A department priority is supporting and integrating our undergraduates into the department. Below, our graduate student presidents (Annabel Vernon and Megi Rexhepaj) describe two initiatives, which are proving to be incredibly popular.
First, we are hosting four panel discussions that provide information and resources to help students in what we believe are key areas for their development. The events include: “Attending and Applying to Graduate School”, “Engagement in Undergraduate Research”, and “Careers Beyond a Bachelor’s Degree”. We held our first panel in October together with faculty member Dr. Peter Brzovic, where we provided a comprehensive overview of the application process and a program overview for graduate school. We had support from fellow graduate students (Sara Gonske, Clara McCurdy, Valentina Alvarez and Zoey Litt) who volunteered their time to provide their experience to students interested in understanding the research and life of graduate students. This event was also made possible through the support of additional faculty such as Drs. Justin Kollman, Neil King, and Michael Holt who encouraged undergraduates in the upper division biochemistry courses they teach to attend. Together as a department, we hope to continue to engage and prepare undergraduates for a future in science or in any career path they wish to take post-graduation. Please help us continue this effort as we move towards the next chapters during the Winter and Spring quarters. If you have any ideas and want to volunteer, please reach out!
Secondly, the Biochemistry Undergraduate Reading Program (BURP) formed a year ago in Winter 2023 and is collaboratively led by graduate students Joy North and Annabel Vernon and advised by Dr. Dana Miller. Inspired by the corresponding program in Neuroscience, BURP’s missions are to (1) encourage critical reading and discussion of the scientific literature, (2) facilitate skill-building for literature analysis, and (3) build professional connections between “mentees” (undergraduate students) and “mentors” (graduate student, postdoc, research scientist, faculty member, or staff). Each quarter, matched mentors and mentees meet once every one to two weeks to read and analyze a paper in a shared field of interest. Each quarter culminates in a final symposium during which participating undergraduates give a journal club-style presentation on a paper they read with their mentor. This program builds mentoring relationships and connections based on shared interests, regardless of mentees’ experience with the literature. The simplicity of that premise has made the rapid growth of participation inevitable: while our first quarter drew eight mentors and twelve mentees, that has expanded to seventeen mentors and thirty-two mentees last quarter, representing a 2.5-fold increase in less than one year.
BURP participants have made many positive impacts in BURP’s first year. They created 60 supportive discussion groups where 1-on-1 pairs and small groups periodically read, analyzed, and discussed papers. These groups built personalized, collaborative, and mutually beneficial learning experiences for everyone involved. Over 30 mentees have prepared and presented journal club-style talks demonstrating their knowledge mastery, through which they have taught their scientific peers, mentors, and mentees alike. We are so excited to see what else our participants will accomplish as they carry out their training in academia, industry, medicine, and more.
Above anything else, we are committed to making these relationships accessible for any interested student. Beyond expanding our participation, upcoming programming in collaboration with the Department of Biochemistry will offer opportunities for undergraduate students to build resumes, interact with more faculty, and learn more about what research is like in graduate school. Additionally, we aim to collaborate with the Neuroscience Undergraduate Reading Program (NURP) over the coming terms, integrating our programs and encouraging the creation of others to serve more of the School of Medicine.
