december 2010 - gso newsletter
DESCRIPTION
Volume 2, Issue 2TRANSCRIPT
The GSO NewsVolume 2, Issue 2, December 2010
www.mcg.edu/gradstudies/students.htmMedical College of Georgia Graduate Student Organization
The GSO News 1
Inside this Issue
GHSU: MCG’s Name Change
Bundles of Books
SGS and GSO Launch
Career Seminar Series
Student: Ahmed El-Awady
Student: Christina Wilson
MCG Student Leadership
Institute
Alumni: Kris Dhandapani
Feature Article: Racing to
Save Lives
Happenings
1
1
2
3
3
4
5
6
8
September 15th, 2010 marked a major
turning point for the Medical College of
Georgia as the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia approved
a request from MCG to change its name
to Georgia Health Sciences University
(GHSU). The rationale behind this
name change is based on how the mis-
sion of MCG has broadened consider-
ably since its founding as a medical
college in 1828.
As President Azziz has stated, “our
‘College’ is actually a ‘University’ with
a focus not just in medicine but rather
‘Health Sciences’.” By continuing to
refer to the institution at which we are
enrolled as a ‘College’, Dr. Azziz feels
this to be a “disservice in not highlight-
ing the broad scope of our mission and
ultimately affects the ability of MCG to
be recognized for what it truly is.” Dr.
Azziz has also stated that GHSU better
defines MCG as what it is-“a compre-
hensive health sciences university and
a modern academic health center.”
Furthermore, Dr. Azziz strongly feels
that the name change will allow for the
university to achieve the national recog-
nition that is deserved with
respect to competitive world rankings
and reputation. Dr. Azziz points out
that most similar institutions across the
country have, at some point, changed
their name to better reflect their true
stature as health science universities,
and MCG is no exception.
The question that begs to be answered
by many of us students is ‘Why change
the name now?’ In communications
that have been sent out to the entire
MCG community we have been made
aware that informal discussions of
MCG’s name change have been ongoing
for the last decade. MCG has consulted
numerous research firms since 2007 to
examine both local and nationwide per-
ceptions of MCG. What was ultimately
found was that while the local public
had strong positive opinions of MCG,
they did not consider MCG as a ‘univer-
sity’. Likewise, more than 80% of those
surveyed ‘strongly agreed’ that MCG
as a name was associated only with
the medical school. Further surveys of
alumni and internal audiences showed
a strong tie to the ‘Medical College of
Georgia’ name and thus the resulting re-
quest was made to the board of regents:
GHSU: As a graduate student what does MCG’s name change mean to YOU
Donations help provide books to needy childrenColleen Carey
Bundles of Books is a non-profit orga-
nization whose mission is to improve
the reading skills of underprivileged
children through creating a joy of read-
ing. The principle of this organization
has been to provide books for children
at Christmas, as an alternative to toys.
…to “Bundles of Books”, pg. 2
Colleen Carey
…to “Name Change”, pg. 4
The GSO News 2
This organization, founded by Mr.
Chuck LaMarsh in 1996 serves chil-
dren in both the Augusta, GA area and
through Mr. Lamarsh’s son, the Boston,
MA area. Last year, approximately 150
children in the Augusta area were served
through generous donations from area
businesses and individuals who believed
in the concept. This year, Bundles of
Books is hoping to double this number.
Dr. Carol Campbell, a professor here
at MCG, and Dr. Kevin Frazier, Vice
President of Student Services at MCG,
became interested in helping the
Bundles of Books organization and
recruited a few students to help her in
this endeavor. To them, they saw this
as an opportunity not only to help out
the community, but for individuals in
the academic and medical professions to
reflect upon the influence that reading
has had in getting them to where they
are today.
Over a 1 week period, collection booths
were set up in the library and student
center during lunch period-and manned
by students from all schools-, donations
ranging from spare pocket change to
more generous amounts allowed for the
total amount raised on campus to be
$258.69. This total collected will allow
for Bundles of Books to purchase ‘book
bundles’ for 18 children with some
spare change left over. Although this is
the 1st year of MCG’s participation, the
positive outcome has provided for the
possibility to be involved again in the
future and hopefully double, if not fur-
ther increase, what we as a community
can provide to this organization.
