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Volume 2, Issue 1
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The GSO NewsVolume 2, Issue 1, September 2010
www.mcg.edu/gradstudies/students.htmMedical College of Georgia Graduate Student Organization
The GSO News 1
Inside this Issue
Welcome Back from the GSOPresident
2010/11 GSO Officers
26th Annual Graduate Research Day
Student: Aisha Cobbs
Student: Irfan Ali
Faculty: Dr. Jennifer Sullivan
Student Accomplishments
Feature Article: Medical Illustration
GSO Fundraiser
2010/11 GSO OfficersColleen Carey
In addition to the GSO president’s wel-
come note, the GSO officers would also
like to take the opportunity to briefly in-
troduce themselves. Here we provide you
with some basic information about the
work we do at MCG and highlight the
goals each one of us is eager to achieve
within this academic year.
Welcome Back from the GSO President
Dear fellow graduate students,
It’s once again that time of the year - a
new academic term has just begun and
we have a lot planned for you. Last year
we were able to establish many new things
for MCG’s graduate students while at the
same time also maintaining well-appreci-
ated GSO traditions and even reviving
old ideas. In doing so, we were able to
meet our goals of improving the overall
communication among the graduate stu-
dent body, connecting students from dif-
ferent programs, combining GSO’s and
SGA’s efforts for the benefit of all MCG
students, and establishing new relation-
ships with other schools within the Uni-
versity System of Georgia. As a result of
these team efforts, we are able to look
back on a very active and successful past
year for our organization!
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4
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While we begin the new academic year
with presenting the 1st edition of the
GSO Welcome Handbook to the new
incoming classes of graduate students
(which can be found at http://www.mcg.
edu/gradstudies/students.htm), we also
plan to extend our focus on the more up-
per level students by a variety of means.
One such goal of doing so is through in-
viting guest speakers to talk about profes-
sional career opportunities, because one
can never start planning the future too
early! Lastly, I’d like to encourage you
to keep an eye out for announcements
from your organization. Thanks to your
help, input, and participation, GSO has
become one of the most influential and
well-respected student organizations at
MCG and together we can keep it that
way! On behalf of the GSO and my fel-
low officers I wish you all a very success-
ful year and look forward to seeing you
at many of the upcoming events we have
planned.
Samuel Herberg
GSO President
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…to“Officers”, pg. 2
The GSO News 2
...from “Officers”, pg. 1
President Samuel Herberg:
3rd year Cellular Biology & Anatomy
PhD student in Dr. William Hill’s lab,
research interest in stem cells for tissue
regeneration. Goal(s) for this year: “To
further improve the overall recognition
of GSO campus-wide by representing
our organization at the highest level of
student leaders while also making sure
that our services reach the more than
500 graduate students by acting as their
point person. Ultimately, I wish for GSO
to become an invaluable part of every
graduate students’ intellectual and social
experience at our institution.”
Vice president Katie Spitler:
2nd year Biomed PhD student in Dr.
Clinton Webb’s lab, research interest
“using dietary supplementation to im-
prove hypertension.” My goals are “to
help organize a new lecture series featur-
ing speakers that will talk about job op-
portunities that are out there after some-
one gets a PhD.”
Secretary Paramita Pati:
3rd year BIOMED PhD student in Dr.
Dan Rudic’s lab, research interest is in
the role of the circadian clock in hyper-
tension and regulation of the circadian
clock in the vasculature. Goal for this
year: “To provide official correspon-
dence and distribute information related
to GSO. Also, to work with the
Colleen Carey
As one of the longest-standing tradi-
tions and highlights of the academic year
within the School of Graduate Studies,
Graduate Research Day provides an op-
portunity for both students and postdocs
to share with the campus the outstand-
ing work that is being conducted here on
campus. As expected, the 26th annual
Graduate Research Day held in March
2010 proved to be an impressive display
of progressive and innovative projects
from all participants. This year over 100
postdoctoral fellows and graduate stu-
dents showcased research in biomedical
sciences, biostatistics, health informatics,
medical illustration and nursing.
