MSTP News and Events

Summer 2008

National MD-PhD Student Conference, Keystone, Colorado, July 18-20, 2008.

Six Northwestern MSTP students received travel awards form the Northwesern MSTP and from the Graduate School to present their research at the 2008 Annual National MD-PhD Student Conference in Keystone, Colorado: Blayne Amir Sayed (Grad4), Ali Christy (Grad3), Sarah Umetsu (Grad2), Tracy Gertler (Grad2), Danielle Smith (Grad2), and Cory Simpson (Grad2).

Northwestern Welcomes 14 First Year MSTP Students in 2008-2009.

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Name	Undergraduate Institution	Undergraduate Major	Summer 2008 Rotation Preceptor
Laura Campochiaro	University of Notre Dame	biology	Dr. Raj Awatramani
Clarence Chan	Harvey Mudd College	physics	Dr. Adrian Gross
David Escobar	University of Illinois	biochemistry	Dr. Erik Sontheimer
Robert (BJ) Heuermann	Washington University, St. Louis	biochemistry	Dr. Dane Chetkovich
Hsiang-Hua (Andy) Hung	University of Toronto	biomedical engineering	Dr. Chad Mirkin
Julian Klosowiak	Northwestern University	biomedical engineering
Hsin-Pin Lin	University of Washington, Seattle	biochemistry and neuroscience	Dr. Lester Binder
Abbye McEwen	University of Texas	cognitive science	Dr. Anjen Chenn
Laura Moore	Duke University	biomedical engineering	Dr. Vadim Backman
Sanders Oh	University of Illinois	biochemistry	Dr. Jonathan Licht
Dipal Patel	University of Pennsylvania	biomedical engineering	Dr. Carol LaBonne
Michael Schieber	Northwestern University	biology	Dr. Nav Chandel
Robin Skory	Boston College	biochemistry	Dr. Chuck Clevenger
Angelica Zhang	Emory University	biology and music

2 MSTP students awarded fellowships for global health service projects in summer 2008.

Jonathan Woon Teck Yap (Med 2) and Betty Kong (Med 2) received awards from the Feinberg School of Medicine Office of Medical Education for special projects in summer 2008. Jonathan Woon Teck Yap (Med 2) received a Feinberg School of Medicine International Health Fellowship to pursue research in genetics-bioinformatics at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, Iceland. He will be working with Dr. Jón Jóhannes Jónsson, Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Iceland. He also will be observing and learning about the health care delivery system in Iceland and how they are using their uniquely complete genealogy records and genomic data to facilitate medical research and clinical treatments. Betty Kong (Med2) received a Feinberg School of Medicine International Health Fellowship while she is a clinical volunteer at the Capital Medical University in Beijing, China.

Congratulations to incoming MSTP student on receiving a Ryan Fellowship.

Hsiang-Hua (Andy) Hung from the University of Toronto, an incoming first year MSTP student, was awarded a Ryan fellowship from Northwestern University.

NIH-like Peer Review Study Section Meetings by Med1 MSTP Students, June 3, 2008.

The Med1 MSTP students held two NIH-like peer review study section meetings on Tuesday, June 3, led by Drs. Adrian Gross, Steve DeVries, and Bill Karpus as the Chairs, during which they reviewed and critiqued the mini-research proposals written by the Med1 students. For more information, including the schedule, the proposals for discussion, and assignments as primary and secondary reveiwers, please visit the MSTP course web site.

Women's Forum Speaker, Dr. Rachel Swart (MSTP Class of 2003), June 2, 2008.

The MSTP Student Council invited alumna Rachel Swart, M.D., Ph.D. as the Women’s Forum Speaker on Monday, June 2, 2008 in Wieboldt Hall’s Room 362 (3rd floor Fireside Room) from 5:00-6:30 PM. Dr. Swart is completing her fellowship in oncology at the University of Arizona. For more information on MSTP Women’s Forum, please visit the Women's Forum web site. MSTP students Maya Srikanth (Grad1) and Tracy Gertler (Grad2) were the organizers.

Bone Marrow Registration Drives at Northwestern Organized by MSTP Student, Mandy Redig, May 7 and 9, 2008.

After spending nearly three years working in the laboratory with her thesis advisor, Dr. Leon Platanias, on samples from patients with AML who are treated with stem cell transplants, MSTP student, Mandy Redig (Grad3), organized a bone marrow registration drive for the faculty and staff of the Cancer Center at Northwestern University and one of its teaching hospitals, Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Donors included nurses, medical residents, community physicians, Northwestern physicians, staff from many departments, graduate and medical students from Northwestern, and even a few non-Northwestern individuals who happended to be in the hospital on the day of the drive. MSTP students Joe Evans (Grad5), Ali Christy (Grad3) and Maya Srikanth (Grad1) also volunteerd their time in this drive. The National Marrow Donor Program paid for the HLA typing of donors.

