OETIS Chronicle
Table of Contents: Meet the newest OETIS team members ……………………… 1-2 GSBS Welcomes Six New Students to Campus ………………. 3 A New Academic Year Begins for the Graduate School ….. 4 SBP Celebrates its Postdoctoral Scholars …………………… 5-6
Updates from International Services …………………... 7 Upcoming Workshops & Events …………………………. 8 Postdoc & Student Counts (FY2018 Q1) …………….… 9 SBP’s two-week Summer Internship Program ……. 10
Meet the newest OETIS team members! Q&A with Andrew Bankston, Ph.D. & Kathleen Sullivan, M.A.
Andrew N. Bankston, Ph.D. Program Manager
Kathleen M. Sullivan, M.A. Program Coordinator
Tell us a little bit about yourself. AB: I was born and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. I’ve been married for 10 years. We have a 2 year old and 2 big dogs. I worked in research labs for 16 years, first in materials science and gradually drifting to cellular/molecular study of myelin biology. I received my PhD from Emory University in 2013 and was a postdoc at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center for 3 years. I enjoy cooking, fishing, and exploring the outdoors.
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KS: I am a San Diego (La Jolla, in fact) native who has spent the past 12 years living elsewhere while I pursued my educational goals and gained job experience. Naturally, I am thrilled to be back in San Diego, not only because of the abundant sunshine and beaches, but also because it brings me closer to family and good friends.
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Story cont. Q&A with Andrew Bankston, Ph.D. & Kathleen Sullivan, M.A. What excites you about working at SBP & in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences? AB: I was immediately hooked by the sense of community here and the caliber of students. I knew that working with SBP graduate students would be very rewarding. I am also excited to be a part of the OETIS team. Diane, Mary, Kathleen, Nisha, Susie, and Doug are absolutely great people to work with every day.
KS: From very early on, it has been clear to me that one of the highlights of working at SBP and in the GSBS is the abundance of wonderful people. Not only do I get to work with dedicated and passionate staff, but I also get to interact frequently with students who are endlessly enthusiastic about their research and always willing to tell me about it.
What led you to pursue a career in higher education/(science) administration? AB: I mentored students in every lab in which I worked. I found that I most enjoyed supporting and mentoring others, so I decided to focus my career on trainee development. However, I still really love science and wanted to work in a place where I could still be surrounded by exciting research. SBP was an obvious choice for me.
KS: I had the fortuitous opportunity to work in the Graduate School at Indiana University, and my experience there solidified my desire to pursue a career in higher education administration. I have always enjoyed being a student, so this field allows me to channel that enthusiasm into making sure others have a great experience while they pursue their educational goals.
To date, what is the accomplishment you are most proud of? AB: While a postdoc, I organized multiple science outreach events that reached over 1500 people each. At one of those events, we had kids and adults on site for other events getting distracted by our event and staying for almost an hour. It was a lot of fun to see the kids’ excitement, but also amazing to see adults go from stand-offish to asking tons of questions.
KS: The accomplishment I’m proudest of is not a single thing, but a series of relationships with wonderful people. Over a great deal of time and distance, I have managed to achieve lasting friendships with many amazing people, and it is accomplishing this feat, with much sustained effort, that I am most proud of.
What is one thing about you that would surprise people? AB: Besides dogs, I raised a few other animals: a baby deer (named Bambi), a baby raccoon (named Bandit), and a baby flying squirrel (named Rocky). We didn’t spend a lot of time coming up with original names. Those three eventually reentered the wild on their own. I also had 3 box turtles that ran away before I could name them.
OETIS Chronicle
KS: The thing people most often assume when they discover that I have a B.A. and a M.A. in Art History is that I’m a talented artist. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I can endlessly analyze a work of art, but am a very untalented artist.
