David W. Niesel, PhD
Vice President and Dean
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Lawrence E. Ethridge, Jr. Professor
GSBS Dean’s Report – Faculty Senate
February 6, 2015
1. Graduate student Jesse Erasmus (HPTM) was selected as one of ten Gill Scholars to
participate in a fully-funded Ignite 2015 entrepreneurship workshop in Silicon
Valley. This conference is hosted by the Rice Alliance and US Davis, Graduate School
of Management. Gill Scholars were selected from the Texas Medical Center and
surrounding medical institutions. Ignite is an immersive, three day
entrepreneurship seminar for MBA, science, or engineering students. Students have
the chance to meet veteran entrepreneurs from multiple industries. Students also
get the chance to network with peers from different specialties and backgrounds
from many institutions across Houston.
2. Gustavo Valbuena, PhD GSBS alumnus and Associate Professor in the department of
Pathology and Director of the GSBS Masters in Medical Science Graduate
Program (GSBS 2004) was awarded $426,198 two-year grant from National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for his project entitled “Role of Reactive
Oxygen Species in Nipah Virus Pathogenesis”.
3. The GSBS has announced a Graduate School Faculty Meeting on Thursday, February
26th. The meeting will be held at Levin Hall South from 4 – 5PM. An agenda will be
forwarded to faculty ahead of the meeting. All graduate faculty are encouraged to
attend. Some items to be discussed are: education credits for the GSBS, Comp plan
update, computer encryption policies, and GSBS reorganization.
4. Applicants to GSBS programs visited UTMB on January 28th-30th. There were 29
applicants considering 8 different graduate programs. Recruits attended a dinner
with faculty and interviewed with 4 different faculty members. A reception hosted
by current students concluded the visit. Another GSBS recruitment visit will be
held Feb.18-20. Currently there are 17 invited applicants sponsored by 6 different
programs. As of February 4, 2015, the GSBS has 270 applications. This number is up
at least 40% from last year, partially due to 2 programs (MPH and PHS) moving to a
national application system.
5. Rahul Pal, a GSBS student (BMB) working in the Center for Biomedical Engineering,
joined Dr. Callender at The Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas
(TAMEST) annual conference in Houston, January 22nd and 23rd. This year’s
conference focused on cancer research, diagnostics and treatments. Researchers
and leaders of the state’s premiere research institutions attended workshops and
heard keynote speakers from UT’s MD Anderson Cancer Center, the NIH, Genentech,
CPRIT and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.