*Special thanks to Medical Illustration
students Julie Coats and Megan
Gullotto who provided the artwork
which was used for on campus promo-
tion purposes. O
SGS and GSO Launch Career Seminar SeriesColleen Carey
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS)
along with the Graduate Student Orga-
nization (GSO) has recently launched a
new seminar series to provide informa-
tion on career opportunities, paths and
choices to graduate level students. The
first installment of this series, “What to
look for when searching for a post doc-
toral fellowship; a perspective from St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital”, was
presented by Dr. Linda Harris, Associ-
ate Director of Academic Programs for
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
on November 3rd.
The turnout of students for this seminar
proved to be mostly BIOMED PhD’s,
those most likely to pursue a post doc-
toral position, however attendees ranged
from 1st years up to those students
getting ready to defend. The session pro-
vided by Dr. Harris contained informa-
tion that was applicable to all students
in attendance. The goal that Dr. Harris
has in visiting schools to do special
seminars as these is that of post doctoral
recruitment and making sure that not
only are graduate students aware of the
opportunities available at St. Jude, but
also to help students to prepare to begin
a post doctoral position search wherever
they may be interested.
Dr. Harris’ presentation began with
an overview of the facility and area
surrounding St. Jude, which is located
in Memphis, and then segued into a
more general set of steps to take when
searching for a post doctoral fellowship.
These steps are outlined briefly here:
1) Choose an institution that is a place
where you would want to work, i.e.
ability for translational research to be
directly applied, array of research areas,
2) Choose a mentor carefully, someone
who not only are you compatible with
but that also has your bet interests
at heart, 3) Choose a project that is
interesting to you but that also allows
for you to continue to learn new skills
and techniques, 4) Choose an institu-
tion with laboratory and core facilities
that may benefit your research, 5) Select
a position while keeping in mind the
scientific infrastructure. Be aware of the
interactions occurring around you, spe-
cifically the abundance of collaborations
and continuing education opportunities
such as seminar series, 6) determine
if the position you are applying for is
institutionally supported. That is, are
there facilities dedicated to post doc-
toral fellow affairs? Are good benefits
provided to post doctoral fellows? And
finally, 7) choose a position in a location
that meets the desires that are impor-
tant to you.
Now that you know how to seek out a
post doctoral position that is best for
you, when should you begin looking for
one? Dr. Harris suggests beginning to
seek out positions of interest in your last
year of thesis work. Interviews should
be conducted about 6 months before
your defense. With regards to St. Jude,
Dr. Harris shared that each year there
are about 60-80 post doctoral fellowship
openings, so opportunities are available.
Furthermore, for those who
…to “Seminar Series”, pg. 7
...from “Bundles of Books”, pg. 1
The GSO News 3
CURRENT STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Ahmed El-AwadyNamita Hattangady
Ahmed El-Awady is a first year student
of the Biomedical Sciences, Ph.D.
program in Dr. B. Baban’s laboratory
in the Department of Oral Biology.
Ahmed’s research focuses on the peri-
odontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLFs)
and their potential role in chronic peri-
odontitis, specifically with regards to the
progression of the “inflammatory front”
into the deeper tissues. His studies also
focus on the cross-talk between PDLFs,
in both healthy and diseased states, and
immune T cells to elucidate what con-
stitutes protective and destructive host
response in periodontitis.
Ahmed is originally from Cairo, Egypt,
where he practiced as a periodontist
before joining MCG’s PhD program.
His experience in periodontics and
research made him realize the signifi-
cance of translating the clinical needs
into research projects. He believes that
the graduate program at MCG will allow
him the time to fully commitment to
gaining the necessary scientific knowl-
edge and experience that he aspires to
achieve.
Ahmed already has two first author
publications in the Journal of Periodon-
tology and Tissue Engineering Part C:
Methods. Outside of school, Ahmed is a
family man and enjoys spending his free
hours with his wife and son. He also en-
joys reading, participating in sports and
travel whenever he gets the opportunity.
In the future, Ahmed wishes to estab-
lish a career in academics and hopes to
apply his research experience in clinical
periodontics while also contributing
towards advancement in education in
periodontics. The GSO wishes Ahmed
all the best for his future endeavors!
phot
ogra
phy
by A
hmed
El-A
wad
y
Christina WilsonNamita Hattangady
Christina Wilson is a student of
Biomedical Sciences, Ph.D. in the
program of Neuroscience. She is a fifth
year graduate student and a part of the
research laboratory of Dr Alvin Terry
Jr. in the Department of Pharmacology
and Toxicology. The objective of Chris-
tina’s research is to evaluate a variable
prenatal stress model as a valid drug
discovery platform for schizophrenia.
Christina chose to join the Terry Lab
because of her keen interest in neuro-
psychiatric illnesses and the treatment
of associated cognitive deficits.
