Andrew Henderson, PhD, has spent the last 16 years at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, during which time he has performed groundbreaking research and been a part of developing two innovative PhD-training pathway programs in Graduate Medical Sci­ences (GMS).

Henderson, a professor of medicine/infec­tious diseases and virology, immunology & microbiology, also serves as assistant dean of research for Graduate Medical Sciences.

He completed his PhD training at the University of California, Riverside, before accepting a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University, where he embarked on what would eventually become a career in researching human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

“I was really interested in questions of how genes get expressed in different cell types in the context of the immune response,” he says. “Since HIV targeted the immune system, it became an important question to understand how it was expressed in the dif­ferent immune cells.”

Following his fellowship at Columbia, Henderson took a position at Penn State, where he remained for 10 years. In 2007, he accepted an associate professorship at Boston University, joining the Medical Campus as an established, mid-career investigator.

Drawing on his background in immunol­ogy and his goal of understanding how the immune system develops, Henderson’s lab focuses on several projects related to the cel­lular mechanisms that regulate HIV replication and transcription.

“One of the nice things about doing research in an academic environment is that you can explore, shift, and do things that sometimes will change the direction of your research interests,” he says.

Establishing the Boston University PREP Program

Eager to combine his research with his role as a GMS educator, Henderson worked with former Associate Provost and GMS Dean Linda Hyman, PhD, to establish the year-long Post-baccalaureate Research Education Pro­gram (BU PREP), now in its fifth year.

Supported by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, BU PREP is designed as a pathway for recent bachelor’s degree recipients seeking entry into competi­tive PhD training programs.

According to Henderson, by facilitating the process, the program inspires recent bache­lor’s degree graduates to consider PhD training and other long-term careers in science. It aims to create more diversity in STEM by appealing to research-motivated students who are his­torically underrepresented in scientific fields.

“We’re closing that gap a little bit, but we need to do a better job in science and attract­ing underrepresented groups to the STEM fields,” Henderson says.

The program matches each student with a lab at the medical school, where they will work throughout the year on a variety of research projects. Students can also audit courses, join journal clubs, and attend professional develop­ment and other seminars featuring prominent STEM professionals.

“There are lots of opportunities where you can be a leader in the field, whether it’s being a professor at an academic institution, leading a group at a biotech company, or directing policy and education,” Henderson says. “So, we try to expose BU PREP students to that as well.”

The program also offers mentorship throughout the PhD application process including assistance with recommendation letters, personal statements, and career devel­opment. With the support of the NIH-funded Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), where Henderson serves as an asso­ciate director, participants also network with students at other PREP programs throughout New England.

“Obviously, the lab experiences are super positive and can really transform somebody’s perspective of science and future careers,” Henderson says. “However, I think the men­torship and the engagement with students is something that we do really well.”

Every student who has completed BU PREP is still in science, whether in a PhD program, at a biotech firm, or in the process of graduate or medical school applications.

“I feel like we’ve supported people through this process,” Henderson says. “I would hope everybody comes out of BU PREP feeling like they’ve gained from this experience.”

Capacity Building and Partnership with the University of Liberia

Henderson’s mentorship roles also include his participation in the Boston Uni­versity and University of Liberia Emerging and Epidemic Virus Research (BULEEVR) program, which is supported by the NIH Fogarty International Center.

A collaborative effort of BU, the University of Liberia, and several other stakeholders, BULEEVR creates a training program that supports Liberian scholars in their journey to pursue PhD training in biomedical sciences and public health.

Henderson leads the BULEEVR program alongside BU School of Public Health Chair and Professor of Global Health Patricia Hibberd, MD, PhD; Director of the BU Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID) and Associate Pro­fessor of Medicine Nahid Bhadelia, MD, MA; Refuge Place International President and CEO Mosoka Fallah, PhD, MPH, MA; and Vice Pres­ident of University of Liberia College of Health Sciences Bernice Dahn, MD, MPH.

Now entering its sixth year, the program was founded in the wake of the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, when Bhadelia and Fallah began to consider programs focused on research, clinical care, and sustainable STEM training in Liberia.

“There was a realization about the need for sustainable research and education programs as well as larger questions around equity, and the need for investment in places such as West Africa, where emerging infectious diseases are having an impact every day,” Henderson says.

The program offers individual mentorship to trainees by building their foundational sci­entific knowledge, assisting with their research papers and application processes, and guiding them toward competitive PhD programs.

BULEEVR currently has six trainees: four in PhD programs across the United States and two in the epidemiology PhD program at BU School of Public Health. A past trainee recently received his MS from the GMS program in Clinical Research.

BULEEVR currently has six trainees: four in PhD programs across the United States and two in the epidemiology PhD program at BU School of Public Health. A past trainee recently received his MS from the GMS program in Clinical Research.

Ultimately, according to Henderson, the program’s long-term goals are rooted in sus­tainable educational programs and research projects. The BULEEVR team actively engages with Liberian stakeholders and aims for pro­gram trainees to eventually train the next gen­eration of scientists in-country.

“I would hope that by the end of the next five years, we’re training people in Liberia, doing collaborative research in Liberia, and our trainees are getting PhDs from the University of Liberia,” Henderson says.

Whether in his lab, mentoring traditional PhD students, or working with trainees in the BU PREP and BULLEVR Henderson enjoys seeing the professional maturation pro­cess of new scientists who are excited about their work and grow alongside their projects “I think “I think sometimes we get kind of rigid in thinking about our careers and our progression and we forget to enjoy and embrace the pro­cess,” he says. “Science can be really fun.”