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Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Get involved with DEI efforts in CDB

Posted by on Thursday, September 9, 2021 in DEI News .

Want to join the CDB committee for diversity, equity and inclusion? CDB members of every level or position are welcome to reach out at any time. We are currently a group of over 20 faculty, postdocs, grad students, and staff. Have questions, ideas, comments? Contact vu-cdb-dei@googlegroups.com

Active DEI subcommittees and members:

  • CDB Monday Seminars – Invites underrepresented minority (URM) faculty from other institutions to give scientific talks on their work
    • Marija Zanic, Vivian Gama, Matt Tyska
  • Discovery Science Emerging Scholars (DSES) – Organizes nominations from department for URM postdocs or early career faculty
    • Kris Burkewitz, Vivian Gama, Linh Trinh, Sierra Cullati
  • Trainings – Organizes and encourages microaggression prevention & Fair Play workshops, bias awareness trainings, CDB retreat sessions, and more
    • Jonathan Irish, AJ Rastogi, Christian de Caestecker
  • Conversations on Diversity and Inclusion (CoDI) – Organizes monthly session open to anyone, for discussion of DEI-related articles and other media
    • Gabriella Robertson, Kimi LaFever Hodge, Linh Trinh, Rebecca Ihrie, Maddy Hayes
  • Hiring & Retention – Works closely with department to encourage and aid in recruiting, hiring, and promoting of URM scientists
    • Matt Tyska, Irina Kaverina, Gabriella Robertson, Christian de Caestecker, Andy Rolong
  • Communications – Updates CDB community on current DEI efforts via department website, news posts, social media posts, and emails
    • Sierra Cullati, Jonathan Irish, Alex Pfannenstein, Maggie Fye
  • International Scholars – Coordinates support of international scholars and works with other departments and Basic Sciences
    • Vivian Gama, Marija Zanic, Linh Trinh, Ela Contreras-Panta, Saptarshi Chatterjee
  • Delegates to Basic Sciences – Communicates information and strategies between CDB DEI and other departments
    • Irina Kaverina, Sierra Cullati, Linh Trinh
  • Outreach – Coordinates with The Vanderbilt Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach (CSEO), and local schools to develop outreach programs
    • Kimi LaFever Hodge, Gabriella Robertson, Jason MacGurn, Marija Zanic, Indrayani Waghmare, Julissa Burgos
  • Budget & Finance – Allocates funds for DEI efforts led by the committee
    • Irina Kaverina, Matt Tyska

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