The James Lepock Memorial Student Research Symposium is set for June 14, 2012 at Princess Margaret Hospital. This annual event is organized in the style of a scientific conference and is an opportunity for MBP graduate students to showcase their research activities. It’s a great way to get exposure within our community and to gain experience in making poster and oral presentations.

Abstract Submission

More information about the symposium

First Year Reps Patrick, Mira, James and Daria are putting together this year’s Mentorship Program for incoming students. Currently, we are recruiting mentors!

The Mentorship Program helps new students with the transition from their undergraduate programs and provides them with a go-to person in the department immediately upon arrival. Furthermore, the program provides mentee support during scholarship application and seminar preparation time, two major and sometimes daunting events in a student’s academic year. As a mentor, you would be paired with a mentee who would then be given your contact information. Common questions include rotations (for biology students), seminars, what classes to take, picking a committee and prepping for the first meeting and, most importantly, getting involved in the department.

If you’re interested in being a mentor for this year’s program, sign up here.

We need students enthusiastic about becoming mentors! Contact Patrick, James, Mira, and Daria if you have any questions about the mentorship program.

[Thanks to Jen and Jenny 2011/2012 Mentorship Program coordinators for the structure of this post]

The Institute of Medical Science (IMS) Career Seminar Series is an IMS Students’ Association-led initiative designed to provide graduate students with the opportunity to meet with representatives from various scientific-related careers in an informal setting. We are inviting any graduate students at the University of Toronto to attend, free of charge.

The details for our April seminars are as follows:

“A Career In Academia”

When: April 5th, 12:00 – 2:00 pm
Where: Princess Margaret Hospital room 7-605

Panel discussion examining the pros and cons of a career in academia featuring:

• Gillian Einstein (Ph.D.; Dept of Psychology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health Sciences, IMS)
• William Hutchison (Ph.D.; Dept of Surgery, Dept of Physiology, IMS)
• Derek van der Kooy (Ph.D.; Dept of Medical Biophysics, Dept of Molecular Genetics, IMS)
• Freda Miller (Ph.D.; Dept of Molecular Genetics, Dept of Physiology, IMS)
• Cindi Morshead (Ph.D.; Dept of Surgery, Dept of Rehabilitation Science, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, IMS)

Please RSVP to imssacareers@gmail.com as seating is limited

A light lunch will be provided

“A Graduate Student Alumni Perspective”

When: April 12th, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Where: MaRS/TMDT 4-204

Featuring:

Panel discussion about the transition from graduate school to the working world featuring:

• Gabriella Farcas Chan (Vice President Legal Affairs, Cytodiagnostics Inc., JD, PhD)
• Lilian Doss (Program Developer for Ontario Community and Aboriginal Health Centers, MSc)
• David Kideckel (Territory Manager at Janssen, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, PhD)

Please RSVP to imssacareers@gmail.com as seating is limited

Refreshments / snacks will be provided

“Careers in Global Health and Health Policy”

When: Thursday, April 26th, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Where: MaRS/TMDT 4-204

Panel discussion examining current career opportunities in global health and health policy featuring:

• Pamela Kanellis (Program Officer with Grand Challenges Canada, PhD)
• Nathan Doidge (Manager, Planner and Project Management, UHN, Joint Department of Medical Imaging, MHSc., HBASc)
• Jessica Fullerton (Infection Control Practitioners UHN, B.Sc., M.Sc.)

Please RSVP to imssacareers@gmail.com as seating is limited

Refreshments / snacks will be provided

The IMS also has career information sessions in medicine, scientific/medical writing & publishing, clinical trial management and science entrepreneurship that are being planned for May and June. Stay tuned!!!

Each department in the Faculty of Medicine is taking part in an external review this year. This review process will evaluate the quality of our academic program and research and the experience of the faculty and students. The MBP Executive has designed a survey which will help us to get student input on areas such as the application process, the academic environment, the curriculum, supervision and overall culture.The results will be included in a report to the review committee.

The survey links were sent out by Chau on Tuesday, February 14, so please check your email for this important message. It should take only about 15 minutes to complete and your responses will be totally anonymous. We hope that you will all complete the survey so that the report will be as representative of the students’ opinions as possible.

The deadline for the student report is coming up very quickly, so please fill out your survey ASAP!

Hey MBP!

The annual MBP Open House is Saturday, January 7, 2012 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. We need YOUR HELP to showcase our department! Please sign up to volunteer!

If you have any questions, please direct them to Josh (josh.n.durbin@gmail.com) or Diana (diana.merino@utoronto.ca).

Thanks!
Your Open House Team

Do you have your student seminar coming up? Do you want to make this seminar the BEST one you’ve ever given? If so, then your MBP GSU is here to help! We’ve assembled a super-star team of graduate students who (a) have all done well on their own student seminars in the past, (b) are from all fields of MBP, and (c) are enthusiastic and want to give you CONSTRUCTIVE criticism on your seminar!

If you’re interested in receiving help preparing for YOUR seminar, please contact Greg Anderson (gregory.anderson@utoronto.ca) as soon as possible!

Every fall, current MBP students volunteer to visit undergraduate classes at nearby universities to promote the MBP graduate program.

The goals of this program include:

• Generating interest among senior undergraduate students toward graduate studies in MBP
• Promoting awareness of current research opportunities in our department
• Advertising the MBP Open House event (Saturday, January 7, 2012)

After you sign up, we’ll hook you up with a team and send you some information to help you plan your visit. Some travel and meal expenses are reimbursable. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Josh (josh.n.durbin@gmail.com) or Diana (diana651@gmail.com).

Applying for scholarships this fall? The MBPGSU is piloting a new project to help you out. Join us Monday, September 12th from 4-5pm in room 7-605 at PMH for an organizational meeting and to find out more about how the program will work.

What: Scholarship Workshops
When: Mondays 4-5pm, room 7-605 PMH from September 12th to October 10th

Questions? Contact Shawn Stapleton (s.stapleton@utoronto.ca) for more information.

By Diana Merino

Each month we will review/feature an article published by one of our very own MBP students in the biology and/or physics stream.

This article features the publication “Biochemical and imaging surveillance in germline TP53 mutation carriers with Li-Fraumeni syndrome: a prospective observational study” by Villani et al., Lancet Oncol. 2011 Jun; 12(6): 559-67. (PMID: 21601526) [Link to Paper]

Click! That’s all it takes to get your genome sequenced nowadays. But how would you benefit from knowing the genetic code that determines the most infinitesimal details of your being? What could you do with this information?

Imagine you sequence your genome and an underlying disease predisposition is uncovered in between your millions of T’s, C’s, A’s, and G’s…what would you do now? Would you benefit from subjecting yourself to constant tests and medical examinations with the hope of preventing disease? Read the rest

There is a proposal to change the Student Seminars schedule so that students speak at their home location. This will result in fewer physics students speaking downtown and fewer biology students speaking uptown. Both locations will still have talks from senior PhD students, 2nd year students and 1st year students.

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Additional comments can be posted as a comment to this post or emailed to mbpgsu@gmail.com.