Announcement Archive 2013
Congratulations to Professor Gina Wimp, who was recently selected as one of three recipients of the 2013 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Prof. Wimp was lauded for helping to sharpen and focus the curriculum of the Environmental Biology major, with one of the students who nominated her writing that she “combines passion for the material with compassion for her students. In everything she does, you can tell she truly cares.”
Prof. Wimp received her award at this year’s annual Georgetown College Faculty Convocation, held on January 23rd.
Georgetown College Professors Honored for Excellence in Teaching
December 4, 2013
Congratulations to former Biology major and former Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Scholar Natalie M. Pica (COL ’06), who recently received the 2013 Terry Ann Krulwich Doctoral Dissertation Award from Mount Sinai School of Medicine for her research on influenza transmission and vaccination. Named in honor of former Dean Terry Ann Krulwich, the award is granted to students who have successfully defended their theses and had their work published in prestigious scientific journals. Dr. Pica’s research focused on understanding the determinants of influenza virus transmission and developing novel vaccination strategies that provide robust protection against influenza virus. Currently an MD candidate at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dr. Pica’s work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, among them the Journal of Virology and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
While an undergraduate student at Georgetown University, Natalie was also awarded a scholarship from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation for the 2005-2006 academic year.
Well done Natalie!
November 18, 2013
A multidisciplinary team of students from Georgetown competed and won first place in the First Annual DC Public Health Case Challenge, held at the National Academy of Sciences on November 15th. Seven teams from around the area competed: American University, The George Washington University, George Mason University, Howard University, The Navy, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in addition to the Georgetown team. The event was sponsored by Georgetown and the Institute of Medicine, with funding provided by the Kellogg Foundation.
Georgetown team members included Darshana Prakasam (senior, McDonough School of Business), Megan Prior (3rd year student, GU School of Medicine), Suzanna Huszagh (senior, School of Nursing and Health Studies), Claire Lang (senior, Biology of Global Health major), and Chandani Desai (junior, Biology of Global Health major).
The challenge was to come up with an intervention to address the needs of the young LGBT community in DC. The Georgetown team’s idea was to develop a curriculum for high school students to encourage bystanders to speak up and take action. College students would partner in this to help deliver the curriculum and serve as mentors for the high school students. An important component of the intervention was to include various means for outreach to high school students and beyond using social media.
The case was written by another set of Georgetown students: Sweta Batni (current PhD student, Global Infectious Diseases), Alisse Hanaford (Class of 2013, Biology of Global Health major), Blake Johnson (senior, Biology of Global Health major), and Michelle White (2nd year student, GU School of Medicine).
The Georgetown team is now planning to compete at the Emory Global Health Challenge in March 2014.
Congratulations to all!
November 15, 2013
Congratulations to graduate student Jean Tsai, who recently received second place in the Student Competition for the President’s Prize in her session at the Entomological Society of America’s (ESA) 61st Annual Meeting, held from November 10-13, 2013 in Austin, TX. Jean presented a lecture on sexual selection in Nasonia wasps and received the second place award of $50.
Well done Jean!
September 11, 2013
Congratulations to Professor Anne Rosenwald, who was recently selected as one of only 19 biologists nationwide to participate in this year’s ASM-NSF Biology Scholars Program Assessment Residency. Dr. Rosenwald states that her year-long residency will guide her in developing and refining assessment tools and measurable learning outcomes in an effort to improve undergraduate Biology education.
Professor Awarded Residency to Improve Undergrad Biology
Well done Dr. Rosenwald!
August 14, 2013
Congratulations are in order for Professor Janet Mann, who was recently appointed by Provost Robert Groves to serve as the brand new Vice-Provost for Research for Georgetown University. In a statement from Provost Groves, a new structure has been created for the Office of the Provost that includes three new faculty-based Vice-Provost positions to focus on key areas like:
- Reviewing academic programs and working with faculty on curricular innovations;
- Recruiting and retaining the very best faculty; and
- Stimulating, supporting, and incentivizing research.
In addition to Professor Mann’s new role, Professor Randy Bass (Dept. of English, Director of CNDLS, and Associate Provost) has been named Vice-Provost for Education, and Professor Adriana Kugler (GPPI, Co-director of the International Summer Institute on Policy Evaluation) has been named Vice-Provost for Faculty.
Congrautlations to all!
April 2013
The 2013 Excellence in Teaching Award was awarded to Prof. Maria Donoghue on April 11 during the 7th Annual Georgetown College Honors Ceremony. This event is a yearly tradition that recognizes the top nominated Georgetown College professors by undergraduate students through the College Academic Council. Prof. Donoghue joins Profs. Joseph Neale and Heidi Elmendorf in receiving this honor, a strong showing by the Department of Biology.
April 12, 2013
The Allan Angerio Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentorship was awarded to Professor Heidi Elmendorf during the Undergraduate Research Conference. She excels at guiding students in their research projects in her own laboratory and as a co-mentor with other faculty in the medical center. Congratulations Prof. E!
April 12, 2013
Congratulations to all the Biology students and faculty who received awards at the 2013 Georgetown University Undergraduate Research Conference, held on April 10, 2013. The event was sponsored by the Department of Human Science in the School of Nursing & Health Studies and is a combination of student investigations, faculty research, and keynote speakers, with the main goal being to highlight the research efforts of undergraduate students. The conference focuses on medical and health-related research, inviting applicants from all health- and science-related disciplines in the Washington, DC area.
The awards presented to Biology department members were as follows:
Best Oral Presentation: Wardah Athar (C’13), a neurobiology major, for, “The Role of EphA7 in Dendritic Spine Extension”
Best Poster Presentations:
First Place: Samuel Dowling (C’13), a biology of global health major, for, “The Role of Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) in Hormone-Independent Breast Cancer”
Second Place: Leighton Daigh (C’13), a biology major, for, “The Arginine-Rich Motifs are not Required for RNA Binding Activity of Hepatitis Delta Antigen”
Third Place: Marie-Sophie van der Goes (C’13), a neurobiology major, for “The Role of EphA7 in Cortical Synapse Formation”
The Allan Angerio Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentorship: Professor Heidi Elmendorf
Undergrads Showcase Diverse Research at Georgetown Conference
Well done to all!
March 12, 2013
Congratulations to Biology of Global Health senior Michael Kiritsy, who recently won the award for Outstanding Undergraduate Poster in the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Fifteenth Annual Lombardi Research Days. Michael won for his poster entitled, “The function of angiomotin in the Hippo-Yap pathway.”
Well done Michael!
February 4, 2013
On Friday, February 1, 2013, the Department of Biology held its annual Graduate Student Awards Ceremony in Regents Hall on the Main Campus. PhD candidate Ewa Krzyszczyk received the award for Oustanding Graduate Student, while Professor Peter Armbruster received the award for Outstanding Graduate Mentor in the Department of Biology.
Congratulations to both!
January 28, 2013
Congratulations to senior Environmental Biology/Government double major Eric Mooring, who was recently awarded a scholarship from the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States that will support his graduate study next year towards a master of philosophy degree in veterinary science at the University of Cambridge, England. Named after the World War II British prime minister, the Churchill Scholarship allows students to pursue graduate research programs in engineering, mathematics and biological and physical sciences for one year at the University of Cambridge. The scholarship covers tuition, living expenses and travel and is worth more than $60,000. Eric is one of only 14 winners nationwide to win this prestigious award.
Undergraduate Will Study Infectious Disease With Churchill Scholarship
Well done Eric!