This year, Sir Salvador Moncada (MD,
PhD, DSci, FMedSci, FRS) a world re-
nowned scientist and Professor of Ex-
perimental Biology and Therapeutics
at University College London, United
Kingdom was the invited guest speaker.
Dr. Moncada earned his Doctor of Phi-
losophy in Pharmacology at the Royal
College of Surgeons at the University of
26th Annual Graduate Research Day: Students, trainees and post-doctoral fellows shine London and Wellcome Research Labora-
tories under Sir John Vane. While there
he solved the mechanism of action of as-
pirin, which was published in three clas-
sic papers for which he received a PhD in
1973. Dr. Moncada then went on to play
a central role in the discovery and devel-
opment of prostacyclin as a medicine for
cardiopulmonary bypass operations and
pulmonary hypertension.
In 1985 Dr. Moncada began investiga-
tions that lead him and his team to
identify the newly described, “endothe-
lium-derived releasing factor” or EDRF
and his lab made one of the first break-
throughs that later enabled EDRF to be
identified as nitric oxide. To date, his
work still continues to elucidate new
mechanisms in endothelial cell biology
and explore new therapies in cardiovas-
cular medicine. Dr. Moncada is an excel-
lent speaker and his talk was enjoyed by
all who attended.
The staff of GSO News would like to congratu-late all participants for their hard work as well as to specifically acknowledge the winners of
this years awards. (Next page)
O
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…to“Officers”, pg. 5
The GSO News 3
O v e r a l l E x c e l l e n c e i n B i o m e d i c a l R e s e a r c h - F i s h e r S c i e n t i f i c A i s h a C o b b s
J i C h e n g M e m o r i a l A w a r d f o r E x c e l l e n c e i n B i o m e d i c a l R e s e a r c h
C h a i t a n y a P a t w a r d h a n
L o w e l l M . G r e e n b a u m A w a r d f o r R e s e a r c h E x c e l l e n c e i n P h a r m a c o l o g y S c o t t W e b s t e r
R . A u g u s t R o e s e l M e m o r i a l A w a r d f o r R e s e a r c h E x c e l l e n c e i n
B i o c h e m i s t r y M a r y Z i m m e r m a n
V i r e n d r a B . M a h e s h A w a r d f o r R e s e a r c h E x c e l l e n c e i n
E n d o c r i n o l o g y L i m o r R a z
E x c e l l e n c e i n R e s e a r c h A w a r d
G r a d u a t e N u r s i n g - A n n e t t e B o u r g a u l t P u b l i c H e a l t h - J u l i a n e M o n k o
C e l l u l a r B i o l o g y a n d A n a t o m y - M o a t a z E l k a s r a w y M o l e c u l a r M e d i c i n e - B u r l e s ( R u s t y ) J o h n s o n
N e u r o s c i e n c e - C h r i s t i n a W i l s o n P h y s i o l o g y - K a t h r y n S p i t l e r
U G A C l i n i c a l & E x p e r i m e n t a l T h e r a p e u t i c s - R o s h i n i P r a k a s h V a s c u l a r B i o l o g y - I r f a n A l i
S c h o o l o f G r a d u a t e S t u d i e s ( 6 ) S a u r a b h A g g a r w a l , M e l a n i e K i n g , M o h a m e d S a l e h , F r a n k
S p r a d l e y , W a r a r a t K i t t i k u l s u t h , B r a n d o n H a l l
E d u c a t i o n a l M u l t i m e d i a A w a r d - M e d i c a l I l l u s t r a t i o n N a t h a n i e l K l e i n
E x c e l l e n c e i n P o s t d o c t o r a l R e s e a r c h A w a r d s – I n t e r n a t i o n a l &
P o s t d o c t o r a l S e r v i c e s O f f i c e P o s t e r P r e s e n t a t i o n - D i n g X i e
O r a l P r e s e n t a t i o n - E r i c B e l i n d e C h a n t e m e l e
I n t e r n a t i o n a l G r a d u a t e E x c h a n g e T r a i n e e A w a r d T a o W a n g
M C G / U G A S t u d e n t E x c h a n g e A w a r d - M C G / U G A C o l l a b o r a t i v e
W i n n e r – T i f f a n y N g u y e n H o n o r a b l e m e n t i o n – R u s t y J o h n s o n
2 0 1 0 G r a d u a t e R e s e a r c h D a y
A w a r d W i n n e r s
The GSO News 4
Aisha CobbsParamita Pati
Aisha Cobbs is a fifth year Biomedical
Sciences PhD student in the department
of Physiology. She is doing her disserta-
CURRENT STUDENT SPOTLIGHTtion research in the laboratory of Dr. Ad-
viye Ergul where she is investigating how
diabetes alters the cerebrovasculature
and how this affects stroke outcome. Re-
garding her choice of lab, Aisha said her
advisor’s mentoring style seemed like a
good fit, and she was also very interested
in doing diabetes and stroke research.
