Info Session: Is a PhD for me? (Register by Dec. 19th)

UNCF/MERCK Science Inititative

THE UNCF● MERCK SCIENCE INITIATIVE

It's a Chance of a Lifetime Through an Extraordinary Partnership

UMSI brings together UNCF, The Merck Company Foundation and Merck Global Diversity Inclusion to offer 37 annual awards to outstanding African American students and postdoctoral researchers:

• 15 undergraduate scholarships
• 12 graduate dissertation fellowships
• 10 postdoctoral research fellowships

But besides funds for tuition, room and board and fees, there's also institutional support through grants to the science departments of award recipients and research grants. And along with knowledge, you'll develop a career, with hands-on research training, mentoring relationships and networking and career advancement through the Association of UNCF/Merck Fellows.
African Americans hold less than three percent of PhDs in biology, chemistry and engineering today. Opportunities created by UMSI aim to increase the numbers of minority students in sciences and engineering.
Thanks to UMSI, more than 500 students and scholars have found support, knowledge, careers and advancement

 Apply Below!!!

http://umsi.uncf.org/applyonline

Considering Graduate School?

Dear Chem and Biochem majors,

If you are considering going on to graduate School, you should take a look at this guide produced by the American Chemical Society.

http://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/students/graduate/planning-for-graduate-work-in-chemistry.pdf

If you have some interest, I encourage you to engage in undergraduate research at an early stage in your time at GT.  This will help you decide if graduate school is a good choice for you and also help ensure that your applictaion is competitive. Good graduate schools look for students with considerable prior research experience and ideally publications/presentations that have come out of their research, as this best indicator of a good outcome in graduate school. As experimental research is not quick, it is important to start relatively early in your time as an undergraduate.

Nationally only ~65% of students entering chemistry PhD programs leave with a PhD.  The most common reason for a student to leave graduate school without an advanced degree is that the reality of graduate school is different from the student's expectations. If you have spent a significant amount of time doing undergraduate research at GT, you will already have a good picture of what life in a high quality graduate program is like.

Best wishes, Angus Wilkinson

--

Angus P. Wilkinson

Professor and Associate Chair, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (Courtesy)

Georgia Institute of Technology

901 Atlantic Dr.

Atlanta, GA 30332-0400

Chemistry-Biology Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins

Chemistry-Biology Program at Johns Hopkins University - Fall 2013

I am writing to seek your assistance in identifying prospective students for the Chemistry-Biology Interface (CBI) Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins University. The CBI Program provides students with research and academic training that enables them to carry out interdisciplinary research as independent scientists. Students completing the program receive a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology.

The CBI Program brings together 31 faculty from the Schools of Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Public Health and Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and provides a diverse selection of research projects for CBI students. In order to assist them in choosing a research advisor, first year graduate students are supported by a NIH Chemical Biology Training Grant. During this time the CBI students carry out three 10-week research rotations that enable them to broaden their research skills and make informed choices of research advisors.

Since its establishment in 2005, the CBI Program has received an enthusiastic response, and we have attracted an excellent group of students. Our program has grown to over 30 Ph.D. students. With your help, we hope to continue expanding and developing this exciting program. Please feel free to contact me if you or any students are interested in learning more about the Chemistry-Biology Interface Program at Hopkins. You may also browse the CBI website which describes many facets of the program at http://www.cbi.jhu.edu. A pamphlet describing the CBI Program is available on our website. An image of the brochure is included below. Please share our information with your colleagues and students. Thank you for your assistance.

CBI Brochure 2013-2014

Sincerely yours,
Steve Rokita

Professor of Chemistry

Director, Chemistry-Biology Interface Program

Johns Hopkins University

3400 N. Charles St.

Baltimore, MD 21218

Telephone (410) 516-5793; Fax (410) 516-8420

E-mail: rokita@jhu.edu

UGA-AACP Virtual Pharmacy School Fair October 2nd & 3rd

The UGA College of Pharmacy admissions staff will, once again, participate in the AACP Virtual Pharmacy School Fair October 2 & 3! 

Chat hours will be 8 am - 2 pm and 5 pm - 7 pm on Wednesday, October 2 and 8 am - 2 pm and 4 pm - 7 pm on Thursday, October 3. 

Information on registering (free!) to participate is here: http://aacp.careereco.net/files/2013/08/2013-AACP-evite-student.jpg  

NSF Fellowships Announcement-November Deadline!

