Finalists

• Oral Presentation Skills Competitions

  Pre-Candidacy PhD & MS Finalists 9:00 am
  Student Name	Category	Advisor	Program
  Shannon Erhardt	MS	Jun Wang, PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics
  Andrew Gillard	1st year PhD	Candelaria Gomez-Manzano, PhD	Cancer Biology
  Clarissa Hoffman	Pre-candidacy PhD	Yuri Dabaghian, PhD	Quantitative Sciences
  Hunter Mehrens	Pre-candidacy PhD	Stephen Kry, PhD	Medical Physics
  Jayanta Mondal	Pre-candidacy PhD	Jason Huse, MD, PhD	Cancer Biology
  Post-Candidacy Finalists 10: 15 am
  Student Name	Category	Advisor	Program
  Sharvari Dharmaiah	Post-Candidacy PhD	Jason Huse, MD, PhD	Cancer Biology
  Mary Gronberg	Post-Candidacy PhD	Laurence Court, PhD	Medical Physics
  Soleil Hernandez	Post-Candidacy PhD	Laurence Court, PhD	Medical Physics
  Janani Subramaniam	Post-Candidacy PhD	Shane Cunha, PhD	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Xu Zhang	Post-Candidacy PhD	Fabricio Do Monte, DVM, PhD	Neuroscience

  Prizes:   

  • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • $300 bonus for best 1^st year student
    
    
  • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500

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  Oral Presentation Skills Competitions - Guidelines

  Oral presentations sessions are designed to give presenters an opportunity to formally present their research to the GSBS and larger TMC audience. The purpose of the presentation is to clearly convey your research to an educated scientific audience. Presentations should include sufficient information for audience members to understand the methods, results, and significance of the research.

  Eligibility:

  All GSBS degree students who have affiliated with a primary research advisor may apply.

  Format:

  • Oral presentations will be presented in-person during GSRD at Cooley Center. Students must apply to present an oral presentation. Ten contestants will be selected as finalists to compete. The deadline to apply for consideration for the competition is May 19 by 11:59 pm.
  • Each oral presentation will be allotted 10 minutes consisting of a 7-minute presentation and a 3-minute question & answer period before a panel of judges and the public audience.
  • Finalists should plan to be present for the entirety of their assigned oral session. The order of presentations within each session will be assigned randomly and delivered in the order indicated in the GSRD program.
  • Students will compete in two categories: (1) Pre-candidacy PhD students, MS students and SMS; and (2) Post-candidacy PhD students.
  • Finalists competing in the Oral Presentation Skills competition may also apply to present a poster. Space permitting, they may present their poster, but they may not compete and their poster number will be labeled “NC” [non-competing].
    
    

  Application link: 2022GSRD_OPSContests

  Application Materials:

  • Research abstract: This summary should be written in language understandable by a broad general science audience and should be a concise and engaging description of the student’s research project that includes the title, background/objective, brief methods, results/progress, conclusions and future work. The abstract body should be at least 150 words, but no more than 300 words. Abstracts not meeting these criteria will be disqualified.
  • Curriculum vitae: Include past speaking and/or poster presentation experiences.
  • Approval form from advisor addressing the student's presentation skills: 2022GSRD_OPSFacApprovalForm

  
  Selection and award criteria:

  • Preliminary judges will select the finalists and students will be notified on June 3. In the preliminary phase, the project abstract and other application materials will be evaluated for scientific merit, and appeal to a general science audience. Evidence of prior presentations will be taken into consideration, but is not a requirement.
  • Finalists will present their oral presentations to faculty and/or PhD-level research scientist judges. Presentations will be evaluated on speaking skills/delivery, scientific content, and overall quality of the presentation. Winners will be announced at the GSRD Awards Ceremony.
    
    

  Prizes:   

  • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • $300 bonus for best 1^st year student
    
    
  • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500

   