Spring 2008

Congratulations to our 2008 MSTP graduates on their residencies and post-doctoral fellowship!

Passing of the Wisdom and MSTP Graduate Reception, May, 2008.

Members of the MSTP Graduating Class of 2008 held a panel discussion for all MSTP students on Wednesday May 14 at 5:30 PM in Hughes Auditorium. On Thursday, all MSTP students, training faculty and administrators were invited to celebrate the MSTP Graduating Class of 2008 at the Graduate Reception at the Allerton Hotel from 5:00-7:00 PM.

MSTP Students' Outreach to High School Students, April, 2008.

In April, 2008, John Cieslak (Grad4) spoke to high school students at his alma mater, Driscoll High Shcool in Addison, Illinois while Blayne Amir Sayed (Grad4) sponsored four high school students from Evanston High School for Career Day at Northwestern University.

MSTP Round Table Discussion on Clinical and Translational Research, April 30, 2008.

Saahir Khan (Med2) organized the MSTP Round Table Discussion on "Bridging the Gap Between the Bench and the Bedside:Iintegrating Cclinical and Ttranslational Research into Your Ccareer as a Physician-Sscientist". The Northwestern faculty panel members are: Phillip Greenland, MD, Director of NUCATS which oversees clinical and translational research; Leonidas Platanius, MD-PhD, Deputy Director of Cancer Center which develops new cancer therapies; Dixon Kaufman, MD-PhD, Transplant Surgery and leading research on improving islet cell transplantation for type 1 diabetes; Vince Cryns, MD, Medicine, who is developing targeted therapies against breast cancer stem cells; and Tanya Simuni, MD, Neurology, leading efforts to develop neural rejuvenation therapies to treat Parkinson's disease.

Two Second Look Weekends, April 3-5 and May 1-3, 2008.

To accommodate requests by all of the candidates offered admission for 2008, the MSTP held two Second Look Weekends - April 3-5 and May 1-3.

Student Council Announced Plans for the Annual Student-Faculty-Alumni Retreat, July 26-27, 2008.

This year the MSTP Student Council decided against holding the retreat out of town at a lakefront hotel in Michigan or Wisconsin as done in recent years.  Instead they chose to hold the 2008 retreat at the two campuses of Northwestern University on beautiful Lake Michigan. The program will feature 12 oral presentations of thesis research by the clinical phase MSTP students, 32 poster presentations (one by each graduate phase MSTP student), two alumni keynote addresses, and a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan. We'll have lots of fun on Saturday afternoon at the Evanston campus which offers venues and equipment for a variety of recreational activities during the free time. As in past years, there will be prizes for the three best oral presentations and the three best posters and for the winning desing for this year's retreat tee shirt. Click here for a preliminary program for the 2008 MSTP Retreat.

Winter 2008

Early Match Results Announced for Neurosurgery in January, 2008 for 2 of 7 MSTP Graduates in 2008.

Peleg Horowitz (Med4) matched in Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a Harvard teaching hsopital, in Boston and Matthew Reynolds (Med4) matched in Neurosurgery at Washington University in St. Louis. The other MSTP graduates in 2008 await announcment of the results of the regular match on March 20.

MSTP Round Table Discussion and Faculty-Student Winter Dinner on February 27, 2008, Lurie Hughes and Atrium, 5:30-7:30 PM.

Immediately after the MSTP Round Table Discussion on proposed changes in the USMLE, the MSTP Student Council is organizing the second Annual MSTP Student-Faculty Winter Dinner on Wednesday, February 27 in the Lurie Building in Hughes Auditorium. Alan Lewis (Grad1) and Maya Srikanth (Grad1) were the organizers.

Visiting Scholar Seminar and Women's Forum Featured Dr. Lisa Satlin, March 19, 2008.

The MSTP Student Council invited Dr. Lisa Satlin to be both the Visiting Physician-Scientist Scholar Speaker and the Women’s Forum Speaker on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. Dr. Satlin, a pediatric nephrologist and the Director of the MSTP at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, gave a seminar on her research for all MSTP students, in Wieboldt Hall’s Connelly Lounge (5th floor), from 5:30-6:30 PM, preceded by dinner from 5:00-5:30 PM. The Women's Forum followed immediately in the Wieboldt Fireside Room (3rd floor). For more information on MSTP Women’s Forum, please visit the Women's Forum web site.