Grad School Preview Program - UW-Madison

After a successful inaugural weekend in 2012, the UW-Madison Chemistry Department will be running its second preview program to give students (mostly minority/disadvantaged) an opportunity to visit Madison and the Department in October 2013, before applications for grad school are due. We hope to attract 25 or so college seniors to the CHOPs (CHemistry OPportunities) program, which will be held October 17-19 in Madison. More information and a link to the application is available at chops.chem.wisc.edu.

We would like to introduce UW-Madison Chemistry to students who may not consider Madison as a first choice for graduate work. We would be very grateful if you could forward this email to your rising juniors and particularly seniors who may be considering starting graduate work in Chemistry in Fall 2014 (mostly) or 2015. We understand that some of you may not be directly associated with the Chemistry Department at your school, but would really appreciate it if you could forward to your colleagues in Chemistry.

The success of our first program has persuaded us that this will be an annual event, so if you keep track of Preview programs, we would appreciate you adding UW-Madison Chemistry to your list.

-- Matt Sanders Executive Director Chemistry Department 608-263-4693 1101 University Ave. msanders@chem.wisc.eduMadison, WI 53706

Things I Wish I Knew 4 years Ago: Reflections on choosing and making the most out of your advisor selection

Author: Your local 5th Year Ph.D. Student

So here I am in the last year of my Ph.D. studies (theoretically!). Graduate school has been long and challenging. I’ve grown in many ways and there is no way I could’ve predicted the person I would become and the things that would interest me. When I started my degree, I was 100% sure that I wanted to become a pharmaceutical researcher. Now I have begun applying for management consulting, pharmaceuticals, chemical manufacturing, and even semiconductor manufacturing jobs! Before I even started at my university, I knew who I wanted my advisor to be. It’s interesting to take a look back now 4 years later and see how things have changed and what I’ve learned. 

How I chose my advisor

Before I started grad school, I wrote to 2-3 professors at each school I was interested in attending, and asked about their research and let them know a little about me. This helped because my department required new graduate students to interview several professors before listing our top 3 choices and being matched. Since I already had a head start, my advisor of interest already knew about me! He introduced me to one of his colleagues and they became my co-advisors. Both advisors had very large lab groups. In speaking to current members of each group, I got the feeling that since the groups were so large that the working style of each advisor was more hands off and that you should be self-motivated and self-directing. I thought this would be fine for me!

Some things I learned

Four years later, I think I may have done better being in a small group with more one-on-one attention from my advisor. This could have provided me with more mentoring and direction in the process. Being in a larger group makes it easier to get lost in the crowd. It’s something I see now, but I don’t think I could’ve really known until it was experienced. Sometimes I feel like my experience was like being thrown in a pool and then having to teach myself to swim...it took me a while, but I figured things out. I’m still figuring some things out.

Knowing your work style can really help you. I had participated in several research internships during my undergrad years as well as extracurricular leadership activities so I thought I knew, but it ended up working out differently in the case of my graduate research. However, I eventually figured out a way to “survive”:

1. Identifying friends in my lab that I could go to with questions
   Even if they couldn’t always solve my problems, I still had people I could ask for suggestions and sometimes point me to literature I hadn’t seen myself. 
2. Developing a supportive group of friends outside of my lab that I could go to to vent
   This is valuable regardless of whether you are in a small or large group. Even when the outside of the lab group of friends aren’t in your field, I’m sure you’ve noticed many of us go through the same trials and it’s always helpful to be reminded that you’re not the only one. 
3. Developing relationships with professors outside of my lab as mentors
   I was lucky to have professors I took classes with or met through extracurricular activities that I could check in with once in a while and let them know about my progress and ask questions about proceeding through the Ph.D. in general. They spoke more candidly than my advisors so it was great to be able to hear from others who had already made it through.
4. Consciously keeping visible within my lab
   I made sure that when it was my turn to present in group meetings that I did my best to communicate effectively both my results and sometimes what obstacles I was facing (something most graduate students are afraid to admit). My advisors would make rounds through the lab at certain parts of the day or week so I would make sure to be in my office or in the lab at those times. I would also arrange meetings with them sometimes to update them on my progress and ask questions. More regular meetings probably would have been even more beneficial.

One thing that could’ve helped was if senior members of my group could’ve let people know their expertise so that they could be available as resources. Choosing a lab group is almost as important as choosing an advisor. They are the people you will be spending the most time with on a daily basis and the ones more closely experiencing what you’re going through! They will be your resources and in some cases your competition. Choose wisely!