• Poster Sessions

  Pre-Candidacy PhD & MS Finalists Session A 11:30 am
  Last Name	First Name	Advisor	Category	Program
  Farmer	Stephen	Sheng Zhang, PhD	1st year PhD	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Hanjra	Pahul	Anil Sood, MD	1st year PhD	Cancer Biology
  Harlan	Collin	James Bankson, PhD	1st year PhD	Medical Physics
  Hernandez	Andrea	Simon Young	1st year PhD	Immunology
  Hutchins	Chase		1st year PhD	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Sinha	Pragya	Jagannadha Sastry, PhD	MS	Immunology
  Wharton	Brianne	Burton Dickey, MD	MS	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Ahammed	Khondakar Sayef	Ambro van Hoof, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
  Baroudi	Hana	Laurence Court, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Medical Physics
  Guan	Pujun	Dianna Milewicz, MD, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Quantitative Sciences
  Lea	Stitzlein	Joya Chandra, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Therapeutics & Pharmacology
  McKenzie	Takese	Jian Hu, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Neuroscience
  Morse	Joshua	Zhiqiang An, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Therapeutics & Pharmacology
  Salama	Vivian	C. David Fuller, MD, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Simbassa	Sabona	Anne-Marie Krachler, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
  Tsong	Heather	Andrea Stavoe, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics
  Whitfield	Benjamin	Jason Huse, MD, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Immunology
  Zhao	Yao	Jinzhong Yang, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Medical Physics
  Post-Candidacy PhD Finalists Session B 1:00 pm
  Last Name	First Name	Advisor	Category	Program
  Caggiano	Emily	Cullen Taniguchi, MD, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Chen	Ko-Chien	Ronald DePinho, MD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Halsey	Taylor	Robert Jenq, MD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
  Hassan	Dalia	Jichao Chen, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics
  Huang	Kai	Laurence Court, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Medical Physics
  Hurtig	Jennifer	Ambro van Hoof, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
  Kumar	Swaminathan	Michael Davies, MD, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Quantitative Sciences
  Li	Ye	Katy Rezvani, MBBS, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Immunology
  Morrissey	Rhiannon	Guillermina Lozano, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics
  Patel	Sonia	John Heymach, MD, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Phi	Lan	Naoto Ueno, MD, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Qian	Jing	Powel Brown, MD, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Reyes Castro	Raisa	Swathi Arur, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics
  Santiago	Alec	Kevin Morano, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
  Shah	Rutvi	Andrea Viale, MD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Shen	Runze	John Tainer, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Ting	Shun-Ming	Jaroslaw Aronowski, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Neuroscience
  Yang	Xiaojie	Pawel Mazur, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Yen	Er-Yen	Giulio Draetta, MD, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology

  Prizes:   

  • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • $300 bonus for best 1^st year student
    
    
  • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500

  ---

  Poster Session - Guidelines

  Poster sessions are designed to give presenters an opportunity to discuss their research with colleagues and other researchers. The purpose of the poster is to visually stimulate interest in the research, to present sufficient information for viewers to understand the methods, results, and significance of the research, and to promote conversations and networking among GSRD attendees.

  Eligibility

  • All GSBS students who have participated in a research project at the GSBS are eligible to participate.
    
    

  Format:

  • Posters will be presented in-person during GSRD at Cooley Center. Students must apply to present a poster. Space is limited to 40 contestants, so students are encouraged to apply early. Deadline to apply for consideration for the competition is May 19 by 11:59 pm.
  • Students are responsible for printing their posters [size: no larger than 3.3' H x 3.5' W].
  • Poster template and GSBS logo downloads are here.
  • Posters will be on display during the entirety of GSRD. The day before the GSRD (Wednesday, June 22) Poster Session, finalists must set up their posters in the afternoon at Cooley Center. If a finalist cannot go in person, they may ask another student or the DSA staff to set up their poster for them. Each poster board will be numbered. Presenters should attach their posters to the board number corresponding to the number assigned to their poster in the GSRD Program, which will be emailed prior to set up. Presenters should remove their posters at the end of GSRD between the hours of 4:30-6:00 pm. [Presenters are encouraged to display their posters during the reception.]
  • On the day of GSRD, students will present their posters during their assigned session. Students should plan to stand with their posters until their assigned session is completed and they have presented to their faculty and/or PhD-level research scientist judges.
  • Students will compete in two categories: (1) Pre-candidacy PhD students, MS students and SMS; and (2) Post-candidacy PhD students.
  • Students who are chosen as finalists in the GSRD Oral Presentation Skills competition may not compete in the poster session. They may, if space permits, still present a poster and their poster number will be labeled “NC” [non-competing].
    
    

  Application link: 2022GSRD_PosterContests

  Application materials:

  • Research abstract: This summary should be written in language understandable by a broad general science audience and should be a concise and engaging description of the student’s research project that includes the title, background/objective, brief methods, results/progress, conclusions and future work. The abstract body should be at least 150 words, but no more than 300 words. Abstracts not meeting these criteria will be disqualified.
  • Curriculum vitae: Include past speaking and/or poster presentation experiences.
    
    

   Selection and award criteria:

  • Preliminary judges will select the finalists and students will be notified on June 3. Evidence of prior presentations will be taken into consideration but is not a requirement.
  • Finalists will present their posters to faculty and/or PhD-level research scientist judges. Posters will be evaluated on the presence, quality and details of the key sections of a poster (see abstract), as well as level of content knowledge and engagement. Winners will be announced at the GSRD Awards Ceremony.
    