Christina is native to Augusta and chose
MCG based upon the wide ranging
areas of research as well as having an
impressive graduate program. While at
MCG, she has had two first author pub-
lications and shares authorship on sev-
eral additional manuscripts. Christina
has been the recipient of many awards
while at MCG including: Award for
Excellence in Research at the Graduate
Research Day 2010, the Pharmacology
and Toxicology Graduate Symposium
Award and a travel award.
Besides her academic achievements,
Christina has been actively participating
in several student body groups and has
held the posts of Vice President of the
Graduate Student Organization 2008-
09, Student Government Association
representative 2009-10, and Graduate
Council Student Representative. She
has also been a part of the Society of
Neuroscience, and has participated in
various community service and local
fund raising programs.
Christina’s advice to fellow students is as
follows, “Graduate school life is full of
ups and downs. Just hang in there- the
rewards are worth it.” The GSO wishes
Christina the best in all her future
endeavors! O
O
phot
ogra
phy
by D
avie
s Agy
ekum
The GSO News 4
‘The Medical College of Georgia School
of Medicine’ will be renamed as simply
‘The Medical College of Georgia’ and
the remaining ‘Schools’ will be renamed
as such: ‘College of Allied Health Sci-
ences’, ‘College of Dental Medicine’,
‘College of Graduate Studies’, and ‘Col-
lege of Nursing’.
Now that the new naming has been
approved and will be implemented
on February 1, 2011, there are many
changes that students should be aware
of, specifically the following:
1) Your MCG email address. Although
your current mcg.edu email address will
continue to work for a few months after
the effective date of the name change,
all students will be transitioned to new
ghsu.edu email addresses. Assistance
will be available for notifying all of your
contacts of the new email address. For
any questions on this matter please do
not hesitate to contact Information
Technology & Services.
What to do until the switch?
What has been suggested to make your
contacts, collaborators, etc. aware of the
upcoming name change are the use of
new GHSU Marks and Signatures that
have been made available. These are
available for download at http://www.
mcg.edu/identity/ghsu/ and questions
about using or obtaining these graphics
should be directed to ghsutaskforce@
mcg.edu
2) Your diploma. From February 1
onward, graduates will be presented
with a newly designed diploma bearing
the Georgia Health Sciences University
name; however graduates of the classes
of 2011-15 will be offered the option
Graduate students chosen to partici-pate in the inaugural class of MCG’s Student Leadership InstituteColleen Carey
What is it that defines a leader?
Ask any one of the graduate students
selected to participate in MCG’s Stu-
dent Leadership Institute (SLI) and it’s
likely that each will give you a different
answer. Although Webster’s diction-
ary defines a leader as one who “goes
before to guide or show the way; directs
some action, opinion or movement;
has the authority to precede and direct;
is followed by others in conduct”, etc.
what is perhaps the main thing that
these students have taken away from
this course is that there are many myths
about leaders/leadership which can
alter the definition of a leader that each
individual has.
The course was divided into six 1.5 hour
sessions consisting of lectures on general
leadership concepts followed by presen-
tations from various leaders on MCG’s
campus. Topics of the sessions included
‘Social and Cultural Issues in Health-
care’, ‘Leadership in Academic Health
Sciences Centers’, ‘Legal Issues and Pub-
lic Relations’, and ‘Professionalism and
Social Responsibilities’. Additionally, all
students were separated into ‘leadership
work teams’ to conceive, plan and pres-
ent a project that enhances the campus
or local community. These projects were
then presented in the final session and
scored by a panel of judges. All propos-
als were then shared with the Provost’s
staff and other campus leaders, with the
top scoring projects being given consid-
eration for start-up funding.
The Student Leadership Institute was
developed and directed by Dr. Kevin
Frazier, Vice President for Student Ser-
vices and Development, with the goal of
“equipping student leaders with
…to “Leadership”, pg. 7
phot
ogra
phy
by D
r. Pa
tric
ia C
amer
on
School of Graduate Studies participants in the 2010 Student Leadership Institute along with Dr. Patricia Cameron
...from “Name Change”, pg. 1
…to “Name Change”, pg. 9
The GSO News 5
2nd Annual Graduate Student
Organization Fall Camping Trip
Hamilton Branch State ParkSeptember 10-12, 2010
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTKris DhandapaniColleen Carey
Kris Dhandapani, aside from being an
MCG Alumni, is a core faculty member
in the Department of Neurosurgery.