Originally from Conyers, GA, Aisha de-
cided to attend MCG because she “was
impressed with the faculty and the facili-
ties, and MCG seemed like a place where
she could develop as a scientist.” Dur-
ing her time at MCG, Aisha has won a
number of national and regional awards.
She shares authorship on several publica-
tions, and is the first author on a pub-
lication currently under review. When
asked what her most rewarding experi-
ence here has been, she said, “Traveling
to conferences and being awarded my
own grant funding for every year that I
have been at MCG.”
Outside of school, she spends time with
her husband and family and on the week-
ends they usually go to the movies, out to
restaurants, or travel. Aisha said, “I try
to strike a balance between my personal
life and school life. I pace myself in the
lab and try not to give into my worka-
holic tendencies. I like going to the
Riverwalk and Thurmond Lake when I
need some peace and quiet.” Also, she
and her husband are expecting their first
child soon.
Aisha’s advice for current students is
not to be discouraged when experiments
don’t seem to go as planned, and she sug-
gests using the experience as an opportu-
nity to take a fresh look at the problem,
and that usually it is a minor detail that ...to “Aisha”, pg. 8
Mohammed Irfan AliNamita Hattangady
Mohammed Irfan Ali has been a student
of Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. in Dr.
David Stepp’s laboratory in the Depart-
ment of Vascular Biology. He recently
defended his thesis in July 2010. His dis-
sertation project investigated whether
improving the metabolic perturbations
associated with the insulin receptor in
obesity, via the protein tyrosine phopha-
tase 1B (PTP1B) gene deletion, has a
role in improving cardiovascular func-
tion. Irfan joined Dr. Stepp’s laboratory
to continue research in the field of his
interest since his undergraduate days.
Irfan was raised in Missouri; his moth-
er is of Yemeni decent and his father is
from India. As for his decision to join
MCG he says simply that the deluge of
Katrina made him relocate to MCG from
the Louisiana State University Health
Sciences Center, New Orleans. Irfan has
a number of achievements to his credit
at MCG. He is the first author on two
publications that are currently in press
and he shares authorship on several oth-
ers. Irfan has been a recipient of several
honors such as invitations for oral pre-
sentations, competitive awards and the
American Heart Association Pre-Doctor-
al Fellowship from 2008-2010. Irfan cites
his article in Circulation Research, the
completion of his dissertation and the
friendships of colleagues he has acquired
as some of his most rewarding experienc-
es at MCG. He is grateful to MCG for
the opportunities it has provided him.
Irfan has involved himself in various
activities, including running for the of-
fice of President of the GSO. He is also a
family man and enjoys spending quality
...to “Mohammed”, pg. 8
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In future issues the ‘Current Student Spot-light’ will continue to highlight current gradu-ate students throughout each department in the School of Graduate Studies with regards to their current research. If you would like to nominate someone to be featured please email us at [email protected] with ‘Student Spotlight’ in the subject line.
