News & Posts
Happy First-Generation College Celebration Week!
Tuesday, Nov. 8 marked National First-Generation College Celebration Day, a day to celebrate the success and achievements of first-generation students across the United States. Boston University and the Newbury Center have marked the occasion with a week-long celebration program, full of events like workshops, social activities, seminars and networking opportunities. You can access a full list of the week's ongoing events here. To mark the week at Graduate Medical Sciences, we have compiled a list of resources for supporting our first-generation community, with additions from both on-campus and off-campus resources. We've also included a few Spotlights on first-generation GMS'ers who shared their stories with us. Please email Sarah Rowan at srowan@bu.edu if there is another resource you'd like to see added to this list!
GMS Attends SACNAS Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Graduate Medical Sciences was well represented at the National Diversity in STEM Conference (NDiSTEM), hosted by the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) from Oct. 27 to 29 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. GMS representatives included Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion Angelique Harris, PhD, as well as PhD student Juao-Guilherme and MD/PhD student Aria Pearlman Morales. The SACNAS NDiSTEM conference is the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the country, featuring STEM research presentations, professional development seminars, keynote speakers and a Graduate School & Career Expo Hall. The event also included several multicultural events and celebrations. GMS will also attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) in Anaheim, CA, from Nov. 9 to 12. ABRCMS representatives from GMS will include Harris, Assistant Professor of Medicine Isabel Dominguez, PhD, PhD student Chelsea Skeete and MD/PhD student Kristine Abo. Learn more about Diversity, Equity, 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 journey to Boston. I’m originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, so a very, very far away place. I’d never been to Boston before I came to OHS. I was looking at different programs, and I was lost, because I didn’t know what I was wanting to do in my life. Luckily, I did find the OHS program, and two months later, I packed up my whole car and drove four days to get to Boston, and... More
GMS and C3 Are Proud to Celebrate National Coming Out Day
Tuesday, Oct. 11 marked National Coming Out Day, an annual celebration of individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community. To mark the occasion, Graduate Medical Sciences and the Community Catalyst Center hosted a National Coming Out Day Celebration event in the C3 Suite. The two-hour event brought students from across GMS together to pick up a pride cupcake, a pin and resources on LGBTQIA+ resources on and off campus. Students could also meet peer mentors from gPLUS, a C3 affinity group which seeks to promote a deeper sense of belonging and celebrate the multiple identities among LGBTQIA+ students across the GMS programs. If you missed the event, here is a list of resources from the BU Queer Activist Collective ("Q") that includes information on Q's Gender-Affirming Product Program (GAPP). We also spoke with Jean-Pierre Roussarie, PhD, an assistant professor of anatomy & neurobiology and a mentor for both gPLUS and gGLOBAL within C3. Dr. Roussarie... 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 on his research into the nature of oral health disparities -- and on identifying ways to eliminate them." Read the full article and learn more about Garcia's research work here.
STaRS and UROP Scholars Present at GMS Summer Research Symposium
This year’s Summer Training as Research Scholars (STaRS) cohort culminated their 10-week onsite internships with the GMS Summer Research Symposium held on August 11, 2022. Hosted in Hiebert Lounge, the GMS Summer Research Symposium gave the STaRS scholars an opportunity to present their independent research projects to audiences of GMS faculty, BUSM faculty, staff and students. The symposium was open to all summer undergraduate students on campus and it was also attended by three summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) scholars. The 2022 scholars are: Arjun Kumar Batra Yariann Del Mar Camacho Rosario Carlos Noel Centeno Velez Coralys Ivette Cuevas Hornedo Sophia Karise Ellis Eli River Engledow Nusrat Islam Alexis Kidiani Kiyanda Christine Le Zoe Nicole Matacchiera Alejandra Sofia Medina Nubaira Zaheen Milki Karlianie Rivera Rodriguez Muriel Louise Ruppert Eduardo David Salazar Emily Katherine Stein Carolyn Wilson The cohort included six second-year undergraduates, seven third-year undergraduates, three fourth-year undergraduates and one Boston University medical student. The scholars come from colleges and universities across nine states and Puerto Rico. The 2022 UROP... More
GMS Faculty Spotlight: Dan Tzizik, PA
Dan Tzizik is the associate director of didactic education for the Physician Assistant Program. He has been a member of the New Hampshire National Guard for over two decades and joined the BU PA Program as a faculty member in 2020. Tzizik is also a faculty mentor for the GMS Community Catalyst Center gMAV affinity group. We spoke to Tzizik about his time in the National Guard, his role at BU, and his recent Innovative Readiness Training Mission to Oklahoma with the NH National Guard. Are you from the Boston area? I actually grew up in a town south of Boston called Norfolk. So, originally [from the Boston area], and then sort of went away for a long time, and I came back. What does your educational and career journey look like? What brought you back? That's a little bit of a story. Hang in there with me. I'll try to condense it as... More
Dan Tzizik, PA, Participates in Innovative Readiness Training Mission with New Hampshire National Guard
Dan Tzizik, associate director of didactic education for the Physician Assistant Program, participated in a two-week-long Innovative Readiness Training mission with the New Hampshire National Guard, where he holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He has been a member of the NH National Guard for 19 years and joined the BU PA Program as a faculty member in 2020. Tzizik is also a faculty mentor for the GMS Community Catalyst Center gMAV affinity group, which seeks to promote a deeper sense of belonging and recognition for military-affiliated and veteran students by celebrating their multidimensional experiences across the GMS programs. During the training mission, medical specialists from the NH National Guard and its sister services provided the Cherokee Nation with more than a quarter of a million dollars in healthcare services and accrued over 7,000 clinical hours. The clinic, located in Tahlequah, Okla., served 445 Cherokee Nation residents with services including dentistry, physical check-ups, More
C3 Kicks Off the Summer and Builds Community at First Ice Cream Social
Students, faculty and staff from across Graduate Medical Sciences kicked off the first month of summer at the GMS Community Catalyst Center's first Ice Cream Social on June 29. Hosted in the C3 Suite, the social was a chance for the GMS community to gather together, take a break from summer work and catch up with peers. The social featured three kinds of ice cream and a table full of toppings and fruit to enjoy. Students from across GMS Master's, PhD, and MD/PhD programs attended the social, and even GMS Associate Provost and Dean Jamie McKnight got in on the fun! C3 will host two more Ice Cream Socials before the academic year kicks off, one on July 27 and one on August 24. Each one will take place in C3 Suite from 12 to 1 p.m. At the July and August socials, you'll get the chance to meet your brand-new C3 Peer Mentors... More
GMS Celebrates Pride Month at Fenway Park
It was a night of fun, food and camaraderie for several students who won the GMS raffle for the Boston Red Sox Pride Night game on June 15. Ten students won two tickets each, one for them and one for a guest. The Pride Night festivities included a pre-game social on the Sam Deck, as well as a Drag Performance in the Big Concourse, before the game. The game also ended in a 10-1 win for the Red Sox against the Oakland Athletics! Thank you so much to Diana, who sent us in pictures from the night: The Boston Red Sox Pride Night game is one of several ways GMS is honoring Pride this month. We have a growing list of resources and upcoming events available to check out here. As always, please email us if there are any other resources you'd like to see on the list. See the full list here.