Dr. Dhandapani grew up in Vernon,
CT (a suburb of Hartford). He obtained
his B.S. and M.S. from the University
of Connecticut with a concentration
in Physiology and Neurobiology. Dr.
Dhandapani then earned his Ph D.
from MCG, in Molecular Medicine
under Dr. Darrell Brann. Upon comple-
tion of his Ph D. in 2003, Dr. Dhan-
dapani remained at MCG in a postdoc-
toral research associate position in the
Institute of Molecular Medicine and
Genetics for a year before continuing to
a postdoctoral research fellow position
with the Department of Neuroscience
at the University of Connecticut Health
Center. In 2005, Dr. Dhandapani ac-
cepted a position as Assistant Professor
in the Department of Neurosurgery
here at the Medical College of Geor-
gia. In 2010 he was awarded Associate
Professor.
The research in his lab is based in
translational neuroscience with two
major goals: (1) to elucidate the cellular
mechanisms underlying neurovascular
injury following hemorrhagic stroke
and traumatic brain injury and (2) to
develop novel therapeutic agents which
may translate into clinical practice.
Particularly, the lab is exploring novel
therapeutic approaches to limit the size
of blood clots in the brain following
intracerebral hemorrhage with an ulti-
mate goal of establishing a clinical trial
based on this research within the next
several years.
When asked about his most rewarding
experience at MCG, Dr. Dhandapani
stated “Teaching and training students
is something I value, so watching my stu-
dents develop in to productive scientists
is very rewarding. I was very fortunate to
have outstanding mentors in my own
Collage by Colleen Carey
…to “Dhandapani”, pg. 9
The GSO News 6
Racing to Save LivesSamuel Herberg
On September 26, Jason Covar (Tech-
nician in Dr. Atherton’s lab) and I
participated in the second edition of the
ESI Ironman 70.3 Augusta as mem-
bers of The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society’s Team In Training program
(http://www.teamintraining.org/). More
than 3,100 professional and age group
athletes swam for 1.2 miles in the Savan-
nah River, biked for 56 miles in both
Georgia and South Carolina, and finally
ran for 13.1 miles right in the heart of
our city. But for Jason and I it wasn’t
only about racing. Together with all our
Team In Training Georgia teammates
including Mayor Copenhaver, we raised
over $350,000 for the Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society and thus made a
huge contribution to help saving lives -
one mile at a time.
Since its inception in 1988, The Leu-
kemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In
Training program has prepared more
than 390,000 people (approximately
40,000 participants annually) to achieve
their dream of completing a challenging
endurance event, e.g., marathon, half
marathon, triathlon, century bicycle
ride or hike adventure.
And, in that time, participants have
raised over $950 million to support
blood cancer research and patient ser-
vices. The enormous success of this pro-
gram has helped make possible advances
in blood cancer therapies and
…to “Racing”, pg. 7
Graduate Students ‘Scare up’ some funHalloween 2010
phot
ogra
phy
by S
amue
l Her
berg
Collage by Colleen Carey
The GSO News 7
...from “Leadership”, pg. 4
the proper leadership tools to help them
be more effective in their various roles”.
Dr. Frazier also saw this institute as “an
opportunity for students to learn from
each other and with with/help one
another” and he stated that if anything
that was taught in this course that
helped the students to do this better in
any way than this institute has proven
its worth.
When asking some of the graduate
students chosen for this institute how
this course has made them a better
leader, Medical Illustration student Paul
Kim states “It [the course] has helped
to keep me accountable by reminding
me a leader needs to lead by example.”
Nursing PhD student Sandra Inglett
states that “one of the most valuable
experiences for me has been ‘time
management’. This class is in addition
to all my other responsibilities (i.e.
classwork, GRA work, and family) leav-
ing very little extra time to devote to the
interview, project and reflective paper.
So being forced to manage every minute
to accomplish all the tasks has been my
most valuable experience. I realize that
this is not at the top of the list for being
a leader but it is something that every
successful leader must be able to do and
do well!”
In summary, this first installment of the
Student Leadership Institute served the
purpose of not only bringing together
student leaders from each of the differ-
ent schools on campus, but also to
provide insight into some of the charac-
teristics that have made these individu-
als into the leaders that they have be-
come. From those that have participated
in this institute it is hoped that the pro-
gram is continued and allowed to grow
and develop in an attempt to reinforce
the common goals that each student
leader at this university has. Congratula-
tions to the Fall 2010 participants!