The GSO News 5
FACULTY SPOTLIGHTJennifer SullivanParamita Pati
Jennifer Case Sullivan is a core faculty
member in the Vascular Biology Cen-
ter, with her primary appointment in
the Department of Pharmacology. The
research program in her laboratory is fo-
cused on studying the mechanisms that
contribute to the observation that men
tend to develop hypertension and renal
disease at a younger age compared to
women and with greater severity. The
model that is studied is the ‘Spontane-
ously Hypertensive Rat’ which displays
a sexual dimorphism in blood pressure
and renal injury similar to that seen in
people. Current studies are focused on
the role of the nitric oxide/nitric oxide
synthase pathway, the renin-angiotensin
system, and inflammation.
Dr. Sullivan was born in Watertown, NY
but from the age of three lived in Clav-
erack, NY. She obtained her B.S. at the
State University of New York at Geneseo,
and then earned her M.S. and Ph.D. at
Albany Medical College in Albany, NY.
Dr. Sullivan decided to come to MCG
in 2000 to do a postdoctoral fellowship
with Dr. Jennifer Pollock because her
goal was to learn molecular biology with
a focus on nitric oxide.
When asked what her most rewarding
experience at MCG has been, Dr. Sulli-
van says, “There are really 2 things that
I most enjoy about MCG. First, is the
other faculty that I am fortunate enough
to collaborate with. We have amazing
faculty here at MCG and the collabo-
rations that I have established over the
years are part of what makes my job so
fun. Interacting with other people that
love science and appreciate what we get
to do everyday makes my research pro-
gram better and my experience in science
more fulfilling. Second are the students.
I have worked with students at all levels
since coming to MCG and part of what I
enjoy most about my job is being able to
introduce students to science. Whether
it is an undergraduate in my lab for the
STAR program, a graduate student, or
post-doctoral fellows, sharing with them
my passion for science and watching
them begin to ask their own questions is
amazing.”
Dr. Sullivan’s advice for current students
is to “Keep a positive attitude, believe in
your strengths and skills but know when
to turn to others for help.” Outside of
school, she spends time with her hus-
band and two daughters who are aged
five and seven. Regarding her strategy
for “survival” she says the following: “to
keep a positive attitude in the face of the
unavoidable disappointments that a ca-
The ‘Faculty Spotlight’ will continue to highlight current faculty from departments within the School of Graduate Studies with re-gards to their current research and accomplish-ments. If you would like to nominate someone to be featured please email us at [email protected] with ‘Faculty Spotlight’ in the subject line.
...to “Sullivan”, pg. 8
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...from “Officers”, pg. 2
other officers to further the goals of the
organization so that we can better serve
our members.”
Treasurer Davies Agyekum:
3rd year Molecular Medicine student in
Dr. Steffen Meiler’s lab. My research in-
terest include the development of thera-
peutic agents for treatment of the genetic
disorder of sickle cell disease. Goals for
this year: “To provide good oversight of
finances of GSO ensuring that we can
continue to provide the many amenities
our student body has come to enjoy.”
Social Chair Colleen Carey:
3rd year Genomic Medicine PhD stu-
dent in Dr. Jin-Xiong She’s lab. Research
interest include the use of genomic pro-
filing techniques for the identification of
biomarkers of disease prediction, preven-
tion and therapeutic treatment. Goals
for this year: “To continue the increase
amount of social events provided for the
graduate students as well as to further in-
crease the interaction among all graduate
programs on campus.” O
Deeksha Gambhir, Roshini Prakash, Rui Wang, Anil Bhatta, Juan Mo Not Pictured: Rebecca Nalloor
SGA Representatives
The GSO News 6
The GSO News would like to congratulate the following individuals on some recent accomplishments!Folami Lamoke2nd year Biomed PhD student in Dr.
Manuela Bartoli’s lab. Folami attended
the 2010 Annul Meeting for the Associa-
tion for Research in Vision and Ophthal-
mology (ARVO). The title of her talk
was “Implication of the Small-G Protein
Rac-1 in Amyloid Beta-Induced Oxida-
tive Stress and Retinal Cells Toxicity” in
a session entitled ‘Hot Topics and Novel
Concepts in AMD Research’. She was
also the recipient of a travel award award
from the National Eye Institute (NEI).