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GSBS Welcomes Six New Students to Campus By Mary Bradley, M.L.A. (Manager, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences) & Kathleen Sullivan, M.A. (GSBS Program Coordinator) Six new graduate students arrived in early September to begin their Ph.D. program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS). Karina Barbosa Guerra (Desphande Lab) has a B.S. from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. Karina joins the Deshpande lab to investigate the epigenetic molecular machinery’s roles in hematological pathologies. Nicole Bata (Cosford Lab) has a B.S. from University College London. Nicole will continue her research on the autophagy pathway under the guidance of Professor Nicholas Cosford. Meher Beigi Masihi (Wechsler-Reya Lab) has a B.S. from Azad University and a M.S. from California State University at Los Angeles. Meher will work on pediatric brain tumors in Dr. Robert Wechsler-Reya’s lab.
GSBS 1st-year students (from left to right): Nicole, Betsaida, Meher, Karina, Adam, and Mallika
Betsaida Bibo Verdugo (Salvesen Lab) has a B.S. from Instituto Tecnologico de La Paz and a M.S. from Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste. Betsaida aims to investigate the molecular sorting mechanisms that dictate the distribution of neutrophil serine proteases in azurophil granules. Adam Field (Adams Lab) has a B.S. from Newcastle University. Building upon his interest in aging and age-related diseases, Adam joined the lab of Professor Peter Adams at CRUK Beatson Institute, Glasgow, to pursue his Ph.D. researching the epigenetic mechanisms of aging and longevity associated interventions. Adam has relocated with Professor Adams to continue his work here at SBP. Mallika Iyer (Godzik Lab) has a B.S. from Fergusson College and a M.S. from University of Colorado at Denver. Mallika will continue to use structural bioinformatics to study how mutations in specific protein regions or interfaces could drive cancer. The students have already started their first set of courses, including the “Molecules to Systems” course, which introduces them to an array of topics in biomedicine through the presentations of twenty SBP faculty. In addition to their courses, the students are also working in the labs of their faculty mentors. One of the great assets of the GSBS program is the opportunity to work closely with SBP faculty members. As first-year student Meher Beigi Masihi (Wechsler-Reya lab) comments, “One thing that is really exciting for me [about SBP & GSBS] is the close relationship between faculty members and students that created a friendly atmosphere in which everyone has a chance to get involved in top-notch research projects and thrive.” OETIS Chronicle
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As their first year continues, the new students will also participate in the GSBS Data Club, where they will have the opportunity both to learn about the research of their peers and to present their own projects. In addition, they will be able to take advantage of the many research specialties of the SBP faculty by taking tutorials, which are more specialized courses in which one or two students meet with a faculty member to discuss a topic in greater depth. With this combination of activities, this year promises to be a busy one for the new students!
A New Academic Year Begins for the Graduate School By Mary Bradley, M.L.A. (Manager, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences) & Kathleen Sullivan, M.A. (GSBS Program Coordinator) The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) was thrilled to welcome its six new graduate students for orientation at the beginning of September. Over the course of two days, they were introduced to the many facets of SBP and its graduate program. They also had a chance to meet the Dean of the GSBS, Dr. Guy Salvesen, as well as the Associate Deans – Drs. Duc Dong, Malene Hansen, and Alessandra Sacco. In addition to receiving a wealth of practical information, the new students also had the opportunity to get to know one another better during shared meals and a concluding enrichment activity. The students interacted with other SBP faculty and students during a happy hour in Chairmen’s Hall. The event also offered an opportunity to recognize faculty who had taught or guest-lectured in GSBS courses during the 2016-2017 academic year. The happy hour culminated in the presentation of the “Educator of the Year” award (also fondly known as “The Crystal Apple”) by Dean Salvesen to Dr. Bas Baaten for his continued dedication to the graduate program and its students (photo to the right). One of the highlights of the orientation was the warm welcome the new students received from the current students during a welcome lunch. The returning SBP students gave spirited introductions of themselves and their research that made apparent the emphasis on community and collaboration that makes SBP a wonderful place to pursue biomedical research.
