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 2023 – 2024
President: Kate Alimenti
Vice President: Joelle Johnson
Administrative Coordinator: Viviana Dominguez
Treasurer: Isabella Garza
Academic Affairs Liaison: Madeline Labbott
Union Liaison: Dilnar Mahmut
BPSO Business
Hello BPSO community members and happy fall! ݁ ˖🍁๋࣭ ⭑🍂༘⋆ Over the past month we have had a lot of developments across BU campus – from welcoming new PhD students to major union updates. See below for multiple BPSO and GMS events happening this month.
BPSO Events
BPSO Business Meeting – October 1st 5pm @K103 conference room
The eboard will provide union updates and an overview of fall events. This will also be an opportunity for students to provide feedback and raise concerns to our Academic Liaison and Union Liaison. FREE food will be provided. Going forward all business meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of every other month.
First Year Retreat – October 11th 4-6pm @Yard House, Copley
Following the first year retreat, there will be a happy hour reception at Yard House with free food! Stop by for some free tasty apps.
Spooky BPSO Happy Hour October 17th 5PM @JJFoley’s
Celebrate the fall season with us at JJ Foley’s for free appetizers and drinks for purchase.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UPDATES
New Resource ** Explore 18 PhD Career Areas across 4 sectors!
Not sure what to do after your graduate? Heard of a cool career option but not sure exactly what it is or how to transition into it? Under the “A Plethora of Career Options after a PhD” tab here, you can access resources to: watch and read PhD career stories and learn about 18 different career options, work on job-related tasks to see whether a given career area is a good fit for you, take the reins on your career transition (with resources to network and prep for applications).
Upcoming professional development events
More slots open for Professional Headshots – October 8 and 15 – 11 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Jake Mackey, Multimedia Specialist with a passion for visual storytelling, will dedicate 15 mins to getting to know you and making a professional headshot that authentically reflects your personality. To register, book a 15- min slot at your best convenience between 11:00am and 4:15pm on either October 8 or 15.
Sign up for professional development and career events (grant writing, writing support, career fairs, IP & Patent Law career exploration).
Networking & Job Opportunities
Check out job opportunities, including open postdoc positions, recruitment events, and fellowships. IP, Patent Agent or Junior Associate, Hogan Lovells Careers – open position for someone with a PhD in Life Sciences.
Meet the Director of Professional Development
Bénédicte Gnangnon (Béné, she/her) is the Director of Professional Development at GMS. Click here to attend professional development office hours.
GMS Events
Immunization Clinic on the Med Campus, October 2nd
Get your COVID and Flu shots with time slots from 9am to 3pm! Link here for sign-ups.
Fall Shred + Recycle Event, 10:00am to 1pm on Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Safely & securely dispose of documents – any and all paperwork and hard drives. You can also recycle batteries, lightbulbs, toner, cords, and electronics. Additional recycling opportunities for recycling textiles, books, and film plastics. Clear out your office, dorm (you can even bring things from your home office or space!) and get ready to visit us!
Congrats Doctor!!!
Dr. Devin Kenney
Microbiology, Program in Biomedical Sciences
“Humanized Mouse Models Reveal Insight into our Understanding of Protective Immune Responses to SARS-COV 2”
Dr. Margaret Downs
Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Program in Biomedical Sciences
“Development of mass spectrometry -based methods for the study of the brain extracellular matrix”
ARE YOU DEFENDING SOON? LET US KNOW SO WE CAN HIGHLIGHT YOUR SEMINAR!
Union Updates
This Wednesday (10/2) at 4 PM we have an important State of Our Strike meeting to discuss BU’s current proposal on the table to ratification, conditional upon BU accepting our current return to work agreement. We will continue to negotiate and maintain our strike, but only to secure a satisfactory return to work agreement from BU.
We will continue to hold State of Our Strike meetings (Typically Tuesdays at 4pm) and membership-wide votes to determine if the return to work agreement is adequate. A return to work agreement is a provision unions negotiate at the end of a strike to ensure that workers can return to the jobs they previously held without retaliation. Some striking workers in BUGWU are seeing threats to their ability to return to their previous positions when the strike comes to an end, and we are working on correcting this.
When membership determines that it is, we will send the whole contract out for a ratification vote. Please join us and participate in voting to ensure that all voices and concerns are heard!
Upcoming dates and events:
10/1 @ 3 pm: BUGWU Bargaining (sign-in link)
10/2 @ 4pm: State of Our Strike (link)
Feedback or thoughts? Email us at BPSO@bu.edu
FOLLOW OUR GOOGLE CALENDAR
THANK YOU FOR READING,
YOUR BPSO EBOARD PRESIDENT: KATE ALIMENTI (ALIMENTI@BU.EDU)
VICE PRESIDENT: JOELLE JOHNSON (JGJOHNS@BU.EDU)
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS LIAISON: MADELINE LABOTT (MLABOTT@BU.EDU)
TREASURER: ISABELLA GARZA (IGARZA99@BU.EDU)
ADMIN COORDINATOR: VIVIANA DOMINGUEZ (VADOMING@BU.EDU)
UNION LIAISON: DILNAR MAHMUT