The Faculty-Student Winter Dinner on February 27, 2008, Lurie Atrium, 5:30-7:00 PM.

The MSTP Student Council organized the second Annual MSTP Student-Faculty Winter Dinner for which the MSTP Student Council President , Alan Lewis (Grad1) was the organizer.

Fall 2007

Nobel Laureate Peter Agre, M.D. (and MSTP Director at Duke) was the Visiting Physician-Scientist Seminar Speaker on Tuesday, November 13, 2007, organized jointly by the MSTP students at Northwestern and at the Universities of Chicago and Illinois at Chicago.

The second joint Physician-Scientist Seminar and Dinner for Chicago-area MD-PhD students featured Peter Agre, M.D., 2003 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, MSTP Director and Vice Chancellor for Science and Technology, Duke University, as the speaker. His topic was "Aquaporin Water Channels: From Atomic Structure to Clinical Medicine". Just as last year's seminar by Lee Hood, M.D., Ph.D. held at Northwestern , this year's seminar was jointly sponsored by the 3 Chicago area MSTPs - University of Illinois, Northwestern, and University of Chicago. This year's seminar was held at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Medical Science Research Building Auditorium.

Congratulations to MSTP students, Tracy Gertler (Grad 2), Sarah Umetsu (Grad 2), Vanderlene Kung (Grad 1), Sebastian Fernandez-Pol (Grad2), and Richard Ahn, recipients of Predoctoral Fellowships.

Tracy Gertler (Grad 2) in the Surmeier Laboratory in the Department of Physiology, Sarah Umetsu (Grad 2) in the Winandy Laboratory, in the Department of Microbiology-Immunology and Vanderlene Kung (Grad 1) in the Hauser Laboratory in the Department of Microbiology-Immunology received individual F30 predoctoral NRSA fellowships. Sebastian Fernandez-Pol (Grad2) in the Haldar Laboratory in the Pathology Department received an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship and Richard Ahn in the O'Halloran Laboratory in the Chemistry Department received a Predoctoral Traineeship from the Breast Cancer Research Program of the US Army, US Department of Defense. This brings the total number of NIH NRSA predoctoral fellowships in 2007 to NU MSTP students to 18 and the total number of all predoctoral fellowships from all funding sources in 2007 to 26!

Congratulations to three MSTP students who received Travel Awards to the Aspen Health Forum, Ocotber 6-8, 2007.

David Salvay (Grad 4), Ali Christy (Grad 3), and Amanda Redig (Grad 3) received Travel Awards from the Aspen Institute to attend the Aspen Health Forum in Aspen, Colorado on October 6-8, 2007.

Northwestern Welcomed 15 First Year MSTP Students in 2007-2008.

Interview Weeks 1 (October 17-19, 2007), 2 (November 14-16, 2007), 3 (December 5-7, 2007), 4 (January 16-18, 2008), and 5 (February 12-14, 2008).

Student Council Admissions Coordinators Oneil Bhalala (Med 2) and Saahir Khan (Med 2) invited all MSTP students to participate in activities to recruit the MSTP Class entering in Fall 2008. All MSTP students were invited to welcome the candidates at MSTP Grand Rounds and the Dessert Receptions immediately after Grand Rounds on October 17, November 14, December 5, January 16, and February 13 for dinner in Wielboldt Hall, 5th floor Connelly Lounge and for lunch at noon in the NMH cafeteria on October 19, November 16, December 7, January 18, and February 14 . Oneil and Saahir invited each MSTP student to attend at least one Thursday noon lunch Panel Discussion and at least one Thursday night dinner at Tucci Benucch with the candidates.

Summer 2007

13th Annual MSTP Retreat. The Abbey, Fontana, Wisconsin, August 12-13, 2007.

Students and faculty convened for 2 days in Fontana, Wisconsin for the 13th Annual MSTP Retreat. Dr. Todd Kuiken (NU MSTP Class of 1990), Associate Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, was the Alumni Speaker and Dr. Anjen Chenn, Assistant Professor, NU Department of Pathology, was the Faculty Keynote Speaker. Click here for more information on the 2007 MSTP Student-Faculty Retreat.

MSTP Retreat at The Abbey in Fontana, Wisconsin in August 2007

3 MSTP students volunteered in global health service projects in June - August 2007.

Peleg Horowitz (Med 4) and Sharron Hart (Med 4) received support from several sources to support a week of clinical volunteer work in June 2007 through NU-AID. Both Peleg and Sharron worked in student-run free clinics for under-served communities in rural areas of Nicaragua and Jamaica. A total of 10 Northwestern medical students, working in pairs of one third year student and one first year student, plus two physicians, provided medical care for 100-125 patients per day, along with distributing medications donated by pharmaceutical companies, and teaching relevant public health measures.