Fall 2010 Student Leadership Participants
and Program Affiliation
Davies Agyekum, Biomedical Sciences PhD
Colleen Carey, Biomedical Sciences PhD
Tehrae Heflin, CNL 2010
Samuel Herberg, Biomedical Sciences PhD
Patrick Hosey, CNL 2010
Sandra Inglett, Nursing PhD
Paul Kim, Medical Illustration
Caroline McKinnon, Nursing PhD
Paramita Pati, Biomedical Sciences PhD
Katie Spitler, Biomedical Sciences PhD
Scott Webster, Biomedical Sciences PhD
...from “Racing”, pg. 6
treatments that have prolonged and
enhanced the lives of hundreds of thou-
sands of patients.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
is the world’s largest voluntary health
agency dedicated to blood cancer with
an important mission: Finding a cure
for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s
disease and myeloma, and improve the
quality of life of patients and their fami-
lies. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer
research around the world and provides
free information and support services.
...from “Seminar Series”, pg. 2
may be interested in pursuing further
research at St. Jude, Dr. Harris did share
information about the ‘National Gradu-
ate Student Symposium’ that is offered
for students who are within 1 year from
defending. Each year approximately 40
students nationwide are selected to
participate in this symposium.
O
phot
ogra
phy
by S
amue
l Her
berg
O
Dr. Harris is available for contact should
anyone who was unable to attend the
seminar be interested in learning more
about the positions available at St. Jude,
or opportunities for the National Grad-
uate Student Symposium. Her email is
[email protected]. Additionally,
if you are looking to get a perspective of
what being a post doctoral fellow at St.
Jude is like, MCG alum Aisha Walker
can also be contacted at aisha.walker@
stjude.org. O
The GSO News 8
HAPPENINGS
Moataz Elkasrawy, would like to share
with the GSO News community that he
recently was awarded the ‘ASBMR 2010
President’s Poster Competition Award’
at the annual meeting of The American
Society for Bone and Mineral Research
held in Toronto, Canada.
Georgia Life SciencesSummit 2010The Georgia Life Sciences Summit for
2010, considered to be the preeminent
gathering of scientists and industry deci-
sion makers for Georgia’s life sciences
community was held at AmericasMart
in Atlanta Georgia on October 28.
This summit serves yearly as ‘an ideal
medium to foster relationships for fu-
ture scientific and business growth and
opportunity’. The 2010 theme was that
of “Innovation for a Healthier World:
Meeting the Challenge” in recognition
of the evolving trends surrounding the
challenges that face the life sciences
today.
MCG’s representation at the summit
varied from President Azziz serving as
a plenary speaker to presentations by
numerous faculty and students. Gradu-
ate students participated in the poster
session which was open to all represen-
tatives from Georgia-based academia,
research institutes and industry. The
Graduate Student News would like to
acknowledge the following participants
in the 2010 Summit for their prestigious
representation of the graduate programs
here at MCG: Sara Akeel, Elena Asta-
pova, Lakiea Bailey, Moataz Elkasrawy,
Jenna Gallops, Samuel Herberg, Xiaolin
Hu, Jae Kim, Folami Lamoke, Laurie
Landrum, Lingquian Li, Chintan Patel,
Mutsa Seremwe, Jutamas Suwanpradid,
Jinling Yang and Mary Zimmerman.
Overall 130 posters were presented at
the Summit and 3 out of the 5 total
awards were won by MCG people.
Congrats to graduate student Moataz
Elkasrawy for being awarded the ‘2010
Anthony Shuker Scientific Poster
Award’.
Southern Translational Edu-cation and Research Confer-ence (STaR)Date: September 10-11, 2010
To improve human health, scientific
discoveries must be translated into
practical applications. Such discoveries
typically begin at “the bench” with basic
research — in which scientists study
disease at a molecular or cellular level —
then progress to the clinical level, or the
patient’s “bedside.”
Scientists are increasingly aware that
this bench-to-bedside approach to
translational research is really a two-way
street. Basic scientists provide clinicians
with new tools for use in patients and
for assessment of their impact, and
clinical researchers make novel observa-
tions about the nature and progression
of disease that often stimulate basic
investigations.
Translational research has proven to be
a powerful process that drives the clini-
cal research engine. However, a stronger
research infrastructure could strengthen
and accelerate this critical part of the
clinical research enterprise. The NIH
Roadmap attempts to catalyze transla-
tional research in various ways.
The overall goal of this conference was
to improve translational education and
research in the southeast through aca-
demic and institutional collaboration.