OETIS Chronicle
At a happy hour event to welcome the new graduate students and gather the Graduate School community, Dean of the Graduate School Guy Salvesen presented Assistant Professor Bas Baaten with the ‘Educator of the Year’ award and the Crystal Apple.
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SBP Celebrates its Postdoctoral Scholars By Nisha Cavanaugh, Ph.D. (Manager, Postdoctoral & Academic Programs)
16th Annual Postdoc Research Symposium & Fishman Fund Award Ceremony On Tuesday, September 19, more than 130 SBP employees and trainees gathered for the 16th Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium, an event co-organized by the SBP Science Network (SBP-SN) and OETIS. Compared to previous years, this Symposium featured research from a record number of research laboratories and programs at SBP (24 research labs and 9 programs were represented), and there was much more diversity in the podium talks and posters presented. Event highlights included: • • • •
Dr. Carl Ware’s career development workshop on “Science Funding in Uncertain Times” TSRI’s CEO, Dr. Peter Schultz, delivered a keynote presentation on expanding the genetic code through the development and synthesis of unnatural amino acids Dr. Laura Martin-Sancho, a postdoc in the Chanda lab, won Best Podium Presentation for her talk entitled, “Global siRNA screens on human-like macrophages identify novel conserved and strain-specific restriction factors for Influenza A virus” Dr. Koen Galenkamp, a postdoc in the Commisso lab, won Best Poster Presentation for his poster entitled, “The Na+/H+ exchanger NHE7 as a new therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer”
The day wrapped up with the Fishman Fund Award Ceremony, recognizing two postdocs (Drs. Michael Stec and David Sala Cano) from the Sacco lab and one postdoc in the Hansen lab (Dr. Jose Nieto Torres) for receiving Career Development Awards. Based on generous donations by the Fishman Fund, each postdoc received $10,000 towards reaching his career development goal. For more on the Symposium, check out this Beaker Blog article. To learn more about the Fishman Fund awardees, check out this Beaker Blog article.
Faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and research staff talk about the exciting podium presentations during lunch at the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine.
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Congratulations to this year’s Fishman Fund Awardees and their faculty mentors! (From left to right: Drs. Jose Nieto Torres, Professor Malene Hansen, Michael Stec, Associate Professor Alessandra Sacco, and David Sala Cano)
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National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week For the sixth year in a row, the Office of Education, Training, & International Services organized several events in celebration of National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week (Sept. 18-23, 2017). NPAW was originally established in 2009 by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) to recognize the significant contributions that postdocs make to the research enterprise. Below are photos from NPAW activities held at SBP, in particular the PerkyBeans Coffee & Smoothie Cart (sponsored by SBP’s Science Network) and the Annual Postdoc Appreciation BBQ Lunch!
Top photos: To kick off the week, postdocs and students gathered on Ruoslahti Way to enjoy free hand-crafted smoothies and coffees from PerkyBeans (sponsored by the SBP Science Network). Bottom photos: At the end of the week, postdocs and their faculty mentors enjoyed a BBQ lunch on the Chairmen’s Hall Patio. OETIS team members served side dishes and cookies and proudly wore their “I
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SBP postdocs!” stickers.