Prajwal Ciryam (Med 1) and two other Northwestern students, received support from several sources, including the Mabie Global Health Fellowship, to sponsor their 6-week (July-August, 2007) health systems research project on how low cost cataract surgery is delivered to large numbers of patients in Erode, Ghana and in Breman-Asikuma and Bawku, India.

Annual MD-PhD Student (July 27-29, 2007) and Director's-Administrator's (July 26-28, 2007) Conference in Keystone, CO.

Four MSTP students - Tom Schaus (Grad 4), Adam Light (Grad 3), Robbie Cantrell (Grad 3), and John Cieslak (Grad 3) - received Travel Awards from the Northwestern MSTP and from the Northwestern Graduate School to present their research at the Annual MD/PhD Students' Conference. Drs. David Engman (MSTP Director) and Sandra Lee (MSTP Associate Director) attended the concurrent Annual MD/PhD Program Directors and Administrators Conference.

Spring 2007

Congratulations to our 2007 MSTP graduates on their residencies!

Passing of the Wisdom and MSTP Graduate Reception, May, 2007.

Members of the MSTP Graduating Class of 2007 held a panel discussion for all MSTP students on Wednesday May 17 at 5:30 PM in Baldwin Auditorium. On Thursday, all MSTP students, training faculty and administrators were invited to celebrate the MSTP Graduating Class of 2007 at the Graduate Reception in the Lurie Atrium from 5:00-7:00 PM.

Congratulations to incoming MSTP student, Jonathan Woon Teck Yap, on receiving a Ryan Fellowship.

Jonathan Woon Teck Yap, an incoming first year MSTP student, was awarded a Ryan fellowship from Northwester Universityl.

Congratulations to MSTP student, Jane Maduram, recipient of a Travel Award to the 2007 Days of Molecular Medicine-Emerging Technologies and Cancer Biology.

Jane Maduram (Grad 3) received a Travel Award from the 2007 conference organizing committee, jointly sponsored by the Massachusettes General Hospital (MGH), the Karolinska Institute (KI) and the journal Cell, to present her research on "Quantifying Metastatic Cell Motility and Polarity on Micro-engineered Substrates".

Congratulations to MSTP student, David Salvay, recipient of a 2007 Anthony R. Means Basic Science Student Award and Amanda Redig, recipient of an NIH NRSA.

David Salvay (Grad 3) in the Shea Laboratory in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (McCormick School of Enginering) received one of the six 2007 Anthony R. Means Basic Science Student Awards, in conjunction with ENDO 07 Annual Conference in Toronto. Amanda Redig (Grad 2) in the Platanias Laboratory in the Department of Medicine and the Lurie Cancer Center received an individual predoctoral NRSA fellowship from NIH-NIEHS, bringing the total number of NIH NRSA predoctoral fellowships in 2006-2007 to NU MSTP students to 17 and the total number of all predoctoral fellowships from all sources to 23!

MSTP Second Look Weekend, April 12-14, 2007.

Northwestern University MSTP students, faculty, and admnistrators welcomed 18 candidates offered admission to the MSTP Second Look Weekend held in conjunction with the medical school Second Look Weekend on Thursday through Saturday, April 12-14, 2007.

Winter 2007

MSTP Women's Forum, Thursday, March 8, 7:00-9:00 PM, Wieboldt Hall, Room 248.

The MSTP Student Council organized the women's forum in winter 2007. Tracy Gertler (Grad1)and Sarah Umetsu (Grad1) were the organizers and the invited speaker was Jacqueline Jeruss, M.D., Ph.D.

MSTP Round Table Discussion on "Results of the NIH Site Visit to the NU MSTP", Wednesday, February 28, 5:00-6:30 PM, Hughes/Luire videoconference to Tech L363.

Dr. Engman led this discussion.

The Faculty-Student Winter Dinner on January 31, 2007, Lurie Atrium, 6:30-7:30 PM.

The MSTP Student Council organized the first Annual MSTP Student-Faculty Winter Dinner on Wednesday, January 31. Alan Lewis (Med2) and Sarah Umetsu (Grad1) were the organizers.

Three MSTP Students in the Graduate Phase of Training Awarded the 2007 Malkin Scholarship for Cancer Research.

Congratulations to MSTP students David Salvay (Grad 3) in the Shea Laboratory in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (McCormick School of Enginering), to Cory Simpson (Grad 2) in the Green Laboratory in the Department of Pathology (Feinberg School of Medicine), and Mandy Redig (Grad 2) in the Platanias Laboratory in the Department of Medicine and the Lurie Cancer Center, all of whom received a Malkin Scholarship in 2007.

