scientists
By: Sara Sandoval & Lauren Mitchell
Lauren Mitchell (DEIB) and Sara Sandoval (GSBS) represented the Institute at the 2024 SACNAS National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Conference in Phoenix, Arizona For over 50 years, this conference brings together thousands of students, researchers, and professionals, all passionate about advancing diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Sanford Burnham Prebys hosted an exhibitor booth to connect with prospective graduate students, showcase the Institute's cutting-edge research, and share our training and education programs. Our team engaged with hundreds of students at our booth and during poster presentations. This conference also provided a valuable opportunity for networking with other institutions and exhibitors, allowing us to strengthen relationships and explore new avenues for collaboration We look forward to building on the connections made at this conference and we’re so excited to see the next generation of STEM leaders emerge.
2024 International Education Week
By: Lauren Mitchell & Mitchell Furumoto
OETIS kicked off International Education Week at the Institute with a panel discussion facilitated by Shanshan Yin, postdoctoral associate in the Adams lab, about the unique experiences and motivations of researchers who pursue training in different countries The panel included a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, assistant professor, and an associate director in the Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, each hailing from a different country around the world Many of the insights they shared related to
challenges in securing housing without a U S bank account or credit score Other insights included the mental exhaustion that results from speaking a foreign language all day (English), and how difficult and expensive it was to stay connected to loved ones before the advent of FaceTime, Zoom, and other video calling platforms. One of the positive experiences shared was how quickly our International Services office assisted with replacing a lost passport and other documents!
Nahal Azimi Graduate Student (Deshpande Lab)
Raghuveer Ramachandra, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Exploratory Pharmacology
Our second event was an intercultural simulation activity facilitated by Mitchell Furumoto, associate director for International Services; Lauren Mitchell, director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging; and Sara Sandoval, recruiting and PhD pathway program manager, who helped save the day by switching from cofacilitator to participant at the last minute to help ensure a successful participant experience This activity had the aim of
Alicia
Llorente Lope, Ph.D. Postdoc (Emerling Lab)
Jianhua "JZ" Zhao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the Cancer Metabolism & Microenvironment Program
ttle of what it’s like to and working in a different cultural environment and with individuals from different cultural backgrounds We hope that participants walked away with some helpful reflections, as well as some fun anecdotes, to help keep an open mind for living and working with others. As we hope to offer this activity again in the future, we don’t want to give the details away We hope you will join us the next time!
We had the pleasure to sit down with Dr Sanju Sinha, who shared with us his scientific journey and answered our many questions about tips for a successful scientific career Dr Sinha talked to us about how he
SBP-SN Breakfast Club
By: Theophilos Tzaridis, Ph D (Postdoc; Adams Lab)
encourages individual involvement in problem solution and thereby supports and fosters the independence of his trainees. He also stressed how it is important to start our research with “simple ideas” and write them down With time, those ideas will turn into “bigger ideas” and before we know it, those will turn into exciting and successful grants and projects! He advised us to write down the 10 most open questions in the field and phrase them as grand challenges, which will help solving fundamental problems.
During our breakfast, we also talked about challenging times in science and how to cope with those, he suggested taking a break from a certain project instead of quitting (quote: “You are not the right person to know when to quit” ��) Dr Sinha gave us an exciting, insightful and most importantly fun breakfast club, which all participating graduate students and postdocs enjoyed!
GSBS Annual Holiday Luncheon
In December GSBS celebrated the holiday season with their Annual Holiday Luncheon held at BJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse in La Jolla. The luncheon was attended by graduate students, GSBS administrative team, and the Deans. Everyone enjoyed a lunch buffet followed by a white elephant gift exchange among the students
Photos by: Megan Elyamani
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Congratulations
to Dr. Zhouting Zhu!
Dr Zhouting Zhu successfully defended her Ph D thesis on December 13, 2024.
Dr. Zhouting conducted her thesis research “miR-25 Drives Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance by Suppressing Innate Immunity via Syndecan3,” under the mentorship of Dr. Tariq Rana.
Congratulations to Dr. Jordan Friedlein!
Dr. Jordan Friedlein successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on November 12, 2024
Dr Friedlein conducted his thesis research “The circRNA Derived Protein, FIREFOX Interacts with AUF1 to Upregulate the AKT/mTORC1 Pathway, Promoting MYC Expression in Cancer,” under the mentorship of Dr. Anindya Bagchi.
Recent Postdoc & Graduate Student
Accomplishments
Alicia Llorente Lope, Ph.D., from the Emerling Lab and Ambroise Manceau, Ph.D., from the Commisso Lab, were awarded 2024 Postdoctoral Fellowships from the American Cancer Society. These prestigious awards provide more than $65,000 per year for up to three years to support early career scientists studying cancer
Dr Llorent tackle subtype o Manceau will pancreati Read mor
In October, Theophilos Tzaridis, M.D., a postdoc in the Adams lab, was selected to give a talk and received one of the four oral presentation awards presented by the American Association of Immunologists at the 2024 La Jolla Immunology Conference! Dr Tzaridis' oral presentation was titled “CD155 regulates tumor growth and immune evasion in diffuse midline glioma.”
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Office of Education, Training & International Services
Diane Klotz, Ph.D. Chief Learning Officer
Associate Dean, Administration & Professional Development
Education & Training
Nisha Cavanaugh, Ph.D. Associate Director, Career Development & Postdoctoral Programs
Nicole Villa, M.A. Program Coordinator, OETIS
International Services
Mitchell Furumoto Associate Director, International Services
Angelica Rocha, Ph.D. Associate Director, Institutional Research & Academic Planning
Megan Elyamani Academic Programs Specialist & Registrar
Susie Bolor Senior International Advisor
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
Lauren Mitchell, M.S. Director, DEIB
Leadership Support
Alessandra Sacco, Ph.D. Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Linda Bradley, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor, Postdoctoral Training
Sara Sandoval, M.S. Recruitment, Admissions, and Ph D Pathways Programs Manager