Graduate School Winter 2017 Newsletter
January 4, 2017
Letter from Dean Elisabeth Van Bockstaele, PhD
I hope everyone enjoyed the winter break with some much needed downtime. We welcome 2017 with renewed energy, optimism and enthusiasm for a great year ahead. The fall semester at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies was filled with many student accomplishments and activities, and we hope you enjoy reading about them in this Winter Newsletter.
Dean Elisabeth Van Bockstaele, PhD
We would like to recognize our seven doctoral-level Drexel graduate students who successfully defended their thesis work in December and completed their degrees. We wish them all the best as they move on to their postdoctoral fellowships and we hope they will return to walk at Commencement.
Commencement will be held on Friday, May 19, 2017, at the Kimmel Center. Mark your calendars! We encourage all graduate students to submit an essay for consideration by the Commencement Committee to serve as student speaker at commencement. This honor is open to all MD, PhD and MS students. Specific instructions will be available soon.
We expect a busy spring semester for our continuing PhD, MS and online students. Please remember the large number of resources available to you to help support your success, including the Center for Learning and Academic Success and Support (CLASS), the Drexel Counseling Center (DCC), the University libraries, as well as the Drexel recreational facilities.
We are also planning a spring professional development program focused on “communicating your science.” This program will feature presentations from an expert in scientific advocacy, best practices for communicating your science with the media and the public, effective use of social media for promoting biomedical science and an interactive session with an improv instructor to help build an effective “elevator speech.”
We are excited about the coming months and look forward to supporting our students in reaching their professional and career goals!
Student Testimonial - Jennifer Connors, 2nd Year Infectious Disease Student
My upbringing spanned from Singapore to the Bay Area, then to humid central Texas. But my familial attachment to the Red Wings and the nostalgic tales told by my father about the Upper Peninsula of Michigan led me to Michigan Technological University, where I studied biochemistry and molecular biology. After researching the bioremediation capability of a combination of vetiver plant, Serratia marcescens, and Burkholderia cepacia at Tech and working as a microbiology intern at (believe it or not) a circuit board company, I made my way east to study infectious disease at Drexel.
I never thought I would feel Midwestern friendliness anywhere east of the Mississippi, but Drexel faculty and students have made a believer out of me. Drexel faculty in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology have always scooped time from their schedule to sit down with me when I needed it and put me at ease with their approachability.
I plan to continue my education with a doctoral degree (wish me luck!) and it would be an honor to do so here at Drexel.
Student Testimonial - Samuel Lee, 2nd Year PMED Student
I am a Maryland native with a bachelor of arts in economics from Emory University. I've always wanted to be a dentist, and Drexel's Evening Post-baccalaureate Pre-medical Program has helped me achieve my goal. I successfully completed the program last May, and my experience in this program was very positive. I especially enjoyed the small class size, the opportunity to work or volunteer during the day, and the supportive staff and professors. I'm very excited to attend the University of Maryland School of Dentistry next fall thanks to the training and education I received from Drexel.
Student Testimonial - Shreya Gowda, 2nd Year MLAS Student
I initially applied to the MLAS program to boost my applications for vet school. I have wanted to be a veterinarian ever since I was little, but I had no idea what lab animal medicine actually entailed. During the past year and a half in this program, I've been given a great introduction to animal medicine and have been able to meet lab animal residents and professionals from many different areas of the field. The program has a good mix of lab animal courses and graduate-level science courses that have been a great foundation for veterinary school.
I attended UC Berkeley for undergrad, during which I volunteered at the Oakland Zoo in the giraffe and eland exhibit. After graduation, I completed a three-month internship at a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center where I worked with squirrels, possums, birds of prey and more. Afterward, I worked as a veterinary technician at a small animal hospital for almost two years before coming to Philadelphia.
While taking my first-year courses, I worked as a technician at PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society) where I ran weekly low-cost vaccine clinics and assisted the on-site veterinarian in appointments. This year I am working as a surgical technician at a private clinic in Rittenhouse Square, involved with pre-, intra- and post-operative care for patients, including monitoring anesthesia for the duration of the procedures.
I'm one step closer to attending veterinary school and pursuing a career in wildlife medicine. I have already been accepted to one school, and I am currently going through interviews for several others!
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