Spotlights
Students, Faculty & Alumni
GMS Faculty Spotlight: Dennis Jones, PhD
Graduate Medical Sciences faculty member Dennis Jones, PhD, is an assistant professor of pathology & laboratory medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Research in Jones' lab seeks to understand immune system suppression in breast cancers, with a focus on dysfunction of blood vessels in tumors. Jones recently received one of 11 National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Moonshot Scholar Awards, as well as a National Institutes of Health ReWARD R01 grant that... More
Student Spotlight: Crystal Vejar, MAMS ‘25
Crystal Vejar is a second-year student in the Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MAMS) Program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. A first-generation, non-traditional student and a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, Vejar has taken a unique path to Graduate Medical Sciences. Vejar’s journey has molded her into a strong researcher and future health care professional, as well as a passionate advocate for others – traits she will carry with her when... More
Introducing the First GMS Cohort of American Cancer Society Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellows
This year, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine welcomed its first cohort of four scholars to its new American Cancer Society Center for Diversity in Cancer Research Training (ACS-DICR) Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellows Program. The two-year Post-Baccalaureate Fellows Program aims to enhance diversity in the cancer research workforce by increasing the number of individuals from underrepresented groups in biomedical science. Throughout the program, students will conduct biomedical research under the supervision of a faculty mentor. This... More
Meet Bénédicte Gnangnon (Béné), PhD, GMS Director of Professional Development
Bénédicte Gnangnon (Béné), PhD, is the new Director of Professional Development for Graduate Medical Sciences. Since arriving at GMS in Summer 2024, Béné has initiated and piloted several programs to help students think about their career journeys and take the next step. We spoke to Béné about her educational and professional journey, her experience mentoring students in professional development, and advice she has for students maneuvering through this unique time in their lives. Read our... More
Congratulations to Our Graduate Medical Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awardees!
Graduate Medical Sciences is pleased to announce that Christopher D. Andry, MPhil, PhD’94, and Jennifer Luebke, PhD’90, have been honored as GMS Distinguished Alumni awardees by the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Alumni Association. Andry and Luebke both serve as long-time faculty within GMS and Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, each having made significant and impactful contributions to their fields, their departments, the Medical Campus and BU as a whole. They will... More
GMS Distinguished Alumni Awardee Spotlight: Jennifer Luebke, PhD’90
Waterhouse Professor and Chair of Anatomy & Neurobiology Jennifer Luebke, PhD, has served in many roles at BU, including as principal investigator of the Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology since 1996, vice-chair of anatomy & neurobiology, and director of the PhD and Vesalius Master’s Programs in Anatomy & Neurobiology. She has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Boston University Faculty Council, including as chair of the Sustainability Committee, and she was chair of the... More
GMS Distinguished Alumni Awardee Spotlight: Christopher Andry, MPhil, PhD’94
Christopher D. Andry, MPhil, PhD, serves as chief, pathology & laboratory medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC), and chair, pathology & laboratory medicine at Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and professor of pathology & laboratory medicine and family medicine. Andry’s career at BMC and BU has spanned more than 40 years, during which time he has demonstrated a deep-rooted commitment to and passion for the mission of the BMC Health System, the University and Medical... More
GMS Faculty Spotlight: Esther Bullitt, PhD
Esther Bullitt, PhD, is a professor of pharmacology, physiology & biophysics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She is the director of both the biophysics and physiology graduate programs within Graduate Medical Sciences. Dr. Bullitt was recently awarded a Shared Instrumentation Grant by the National Institutes of Health, which helped to fund BU’s new Cryo-EM Core Facility. The facility celebrated the “First Light” of its Glacios-2 cryogenic electron microscope (cryo-EM) in April 2024. More
Congratulations to Our 2024 Henry I. Russek Student Achievement Award Winners!
Graduate Medical Sciences and the Russek Foundation are pleased to award nine high-achieving graduate students and recent alumni with 2024 Henry I. Russek Student Achievement Awards: Robert Fisher (Graduate Program in Genetics & Genomics) Lucy Peterson (Program in Pharmacology) Yi Guan (PhD in Anatomy & Neurobiology Program) Anna Smith, PhD (Graduate Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine) Remi Janicot (Biochemistry PhD Program) Erika Smith-Mahoney (Microbiology Program) Daniel Kirsch (PhD Program in Pathology) Kelton Wilmerding, PhD (Graduate Program for Neuroscience) Annalise Miner (Behavioral Neuroscience PhD... More
William Lehman, PhD, and Jeffrey Browning, PhD, Receive 2024 GMS Educator of the Year Awards
Each year, the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine honors two Graduate Medical Sciences faculty who deliver exceptional education to graduate students in masters and doctoral education. These awards are based on recommendations from across the GMS programs. This year, we are thrilled to share that GMS has awarded William Lehman, PhD, and Jeffrey Browning, PhD, with the 2024 Educator of the Year awards. Read more about Dr. Lehman and Dr. Browning below! William Lehman, More