Spotlights

Students, Faculty & Alumni

Congratulations to Our 2024 Outstanding Student Achievement Award Winners!

Graduate Medical Sciences is pleased to award four high-achieving, graduating students with Outstanding Student Achievement Awards in the categories “Outstanding Research” and “Community Service.” These students have made exceptional contributions to their departments and communities that have set them apart from their peers during their time at GMS. Meet each awardee below: Katharine Babcock, PhD, '24 PhD in Anatomy & Neurobiology Katharine Babcock is a January 2024 graduate of the PhD program in Anatomy & Neurobiology. She has... More

2024 Outstanding Student Achievement Award: Master’s Research Category

Melanie Delgado '24 Melanie Delgado is a May 2024 master’s candidate in the Master of Science in Medical Science (MAMS) program. She matriculated into the MAMS program in Fall 2022. Melanie works for Michael Levy, MD, PhD, the director of the Neuroimmunology Clinic and Research Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. There, she oversees a clinical trial investigating a new drug in the treatment of anti-NMDAR encephalitis. As part of her master’s thesis, Melanie also developed a... More

2024 Outstanding Student Achievement Award: Master’s Community Service Category

Gwendolyn Strickland '24 Gwendolyn Strickland is a master’s candidate in the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling Program. She matriculated into Boston University in Fall 2022 to pursue a dual MS/Master of Public Health degree at GMS and the School of Public Health (SPH).   Gwendolyn worked with the Boston Medical Center (BMC) Refugee Women’s Health Clinic to implement a group care model focused on case management services for recently arrived pregnant patients from Haiti. The project... More

2024 Outstanding Student Achievement Award: PhD Research Category

Anna Smith '24 Anna Smith is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine (MTM). She has been at Boston University for almost five years, having matriculated into the PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences in Fall 2019. Anna is completing her dissertation research in the lab of Associate Professor of Medicine Valerie Gouon-Evans, PhD, PharmD. Dr. Gouon-Evans directs the Boston University Liver Biologists (BULB) Program and is the associate director of the MTM... More

2024 Outstanding Student Achievement Award: PhD Community Service Category

Katharine Babcock, PhD, '24 Katharine Babcock is a January 2024 graduate of the PhD program in Anatomy & Neurobiology. She has been at Boston University for almost 10 years. From September 2014 to September 2016, she worked as a research assistant at the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center Brain Bank, before pursuing her master’s degree in the same lab until 2018.   From 2018 to 2023, Katharine pursued her PhD, graduating in January 2024. She is... More

GMS PhD Spotlight: Guillermo Arroyo Ataz

Guillermo Arroyo Ataz is a Pathology PhD candidate in the lab of Assistant Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Dennis Jones, PhD. His research focuses on studying the developmental origin of cells of the lymphatic system. Guillermo defended his dissertation, “Characterization of Mesodermal Origins of Lymphatic Muscle Cells,” in March 2024 and will graduate in May 2024. Read more about Guillermo below! What did you complete your dissertation research on and how did you settle on... More

GMS PhD Spotlight: Emily Lewkowicz

Emily Lewkowicz is a Biophysics PhD candidate in the lab of Professor of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics Olga Gursky, PhD. Her dissertation research focused on the structural basis for the interactions of amyloids with their cofactors. Emily defended her dissertation, “Structural Basis for the Interactions of Amyloids with their Cofactors,” in March 2024 and will graduate in May 2024. Read more about Emily below! What did you complete your dissertation research on and how did you... More

GMS PhD Spotlight: Chelsea Webber

Chelsea Webber is a degree candidate in the GMS PhD Program in Biomolecular Pharmacology. Her dissertation research in the lab of Professor of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics Benjamin Wolozin, MD, PhD, focused on ways to decrease the overactivation of immune response in neurodegenerative diseases. Chelsea defended her dissertation in March 2024 and will graduate in May 2024. Read more about Chelsea below! What did you complete your dissertation research on and how did you settle on... More

GMS Master’s Spotlight: Elena Redmond (BMFS ’24)

Elena Redmond is a May 2024 degree candidate in the Biomedical Forensic Sciences (BMFS) master’s program. Her thesis research used a high-pressure mass spectrometer to create a library for detecting organic gunshot residue. Aside from her studies, Elena has spent almost two years working as an intern with the GMS Marketing & Communications team, where she took ownership over updating the web calendar, helping with Spotlight articles and assembling the bi-weekly GMS Press newsletter. Congratulations, Elena! We'll... More

GMS PhD Spotlight: Katie Babcock

Katie Babcock, PhD, is a January 2024 graduate of the PhD program in Anatomy & Neurobiology. Her dissertation research under Professor of Neurology & Pathology Ann McKee at the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center focused on changes in astrocytes in the brains of deceased former American football players. Katharine defended her dissertation in November 2023. Read more about Katie below! What did you complete your dissertation research on and how did you settle on that... More