Another MSTP Student Awarded Prestigious Predoctoral Fellowship in Winter 2007.

Congratulations to another MSTP student who received a new Predoctoral Fellowship in Winter 2007! Cory Simpson in the Green Lab received the Northwestern University Presidential Fellowship for 2007-2008.

Fall 2006

Six More MSTP Students Awarded Prestigious Predoctoral Fellowships in Summer and Fall 2006.

Congratulations to the 6 MSTP students who received new Predoctoral Fellowships in Summer and Fall 2006 and to all 20 students who currently have a pre-doctoral fellowship! Click here to view a complete list of all MSTP students' awards, fellowships, and publications in 2006-2007.

• Chris Mutch (Grad 3), Cory Simpson (Grad 2), David Salvay (Grad 3), Tina Pejchal (Grad 3), and Mike Lenaeus (Grad 2) received Individual National Research Awards (F30) from the National Institutes of Health. Altogether this increased the total number of these NIH awards to current MSTP students to 15. Jeff Craft (Med 4), Ciara Shaver (Med 4), Erick Lin (Grad 4), Peleg Horowitz (Med 3), Matt Reynolds (Med 3), Greg Woodhead (Grad 3), Ali Jalali (Grad 4), Blayne Amir Sayed (Grad 3), Laurie Eldredge (Grad 5) , and John Cieslak (Grad 3) held in 2006 Individual NRSA Fellowships awarded in prior years.
• Amanda Bass Zubek (Grad 3) and Aaron Miller (Grad 2) each received 2-year predoctoral fellowships from the American Heart Association. Altogether this increased the total number of these AHA awards to current MSTP students to 4, as Ramona Bhattacharya (Grad 3)and Brian Emmer (Grad 2) received AHA Fellowships in prior years.
• Siri Sonty (Grad 4)received a an Alzheimer Investigator Fellowship from the Chicago Department of Public Health.
• Cory Simpson (Grad 2) received the Northwestern University Presidential Fellowship for 2007-2008. MSTP students Ben Chen (Grad 4) and Sean Murphy (Med 3) received the sameNorthwestern University Presidential Fellowship for 2006-2007 and for 2005-2006, respectively.

Interview Weeks 1 (October 18-20, 2006), 2 (November 16-18, 2006), 3 (December 6-8, 2006), 4 (January 17-19, 2007), and 5 (February 20-12, 2007).

Student Council Admissions Coordinators Maya Srikanth (Med 2) and Rebecca Harris (Med 2) invited all MSTP students to participate in activities to recruit the Class entering in Fall 2007. All MSTP students were invited to welcome the candidates in October, November, December, and January for dinner during Grand Rounds each Wednesday in Wielboldt Hall, 5th floor Connelly Lounge and for lunch each Friday at the NMH cafeteria. Each MSTP student was invited to attend at least one Thursday lunch Panel Discussion and a Thursday night dinner with the candidates.

Visiting Scholar Series - Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D., on September 28, 2006.

Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Department of Molecular Biotechnology, University of Washington & Co-Founder, Institute for Systems Biology, spoke at NU (Hughes) to all MD-PhD students attending NU, University of Chicago, and UIC, on , “A Personal View of Paradigm Changes in Biotechnology Over the Last 35 Years”. The seminar was followed by a joint dinner reception at Northwestern.

NU Welcomed 11 First Year MSTP Students in 2006-2007.

Summer 2006

12th Annual MSTP Retreat. Harbor Grand Hotel, New Buffalo, New Buffalo, Michigan, August 13-14, 2006.

Students and faculty convened for 2 days in New Buffalo, Michigan for the 12th Annual MSTP Retreat. Dr. Lucy Godley (NU MSTP Class of 1997), Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago, was the Alumni Speaker and Dr. Alan Hauser, Assistant Professor, NU Department of Microbiology-Immunology, was the Faculty Keynote Speaker. David Salvay and Matt Reynolds received awards for the best oral presentations while Greg Woodhead, Jane Maduram, and Mike Lenaus received awards for the best poster presentations. Click here to view Retreat 2005 photos taken in Zion, Illinois last year and here to view photos taken during the Halloween Retreat in 2004 at Lakeside, Michigan.

MSTP Retreat at Harbor Grand in New Buffalo, Michigan in August 2006

Spring 2006

Congratulations to our 2006 MSTP graduates on their residencies!

Passing of the Wisdom, May 15, 2006 and MSTP Graduate Reception, May 18, 2006.

