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At the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences annual Student Achievement Awards ceremony, Dean Mary Ellen Lane challenged the audience to think about their role as scientists outside academia and consider their obligation to give back to their communities.
“Perhaps your greatest contribution to sustaining science will be to show people, by the way you live your life and the way you give back to your community, what a scientist is and what a PhD is for,” Dean Lane told a standing-room-only crowd on Thursday, May 31, in the Cube of the Albert Sherman Center.
“At a time when there is so much questioning and cynicism around the value of higher education,” Lane said, scientists who have earned their PhDs have honored their commitment to themselves and those who supported them.
“Remember that each and every one of you, like probably all biomedical scientists, have had your education financed by someone else. More likely than not, that gift was an investment by the public, on faith that as a result of your education, you will contribute to the expansion of public good. So I ask you to think about what obligations we have to give back,” she said.
She encouraged them to find ways to be part of their community and to use their research training and intellect to “fulfill your civic responsibility in everyday life.”
Dozens, including Chancellor Michael F. Collins and Provost Terence R. Flotte, gathered to listen as Lane gave her first address as dean and celebrate the success, accomplishments and contributions of the 26 scientists, including current students and alumni, who were recognized for academic achievement, mentoring, service and scholarship. The audience also welcomed Lane as their new dean.
Provost Flotte lauded Lane’s accomplishments at UMMS. She was chosen as the new GSBS dean in April. She previously served as an associate professor of neurobiology, associate dean for curriculum and academic affairs and senior director of administration for the GSBS. Flotte credited Lane with creating the Office of Academic Affairs within the GSBS and leading the team that created the groundbreaking new first-year curriculum in the basic biomedical sciences program.
The award recipients, including some who will earn degrees on Sunday, June 3, at UMass Medical School’s 45th Commencement, include:
Chancellor’s Award
Nomeda Girnius
The cJUN NH-2 terminal Kinase Pathway in Mammary Gland Biology and Carcinogenesis
Roger J. Davis, PhD, mentor
Outstanding Mentoring Award
Loretah Chibaya, Mentoring in a Classroom and Research Setting
Hong Zhang, PhD, mentor
Recognition of Student Community Service
Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
Aurian Garcia-Gonzalez
Marian Walhout, PhD, mentor
Daniel Hidalgo
Merav Socolovsky, MD, PhD, mentor
Raziel Rojas-Rodriguez
Silvia Corvera, MD, mentor
Acknowledgement of Travel Awards
GSBC Career Development Awards
Loretah Chibaya
Hong Zhang, PhD, mentor
Weiwei Dai
Heinrich Gottlinger, MD, PhD, mentor
Jason Yang
Samuel Behar, MD, PhD, mentor
Riccio Travel Awards
Elizabeth Allen
Eric Baehrecke, PhD, mentor
Xinyang (David) Bing
Oliver Rando, MD, PhD, mentor
Noah Cohen
C. Robert Matthews, PhD, mentor
Xin (Daniel) Gao
Erik Sontheimer, PhD, mentor
Wen-Yu Hsiao
David Guertin, PhD, mentor
Kyusik Kim
Jeremy Luban, MD, mentor
Anubhab Nandy
Neal Silverman, PhD, mentor
James Strassner
John Harris, MD, PhD, mentor
Li Weibo Scholars
Siyuan Dai
Craig Mello, PhD, mentor
Ye (Oscar) Duan
Victor R. Ambros, PhD, mentor
Xue (Shirley) Li
Elinor Karlsson, PhD, mentor
Fei Wang
Yang Xiang, PhD, mentor
Tong Wu
Thomas G. Fazzio, PhD, mentor
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Mid-thesis Research
Julia Alterman
Di-Valent siRNAs: New Chemical Scaffold for Modulation of Gene Expression in CNS
Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, mentor
Ameer Elaimy
Regulation of Breast Cancer Stem Cells by VEGF/Neuropilin Signaling
Arthur Mercurio, PhD, mentor
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Thesis Research
Mehmet Fatih Bolukbasi
Development of Chimeric Cas9 Nucleases for Accurate and Flexible Genome Editing
Scot Wolfe, PhD, mentor
Reka Agnes Haraszti, MD
Engineered Exosomes for Delivery of Therapeutic siRNAs to Neurons
Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, mentor
Recognition of the Class Speaker
Jill Moore
Zhiping Weng, PhD, mentor