    

  Prizes:   

  • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • $300 bonus for best 1^st year student
    
    
  • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500

   

• Elevator Speech Contests

  		Elevator Speech Finalists
  Last Name	First Name	Advisor	Category	Program
  Huang	Mo-Fan (Elena)	Dung-Fang Lee, PhD	1st year PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics
  Lanier	Amanda	Powel Brown, MD, PhD	1st year PhD	Cancer Biology
  Liu	Haoyue	Florencia McAllister, MD	1st year PhD	Immunology
  Peshoff	Mekenzie	Krishna Bhat, PhD	1st year PhD	Neuroscience
  Pamplin	Thomaia	Curtis, Pickering, PhD	MS	Cancer Biology
  Jiang	Xin Ru (Cheryl)	Katy Rezvani, MBBS, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Immunology
  Marquez	Barbara	Laurence Court, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Medical Physics
  Perez Sierra	Danny	Anilkumar Pillai, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Neuroscience
  Simbassa	Sabona	Jayhun Lee, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
  Wirianto	Marvin	Seung-Hee (Sally) Yoo, PhD	Pre-candidacy PhD	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Adeyeye	Mary	Xiangli Elefteriou, PhD Brenda Lee, MD, PhD (BCM)	Post-Candidacy PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics
  Fuentes	Mary Esmeralda	Pawel Mazur, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Gonzalez	Cuauhtemoc	Vasanthi Jayaraman, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Jacob	Joan	Kendra Carmon, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Biochemistry & Cell Biology
  Mohamed	Alaa	Giulio Draetta, MD, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Visal	Tanvi	Sendurai Mani, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Cancer Biology
  Wang	Ruoyu	Wenbo Li, PhD	Post-Candidacy PhD	Genetics & Epigenetics

  Prizes:   

  • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • People’s choice: $300
    
    
  • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • People’s choice: $300

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  Elevator Speech Contests - Guidelines

  The scientific Elevator Speech is a 90-second summary of the student’s research project intended for an educated, lay audience. The scientific elevator speech is an excellent career tool for students, helping them to establish credibility, form relationships with other scientists, and gain support for their ideas. It also helps students clarify and articulate their thoughts, build professional confidence, and communicate across disciplines.

  Eligibility:

  All GSBS degree students are eligible to compete.
  
  Format:

  • Elevator speeches will be presented in-person at GSRD at Cooley Center. Students must apply to present an elevator speech. Twenty contestants will be selected as finalists to compete. The deadline to apply for consideration for the competition is May 19 by 11:59 pm.
  • Each elevator speech will be allotted 90 seconds. The time will begin once a contestant starts speaking. Speakers may use notecards as long as they do not read straight through, and/or may use small props/objects. Speakers are not allowed to use PowerPoint slides. There will be no time allotted for questions during the session.
  • Elevator speeches should be accessible to a non-specialist audience with a basic college education, succinct, and last no more than 90 seconds; they should be well organized and easy to follow, delivered in an engaging manner, and have impact. The speeches should contain key elements commonly found in scientific presentations, including an introduction/background, description of the gap in knowledge or research question being addressed, a brief description of method(s), results if they have been obtained, a statement of significance, and possible next steps if applicable. In addition, the delivery of the speech should be enthusiastic, confident, conversational rather than overly formal, and use accessible language that minimizes jargon.
  • Finalists should plan to be present for the entirety of the elevator speech competition session. The order of presentations will be assigned randomly and delivered in the order indicated in the GSRD program.
  • Students will compete in two categories: (1) Pre-candidacy PhD students, MS students and SMS; and (2) Post-candidacy PhD students.
  • Students who are chosen as finalists in the GSRD Elevator Speech competition may not compete in the poster session. They may, if space permits, still present a poster and their poster number will be labeled “NC” [non-competing].
    
    

  Application link: 2022GSRD_ESContests

  Application materials:

  • Tentative title for elevator speech
  • Short description (1-2 sentences) of the impact, relevance, or importance of the research as it relates to science or a lay audience
    
    

  Selection and award criteria:

  • Preliminary judges will select twenty finalists and students will be notified on June 3. Evidence of prior presentations will be taken into consideration but is not a requirement.
  • Finalists will present their elevator speeches to a panel of judges on June 23 that includes faculty, PhD-level research scientists, and lay community members. Elevator speeches will be evaluated on the delivery of the speech, organization and engagement with the speech content, and impact. The speech will not be evaluated on the complexity of the project, whether experimental results have been obtained so far, minor grammatical mistakes, or speaking with a non-English accent. The audience will choose the People's Choice Award winner. Winners will be announced at the GSRD Awards Ceremony.

  
  Prizes:   

  • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • People’s choice: $300
    
    
  • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD
    
    
  • 1^st prize: $1,000
  • 2^nd prize: $500
  • People’s choice: $300