BMS Trainee Association
Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Trainee Association
The goal of the BMS Trainee Association is to provide a framework for postdoctoral and graduate students of faculty in the Biomedical Sciences (BMS), Family Medicine and Behavioral Health (FMBH), and the College of Pharmacy at the Medical School, Duluth Campus, to create learning opportunities to enhance the career development of trainees, and to promote an inclusive and welcoming community for all trainees.
The Association offers trainees bi-weekly opportunities to meet over lunch to network with world-class speakers from the scientific community, as well as with other graduates and professionals, and gather in a space dedicated to empowering them to engage with peers and pursue career development prospects.
The BMS Trainee Association was launched Fall semester 2022 and is funded by the Biomedical Sciences Department and the Pharmacy Department. Austin Petersen is the current Chair of the Association, and is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Zimmer Laboratory and a graduate student in the Integrated Biosciences Program.
The Trainees are expected to comply with the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Graduate Student Spaces Code of Conduct for shared spaces. Read full guidelines here.
Expectations of the BMS Trainee Association
- Organize and select a leader each year with the goal of monthly meetings or activities consistent with the goals of the association
- Manage a budget to pay for association activities
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Generate a short report on activities and expenditures by June 15, 2023, to the BMS Department Head
Former Chairs of the BMS TA
Jennifer Krznarich 2023-2024
Hina Durrani 2022-2023
Upcoming Event:
Wednesday, December 11, 12:15-1:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Thomas Bastian, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UMN Medical School, Twin Cities campus
2024/2025 Schedule
FALL 2024
Friday, September 6, 11 am - 1 pm
Location: BMS 3rd floor and SMED 142, School of Medicine
Meeting topic: BMS Trainee Association Welcome Event
Join us to visit the newly established BMS Trainee Lounge in SMED 279. Dr. Detlef Heck, BMS Head of Department, will attend the meeting to review last year's pluses and minuses and discuss the association's expectations for the upcoming year.
Event Program
11-11:30 Introduction to the BTA
11:30-12:00 Pizza Luce & Social Time (Games)
12:00-12:30 Introduction to Faculty
12:30-1:00 Raffle Drawing & Social Time (Games)
Wednesday, September 10, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Sabrina Scroggins to discuss her career as a researcher in academia.
Friday, September 20, Noon to 1 pm
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Wayne Gatlin, industry speaker.
Wednesday, September 25, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with the AHC Research Seminar speaker-Kelly Lane, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology Teaching and Learning, UMN. Dr. Lane's talk, entitled "Genetic Essentialism in Undergraduate Biology; Narratives About Race and Gender" will discuss teaching undergraduate biology in the context of complex topics such as race and gender. This lunch is a great opportunity to meet Dr. Lane, and hear about her career path in science.
Tuesday, October 1, Noon - 1 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with the Boman Symposium speaker, Angela Panoskaltsis-Motari, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics UMN Medical School. Dr. Panoskaltsis-Motari's research involves tissue engineering, regenerating 3-D tissues in-vitro, using decellularized whole organ scaffolds with bioreactors, and 3-D bioprinting. This lunch is a great opportunity to meet Dr. Panoskaltsis-Motari and hear about her career path in science.
Wednesday, October 16, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Betty Exintaris, PhD (Associate Dean Learning and Teaching) & Nilushi Karunaratne, PhD, (Senior Lecturer); Visiting Scholars from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash
University, Australia. Drs. Exintaris and Karunaratne are offering a seminar presentation titled, "From Lab to Classroom: Bringing Insights from Basic Electrophysiology to Health"
Wednesday, October 23, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: Lunch meeting with AHC Research Seminar speaker, Jenny Sones, PhD, DVM, Associate Professor of Equine Reproduction, Colorado State University. Dr. Sones' research experience integrates veterinary science, the gut microbiome, and preeclampsia. Meet and greet Dr. Sones over lunch to discuss any questions you may have pertaining to her career path or research/professional expertise!
Wednesday, November 20, 11:00 - Noon
Location: SMED 134
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Stuart McAfee, AHC Research Seminar speaker, Faculty Scientist, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Dr. McAfee's research experience expands many neuroscience and medical school education horizons. Join Dr. McAfee over lunch to discuss questions pertaining to his career path or research/professional expertise!