Mercer MPH Degree Program now offered on Atlanta Campus

Mercer is adding a cohort of the Master of Public Health degree program to our Atlanta Campus. This is an expansion of the MPH program, which has been offered on our Macon Campus since 1998. This means we’ll have students in this program on both our Macon and Atlanta campuses. We will be offering evening classes, online classes, hybrid and distance learning options – a program ideal for students who want to continue working part-time or full-time while completing their degree in a reasonable timeframe. Our fully-accredited generalist degree program is designed to either build or enhance students’ broad understanding of preventative health and research within local and global communities. Our program has produced hundreds of graduates who are meeting the growing challenges of protecting the public’s health and preventing the spread of disease.

The Mercer MPH degree program is part of the new Mercer Health Science Center, which was approved in April by the University’s Board of Trustees and became operational in July. In addition to three current health sciences units – medicine, pharmacy, and nursing – the Mercer Health Science Center will launch a fourth academic unit on July 1, 2013. The new College of Health Professions will incorporate the master’s-level physician assistant and the doctoral-level physical therapy programs, which are currently housed within the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the master’s-level public health program, which is currently offered in the School of Medicine.  The new college will also allow for the addition of future health sciences programs, such as occupational therapy, as well as the expansion of existing programs on multiple Mercer campuses.

We invite your students interested in a Master of Public Health degree to join us for an Information Session that will be held on our Atlanta Campus at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 14, 2012. The information session will provide insight into our MPH Program, including admissions criteria and process. Students interested in attending can register for the event by sending an email to our Admissions Coordinator, Ms. Emily Foster, at foster_ea@mercer.edu. Prospective students unable to attend the information session can request more information about the Mercer MPH Program at mph@mercer.eduor (478) 301-5478. More information about our MPH Program is also available online at http://chp.mercer.edu/public-health/.

UNCF/Merck Science Initiative Scholarships

We are pleased to announce the 2013 competition for the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative
Research Scholarships and Fellowships. Each scholarship/fellowship can be from $30,000 to
$92,000. This continues the initiative which began in 1996 in support of science education and is
sponsored by The Merck Company Foundation and Merck and administered by UNCF. This
commitment has been renewed through 2015.

The UNCF/Merck Science Initiative is dedicated to supporting the training of world-class African
American biological and chemical scientists and engineers toward achieving the complementary
goals of national economic competitiveness and social diversity. This initiative provides scholarships
and fellowships to at least 37 outstanding African American students per year- 15 at the
undergraduate level, 12 at the graduate level and 10 at the postdoctoral level. In addition, the
UNCF/Merck Science Initiative may provide grants to the science departments of the recipients'
home institution.

Applications should be submitted on-line at UNCF.org/umsi. Applications must be submitted on-line no later than December 3, 2012. We would greatly appreciate your assistance in distributing the
enclosed materials to those whom you believe are eligible to apply.

If there are questions regarding the information enclosed, please do not hesitate to call UNCF at
(202) 810-0331 .

I-IMPACT Noyce II Fellowships provide annual $10K stipends

Georgia Tech partners with Kennesaw State University in supporting the Noyce Scholarships funded by the National Science Foundation. The I-IMPACT Noyce II Fellowships provide annual $10K stipends over 5 years (total of $50K) as well as other funding to each recipient. The first program year is spent in the Kennesaw State University's Master of Arts (MAT) in Teaching Science degree and the next four are spent teaching in a high needs school district in Georgia. These scholarships are available to students who are in their final year at Tech, majoring in a science, engineering or technology field, and are considering becoming a middle or high school physics or chemistry teacher in Georgia.

You are invited to attend a reception and information session about the MAT and I-IMAST fellowship programs on Wednesday, September 5^th in the ATOMS Center, House 59 on the Kennesaw campus. The two session options are: 5:30-6:30pm or 6:30-7:30pm. A light dinner and refreshments will be served at both sessions.

Please RSVP to iimpact@kennesaw.edu by August 31st to confirm your attendance (space is limited) and to receive directions to the event. Contact Nancy Overley at iimpact@kennesaw.edu or 770-794-7635 if you have any questions.


If you cannot attend this session but would like to talk further about your interest in teaching, please make an appointment on Georgia Tech’s campus with Susan Belmonte, the GT Pre-Teaching advisor (sbelmonte@gatech.edu).

Chemistry Grad School Preview Weekend at UW-Madison - Fall 2012

Rising Juniors and Rising Seniors interested in graduate school:

The UW-Madison Chemistry Department is inaugurating a preview weekend for students (rising juniors and seniors, mostly  minority/disadvantaged) to visit Madison and the Department in October 2012, before applications for grad school are due. We would like to introduce UW-Madison Chemistry to students who may not consider Madison as a first choice for graduate work. *We would be very grateful if you could forward this flyer to your rising juniors and particularly seniors who may be considering starting graduate work in Fall 2013 or 2014.*

> Matt Sanders
> Executive Director
> Chemistry Department 608-263-4693
> 1101 University Ave.msanders@chem.wisc.edu
> Madison, WI 53706

NSF FELLOWSHIP INFO SESSION

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Info Session hosted by GT Fellowships Office

Would you like to receive $30,000 a year for three years of graduate study?

