. Warren is currently a Grad 2 in the laboratory of Dr. Jane Wu in the Neurology Department. Konrad is a Grad 3 student in Dr. Hossein Ardehali's laboratory in the Med - Cardiology Department. Way to go Konrad and Warren!
The M1 Class recently enjoyed rooftop drinks with MSTP leadership.
Share Your News! We are very lucky to have such a talented group of students and we'd love to share your publications and awards with your peers. Please let us know right away if you have any new publications or awards.
Student Council Update
The MSTP Student Council has had an exciting year, and we are looking forward to sponsoring a variety of activities during 2014-2015. As for recent updates, we hosted another successful Women’s Forum keynote in June where Dr. Susan Quaggin spoke about her path to becoming a physician scientist. The annual MSTP Retreat in July and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the MSTP at Northwestern was a great success. In August, an informal Coffee Talk was held with the program directors to discuss the important topic of time-to-graduation and how the program can incentivize timely graduation. Coffee Talks with the MSTP directors will continue to sponsor discussions on a wide range of issues important to students. Our continuing programs include the student-run mentoring program, Promoting Inner-City Youth in Science and Medicine (PRISM), which works with the Pedersen-McCormick Club in Uptown to inspire high-school students to explore careers in science and medicine. We are excited to continue participating in interschool events with MSTP programs at the University of Chicago and University of Illinois/Chicago, which in the past have included sponsored faculty lectures and whirlyball. We maintain representatives in the FSM Student Senate and American Physician Scientists Association to represent the interests of Northwestern MSTP students. The council also sponsors an MSTP Big Sibs program where first-year students are paired with graduate-phase students as a source of mentorship and advice as they begin their training. In addition, the council sponsors faculty Blitz Talks for first and second-year students to meet prospective advisors and hear quick presentations about their labs and research. We are looking forward to the MSTP interview season, and the council will continue to organize tours and student panels for interviewees as well as evening social activities and the Second Look for accepted applicants in the Spring. In an effort to bring physician scientists to campus to speak about their science as well as their professional and personal experiences, we are excited to continue the Women’s Forum and a new initiative to recruit physician scientist speakers in the LGBT and under-represented minority communities. We have also been working in conjunction with the Northwestern Lectures in Life Sciences series, dedicated to bringing internationally renowned scientists to campus, to invite a physician/scientist speaker.
Interested students are welcome to contact us to join the Student Council, propose new ideas, or discuss concerns.
Samuel Harvey, President
Jasmine May, Vice President
Program News and Reminders
The next
NRSA application deadline is December 8th. Please let the MSTP Office know if you are planning to apply for an F30 or F31 for the December deadline.
Individual Predoctoral NRSA for MD/PhD Fellowships (Parent F30) (PA-14-150)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-14-150.html
Individual Predoctoral NRSA for MD/PhD Fellowships (Parent F31) (PA-14-147)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-14-147.html
Fellowship Opportunities.
The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans The Trustees strongly encourage applications from candidates who have not yet begun their graduate studies, but full consideration will be given to candidates in the first or second years of graduate studies in their current program. Candidates must demonstrate the relevance of graduate education to their long-term career goals and potential in enhancing their contributions to society. A New American is an individual who (1) is a resident alien; i.e., holds a Green Card or, (2) has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen or (3) is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. The deadline for submission of completed applications is
November 1, 2014.
2015 Ford Foundation Fellowship Program competitions are NOW OPEN and accepting application registrations. Through its Fellowship Programs, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. Predoctoral application deadline: November 19, 2014. (5:00 PM EST) Dissertation and Postdoctoral application deadline: November 14, 2014.
(5:00 PM EST). Supplementary Materials receipt deadline
(all levels): January 9, 2015 (5:00 PM EST).
The American Association of University Women Fellowships support women doctoral candidates completing dissertations. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of scholarly excellence, teaching experience, and active commitment to helping women and girls through service in their communities, professions, or fields of research. Application deadline is
November 15, 2014.
