Spotlights
Students, Faculty & Alumni
Student Spotlight: Darius Haghighat MS ’22
“I’m going to miss the people,” Darius Haghighat (MS’22) said, reflecting on his last two years at Boston University. “It’s a cheesy answer, but it’s the truth. I feel like I’m really lucky.” The May 2022 degree candidate is preparing to graduate with an MS in Genetic Counseling – a program that has allowed him to combine his academic interest in complex genetic technology with his lifelong passion for working with people. But Haghighat’s success at BU... More
Student Spotlight: Caitlin Ridgewell PhD ’22
Caitlin Ridgewell is a PhD candidate in the Behavioral Neurosciences program whose lab studies brain health and cognition in active duty military service members. Her dissertation studied the use of a novel neuromodulatory technique on stress and performance. Caitlin will graduate in May 2022. Which topic did you choose for your dissertation research? How did you settle on that topic? "My dissertation research is on the use of a novel neuromodulatory technique, transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the... More
BU Physician Assistant Students Donate 107 Items to Dimock Community Health Center
The BU PA classes of 2022 and 2023 raised $132 to provide 107 items to the Dimock Community Health Center as part of a community service project launched by students Michaela Carrier and Haley Seagroves-Robbe. These items included 101 books for children ages zero to five and six packs of crayons. The books will be distributed to children during their clinic visits for them to take home and to encourage reading. To achieve this goal, Michaela... More
Introducing This Year’s GMS Commencement Speakers!
With commencement coming up in just a few short weeks, we’d like to take a moment to highlight the four student speakers selected for the upcoming Graduate Medical Sciences Commencement ceremonies. Three students were chosen to speak at the Master’s Commencement Ceremony, and one student was chosen to speak at the MD, PhD, & MD/PhD Commencement Ceremony. All speakers were chosen to represent their respective programs. Meet each one below: Christian Arbelaez, MS in Medical Sciences Candidate Master's Commencement... More
2022 Dahod Awards
Dr. Karen Antman (BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean) is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of the Dahod Pilot Grant Program Fund and the Dahod International Scholar. In August 2008, Shamim Dahod (CGS’76, CAS’78, MED’87) and her husband Ashraf gave $10.5M to BUSM to establish the Shamim and Ashraf Dahod Breast Cancer Research Center, as well as these programs and endowments. 2022 Dahod International Scholar Jingyi Zhao, PhD, a postdoc in Dr. Mikel Garcia-Marcos’ laboratory, will characterize... More
Louis C. Gerstenfeld, PhD, Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
The professor of orthopaedic surgery has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the inaugural Orthopaedic Research Society International Section of Fracture Repair (ISFR) Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations on being the 2022 recipient of the inaugural Orthopaedic Research Society International Section of Fracture Repair (ISFR) Lifetime Achievement Award! Can you tell us a little more about your research? "I focus broadly on musculoskeletal diseases. Currently, the projects that I am focusing on relate to osteoporosis and fracture... More
Student Spotlight: Elissa Everton
Despite being a New Jersey native, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) graduate student Elissa Everton has no intention of leaving Boston. “Are you kidding me? This is the powerhouse of biomedical research. Everyone you meet here is involved in something awesome,” Everton said. The fifth-year graduate student’s path didn’t always seem so clear; before coming to BUSM, Everton studied biotechnology and biochemistry at Rutgers University and didn’t plan on getting an advanced degree. However, after... More
GMS Students Receive Funding For Medical Device Designs
MInT, or the Medical Innovation and Technology entrepreneurship program, launched in spring 2021 thanks to innovation-minded graduate students from Graduate Medical Sciences at BUSM, College of Engineering, School of Public Health and Questrom School of Business. The goal of MInT is to empower early-career scientists with hands-on medical innovation design experience. Four teams of BU students pitched designs that won funding awards totaling approximately $12,000 from sponsors of MInT, including Innovate@BU/The BUild Lab and the Technology Development Office. The MInT... More
Healthcare Emergency Management Program Trains COVID-19 Response Workforce
Kevin “Kip” Thomas, MBA, PhD, Program Director for the MS in Healthcare Emergency Management, had been working as Executive Secretary of Homeland Security when he completed a vulnerability assessment for Washington D.C. and certified the national labs. That assessment led him to notice a void in the healthcare side of emergency management, and he realized the best way to address this was through education. While working for the Pentagon, Thomas met Peter Bergethon, MD, Head of... More
Alumni Spotlight: Alaina Geary (GMS ‘20)
Alaina Geary is a September 2020 graduate of the Health Professions Education program and a current surgical resident at Boston Medical Center. She recently won a McCahan Day award for her project: 3-Year Evaluation of a Resident-As-Teacher Program for General Surgery Residents. Q: Can you talk a bit about how your background in medical education inspired your McCahan Day project? A: I have been involved in medical education work since medical school. I went to Tufts and... More