Biomedical PhD Student Organization
BPSO Mission
The Biomedical PhD Student Organization (BPSO) aims to build and strengthen the community among PhD programs at BUMC; to foster personal and professional relationships between students faculty, alumni, and administrators; to promote interdisciplinary research at BU; and to cultivate camaraderie among Biomedical Science PhD students.
Email us at: bpso@bu.edu
Find us on Facebook
BPSO Officers 2026 – 2027
President: Chris Cummings
Vice President: Catie Duys
Academic Affairs Liaison: Sarah Ruth Shick
Treasurer: Phoebe Fechtmeyer
Administrative Coordinator: Katherine Hui
Union Liaison: Jack Nelson
BPSO Events Calendar
Happy fall and we hope the semester is off to a great start! As always, please fill out this survey with any event ideas or general comments. We look forward to hearing from you!
October BPSO Business Meeting
October 14, 5 – 6 pm, K103
The executive board will provide an overview of fall events and updates on happenings within GMS. Students will have an opportunity to raise concerns and provide feedback to our Academic Liaison and Union Liaison. FREE food will be provided!
First-Year Retreat Afterparty
October 16, 4 – 6 pm, Clery’s in Back Bay
First years will have free lunch in K103 followed by a Duck Boat tour to commemorate the end of their first module and the start of their rotations! The afterparty at Clery’s is open to all PiBS PhD students, who are encouraged to come relax and socialize with free food!
GMS Events Calendar Highlights
Business Development & Corporate Strategy Panel
October 15, 5 – 6 pm, Hybrid – ENG 245 (110-112 Cummington Mall) [CRC] & Zoom
GWISE and the BU Biotech Club is hosting an informational panel with Business Development & Corporate Strategy professionals from Pfizer, Merck, and more. Snacks provided! Attend in-person or over Zoom.
De-Stress Craft Night
This is the first de-stressing event of the semester, hosted by GMSSO and the Student Wellness Committee. The theme is Halloween craft night, which includes crocheting.
Library Open House
October 20, 1 – 3 pm, Floor L-12, 72 E. Concord St.
Meet our staff, take a tour, enter our raffle, and learn about our resources and services. Refreshments provided! Hosted by Graduate Medical Sciences.
Mastering Zotero: Citation Management for Research Success
October 16, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, L211 or Zoom
This hands-on workshop will go over the basics of citation managers, focusing on Zotero, practice importing citations from PubMed, and how to integrate Zotero with your web browser and Microsoft Word.
Congrats Doctor!!!
Lucien Garo
Wednesday, October 14, 10:30 am, Evans Biomedical Building Research Center, 650 Albany St, X715
Molecular & Translational Medicine
Proton-Activated Chloride Channel 1 and Complement Component 5A Receptor 1 in Myeloid Cell-Mediated Immunity and Infection
Annalise Miner
Monday, October 19, 3 pm, Conference Room L535A, 72 E. Concord St. Instructional Building L5
Behavioral Neurosciences
Fluid Biomarkers of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Other Neuropathologies Associated with Repetitive Head Impact Exposure
Are you defending soon? Let us know so we can help advertise your defense!
Union Updates
The Union Security clause in the contract requires bargaining unit members to pay membership dues or a fair share agency fee. In the event that a bargaining unit member after notification of this obligation fails to pay one or the other, they are subject to a one week’s suspension of pay between the fall and spring semesters.
When is the time to sign membership cards? If you haven’t signed a membership card yet, now is the time to do so!
You can find a link to the card, and important information on paying dues here: https://www.seiu509.org/join/joinhighered/
Feedback or thoughts? Email us at BPSO@bu.edu
THANK YOU FOR READING,
YOUR BPSO EBOARD
PRESIDENT: CHRIS CUMMINGS (CHRISBC@BU.EDU)
VICE PRESIDENT: CATIE DUYS (CDUYS@BU.EDU)
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS LIAISON: SARAH RUTH SHICK (SHICK@BU.EDU)
TREASURER: PHOEBE FECHTMEYER (PFECHTME@BU.EDU)
ADMIN COORDINATOR: KATHERINE HUI (KATHUI@BU.EDU)
UNION LIAISON: JACK NELSON (JACKNEL@BU.EDU)