The Georgia Tech Fellowships Office is here to help you consider applying for an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and to assist you with every step of creating a strong application

Please join us for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Info Session on Tuesday, April 10th, at 11:00 am in the Student Success Center, President’s Suite A . The Fellowships Office team will discuss specific award information, eligibility, and application processes. We hope to see you there!

New Graduate Program at Emory-MA in Bioethics

** Can you call yourself an expert if you haven't explored the ethical complexities of your field?**

Join other healthcare professionals, scholars, and students for the Master of Arts in Bioethics Program at Emory University. Applications are due MARCH 1. Don’t miss this opportunity to study with faculty on the cutting edge of bioethics research and scholarship!

******************************************************************************************
The Master of Arts in Bioethics degree program provides rigorous, advanced, interdisciplinary study in bioethics for professionals and students interested in the social and ethical challenges facing medicine and the life sciences. As a leading research and teaching university, graduates of Emory’s Master of Arts in Bioethics will be trained to help to advance the national conversation on important issues influencing public policy, scholarship, practice and education in the field.
Key features of the MA in Bioethics degree include:
• 30 credit hours (including at least 12 elective credits)
• Full time students can complete the program in 12 months
• Part-time students can opt for a 2-year (2 courses/semester) or 3-year (1 course/semester) plan
• Flexibility in final project: thesis, exam, and innovative projects (a piece of legislation, policy manual, etc.) are all possible
• Practicum sites include the CDC, Grady Memorial Hospital, the Health Care Ethics Consortium of Georgia, NASA, and many more
• *New for 2012-2013: pursue the dual MTS/MA-Bioethics degrees with the Candler School of Theology or the MD/MA-Bioethics with Emory School of Medicine!

For more information about the program, please see the website at: http://ethics.emory.edu/mabioethics, or contact the director at the information below.

University of California-Merced Graduate Program

Biophysics at Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

Exploring the underlying mechanisms of life sciences.

Biophysics Program

Beginning in the 1930's and continuing to the present, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed and maintained a strong tradition in cutting-edge molecular biophysics.

Graduate training in Biophysics is organized through two distinct but very closely allied programs: the Biophysics Graduate Degree Program, which confers the Ph.D. in Biophysics to its graduates, and the Molecular Biophysics Training Program, a program built around an NIH NRSA Institutional Training Grant awarded through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The two programs are coordinated through a common leadership and administrative structure to bring together the UW Biophysics community around mutual interests and needs. The training grant provides funds to help recruit, encourage and support a selected group of graduate students in this important area. A student applies to the Biophysics Degree Program through the formal admissions process; applications to Biophysics and other participating programs (Biochemistry, Chemistry, Physiology, and others) are further evaluated to decide on offers of a NIH training grant position.

The primary goal of the UW-Madison Biophysics Program is to foster development of scientists having exceptionally broad and deep exposure to modern physical, biological, and computational thought and research methodology.

See the following link for details and application.

www.biophysics.wisc.edu/

Application deadline: December 15

Biomedical Engineering Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, at The University of Arizona,

A representative from the University of Arizona is coming to campus to advertise their BME graduate program, on Thursday September 29. Debbi Howard will be here from 11-12 and will be speaking in Whitaker 1103.

The Biomedical Engineering Graduate Interdisciplinary Program,
at The University of Arizona, offers challenging opportunities for
students interested in research and training in biomedical engineering.
Students integrate engineering, mathematics, biology, and medicine in a
highly collaborative and multi-disciplinary environment, with over 60
faculty mentors. Immediate proximity to the college of medicine as well
as several disease centers, facilitates cutting-edge translational
research. Students can participate in a number of specialized training
programs including biomedical imaging, cardiovascular engineering,
computational modeling, and entrepreneurship.
Debbi Howard, the Program Coordinator for the Biomedical Engineering
Graduate Program, at The University of Arizona, has been at the
University for over ten years, and received all of her degrees there, so
she is very familiar with the school and the area. She will be speaking
about the BME Program and funding opportunities, giving application
pointers, and sharing the benefits of the dry heat of Tucson, as well as
answering your questions.
--

Aaron H. Morris
Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology

President - Biomedical Research & Opportunities Society

Vice President - Programming, Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Honor Society

Chemistry-Biology Interface (CBI) Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins University

We are trying to identify prospective students for the Chemistry-Biology Interface (CBI) Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins University. The CBI Program provides students with research and academic training that enables them to carry out interdisciplinary research as independent scientists. Students completing the program receive a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology.