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Updates from International Services By Doug Broadhurst, M.A. (Manager, International Services) If you were not able to attend International Services Quarterly Update meeting on October 12th, 2017, below are some quick notes on immigration news. H-4 dependent work authorization and STEM OPT: On September 25, 2017 the Trump administration requested a 90day extension to review the continued eligibility of H4s to apply for work authorization and align any action taken on it with the administration’s overall immigration plan going forward. It is generally believed that once a ruling is made on H4 work authorization, whether to revoke or amend it, the administration will then move to review the continued eligibility for F-1 students to apply for the 24-month STEM Optional Practical Training/OPT extension following their initially 12 months of OPT. 90-day rule following initial entry to U.S.: In early September the U.S. Department of State introduced new guidance that would make it easier for U.S. consular officers to deny a visa or revoke the immigration status of someone already in the U.S., if a person applied to change their status within the first 90 days of initially entering the U.S. If a change is requested in this period, consular and immigration officers can now presume the foreign national misrepresented their intentions when initially applying for the visa and entering the U.S. and thus may now revoke a visa or deny a subsequent change of status request. Current H-1B processing times: Standard processing times for non-cap subject H-1B petitions are currently averaging 3 months, down from over 8 months over the past year. U.S. Dept. of State October Visa Bulletin: As of October 1, 2017 the Visa Bulletin is again current for all countries in the self-petitioned Employment-Based (EB) categories 1 and 2, with the exception of citizens of China and India for the EB-2 National Interest Waiver category. In the EB-2 category the priority date for Chinese citizens is currently 5/22/2013; for Indian citizens it is 9/15/2008. A person’s country must be current in the category they are seeking U.S. permanent residency in or the priority date listed on their Form I-140 Petition for Alien Worker reached before they can file the final Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, in the U.S. permanent residency process. Expanded Interviews for U.S. Permanent Residency petitions: Effective October 1, 2017 USCIS/Immigration began to phase-in in-person interviews for employment-based petitions for U.S. permanent residency as part of the agency’s comprehensive strategy focusing on fraud prevention and to strengthen the immigration process. Immigration Reform: On October 8, 2017 President Trump sent Congress a list of sweeping immigration changes which would require funding to build a border wall, a crackdown on illegal immigration, and changes in immigration to a more merit-based versus the current family based system. He indicated that any future negotiations on DACA legislation (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, would need to address these separate issues, effectively limiting meaningful immediate reform in any of these areas. If you would like further clarification on any of the news above, please contact International Services.
OETIS Chronicle
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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS & EVENTS Register for all events through the OETIS Intranet Calendar
CAREERS & COFFEE: FIELD APPLICATION SCIENTISTS Date/Time: November 16, 2017 (10:00-11:00 am) Location:
Building 5, Room 5332
In this career exploration series, a different career path will be featured in which professionals will discuss how they leveraged their education and training to transition into their positions as well as answer any questions you may have about on-the-job details or what hiring managers are looking for in applicants. This is your opportunity to explore a variety of nonacademic career paths, determine where your skills and talents may be best utilized, and start to expand your professional network. Speakers: Elena Rubio de la Torre, Ph.D. (Application Scientist, NanoCellect Biomedical, Inc.) & Tufan Aydogdu, Ph.D. (Field Application Scientist, ProteinSimple)
PRESENTATION SKILLS WORKSHOP SERIES Dates/Time: Wednesdays, Nov. 29/Dec. 6/Dec. 13, 2017 (2:00-4:00 pm) Location:
Bldg. 10 Rm. 1308
Oral and poster presentations are critical mechanisms for communicating your research accomplishments with scientists (and non-scientists). Giving a good presentation includes knowing your audience, determining how much information and data you can share with them within a given time frame, and effectively presenting the novelty of your work. This workshop series, presented by Drs. Sacco and Salvesen, will provide tips and strategies that will help you to structure and deliver an effective oral and poster presentation. Workshop participants will also have an opportunity to practice presenting their work and receiving feedback. Speakers: Alessandra Sacco, Ph.D. & Guy Salvesen, Ph.D.
