Spotlights
Students, Faculty & Alumni

From the Brink: Updating the Science of Bloodstain Analysis and Forensics
Deep Dive Video: Updating the Science of Bloodstain Analysis and Forensics The Brink; Oct. 20, 2023 A recent Deep Dive video from The Brink featured Kenneth Martin, MS, a clinical instructor in the Graduate Medical Sciences MS in Biomedical Forensic Sciences Program. The video discusses current work at the BU Fluid Lab, where James Bird, PhD, an ENG associate professor of mechanical engineering, is working to study the complex interactions of human blood on different surfaces. See the full... More

GMS Student Spotlight: Kelly Chen (MAMS ’24)
Kelly Chen is a second-year master's student in the Graduate Medical Sciences MS in Medical Sciences (MAMS) program. She is currently completing her MAMS thesis at the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, under the direction of John Torous, MD, MBI. Chen works with the division's Digital Clinic, a program offering one-on-one, short-term cognitive behavioral therapy with a clinician that is augmented with a smartphone app. She is also involved with... More

GMS Alumni Spotlight: Alina Bazarian (MAMS ’16)
Alina Bazarian is a 2016 graduate of the Boston University Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MAMS) program, one of the oldest Special Master’s Programs (SMPs) in the United States. Alina completed medical school in 2023 as part of the inaugural class of the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and recently began her residency as part of the inaugural Family Medicine Residency Program cohort at Albany Medical Center - Saratoga Hospital. Alina is a first-generation... More

BU Alum Drew Weissman (CAMED’87, GRS’87, Hon’23) Wins 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine
BU Alum Drew Weissman Wins 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for Breakthrough mRNA Technology that led to COVID Vaccines Bostonia; October 2, 2023 Drew Weissman (CAMED '87, GRS '87, Hon'23), alongside his research collaborator, Katalin Karikó, won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work in pioneering the technology behind the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Weissman earned both an MD and PhD from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, studying microbiology and immunology. Read... More

GMS PhD Spotlight: Stamatios Liapis ‘24
Stamatios Liapis is a January 2024 Computational Neuroscience PhD graduate through the Graduate Program for Neuroscience at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. He is the co-founder of Enlaye, a cloud-based deep-collaboration contract platform that streamlines the writing, editing, negotiation, and collaboration phases of contracts. Liapis and his team won first place and $20,000 in the 2023 BU New Venture Competition through the BUild Lab. He successfully defended his thesis in August 2023. Tell... More

From The Brink: “They Fell in Love with Each Other, Then with the Same Science”
They Fell in Love with Each Other, Then with the Same Science" The Brink; July 18, 2023 The Brink recently featured GMS faculty mentors Ruslan Afasizhev and Inna Afasizheva in an article detailing the married couple's journey to Boston University and shared love for small RNA biology. Afasizhev is also BU Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine professor of molecular and cell biology, and Afasizheva is a SDM associate professor of molecular and cell biology. Together, they have studied and... More

GMS Program Spotlight: MS in Biomedical Research Technologies
At the heart of a career in biomedical sciences is the application of constantly evolving instrumentation and biotechnology. Now more than ever before, a strong demand exists for scientists trained across a wide spectrum of biomedical technologies. The Master of Science in Biomedical Research Technologies program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine exists to prepare students for exactly that: a career as an expert in the biological technologies necessary to answer today’s –... More

MD/PhD Spotlight: Shen Ning ’24
Shen Ning is an MD/PhD student in her third year of medical school at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She completed her Graduate Medical Sciences PhD training in the Graduate Program for Neuroscience, where she conducted her research at the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Shen is the co-founder and CEO of INIA Biosciences, an award-winning startup, developing the next-generation smart wearable ultrasound device to reduce inflammation and... More

GMS Faculty Spotlight: Christopher Andry, MPhil, PhD
Christopher Andry, MPhil, PhD, is the Chief of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. 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, More

PhD Student Spotlight: Michelle Nguyen
Michelle Nguyen is a PhD candidate in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics. She works in the lab of Associate Professor of Microbiology John Connor at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL). Michelle’s research studies how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the inner lining of blood vessels in order to understand the effect of the virus on the endothelium and endothelial cells. Michelle is a recipient of a Draper Fellowship, which will allow her to... More