Members of the MSTP Graduating Class of 2006 held a panel discussion for all MSTP students on Wednesday May 17 at 5:30 PM in Baldwin Auditorium. On Thursday, all MSTP students, training faculty and administrators were invited to celebrate the MSTP Graduating Class of 2006 at the Graduate Reception at the OMNI Hotel Chicago from 5:00-7:00 PM.

MSTP Second Look Weekend, April 6-8, 2006.

Northwestern University MSTP students, faculty, and admnistration welcomed 17 candidates offered admission to the MSTP Second Look Weekend held in conjunction with the medical school Second Look Weekend on Thursday through Saturday, April 6-8, 2006.

MSTP Round Table Discussion on "The Roles of Surgeon-Scientists", April 5, 2006.

Led by Student Council member and M2 MSTP student, Tracy Gertler (Med2), this session began with introduction of three surgeon-scientists at Northwestern: Melinda Kibbe, MD, Vascular Surgery; Michael West, MD, PhD, General Surgery; and Dixon Kaufman, MD, PhD, Transplantation Surgery. The panel discussion focused on several key topics, including training phase, career balance, lifestyle issues, social issues, and concluded with general advice.

Winter, 2006

Women's Forum, Tuesday evening, February 7, 2006.

Amy Paller, M.D., Chair of Dermatology at Northwestern, was the speaker at the NU MSTP Women's Forum on Tuesday evening, February 7, 2006 held at Sarah Umetsu's home.

Another MSTP Student Awarded Prestigious Predoctoral Fellowship in Winter 2006.

Congratulations to another MSTP student who received a new Predoctoral Fellowship in Winter 2006! Ben Chen (Grad4) in the Lamb Lab received the Northwestern University Presidential Fellowship for 2006-2007.

Annual Holiday Celebration, January 14, 2006, 7:00 PM.

Many thanks to Hans Arora (Med1), Romie Gibly (Med1), Alan Lewis (Med1), and MSTP Student Council for coordinating this celebration for all MSTP students!

Fall 2005

Eight MSTP Students Awarded Prestigious Predoctoral Fellowships in Fall 2005.

Congratulations to the eight MSTP students who received new Predoctoral Fellowships in Fall 2005!

• Ali Jalali, Blayne Amir Sayed, Laurie Eldredge, and John Cieslak received Individual National Research Awards (F30) from the National Institutes of Health. Altogether this increased the total number of these NIH awards to current MSTP students to 10. Jeff Craft, Ciara Shaver, Erick Lin, Peleg Horowitz, Matt Reynolds, and Greg Woodhead received Individual NRSA Fellowships in prior years.
• Brian Emmer and Ramona Bhattacharya received a 2-year predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association.
• Robbie Cantrell received a 3-year National Defense Science and Engineering Grant from the US Department of Defense.
• Sean Murphy received the Northwestern University Presidential Fellowship for 2005-2006.

Interview Weeks 1 (November 16-18, 2005), 2 (December 7-9, 2005), 3 (January 18-20, 2006), and 4 (February 1-3, 2006).

Student Council Admissions Coordinator Tracy Gertler (Med2) invites all MSTP students to participate in activities to recruit the Class entering in Fall 2006. Everyone is invited to welcome the candidates in November, December, and January after Grand Rounds for coffee and dessert each Wednesday in Wielboldt Hall, 5th floor Connelly Lounge and for lunch each Friday at the NMH cafeteria. Tracy will invite each student to attend at least one Thursday lunch Panel Discussion and a Thursday night dinner with the candidates.

NU Welcomed 12 First Year MSTP Students in Fall 2005.

Summer 2005

11th Annual MSTP Retreat, Illinois State Beach Park, Zion, Illinois, August 15-16, 2005.

Students and faculty posed for a picture outside of the Illinois State Beach Park at this year's MSTP retreat at the 11th Annual MSTP Retreat, in Zion, Illinois on August 15-16, 2005. Click here to view Retreat 2005 photos.

MSTP Retreat at Illinois State Beach Park in Zion, Illinois in August 2005

M1 Research Proposal Presentations, June 8 and 9, 2005.

The first year MSTP students presented their research proposals on Wednesday and Thursday, June 8 and 9 for 4-7 PM. Eleven faculty preceptors and 11 MSTP students in the graduate phase of training served as "peer reviewers".

Spring, 2005

Passing of the Wisdom, May 18, 2005 and MSTP Graduate Reception, May 19, 2005.

