Staff shoutout: Special Graduate Student Association edition

Back to Vestigo, Issue 5

By Caroline Cencer

GSAs allow graduate students to fill leadership roles, making them a pivotal part of building their departments’ legacy on behalf of all graduate students. Each department GSA is unique, with its own mission statement and events designed to promote an environment that helps trainees thrive.

Graduate students are not staff members, but the leaders of the GSAs put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to improve their departments’ academic and social interactions and increase their sense of community. Get to know current and past GSA leaders and learn about their initiatives and legacies in this issue’s special edition staff shoutout.

BIOCHEMISTRY

The Biochemistry Postdoctoral Researcher and Student Association, led last year by Co-Presidents Kate Clowes and Jessica Collins, strives to uphold a creative, supportive, and inclusive environment with a focus on student mental and physical wellness. As such, the BPSA established a wellness committee last year and began a mentoring program that paired senior graduate students with new trainees to help them build connections within their new department while holding several wellness-focused events. The BPSA also puts on “Social Issues in STEM” discussions in which they explore films or literature, such as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and talk about how the presented issues have affected scientific research and how they can do better in the future.

Collins said that these discussions have “spurred extensive conversations on sensitive issues that are often overlooked” and that she’s appreciative that the department acknowledges these systemic issues in the basic sciences. As a whole, said David Cortez, the chair of the Department of Biochemistry, “The BPSA makes the department a better place to learn and discover.”

Ronan Bracken and Vincent Yao lead the organization this academic year, with Juan Carvajal García serving as its postdoc liaison. An additional group of 17 departmental members lead various aspects of BPSA function, including managing a biweekly student/postdoc colloquium, helping second-year students with qualifying exams, and organizing social activities.

PHARMACOLOGY

The Pharmacology GSA, led this year by President Jared Phillips, works to bring understanding and appreciation of the pharmacological sciences to campus and the surrounding community by putting on multiple events. In the past, the PhGSA has moderated academic events, such as seminars and career workshops, to highlight the latest trends in pharmacology. They also organize social activities, such as their annual retreat, which also welcomes Meharry Medical College faculty and students, to facilitate connections among all members of the pharmacology department and beyond.

One of the PhGSA’s most important events is the Pharmacology Student-Invited Forum, which is held each spring and hosts experts studying a niche topic of interest. The 2023 theme was “Pharmacology in the Wild” and featured experts focused on natural product discoveries in marine environments and researchers from the Vanderbilt community as they delved into advances in pharmacology through a focus on natural products.

Pharmacology Director of Graduate Studies Christine Konradi praised the students’ recent efforts on the PhGSA and the department’s DEI Committee. Konradi also emphasized that, due to COVID-19, “the PhGSA students in the last few years faced a very different structure than previous PhGSA leaders. We are still trying to find a new level of normalcy.”

This year’s PhGSA leadership also includes Emma Webb, KJ Li, Jade Miller, José Zepeda, Christopher Hansen, Montana Young, and Tony Ferranti.

CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

The CDB GSA, led by President Maggie Fye, Vice President Stephanie Medina, and President Emerita Megan Stanchfield, values student interaction and scientific discussion while promoting an inclusive community. To uphold these goals, a new officer position, Community Development Chair, was created in the last couple of years and was filled by former CDB President James White. Additionally, the CDB GSA leadership comprises a small events committee and a liaison with the Graduate School.

Events for graduate students and post-docs over the past year included monthly lunches as well as coffee and pastry writ-ing hours. These events provided a space for trainees to discuss their research in a relaxed setting while building interdepart-mental connections. The CDB GSA also hosts student-invited speakers to enhance their academic training.

MOLECULAR PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS

The MPB GSA, led by Co-Presidents Julia Pinette and Julie Burkett, aims to create a supportive community for MPB students, to increase communication between department members, and to foster a productive environment for discovery. A couple of years ago, the department established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Committee that is made up of graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. The MPB GSA also recently chronicled the history of Black excellence in physiology. Originally organized by MPB alumna Slavina Goleva, PhD’21, this initiative unveiled a poster in 2021 to commemorate Juneteenth and showcased a timeline of Black researchers who have contributed to the field of physiology. The poster is still on display in Light Hall, and, according to Sweet, “It really kickstarted a dialogue between the members of the MPB community about the importance of DEI.”

Additionally, with in-person gatherings becoming more frequent, the MPB GSA officers are excited to bring back past events, such as the annual Halloween party and costume contest, as well as create new events, such as happy hours and a holiday cookie exchange.

The rest of the MPB GSA leadership is made up of Serena Sweet, Darian Carroll, Hannah Waterman, Erykah Coe, Emily Hawes, and Payam Fathi.