This year, the conference was held here
in Augusta at the Augusta Mariott and
Hotel Suites and was cosponsored by the
Medical College of Georgia as well as the
phot
ogra
phy
by M
oata
z E
lkas
awry
Group of students enjoying dinner at the 2010 Georgia Life Sciences Summit in Atlanta, GA
…to “STaR”, pg. 9
The GSO News 9
What’s the difference you ask?
The Medical College of Georgia diplo-
ma is printed in Latin on 18x22 cream
stock and the new Georgia Health Sci-
ences University diploma will be printed
in English on 18X22 stock of a slightly
lighter color.
Regardless of whether your diploma
reads “Medical College of Georgia” or
“Georgia Health Sciences University”,
Dr. Azziz reassures us that this docu-
ment will be a “tremendous source of
pride throughout [our] lives”.
Should anyone have further questions
regarding the name change please visit
http://name.mcg.edu O
career and I now feel lucky to have the
opportunity to share my knowledge and
experiences with the next generation of
scientists. I also take great pride in the
achievements and accomplishments of
my students and fellows. My students
have won a number of regional, nation-
al, and international awards, published
numerous high impact manuscripts,
and obtained their own extramural
grants from several funding sources. “
While at MCG as a student, Dr. Dhan-
dapani considered himself a “lab rat”
and therefore was not actively involved
in any student organizations. Currently,
however, Dr. Dhandapani serves as the
Presided of the MCG School of Gradu-
ate Studies Alumni Association and also
serves on the Neuroscience Executive
Committee. Outside of MCG Dr. Dhan-
dapani enjoys spending time with his
wife and 3 children and rooting on the
variety of team sports that he is a fan of.
Dr. Dhandapani’s advice for current
students is that “Each student should
find something they are passionate
about, set the bar high, and work hard
toward this goal everyday.” With regards
to specific skills for success, he states “…
time management is probably the most
important skill that leads to successful
careers as a scientist. We all get “down
time” throughout the day; however,
this time is not always utilized wisely.
Use this time to read current journals,
follow you own field, write manuscripts,
prepare for the next experiments, etc.”
Other advice that Dr. Dhandapani of-
fers includes the concept that one can
never read enough literature, and the
ability to preserve and take construc-
tive criticism. His last bit of advice is to
“Work hard, Read Read Read the litera-
ture, and publish often.” Dr. Dhanda-
pani also would like students to know
that he can be contacted at anytime
via email or phone for further advice
or other questions they may have. The
GSO thanks Dr. Dhandapani for taking
time to share with us his story! O
University of Georgia.
The conference included state-of-the-
art topics in clinical and translational
science as well as opportunities for
attendees to showcase their research
and network to develop regional col-
laborators. Research and educational
opportunities through regional Clinical
& Translational Science Award (CTSA)
Institutions were provided. Excellence
in clinical and translational science was
specifcally recognized during the meet-
ing through STAR Graduate Student,
Post-Doctoral Fellow and Young Investi-
gator Awards.
Medical College of Georgia Students in
attendance along with their Principal
Investigator are listed below. Congratu-
lations to all for your participation!
Hye Hun Choi- Dr. Webb
R. David Fessler- Dr. Dhandapani
Cody Freeman- Dr. Cashikar
Kristy Howell- Dr. Pillai
Ahmed Ibrahim- Dr. Liou
M.D. King- Dr. Dhandapani
Hicham Labazi- Dr. Webb
Melissa Laird- Dr. Dhandapani
Deepesh Pandey- Dr. Fulton
Chintan Patel- Dr. Caldwell
Chaitanya Patwardhan- Dr. Chadli
Roshini Prakash- Dr. Ergul
Jin Qian- Dr. Fulton
Frank Spradley- Dr. Jennifer Pollock
J. Suwanpradid- Dr. Ruth Caldwell
Rui Wang- Dr. Browning
Brandi Wynne- Dr. Webb O
...from “STaR”, pg. 8
...from “Name Change”, pg. 4
...from “Dhandapani”, pg. 5
The GSO News 10
Contact Information
Websitehttp://www.mcg.edu/gradstudies/students.htm
Facebook GroupStudents of MCG GSO
Newsletter Staff
Chief EditorColleen Carey
EditorsNamita Hattangady Samuel Herberg
Paramita Pati
Layout DesignJoshua Bird
AddressGraduate Student Organization
School of Graduate Studies
Medical College of Georgia
1120 15th St. CJ 2201
Augusta, GA 30912-1500
Happy Holidays
The Graduate Student Organization wishes you and your
families a very happy and safe Holiday season
See you in 2011!