Members of the MSTP Graduating Class of 2005 held a panel discussion for all MSTP students on Wednesday May 18 at 5:30 PM in Ward 4-075. On Thursday, all MSTP students, training faculty and administrators were invited to celebrate the MSTP Graduating Class of 2005 at the Graduate Reception at the OMNI Hotel Chicago from 4:30-6:30 PM.

MSTP Second Look Weekend, April 21-23, 2005.

The MSTP welcomed 16 candidates offered admission to MSTP Second Look Weekend held in conjunction with the medical school Second Look Weekend on Thursday through Saturday, April 21-23, 2005. Check here for more information on Second Look events.

Winter 2005

Congratulations to our 2005 MSTP graduates on their residencies!

Round Table Discussion on "The NIH Roadmap - Relevance for Physician Scientists", February 9, 2005.

The Student Council-led session began with a wecast videoclip from the September 2004 NIH press conference where NIH Director, Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., unveiled the plan for the future of research in the United States. The plan, known as the “NIH Roadmap”, focused on three key questions:

1. What are today's most pressing scientific challenges?
2. What are the roadblocks to progress and what must be done to overcome them?
3. Which efforts were beyond the mandate of one or a few institutes, but were the responsibility of NIH as a whole?

Next, Dr. Gary Borisy, Associate Vice President for Research at Northwestern University , discussed the goals of the roadmap, e.g., translational research. Nationwide research facilities which will carry out this plan are in the works. One is planned for Chicago, where Northwestern, University of Chicago, the University of Illinois- Chicago, and the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaigne would collaborate on advancing healthcare technologies (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, etc.) stemming from basic science discoveries.

Women's Forum, Tuesday evening, January 18, 2005.

Janet Rowley, M.D, from the University of Chicago, was the speaker at the NU MSTP Women's Forum on Tuesday evening, January 16, 2005 at Siri Sonty's home.

Annual Holiday Celebration, January 8, 2005, 7:00 PM.

Many thanks to Tracy Gertler (Med1), Sarah Umetsu (Med1), Danielle Smith (Med1), and MSTP Student Council for coordinating this celebration for all MSTP students!

Fall, 2004

Interview Weeks 1 (November 17-19, 2004), 2 (December 8-10, 2004), 3 (January 12-14, 2005), and 4 (January 26-28, 2005).

Student Council Admissions Coordinator Cory Simpson (Med2) invited all MSTP students to participate in activities to recruit the Class entering in Fall 2005! Everyone is invited to welcome the candidates in November, December, and January after Grand Rounds for coffee and dessert each Wednesday in Wielboldt Hall, 5th floor Connelly Lounge and for lunch each Friday at the NMH cafeteria. Cory invited each student to attend at least one Thursday lunch Panel Discussion and a Thursday night dinner with the candidates.

MSTP Retreat at Lakeside Inn, Michigan in October, 2004

Students and faculty posed for a picture outside the Lakeside Inn at this year's MSTP retreat at the 10th Annual MSTP Retreat at Lakeside, Michigan on October 29-31, 2004. Click here to view more Retreat 2004 photos.

NU Welcomed 11 First Year MSTP Students in Fall 2004.

Summer 2004

Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) Information Session, July 20, 2004.

Several Chicago campus programs (IGP, NUIN, MSTP) will co-sponsor an information session and student panel on graduate research opportunities at NU with a dinner and ice cream social for SROP students and their faculty sponsors on Tuesday, July 20 from 4:00 PM- 6:0PM in Wieboldt Hall, room 727 (info session and panel) and 318 (dinner and social).

Annual MD/PhD Student and Director's Conference in Keystone, CO, July 9-11, 2004.

Four MSTP students - Marsha Ritter-Jones (Grad3), Sharron Hart (Grad5), Erick Lin (Grad2), and Jose Otero (Grad4)- receieved MSTP travel awards to present their research at the Annual MD/PhD Students' Conference. Jose alos received an NIH Travel Award. Drs. Engman and Lee attended the concurrent Annual MD/PhD Program Directors and Administrators' Conference.

Summer Medical Education Program (SMEP) MSTP Information Session, Thursday, July 1, 2004.

The Northwestern University MSTP-sponsored a luncheon-information session on the MSTP for the 62 SMEP students attending the AAMC's 6-week Summer Medical Education Program in Chicago on Thursday, July 1, 2004. For the seond year in a row, this session was again organized by MSTP student, Blayne Amir Sayed (Med2), and featured presentations on the MSTP at NU and a student panel discussion on biomedical research opportunities at NU by four MSTP students- Blayne Amir Sayed (Med2), John Cieslak (Med2), Marsha Ritter-Jones (Grad3), Kara Gleason (Med1), and by one IGP graduate student, Melvin Daniels.