Krystal BrinsonAttended the Experimental Biology
Conference and presented the following
poster “Chronic angiotensin II (Ang II)
increases renal oxidative stress in male
Paramita Pati Recently attended
and presented at
the Society for
Research on Bio-
logical Rhythms
2010 meeting
from May 22-May
26. The title of
her poster was
“Blunted hyper-
tensive response
to L-NAME in Bmal1-KO mice”.
Mohamed Saleh Mohamed has been busy! He’d like to
share with us his accomplishments this
past year including a first author poster
presentation entitled “Differential Ef-
fects of Endothelin A and B Receptor
Antagonism on Diabetes-Induced Pro-
teinuria, Glomerular Permeability, and
Inflammation” and a first author Oral
presentation entitled “Free Radical Scav-
enging Decreases Endothelin-1 (ET-1)
Excretion and Glomerular Permeability
During Diabetes”.
Beth Richter Beth has chosen to share some pictures
with the GSO News!
MCG Alumni, Aisha Walker and Rachel
Novak attended Beth’s hooding ceremo-
ny this year.
A group of graduate students out for
May First Friday/Graduation night.
Ahmed El-AwadyAlso attended EB and presented a poster
entitled “A new mechanism explaining
the sustained effect of Bone Morphoge-
netic Protein-2 (rhBMP-2 during recon-
struction of segmental bone defects”.
A big congrats to the now 2nd year Biomedical Science PhD students for completing their first year course work! Photography by Moataz Elkasrawy
O
spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR),
but not in female SHR”.
Tiffany Nguyen A recent gradu-
ate, was selected
as the MCG win-
ner of the MCG/
UGA Student Ex-
change Award for
Excellence in Bio-
medical Research.
This award is
designed to recog-
nize and reward excellence in biomedical
research by graduate students and to pro-
mote interaction between the Medical
College of Georgia and the University of
Georgia (Athens). Each year two awards
are presented, one to an MCG graduate
student and one to a UGA graduate stu-
dent. Nominees are in their advanced
stage of biomedical research and are eval-
uated on the overall scientific merit and
quality of their work, mastery of their
scientific field, and verbal presentation
skills.
The GSO News 7
Feature Article: Illustrators attend Portland, Oregon MeetingSteve Harrison
Students and Faculty from MCG’s De-
partment of Medical Illustration attend-
ed the 65th annual meeting of the As-
sociation of Medical Illustrators (AMI)
in Portland, Oregon, from July 27 to
August 1, 2010. The international meet-
ing’s program focused on continuing
education topics for the contemporary
medical illustrator in the areas of basic
medical science, surgery, media technol-
ogy, and business related issues. Nearly
300 professionals and students attended
the conference, which was held on the
Portland State University campus.
Centerpieces of the annual meeting are
the medical illustration Salons of Profes-
sional and Student medical and fine art.
More than 250 pieces of medical artwork
were entered in the Salons, with MCG
alumni winning thirteen of the forty
judged awards in print media, anima-
tion, and textbook illustration categories
of the Professional Salon. In the Student
Salon, Douglas Walp (Class of 2010) was
awarded a Certificate of Merit for his ani-
mation, “Kidney Physiology: Reabsorp-
tion in the Proximal Tubule,” and Paul
Kim (Class of 2011) received an Award of
Excellence in Instructional Line Illustra-
tion for his surgical series, “Superficial
Parotidectomy.” Mr. Kim’s illustration
also won the prestigious Orville Parkes
Award for Best of Show in the Student
Salon. The Parkes Award is named in
honor of the former Chairman of the
Department of Medical Illustration
from 1949-1974.
The conference featured one day of
workshops and three days of plenary
and concurrent sessions by leaders in the
fields of medical illustration and anima-
tion. Sessions covering topics in
clinical medicine, surgery, and bio-
medical research were largely presented
by faculty members from the Oregon
Health Sciences University. Other than
the salon awards, several MCG alumni
received recognition during the Awards
Banquet on Saturday, July 31. Michelle
Reinke (Class of 2010) was recognized as
a scholarship award recipient by the Ves-
alius Trust for Visual Communication in
the Health Sciences. William Westwood
(Class of 1972) was honored by the Asso-
ciation of Medical Illustrator’s Lifetime
Achievement Award, its highest honor to
acknowledge a medical illustrator whose
life, work, and accomplishments have sig-
nificantly contributed to the profession
and fellow illustrators. Mr. Westwood
has had a distinguished professional ca-
reer including stints on the board of gov-
ernors and as President of the AMI. He
owns his own medical illustration busi-
ness in Albany, New York, and prior to
that was on the medical illustration staff
at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Special recognition was given to the first
student of medical illustration at MCG,
George Lynch (1924-2009). Excerpts
from a videotaped interview with Mr.
