This past week has been exciting in the UCLA Graduate Programs in Bioscience.  UCLA had the opportunity to be a Platinum Sponsor at the 2014 Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conference, October 16-18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  As one of the largest STEM diversity events in the country, this conference brings together faculty, students, professionals, and recruiters from many top companies and prestigious universities.  As stated on their website, “the SACNAS National Conference motivates, inspires and engages participants to achieve their highest goals in pursuing education and careers in STEM fields.  Conference programming is specifically tailored to support undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and career professionals at each transition stage of their career as they move towards positions of science leadership.” 

Some of the UCLA-specific highlights included:

• A seminar hosted by GPB on “Enhancing the Recruitment, Training, and Diversity of STEM Students” at UCLA by Frank Bayliss, Ph.D.
• A UCLA VIP Reception hosted at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel
• 100 SACNAS students attended a field trip to UCLA
• Over 15 UCLA faculty members were involved in “Conversations with Scientist”
• Sylvia Hurtado, Ph.D, Professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and Director of The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA was highlighted as a Keynote Speaker
• Robin L. Garrell, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate Division spoke at the conference Welcome Ceremony
• Over 100 UCLA students, faculty, and staff members attended the conference, networking with other professionals and prospective UCLA students
• The SACNAS at UCLA Chapter was awarded with the Undergraduate Chapter of the Year, their 5^th national award
• 32 UCLA students presented posters and 5 graduate students presented in the oral symposia
• David Saldana, 2014 UCLA SPUR-LABS participant, won an award for his poster presentation “Polo-like Kinase Inhibitor as a Therapeutic Agent by Inducing Mitotic Arrest in Glioblastoma”  co-authored by Jack Mottahedeh and Harley Kornblum 
• Angelica Riestra from the Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics department won a Graduate Student Scientific Oral Symposia Award in Microbiology

Overall, it was a fantastic and successful event.  We look forward to meeting another group of future UCLA Bioscience students at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) November 12-15^th in San Antonio, Texas. 

UCLA Newsroom article: UCLA student group to be honored for promoting diversity in STEM education

YouTube: UCLA Promotional Video for SACNAS 2014 National Conference