Women's Forum, Wednesday evening, June 30, 2004.

Lucy Godley, M.D., Ph.D. was the speaker at the NU MSTP Women's Forum on Wednesday evening, June 30, 2004 at Kelly O'Hara's's home.

Spring 2004

Congratulations to our 2004 MSTP graduates on their residencies!

MSTP Passing of the Wisdom" at 5:30 PM on May 19 and the Graduate Reception, Thursday, May 20, 2004.

All MSTP students joined the 7 graduates in the Class of 2004 for the annual event, "Passing of the Wisdom" at 5:30 PM on May 19 in Ward 4-075. All MSTP students, training faculty, and administrators were invited to honor our 2004 graduates at the MSTP Graduate Reception at 6:00 PM on Thursday, May 20, 2004 at the OMNI Hotel.

MSTP Second Look Weekend, April 15-17, 2004.

The MSTP welcomed 16 candidates to MSTP Second Look Weekend held in conjunction with the medical school Second Look Weekend on Thursday through Saturday, April 15-17, 2004. Special thanks to our current MSTP students who helped welcome our candidates back to NU and to the faculty at Chicago, Evanston, and Children's Hospital who met with the candidates to discuss their research.

Winter 2004

Women's Forum, Tuesday evening, March 2, 2004.

Elizabeth McNally, M.D., Ph.D. was the speaker at the NU MSTP Women's Forum on Tuesday evening, March 2, 2004 at Ciara Martin's home. For the first time ever, the NU MSTP invited the University of Chicago's women MSTP students to attend the NU Women's Forum. While Janet Rowley, M.D., was unable to join the group that evening, the Women's Forum organizers will request that she meet with them at a future Women's Forum.

Reviews of the M2 MSTP Research Seminar Proposal, January 29, 2004.

Faculty and graduate student reviewers met review written the oral presentations of the research proposals prepared by the M2 MSTP students.

Interview Weeks 1 (November 19-21, 2003), 2 (December 10-12, 2003), 3 (January 14-16, 2004), and 4 (January 28-30, 2004).

Everyone was invited to welcome the candidates in November, December, and January after Grand Rounds for coffee and dessert in Ward 4-075. Student Council Vice President Ramona Bhattacharya invited all MSTP students to participate in activities to recruit the Class entering in Fall 2004!

Fall 2003

Annual Holiday Celebration, December 5, 2003, 7:30 PM.

Many thanks to Kara Gleason (Med1) and Bethany Freedman (Grad3) and to MSTP Student Council for coordinating this celebration for all MSTP students!

NU Welcomed First Year 11 MSTP students in Fall 2003.

Summer 2003

9th Annual MSTP Student-Faculty Retreat, August 17-18, 2003.

All MSTP students and their PhD thesis advisers convened at the Annual Retreat in New Buffalo, Michigan, to hear research presentations by MSTP students, NU faculty keynote speaker Thomas McGarry, M.D., Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Medicine, NU) and alumnus keynote speaker Thad Stappenback, M.D., Ph.D. (NU MSTP Class of 1995, currently Assistant Professor, Pathology, Washington University).

MSTP Retreat at Harbor Grand in New Buffalo, Michigan, August, 2003

Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) Information Session, July 22, 2003.

Several Chicago campus programs (IGP, NUIN, MSTP) co-sponsored an information session on graduate research opportunities at NU with a luncheon and ice cream social for SROP students and their faculty sponsors on Tuesday, July 22 from 11:45 AM-1:30 M in Ward 4-075.

Annual MD/PhD Student and Director's Conference in Snowmass, CO, July 11-13, 2003.

Five MSTP students received MSTP travelawards to attend this Annual MD/PhD Students' Conference- Ciara Martin, Jeff Mercer, John Carter, Jeff Craft, and Laurie Eldredge. Four of the five MSTP students also presented their research at the poster session. Drs. Engman, Lee, and Anderson attended the concurrent Annual MD/PhD Program Directors' and Administrators' Conference.

Minorities in Medical Education Program (MMEP) MSTP Information Session, June 25, 2003.

The Northwestern University MSTP-sponsored luncheon-information session on the MSTP for the 47 MMEP students on Wednesday, June 25, 2003, was organized by MSTP student, Blayne Amir Sayed (Med2), and featured presentations on the MSTP at NU and a student panel discussion on research opportunities at NU by three MSTP students- Blayne Amir Sayed (Med2), John Cieslak (Med2), Dr. Nasim Amadiyeh (Med3), and one IGP graduate student, Melvin Daniels.

Spring 2003

Congratulations to our 2003 MSTP graduates on their residencies!