Wednesday, December 11, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Thomas Bastian.
SPRING 2025
Wednesday, January 8, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Sharyl Samargia-Grivette.
Wednesday, January 22, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Roger Ramirez Barrios.
Wednesday, February 5, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Mustafa al-Absi.
Wednesday, February 19, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Allie Zachwieja.
Wednesday, March 5, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Lisa Savage.
Wednesday, March 19, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Steven Graves.
Wednesday, April 2, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Tara LeGates.
Wednesday, April 16, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Alana Watt.
Wednesday, April 30, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Monica Fabiani.
Wednesday, May 14, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: TBD
Wednesday, May 28, 1:15 - 2:15 pm
Location: SMED 142
Meeting topic: lunch meeting with Dr. Doug Bremner.
2023/2024 Schedule
FALL 2023
Friday, August 25th, Noon - 1pm
Location: SMED 279, School of Medicine
Meeting topic: Kickstarter Trainee Association Meeting for academic year 2023-24
Join us to visit the newly established BMS Trainee Lounge in SMED 279. Dr. Detlef Heck, BMS Head of Department, will attend the meeting to review last year's pluses and minuses and discuss the association's expectations for the upcoming year.
September 13, Noon - 1 pm
Guest: Harald Junge, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Neuroscience, UMN Medical School, Twin Cities campus
Location: SMED 279
Meeting topic: Lunch with Dr. Junge to discuss his science and learn about his career as a scientist in the academic field.
October 4, Noon - 1 pm
Guest: Michael Olin, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, UMN Medical School, Twin Cities
Location: SMED 279
Meeting topic: Lunch meeting to meet and greet Dr. Olin, who is this year's Annette Boman Cancer Research Symposium Speaker. Dr. Olin has a diverse training background and is doing outstanding work in tumor research.
October 11, Noon - 1 pm
Guest: Ronald Drew Etheridge, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular Biology, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, University of Georgia
Location: SMED 279
Meeting topic: Meet and greet Dr. Etheridge who has worked with some very interesting parasites like Toxoplasma gondii, and he will be speaking on his work with Trypanosoma cruzi during his seminar later in the day. This is a great opportunity to speak with someone doing fascinating work!
October 25, Noon - 1 pm
Guest: Jordan Lewis, PhD, MSW, Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health | Memory Keepers - Duluth Discovery Team
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Meet and greet Dr. Lewis who is a trained community psychologist. His research focuses on Indigenous cultural generativity within Alaska Native (AN) communities, and he met with trainees to discuss his approach to AN healthy aging.
December 13, Noon - 1 pm
Guest: Jeongsik Yong, PhD, Associate Professor, UMN Biochemistry Molecular Biology and Biophysics
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Lunch with Dr. Yong to discuss his science and learn about his career as a scientist in the academic field.
SPRING 2024
January 10, 1 - 2 pm
Speaker: Abigail Johnson, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, UMN School of Public Health
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Coffee and conversation with Dr. Johnson to discuss her research and her career path in academia.
January 24, Noon - 1 pm
Speaker: Adam Bress, PharmD, MS, Associate Professor, Health University of Utah
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Dr. Adam Bress, AHC Research Seminar speaker, is an Associate Professor of Population Health Science at the School of Medicine at University of Utah. He will present a talk titled "Optimizing antihypertensive treatment in 2024 to prevent cardiovascular disease and dementia." He is a cardiovascular clinical scientist and population scientist with a very successful funding record.
Join us to learn about his science and his career path in academia.
February 7, Noon - 1 pm
Speaker: Casey Dorr, PhD, Investigator Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute’s Department of Nephrology Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Department of Medicine, Renal and Hypertension Division, Co-director CTSI Pathways to Research Program (PReP) and Advanced Pathways to Research Program (A-PReP).
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Dr. Dorr will meet with the trainees to discuss careers in his field.
February 28, Noon - 1 pm
Speaker: David Stenehjem, PharmD, BCOP, Associate Department Head and Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Duluth campus
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Lunch with Dr. Stenehjem to discuss his science and learn about his career as a scientist in the academic field.
