Three IMSD Fellows from Georgia State University Receive 2017 ABRCMS Travel Awards 

Atlanta, GA, USA – Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Fellows Jillian Dawson, Kimberly Diaz-Perez, and Stacey Jones will present their posters at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Phoenix, Arizona from November 1, 2017 through November 4, 2017. The ABRCMS is one of the largest gatherings of underrepresented minority researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. During the four-day conference, over 1,800 students from over 350 colleges and universities will participate in poster and oral presentations across twelve STEM disciplines. All undergraduate student presentations will be judged and those with the highest scores in each discipline will receive an award during the closing banquet.

We are pleased that three IMSD students representing each of our IMSD departments (biology, chemistry, and neuroscience) were awarded travel grants. Their posters reflect dedicated study in their fields and ample support from their research mentors. Kudos to all involved. – Dr. Kyle Frantz

Neuroscience student, Jillian Dawson will present a poster entitled: “Ventral Pallidum Activation during Reinstatement of Heroin Seeking after Adolescent- Versus Adult-Onset of Heroin Self-Administration.” Dawson has been doing research in Dr. Kyle Frantz’s lab since spring, 2016. Programs on campus which have supported Jillian include: Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (NIH-IMSD) and the Honors College University Assistantship. Biology student, Kimberly Diaz-Perez, also an Honors College will present “Identification of Genes and Brain Patterns in Quantitative Trait Loci of Chromosome 5,” based on her work with mentor, Dr. Jessica Turner. Chemistry major, Stacey Jones will present “Probing the Mechanism of Ubiquitin Chain Assembly by E2 Enzymes using Unnatural Amino Acid Incorporation.” Jones works within Dr. Jun Yin’s lab and is mentored by graduate student, Han Zhou. Jones has been supported by Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NSF-LSAMP), Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (NIH-IMSD), and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship of the Molecular Basis of Disease Program (MBD).

The Initiative for Maximizing Student Development at Georgia State University is an undergraduate research education and training program grounded in Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, and Psychology. Funded through a 5-year institutional award from the National Institutes of Health, the goal of the IMSD program is to encourage students from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in biomedical research, starting with the completion of Ph.D. degrees in related fields. The IMSD program offers an opportunity to develop new or expand existing effective academic development programs, including research assistantships, in order to prepare students for competitive research careers and leadership positions in the biomedical sciences.

For more information on the travel award recipients contact Kay Hudson, Education Program Coordinator at khudson24@gsu.edu.