Summer 2009 at Gerstner Sloan-Kettering
First-year students Piero Sanfilippo [front] and Oakley Olson began their stay at Gerstner Sloan-Kettering at a welcome reception for faculty and students. |
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Nineteen undergraduate students joined our community of scientists for ten weeks, working with faculty mentors who helped them to define and realize their research projects. The school welcomed our new class of PhD students, who have completed their first laboratory rotation, while our second-year students have completed their core curriculum courses and selected their thesis laboratories. Although many of the summer's activities took place in the labs, collaborations in settings where students and faculty, as well as their families and friends, could interact informally were also part of the summer's agenda.
See slide show highlighting the summer's events.
2009 Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Matthew Wieder
The Cooper Union for Advancement of Science and Art |
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I had an amazing time at Gerstner Sloan-Kettering. From the other participants in the program to all of the planned activities, the summer as a whole was one of my favorites. The sessions on interview skills and the works-in-progress sessions will help me now as well as in the future. For me, the highlights of the program were the seminar series, the actual research, and the "chalk talk." The faculty seminars were extremely interesting and engaging, especially the last two by
Mary Baylies and
Charles Sawyers. My personal favorite was Charles Sawyers' talk, as it showed the interconnection between the benchwork in the lab and the immediate effects that that work had on clinical application.
Matthew was mentored by faculty member James Fagin.
Shaps ScholarsFour summer students are named Rubin and Sarah Shaps Scholars each summer. Students are selected on the basis of their outstanding undergraduate credentials and their performance in our summer program.
Adolfo Cuesta, a junior majoring in biology at Haverford College. He was mentored by
Scott Keeney, Molecular Biology. Adolfo's summer research was sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Exceptional Research Opportunities Program.
Jenny Karo, a junior majoring biochemistry at Tufts University. She was mentored by
Harold Varmus, Cancer Biology and Genetics.
Caitlin Sengelaub, a junior majoring in chemistry at Yale University. She was mentored by
Minkui Luo, Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry.
Guangnan Tian, a junior majoring in biochemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He was mentored by
Kat Hadjantonakis, Developmental Biology.
Our Second-Year PhD Students
Our second-year students declared their thesis laboratories and have begun full-time work on their dissertation research.
Neha BhagwatRoss LevineHuman Oncology and Pathogenesis Program
John HallidayEric HollandCancer Biology and Genetics
Moriah HellerDavid SolitHuman Oncology and Pathogenesis Program
Ellen HukkelhovenAndrew KoffMolecular Biology
Isabel LamScott KeeneyMolecular Biology
Armine MatevossianLisa DenzinImmunology
Kendall OlsenJohn PetriniMolecular Biology
Berenice OrtizAndrew KoffMolecular Biology
Jessica RiosMarilyn ReshCell Biology
William WalkowiczDavid GinMolecular Pharmacology and Chemistry
Elizabeth WasmuthChristopher LimaStructural Biology
Our First-Year PhD Students
Bottom row, from left: Piero Sanfilippo, Alison Spencer, Justine Miller, Daniel Marks, Lindsay Saunders, and Cindy Puente; Top row, from left: Oakley Olson, Lei Wei, and Prashant Monian, and Minna Balbas |
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Students in the News
The School Welcomes New Faculty Members
Jan GrimmMolecular Pharmacology and Chemistry
Research Interests: Developing novel imaging approaches for improved detection and monitoring of disease.
Cole Haynes
Cell Biology
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms that protect mitochondria function, molecular chaperones, and proteases.
Christine Mayr
Cancer Biology and Genetics
Research Interests: Role of the 3'UTR for gene regulation.
Congratulations to Faculty
Congratulations to
Charles Sawyers, who has been named a recipient of the 2009 Lasker~DeBakey Award for Clinical Medical Research; to
Eric Holland and
Alexandra Joyner, who have been elected members of the Institute of Medicine; and to
Dinshaw Patel, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Looking Forward to the Class of 2010
Harold Varmus welcomes undergraduate students and student advisors. |
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On October 9, the school hosted undergraduate students and student advisors for a day of getting to know Gerstner Sloan-Kettering. The program began with a welcome from Memorial Sloan-Kettering President Harold Varmus and Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Dean Ken Marians. The guests were joined by faculty and students for lunch, which was followed by a symposium, tours of core research facilities and laboratories, and a poster presentation featuring the work of Gerstner Sloan-Kettering students.