IS WORKING FOR THE NATION’S LARGEST EMPLOYER, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE RIGHT CAREER PATH FOR YOU? Date/Time: December 7, 2017 (10:00-11:30 am) Location:
Fishman Auditorium
In this workshop you will learn… − Where to find a Federal job openings − Strategies to interpret vacancy announcements − How to create a USAJOBS profile − The types of jobs that are available for PhDs and scientists − Tips to creating a Federal government resume − Inside tips to understand the interview and hiring process and how this differs from a private sector job − Whether Federal employment is right for you Speaker: Josh Henkin, Ph.D. (Founder and Owner, STEM Career Services)
OETIS Chronicle
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POSTDOCS & STUDENTS AS OF OCT. 2017 POSTDOCS = 151 Total per location Postdoc Associates Postdoc Associates, Sr. Postdoc Fellows GRADUATE STUDENTS = 55 Total per location Grad. Students, SBP Grad. Students, External
La Jolla 136 112 8 16
Lake Nona 15 13 0 2
La Jolla 53 30 23
Lake Nona 2 0 2
Postdoc & Student Counts for FY2018 Q1
POSTDOC IDP AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 ANNUAL IDP SENT = 85 Total per location PD/PI Participated
La Jolla 65 29 (45%)
Lake Nona 20 6 (30%)
La Jolla
Lake Nona
43 19 (44%)
1 1 (100%)
1st YEAR IDP SENT = 44 Total per location PD/PI Participated
HIRES BY QUARTER: JULY – SEPT 2017 POSTDOCS = 12 Total per location Postdoc Associates Postdoc Associates, Sr. Postdoc Fellows
La Jolla 12 12 0 0
Lake Nona 0 0 0 0
La Jolla 18 5 13
Lake Nona 1 0 1
GRADUATE STUDENTS = 19 Total per location Graduate Students, SBP Graduate Students, External
Coming in the next issue … • • • •
GSBS Recent Graduates SBP Faculty Profile SBP Leaders Program SBP Postdoc Alum Profile
TERMS BY QUARTER: JULY – SEPT 2017 POSTDOCS = 14 Total per location Postdoc Associates Postdoc Associates, Sr. Postdoc Fellows GRADUATE STUDENTS = 6 Total per location Grad Students, SBP Grad Students, External OETIS Chronicle
La Jolla 4 3 0 1
Lake Nona 10 8 0 2
La Jolla 5 0 5
Lake Nona 1 0 1
If you would like to contribute content to the next issue, please contact OETIS@SBP.edu
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SBP’s two-week Summer Internship Program gives rising juniors from The Preuss School a laboratory experience in biomedical research By Nisha Cavanaugh, Ph.D. (Manager, Postdoctoral & Academic Programs) For two weeks in July 2017, seven rising juniors from The Preuss School at UCSD participated in a Summer Research Program at SBP. This summer research experience, supported by generous donations, is designed to give Preuss students an opportunity to see what biomedical research is all about and experience the collaborative laboratory environment. This year, the students rotated through four laboratories – thanks to Drs. Dong, Zhao, Bodmer, & Hansen. In each lab, the students worked with research staff and postdocs on learning basic laboratory research techniques, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting their results. They also had a chance to spend time with the lab groups during lunch and ask them questions about the research experience and graduate school. At the end of the program, they shared their research experience with their families and donors of the program in a Poster Session and Celebration Event. A testament to this program, previous students who participated in this 2-week program have returned to participate in a more intensive 6-week summer research internship program, led by Professor Guy Salvesen, and one former student who is currently an undergraduate at UCSD interned in Dr. Salvesen’s laboratory this past summer. Read more about this program on the Beaker Blog.
Seven rising juniors from The Preuss School at UCSD participated in a two-week intensive summer research program at SBP.
Office of Education, Training, & International Services Staff Diane M. Klotz, Ph.D. Director
International Services
Education & Training Nisha A. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. Manager, Postdoctoral & Academic Programs
Mary B. Bradley, M.L.A. Manager, Graduate School
Doug Broadhurst, M.A. Manager, International Services
Andrew N. Bankston, Ph.D. Program Manager, Graduate School
Kathleen M. Sullivan, M.A. Program Coordinator, Graduate School
Susie Bolor Senior International Advisor
Malene Hansen, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor, Postdoctoral Training
Teddi Reilly Interim Vice President, Human Resources
Leadership Support Guy Salvesen, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor, Graduate Education
Please contact oetis@sbp.edu for any questions or concerns. OETIS Chronicle
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