Lynch highlighted his illustrious career
as an illustrator at Duke University and
as Biocommunication Director at Bow-
man Gray (Wake Forest) School of Medi-
cine. A remastered copy of Mr. Lynch’s
award winning filmograph, “A Brief
History of Medicine” was aired at the
Awards banquet. Nine members of the
MCG Medical Illustration Class of 2011
attended the AMI meeting in Portland,
with support from the School of Gradu-
ate Studies. The MCG Medical Illustra-
tion Graduate Program is one of four
accredited programs of its kind in the
United States.
2nd year Medical Illustration students at AMI awards banquet in Portland Oregon. Photography by Delia Dykes
O
The GSO News 8
can be easily remedied. When asked how
she feels about the preparation MCG has
given her, she said the following: “I feel
confident in my ability to solve problems
and think critically. I also believe that I
can successfully compete for grant fund-
ing as an independent investigator. My
mentor has also helped me sharpen my
scientific communication skills by en-
couraging me to write and review jour-
nal articles, give oral presentations, and
submit grant applications.” As far as her
future career goals, Aisha would like to
ultimately pursue a career as a clinician
scientist. The GSO wishes her the best
for the future!
...from “Aisha”, pg.4
O
time with his wife and children. Irfan is
an instrument rated pilot and a musician
as well. He plays the viola, the guitar and
is currently teaching his daughter to play
the violin.
His advice to students is “Choose a men-
tor based on how you feel around him/
her; do not look at the project first”.
He suggests preparing the presentation
first, while writing the thesis, as it pro-
vides a good outline to one’s thoughts.
To relax and unwind, he recommends
visiting Clark’s Hill Lake and Walton
Way Deli! After a short postdoctoral po-
sition with Dr. Sean Didion, Irfan plans
to complete his Medical Degree at the St.
George’ University School of Medicine.
The GSO wishes Irfan all the best in his
endeavors!
...from “Mohammed”, pg.4
O
...from “Sullivan”, pg.5 reer in science presents (paper rejected,
grants triaged) I count on my friends and
colleagues in science both at MCG and at
other institutions. Surrounding yourself
with people that know you and support
you is always a good thing.” For the fu-
ture, she plans to continue to “do good
science” and stay funded. The GSO
thanks Dr. Sullivan for sharing her story
with us! O
S c h o o l o f A l l i e d H e a l t h S c i e n c e s A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o n S c h o l a r s h i p s
A m b e r M c C a l l M o a t a z E l k a s r a w y
B r a n n A l u m n i S c h o l a r s h i p
C o l l e e n C a r e y P a r e s h C h o t h e
2 0 1 0 A l u m n i S c h o l a r s h i p
A w a r d W i n n e r s
The GSO News 9
Contact Information
Websitehttp://www.mcg.edu/gradstudies/students.htm
Facebook GroupStudents of MCG GSO
Newsletter Staff
Layout Design Chief EditorJoshua Bird Colleen Carey
EditorsNamita Hattangady Samuel Herberg
Paramita Pati
Feature ArticleSteve Harrison
AddressGraduate Student Organization
School of Graduate Studies
Medical College of Georgia
1120 15th St. CJ 2201
Augusta, GA 30912-1500
GSO FundraiserThe Graduate Student Organization will be selling
peel off cards for only $10 while they last!
For more Information please contact Colleen Carey or
Renee Bozard at [email protected]
*Local Merchants
*Only $10
*Buy one get one
free coupons
*Support MCG’s
Graduate Student
Organization
*Coupons good through
December 2011!