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) Through the NDSEG Program, the U.S. Department of Defense seeks to provide the U.S. with talented, doctorally trained American men and women who will lead state of the art advances in disciplines having the greatest payoff to national security requirements-mathematical, physical, biological, ocean and engineering sciences. It combines Army, Navy and Air Force fellowship programs to offer 100-150 generous awards. The application requires essays in which ask you to outline the objectives of your educational program and present your long-range goals. Three letters of recommendation are required. Students in their
first year of graduate study or those who started their second year in Fall 2014 are eligible to apply.
The 2015 NDSEG Fellowship Application is now open, and will close on December 12, 2014 at 5:00 P.M. EST.
The American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship Program is designed to help students initiate careers in cardiovascular and stroke research by providing research assistance and training. Research broadly related to cardiovascular function and disease, stroke or to related clinical, basic science, bioengineering or biotechnology, and public health problems. All basic disciplines as well as epidemiological, community and clinical investigations that bear on cardiovascular and stroke problems. For post baccalaureate, predoctoral M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.V.M. (or equivalent) students seeking research training with a sponsor/mentor prior to embarking on a research career. Full-time students working towards their degrees.
Deadline January 2015.
Student Highlight
Timothy Sita, Grad 3 Student
Timothy Sita is a Chicago native who attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his undergraduate education, where he majored in chemical engineering and molecular biology. He is currently a third year graduate student in the laboratories of Drs. Chad Mirkin (Chemistry) and Alexander Stegh (Neurology). His thesis research focuses on developing nanoparticle-based therapeutics for glioblastoma. He loves spending time with his wife and 5-month old son (also named Tim), brewing beer, and watching the Green Bay Packers dominate the Chicago Bears.
Alumni Highlight
José Javier Otero, MD, PhD
We are happy to feature José J. Otero, MD, PhD who graduated in the Northwestern University MSTP Class of 2006. Dr. Otero is currently an Assistant Professor of Neuropathology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio where he is also a member of The Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell Based Therapies, the James Comprehensive Cancer Center, and an adjunct faculty in the Department of Neuroscience.
Dr. Otero was a fellow in the Northwestern University MSTP and received his PhD in Neuroscience in 2004. He completed his research studies in the laboratory of Dr. John Kessler with his thesis study titled "Regulation of Differentiation & the Maintenance of Pluripotency in Embryonic Stem Cells by
β -catenin." After receiving his MD from the Feinberg School of Medicine in 2006, Dr. Otero went on to complete a combined Anatomic Pathology/Neuropathology residency and fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He then performed post-doctoral research as a clinical fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David Rowitch at UCSF/HHMI from 2009 – 2012 before joining the faculty at OSU.
We were happy to catch up with Dr. Otero via email and ask him a few questions.
What is your current research focus?
As a physician-scientist, it is inherently difficult to focus. Most physician-scientists are interested in many different areas, and it is hard to condense what we are doing into one sentence. Since graduate school, I was attracted to developmental biology and the structure of the nervous system. My training as a Neuropathologist solidified this fascination, and our current work always carries with it a strong signature of cell/tissue morphology and cytoarchitecture analysis. The lab has developed into three distinct research branches:
- Post-natal mammalian development: In this area, we are trying to understand how neuronal circuits mature during the late embryonic and post-natal period. We utilize mouse and stem cell models to understand the development of autonomic nervous system neurons and glia.
- Basic CNS development and homeostasis: This work focuses on the S-phase cyclin, CCNA2. We had demonstrated that CCNA loss leads dysmorphic cerebellar development but nearly intact forebrain development. We are also discovering intriguing roles for CCNA2 function in the adult brain.
- Translational neuro-oncology research: As a Neuropathologist, my day-to-day clinical responsibility is to sign out brain tumor cases. Based on my diagnosis, patients get the appropriate treatments. Our goal is to utilize cutting edge labeling techniques and self-learning image analysis algorithms to improve medical decision-making.
