2025 Outstanding Student Achievement Award: Master’s Research Category
Gloria Urrutia '25 Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MAMS) Program Urrutia matriculated into the MS in Medical Sciences (MAMS) Program in 2023 and is preparing to graduate in May 2025. During her thesis year, Urrutia has worked on several projects addressing overlooked educational and healthcare barriers that disproportionately affect underrepresented communities. For her thesis alongside Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics Marisol Lopez, PhD, Urrutia investigated how technical flaws in physiology multiple-choice question (MCQ) assessments impact graduate and professional student performance. The mixed-methods approach found that flawed MCQs may favor students who have knowledge of test-taking strategies and can navigate... More
2025 Outstanding Student Achievement Award: PhD Research Category
Todd W. Dowrey '25 PhD in Molecular & Translational Medicine, Program in Biomedical Sciences Dowrey matriculated into the PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS) in 2020 before transitioning to the Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine (MTM) following his first rotation year. He currently works in the lab of Assistant Professor of Medicine George Murphy, PhD, who co-founded the Boston University and Boston Medical Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM). Dowrey first joined the lab as a technician prior to beginning his PhD. Dowrey’s research centers on understanding healthy aging by studying centenarians, or individuals who live over 100 years, by developing a human... More
CReM Founding Director Darrell Kotton, MD, Named BU Innovator of the Year
Darrell Kotton, MD, founding director of the Boston University and Boston Medical Center Center for Regenerative Medicine, has been named BU's Innovator of the Year. Kotton is a mentor in Graduate Medical Sciences whose research focuses on advancing understanding of lung disease and developmental biology using stem cell biology and gene therapy. The Brink highlighted Kotton's award and research as a leading scientist in regenerative medicine. Read the full story here.
GMS PhD Spotlight: Ellen Suder
Ellen Suder is a May 2025 PhD candidate in the graduate program in Virology, Immunology & Microbiology. Ellen’s dissertation research investigates how filoviruses such as Ebola and Marburg virus regulate their gene expression processes, focusing on the transcriptional activities of the filovirus-specific protein VP30. Ellen matriculated into GMS via the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS). Learn more about Ellen’s journey below! What did you complete your dissertation research on and how did you settle on that topic? My dissertation research investigates how filoviruses such as Ebola and Marburg virus regulate their gene expression processes, focusing on the transcriptional activities of the filovirus-specific... More
GMS PhD Spotlight: Stacy Jankowski (MTM ’25)
Stacy Jankowski is a PhD candidate in the GMS Graduate Program in Molecular & Translational Medicine, through the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS). Stacy’s research in the lab of Dr. Maria Kukuruzinska investigates serine and the synthesis pathway’s impact on cell plasticity through epigenetic modification in oral squamous cell carcinoma. She matriculated into BU after working in industry as a Senior Research Associate and plans to return to industry once she graduates in May 2025. Learn more about Stacy’s journey below! What did you complete your dissertation research on and how did you settle on that topic? My dissertation research focused on... More
Breadth and Depth of GMS Research on Display at Inaugural Research Symposium
This story was first published on the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine news website on April 25, 2025. Please find a full slideshow of pictures from the Research Symposium at the bottom of this article. The inaugural Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) Research Symposium was held on April 10 in Hiebert Lounge with more than 150 students, faculty and staff attending. The symposium featured talks by postdoctoral fellows, PhD and MD/PhD students who were selected for Research Talk Awards, as well as nearly 80 poster presentations highlighting the wide range of work being done by postdoctoral researchers, MD/PhD, PhD and master’s... More
GMS PhD Spotlight: Riley Pihl (MTM ’25)
Riley Pihl is a PhD candidate in the lab of Assistant Professor of Medicine Katrina Traber, MD, PhD. Riley matriculated into the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS) in 2020 before transitioning into the Molecular and Translational Medicine program. His research in the Traber Lab focused on neutrophil regulation during acute bacterial pneumonia. Riley defended his dissertation in March 2025 and will graduate in May. Learn more about Riley below! What did you complete your dissertation research on? How did you settle on that topic? My dissertation focused on neutrophil regulation during acute bacterial pneumonia. I joined a lab with a new PI... More
Introducing Our 2025 GMS Commencement Speakers!
We are quickly counting down to Spring 2025 Commencement, where the Graduate Medical Sciences community will come together and celebrate this year’s graduating students. Today, we are excited to introduce you to the four students selected to speak at this year’s GMS Convocation exercises. Three students were chosen to speak at the Master’s Ceremony, and one student was chosen to represent GMS at the MD & PhD Ceremony. All speakers were nominated by their programs, and finalists were selected by a committee of GMS representatives. Meet Yousuf Al Naseri, Joshua Kidwell, Cynthia Ordoñez Salguero and Jhonatan Henao Vasquez below! YOUSUF AL NASERI Master of Science... More
GMS C3 Student Intern Honored as BU Graduate Student Employee of the Year
We are so proud of our GMS Community Catalyst Center student intern, Crystal Vejar (MAMS '25), who has been honored as Boston University's Graduate Student Employee of the Year! During her internship, Crystal has taken the lead on planning and implementing C3 events and communicating with mentors and students across C3's eight affinity groups. She is a dedicated peer mentor, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, and a lab research assistant at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Crystal will soon graduate from the MS in Medical Sciences program at GMS and begin medical school in the fall. Congratulations, Crystal!... More
GMS Hosts 5 Days of Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week Events
Graduate Medical Sciences Student Affairs, GMS Professional Development and the Community Catalyst Center celebrated the accomplishments of our students during Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week from April 7 to 11. Throughout the week, we hosted a variety of events that brought students together for community building, social interaction, academic enrichment, wellness, and professional development. Read the full recap below! Monday, April 7: Succulents, Snacks & Student Wellbeing Student Affairs, Professional Development, C3 and Student Wellbeing teamed up for the first event of GPSAW, which invited students to relax, paint a terracotta pot, and bring home a new succulent. Around 40 students from across GMS... More