Photo caption: Bioinformatics student, Artur Jaroszewicz uses his dog as a metaphor for Fine mapping of Hi-C contact peaks via Convolutional Neural Networks.  Credit: Catharine Krebs

Please join us in welcoming our incoming class of 72 GPB students and 6 MSTP, Year 1 PhD students.  This year, we received a record 1193 applications and our 10 Home Areas conducted 285 Interviews.  The diversity of the class continues to increase with 53% from other states and countries across the world, including 55 different undergraduate institutions, and 22% from groups underrepresented in the sciences.

Many people are familiar with the ROTC program and GI Bill — scholarships that help future or former soldiers pay for undergraduate degrees. But students interested in medicine and the military can also pursue graduate degrees while serving.

Most students choose to retreat off the UCLA campus in the summer, however, the campus is still abuzz with activity.  Beginning in June, undergraduates from across the nation arrive on campus to participate in one of UCLA’s undergraduate summer research programs.  From SPUR-LABS, to AMGEN scholars, to BIG Summer, these students are offered the opportunity to work in UCLA laboratories, side-by-side with graduate students, and under

“For a Ph.D. candidate entering the job market, the advice to simply appear confident and comfortable in an interview may seem impossible. You may be nervous to leave your program and enter the world of work in general, and the added pressure of finding a position to support yourself and possibly your family aids in the anxiety.”
Kristy Sherrer, UCLA Career Center

Three GPB graduate students have recently been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.   Please join us in congratulating the following students:

Nicole DesForges – Neuroscience
Adam Gomez – Cell & Developmental Biology
Shawntel Okonkwo – Gene Regulation

Additionally, 9 GPB students received Honorable Mention

Bioscience students Philip Bulterys (Immunity, Microbes, and Molecular Pathogenesis) and Courtney Young (Cell & Developmental Biology) placed second and third at the UCLA Grad Slam final on March 3rd.  Courtney was the audience favorite, receiving the audience choice award.  Philip research involves Disarming Deadly Bacteria while Courtney strives to An end to Duchenne: gene editing for muscular dystrophy.  As awards, Philip took home a $2000 fellowship and Courtney received $1000 for her third-place finish and an additional $500 as the Audience Choice.

18 Bioscience students competed in the preliminary round of UCLA Grad Slam 2016, an opportunity for master and doctoral level students to showcase their work by giving a 3-minute “elevator pitch” of their research projects to a panel of judges.  Judges include faculty, academic deans, administrative staff, alumni, postdoctoral scholars, donors and elected officials.

Scientists choose their research projects for a number of reasons.  For 3^rd year doctoral student Courtney Young, her cousin’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) diagnosis was a catalyst to her current work.  “I already knew I was interested in science, so after my cousin’s diagnosis, I decided to dedicate my career to finding a cure for Duchenne,” Young said. “It makes everything a lot more meaningful, knowing that I’m doing something to help all the boys who will come after my cousin.

With tenure-track academic positions in short supply, companies are increasingly recruiting and retaining doctoral researchers with business experience and an entrepreneurial spirit.  In response to these trends, UCLA has established several opportunities for bioscience graduate students to gain relevant business experience and knowledge to prepare them for careers in business.