Welcome to Fall 2022 at GMS!
Welcome – or welcome back – to another year at Graduate Medical Sciences! Our campus is quickly filling up with students once again as we prepare for classes to start in just over one week. This year, GMS is welcoming a brand-new class of 425 new students – master’s, PhDs, and MD/PhDs – to campus. Our newest class comes from 24 different countries and 40 different states. They’re entering GMS with undergraduate degrees from 212 different colleges and universities around the world. This year’s incoming masters’ students represent 15 different programs across GMS, with an additional six programs represented by incoming PhD students. We... More
STaRS and UROP Scholars Present at GMS Summer Research Symposium
This year’s Summer Training as Research Scholars (STaRS) cohort culminated their 10-week onsite internships with the GMS Summer Research Symposium held on August 11, 2022. Hosted in Hiebert Lounge, the GMS Summer Research Symposium gave the STaRS scholars an opportunity to present their independent research projects to audiences of GMS faculty, BUSM faculty, staff and students. The symposium was open to all summer undergraduate students on campus and it was also attended by three summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) scholars. The 2022 scholars are: Arjun Kumar Batra Yariann Del Mar Camacho Rosario Carlos Noel Centeno Velez Coralys Ivette Cuevas Hornedo Sophia Karise Ellis Eli River Engledow Nusrat Islam Alexis... More
Daniel Cifuentes, PhD, Studies RNA Regulation with Zebrafish and Viruses
This summer, Dr. Daniel Cifuentes, an assistant professor of biochemistry at Graduate Medical Sciences, received one of several $75,000 BU Ignition Awards aimed at helping promising research initiatives find a potential pathway to commercial success. The Cifuentes Lab works on a variety of projects that study the fundamental mechanisms of RNA regulation, a universal process for all life on Earth. RNA carries from the DNA the information necessary to create new proteins in the body, and faulty RNA regulation has the potential to cause debilitating diseases like cancer or even render a growing embryo inviable. “The beginning of new life is one of... More
GMS Faculty Spotlight: Dan Tzizik, PA
Dan Tzizik is the associate director of didactic education for the Physician Assistant Program. He has been a member of the New Hampshire National Guard for over two decades and joined the BU PA Program as a faculty member in 2020. Tzizik is also a faculty mentor for the GMS Community Catalyst Center gMAV affinity group. We spoke to Tzizik about his time in the National Guard, his role at BU, and his recent Innovative Readiness Training Mission to Oklahoma with the NH National Guard. Are you from the Boston area? I actually grew up in a town south of Boston called... More
Oral Health Sciences Program Welcomes 43 New Students to Class of 2023
Most incoming Graduate Medical Sciences students won't arrive to campus until September 2, but one GMS cohort got a head start this week: the Oral Health Sciences program. The program welcomed 43 new students to its Class of 2023 during yesterday's OHS-specific Orientation event. The class is comprised of 23 female students and 19 male students. There are 15 first-generation students and 12 students from disadvantaged groups in the cohort. The students come from 21 different states, as well as Puerto Rico, Germany and Canada. The class is heavily represented by students from Massachusetts (10 students), with a significant number of students coming... More
Second C3 Ice Cream Social Draws Current and Incoming GMS Students
The GMS community enjoyed the summer's second Ice Cream Social on Wednesday, July 27, hosted by the Community Catalyst Center in the C3 Suite (L-306). The event drew a crowd of GMS students, faculty and staff to mingle, listen to music and enjoy four kinds of ice cream with toppings. Even several incoming Oral Health Sciences students attended, excited to kick off the new academic year at their Orientation the next day. GMS Associate Provost and Dean Jamie McKnight, PhD, and Assistant Dean of Masters Programs Theresa Davies, PhD stopped by to chat with students, too. Mark your calendar's for C3's third Ice... More
Dan Tzizik, PA, Participates in Innovative Readiness Training Mission with New Hampshire National Guard
Dan Tzizik, associate director of didactic education for the Physician Assistant Program, participated in a two-week-long Innovative Readiness Training mission with the New Hampshire National Guard, where he holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has been a member of the NH National Guard for 19 years and joined the BU PA Program as a faculty member in 2020. Tzizik is also a faculty mentor for the GMS Community Catalyst Center gMAV affinity group, which seeks to promote a deeper sense of belonging and recognition for military-affiliated and veteran students by celebrating their multidimensional experiences across the GMS programs. During the training mission, More
C3 Kicks Off the Summer and Builds Community at First Ice Cream Social
Students, faculty and staff from across Graduate Medical Sciences kicked off the first month of summer at the GMS Community Catalyst Center's first Ice Cream Social on June 29. Hosted in the C3 Suite, the social was a chance for the GMS community to gather together, take a break from summer work and catch up with peers. The social featured three kinds of ice cream and a table full of toppings and fruit to enjoy. Students from across GMS Master's, PhD, and MD/PhD programs attended the social, and even GMS Associate Provost and Dean Jamie McKnight got in on the fun! C3 will... More
GMS Anatomy & Neurobiology Professor Uses Artificial Intelligence to Better Predict Dementia Onset
Dr. Rhoda Au, professor of anatomy & neurobiology in Graduate Medical Sciences, is part of a research team working with artificial intelligence to predict dementia onset. The team is led by Dr. Vijaya B. Kolachalama, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Medicine who is an expert on using advanced computer technology to make more informed medical diagnoses. His team has created a deep learning algorithm that can predict where a person falls on the dementia spectrum and whether a person's memory loss is a result of dementia or another cause. The team has been working on this technology for several... More
Active Shooter Training Resources and Important Safety Tips
To: BUMC Students, Faculty and Staff From: Karen Antman, MD, BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean Date: June 6, 2022 Subject: Recent Gun Violence The recent gun violence in Texas, New York, California, Oklahoma, Philadelphia and Tennessee are vivid and gut-wrenching reminders of the continuing toll of gun violence, but also that our campus public safety is a critical, shared responsibility. To foster an inclusive community, we must provide a safe and welcoming environment for our students, faculty, staff, patients, alumni and visitors. All have an important role to play. Please take some time to review these active shooter training resources from BU Police and the FBI and remember that... More