Spotlights
Students, Faculty & Alumni

MS Student Spotlight: Khoa Duong (HPE ‘23)
Khoa Duong is a student in the Masters in Health Professions Education program at Graduate Medical Sciences. A pulmonary doctor and medical teacher from Vietnam, Duong was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Khoa attended medical school at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and received a master’s degree in public health from the Universite Paris Sud. Read more about Khoa below! Tell... More

PhD Student Spotlight: Ioanna Yiannakou (Nutrition & Metabolism)
Ioanna Yiannakou is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Medical Sciences doctoral program in the Program in Biomedical Sciences: Nutrition & Metabolism. She graduated from GMS with an MS in Nutrition & Metabolism in 2019. In 2022, Ioanna won first place for Clinical Oral Presentations at Evans Day. Ioanna is also an international student from Cyprus. Read more about her below! Tell me about your journey to Boston. What brought you to the area? Where did... More

Shoumita Dasgupta, PhD, and Karin Schon, PhD, selected as Assistant Deans for Diversity & Inclusion
Congratulations to GMS faculty Shoumita Dasgupta, PhD and Karin Schon, PhD, both selected as Assistant Deans for Diversity & Inclusion at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine! They will serve in their roles alongside Alexis Ramirez, MD, and Ebonie Woolcock, MD. Read the full message from Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion Angelique Harris, PhD, below. To: Faculty, Staff, & Students From: Angelique Harris, PhD, Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion RE: New Assistant Deans for Diversity &... More

Student Spotlight: Natalia Lopez (MSCR ’23)
Natalia Lopez is a student in the Graduate Medical Sciences Masters in Clinical Research program. She also works full-time as a Senior Clinical Trial Manager for Moderna, where she manages a global Phase I oncology trial. Natalia graduated from Boston University Sargent College with a BS in Health Science in 2014 and will graduate from GMS in May 2023. Learn more about Natalia below! Can you tell me a little bit about your journey to Boston? I’m... More

Student Spotlight: Jhonatan Henao Vasquez
Jhonatan Henao Vasquez is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine (MTM). Henao Vasquez entered Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) through the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS). He currently works in the Pulmonary Center, researching MIWI2 positive multi-ciliated cells. Fourth-year PhD candidate Jhonatan Henao Vasquez is keeping his options open, but he knows that he sees himself returning to industry work. Originally from Colombia, Henao Vasquez and his family immigrated to New... More

Alumni Spotlight: Gabriel Chavez (OHS ‘22, GSDM ‘26)
Gabriel Chavez is a May 2022 graduate of the MS in Oral Health Sciences program at GMS. He is currently a first-year dental student at the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, where he was recently elected president of the D1 class. Gabriel is also a peer mentor through the DentMent program, which helps current OHS students adjust to the rigor of the program and life in Boston. Tell me a little bit about your... More

Two Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Faculty Awarded Career Development Professorships for Promising Scholars
Two Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty -- Jean-Pierre Roussarie, PhD and Daniel Dempsey, PhD -- were awarded Career Development Professorships for Promising Scholars by Boston University. They were two of eight junior faculty honored across BU. Roussarie is an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, and Dempsey is an assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology. The BU Provost's Office awards these professorships to junior faculty nominated by the deans and colleagues... More

Faculty Spotlight: Jean-Pierre Roussarie, PhD
Jean-Pierre Roussarie, PhD, is an assistant professor of anatomy & neurobiology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. His lab studies the molecular events leading to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Roussarie is also a Community Catalyst Center mentor for the gGLOBAL and gPLUS affinity groups. Tell me about your journey to Boston. What brought you here? I was born in the U.S. but spent most of my life in France. My dad was... More

Oral Health Science Faculty Works to Eliminate Dental Disparities in Latinx Community
Raul Garcia, professor at Goldman School of Dental Medicine and faculty in the GMS Oral Health Sciences program, is working hard to increase access to quality dental care within underserved communities. His work was recently featured in a BU Today article highlighting seven Latinx researchers making a difference with their scholarship and science. Garcia discussed his identity and experience as a Latino living in the United States, which, according to the article, has had a "fundamental impact... 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... More