The CBI Program brings together ~30 faculty from 4 schools at Johns Hopkins University, which provide a diverse selection of research projects to CBI students. In order to assist them in choosing a research advisor, first year graduate students are supported by a NIH Chemical Biology Training Grant. During this time the CBI students carry out three 10-week research rotations that enable them to broaden their research skills and make informed choices of research advisors.

Since its establishment in 2005, the CBI Program has received an enthusiastic response, and we have attracted an excellent group of students. This fall we welcomed our largest (10) class of students yet. With your help, we hope to continue expanding and developing this exciting program. Please feel free to contact me if you or any students are interested in learning more about the Chemistry-Biology Interface Program at Hopkins. You may also browse the CBI website which describes many facets of the program at http://www.cbi.jhu.edu. A pamphlet describing the CBI Program is available on our website. Please share it with your colleagues and students. Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely yours,

Marc M. Greenberg

Professor of Chemistry

Director, Chemistry-Biology Interface Program

Johns Hopkins University

3400 N. Charles St., NCB 313

Baltimore, MD 21218

Telephone (410) 516-8095; Fax (410) 516-7044

E-mail: mgreenberg@jhu.edu

Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, CA

Master of Bioscience (MBS, in operation for 11 years)
A 2-2.5 year program focusing on one of 5 areas:
Bioprocessing
Business of Bioscience
Clinical & Regulatory Affairs
Medical Devices & Diagnostics
Pharmaceutical Discover & Development

Masters of Bioscience (MBS)

KGI’s Masters of Bioscience (MBS) program challenges you to move

past compartmentalized subject matter to unlock the relationships

between business, engineering, and science. It takes two intense

years of cross-disciplinary study and real-world projects with

leaders in the bioscience industry. The program includes a hands-on

internship experience and a capstone Team Master’s Project. The

degree proves to be as dynamic as is the experience of obtaining

it. The focus tracks include: Business of Bioscience,

Pharmaceutical Discovery and Development, Bioprocessing, Medical

Devices and Diagnostics, and Clinical Regulatory Affairs.

Application Fee = $75. If an Advisor refers a student to the program, then the application fee can be waived for the student. Advisors should contact Ms. Amanda Wirtz, Assistant Director of Recruiting, via email: amanda_wirtz@kgi.edu to assist students with this waiver.


Fellowships are available for the MBS program.


In lieu of a master's thesis, students must complete a Team Master's Project in which they solve a research problem given by a sponsoring company. Each team will interact with a Faculty Advisor and one or more Corporate Liaisons. Participating companies are part of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, government, and medical device industries.




Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate (PPC, in operation for 1 year)
A 1-year program to help students who did not get into medical school develop their skills and strengthen their application before re-applying to medical school.

Post-Doctoral Professional Masters (PPM)

Keck Graduate Institute’s (KGI) Postdoctoral Professional Masters

(PPM) is a groundbreaking professional Masters program for post- doctoral fellows with backgrounds in science and engineering. This

accredited Masters degree helps PhD scientists and Engineers acquire

the business and management skills needed to pursue senior

management positions within the life sciences industry or embark on

entrepreneurial ventures that are intended to commercialize

technologies developed in laboratories. The program curriculum

focuses on the unique business environment within the life sciences.

Courses combine traditional training in issues such as competitive

strategy and marketing with specialized topics such as the role of

regulation and medical reimbursement in determining the viability of

life science market opportunities.

Postbaccalaureate Pre-Medical Certificate

The Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate (PPC) program is for

candidates with an undergraduate degree in science or engineering,

who may have applied to medical school and were denied, as well as

those ready to apply. The flexible curriculum gives students time

to improve MCAT scores and augment their undergraduate curriculum

with graduate level science courses, plus providing the experience

of a business school. Keck Graduate Institute’s strong ties with

the biosciences industry will help set the candidates apart from

other medical school applicants. KGI will work with the students to

design a program that fits their needs, including helping assemble

their portfolio of recommendations, editing personal statements and

application essays, identifying health profession volunteer

experiences, as well as developing and practicing interviewing

skills. The PPC program requires completion of 8 courses over a

year of study. The curriculum is highly customized and the

applicants will work with the Faculty Director to create a

personalized schedule of courses to best position them for admission

to medical school.

No funding is available for the PPC program. Cost ~ $20K.