Spotlights
Students, Faculty & Alumni
Student Spotlight: Elizabeth Poplavska ’25
Elizabeth Poplavska is a second-year Master of Science in Forensic Anthropology student at Graduate Medical Sciences. Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Brooklyn College and moved to Boston to build her knowledge about the science and biological aspects of the subject. Her current research assesses CT scans of antemortem tooth loss, dental caries, and crown restorations for skeletal biomarkers of stress in opioid users and non-opioid users. Elizabeth plans to graduate in... More
Graduate Medical Sciences Celebrates 40 Years of MAMS at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
First conceived in the early 1980s over a faculty lunch table, BU’s MS in Medical Sciences has grown to be one of the country’s most successful Special Master’s Programs. In the early 1980s, a group of faculty from the Boston University School of Medicine Department of Microbiology gathered around a lunch table to discuss a groundbreaking new program – one that would soon become the school’s Master of Arts in Medical Sciences, or “MAMS.” The idea, according... More
Student Spotlight: Yousuf Al Naseri (OHS ’25)
Yousuf Al Naseri is a student in the Master of Science in Oral Health Sciences (OHS) program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine with a goal to improve access to dentistry and educate his future patients on the importance of oral care and systemic health. Yousuf has also been an active mentor for fellow first-generation students, both in his undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and here... More
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