In summary, the soul of all of these projects shows a strong representation in classical morphological sciences, which are applied distinctly in each of these different branches. We engage techniques spanning from golgi impregnation to confocal microscopy. The first two projects are principally driven by our group. The translational neuro-oncology work is better characterized as integrative team science, where we are at times the creative drivers but other times play more of a facilitation role.
What has been one of the most rewarding experiences you have had as a physician-scientist?
Mentoring students to successful outcomes.
What is your favorite part of your current position?
Working with undergraduate students and post-docs.
One thing that comes up a lot with our current students is finding a way to balance – both research and medicine and then professional with personal life. How have you managed to find balance and/or do you have any advice in this area?
In my case, what makes me good as a clinician is directly applicable to my contribution to the lab. So the skill sets are not necessarily separate. Moving the research forward at this point in my career is more about motivating/inspiring others than actually pipetting at the bench-so I don’t have to balance western blotting with clinical duties and with picking the kids up from school.
With regards to personal life, my wife (who also is a NU Ph.D. grad) and I have four children and we work together in the laboratory towards common goals.
How do you feel your training as an MSTP helped prepare you for your professional life?
MSTP itself was not the main issue. The specific aspects that helped my career were:
-Setting up the lab when Jack Kessler and I moved from New York to Chicago. This was invaluable for me.
-Getting into a good post-doc position, which was probably a result of the strong pedigree that being an MSTP grad gave me.
-Having a reduced debt burden.
-A supportive and flexible family.
-Great mentors that helped me when I was in trouble. At a very challenging point in my career, Jack gave me crucial advice that helped me navigate the situation which helped me land on my feet.
Do you have any funny and/or special memories from your time at Northwestern?
I loved living in Chicago and on many occasions wished that I had never left. Besides that I recall a moment when my colleague, another MSTP grad that will remain nameless, placed a pack of dry ice into a glass bottle and incubated the bottle at 42 C., close to my bench. The resulting explosion startled me and left a hole in the ceiling of the lab. I don’t think Jack ever noticed it, and I hope he is not reading this.
What insights or advice to you have for current MSTP students?
Your career choice should answer the following three questions: 1. What is it that you enjoy doing? 2. Does that activity meet your own personal financial goals? and 3. What can you do to feel that you are positively contributing to society?
What do you like to do outside of your career?
Family time, cycling, swimming.
PRISM Update
PRISM, the science and medicine mentoring program run by the NU MSTP and the Uptown Boys & Girls Club, is beginning its third year at the club. The high school students, along with their MSTP mentors, will be studying clinical and scientific aspects of cholera and the gastrointestinal system. The program meets every other Tuesday during the school year. Its remaining fall dates are October 21st, November 4th and 18th, and December 2nd. If you or a student are interested in participating in the program, please contact
prism.mentors@gmail.com.
Upcoming Local Events
Journeys is the 25th Annual Chicago Humanities Festival taking place October 25 - November 9th at venues across Chicago and Evanston. The Chicago Humanities Festival's mission is to create opportunities for people of all ages to support, enjoy and explore the humanities. For a full schedule of events visit their
website.
The Northwestern University School of Communication Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts has announced it's 2014/2015 Mainstage Season schedule that "reflects on the evolving definitions of family and community, inviting audiences to embrace the circumstances that unite and strengthen us". It includes kicks off October 24 with "The Laramie Project" followed by "Little Women: The Broadway Musical". For the full line-up please visit their
website.
SOFA Chicago at Navy Pier. This art fair, dedicated to Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art & Design, returns to Navy Pier’s Festival Hall Nov. 7-9, with an opening night preview on Nov. 6.
Student Activity Fee Reminder. Please remember to check your student account and pay your Student Activity Fee for either the medical school (yearly) or the Graduate School (quarterly) in a timely manner.