Monday, March 4, Noon - 1 pm
Speaker: Dr. Mark Sanders, Program Director at the Imaging Center, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Lunch with Dr. Sanders who will come to discuss his career at the UMN Imaging Centers with the trainees.
Seminar presentation: 3 - 4 pm
Dr. Sanders will present his talk "Frontiers in Imaging in Technologies and Strategies for Bioimaging at the University Imaging Centers". The event is hosted by Clara Smoniewski, PhD, Research Professional 4, Office of Research Support, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus. This is an excellent opportunity for our trainees to meet Dr. Sanders to learn more about his research and career path.
Zoom link: https://z.umn.edu/MarkSanders
March 13, Noon - 1 pm
Speaker: Taihung (Peter) Duong, PhD, Professor of Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Lunch with Dr. Duong to discuss his science and learn about his career as a scientist in the academic field.
March 27, 2:15 - 3 pm
Speaker: Anna L Peters, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, OH
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Coffee and conversation with Dr. Peters to discuss her research and her career path in academia.
April 10, 1 - 2 pm
Speaker: Sarah Lacher, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, UMN Medical School, Duluth campus
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Coffee and conversation with Dr. Lacher to discuss her research and her career path in academia.
April 24, 12:15-1:15 pm
Speaker: Jacques Wadiche, PhD, Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Heerskink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Location: SMED 263, School of Medicine
Meeting topic: Lunch meeting with Dr. Wadiche to discuss his research and his career path in academia.
May 8, 1 - 2 pm
Speaker: Teresa M Dunn, PhD, Professor and Chair, School of Medicine, Biochemistry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Location: SMED 263
Meeting topic: Coffee and conversation with Dr. Dunn to discuss her research and her career path in academia.
May 22, 1 - 2 pm
Speaker: Janelle Taylor, PhD, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Canada
Location: SMED 3263
Meeting topic: Meet and greet the speaker whose AHC Seminar talk discusses "Borderlands of Aging, Dementia, Care and Ethnography"
2022/2023 Schedule
FALL 2022
November 16, 2022, 1-2 pm
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Association initial meeting
November 30, 2022, 1-2 pm
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: 3-minute thesis practice
December 7, 2022, 1-2 pm
Guest: Laurie Read, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Buffalo, State University of New York
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Coffee hour with Dr. Read
SPRING 2023
January 18, 2023, 1-2 pm
Lunch guest: Kyoko Yoshida, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: TBD
February 1, 2023, 1-2 pm
Lunch guest: Dr. Martin Phillips
Dr. Martin Phillips is a chemist and human health assessor at the US Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (US EPA/OPPT).
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career path for National agencies and Networking
February 15, 2023, Noon-1 pm
Guest: Ezequiel Marron Fernandez de Velasco, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Seminar Title: "GIRK channel contribution to mood and substance use disorders"
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career Development and Opportunities
March 1, 2023, 1 - 2 pm
Guest: Laura Schulz, PhD, Director of the Institute for Women’s Health and Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Missouri
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career Development and Opportunities
March 15, 2023, Noon-1 pm
Guest: Jeffrey Hunger, PhD, Assistant Professor of Social Psychology, Miami University
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career Development and Opportunities
March 29, 2023, Noon-1 pm
Guest: Ryan Hunter, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career Development and Opportunities
April 19, 2023, Noon-1 pm
Guest: Detlef Heck, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, UMN Medical School, Duluth Campus
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: BMS Trainee Association planning meeting for 2023-24
May 3, 2023, Noon-1 pm
Guest: Mark Dunnenberger, PharmD, Director of Pharmacogenomics, NorthShore University Health System
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career Development and Opportunities
May 17, 2023, Noon-1 pm
Guest: Melissa Walls, PhD, Associate Professor of American Health at Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Great Lakes Hub of the JHU Center for American Indian Health
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career Development and Opportunities
May 31, 2023, Noon-1 pm
Guest: William Coetzee, DSc, Professor of Pathology, New York University
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Career Development and Opportunities
June 14, Noon - 1 pm
Guest: virtual session with Kimberly Barnholdt, Senior Director at Genentech
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Careers in the industry sector
July 12, Noon - 1 pm
Guest: virtual meeting with Parul Sikand Pall, PhD, Principal Scientist at Merck
Location: SMED 398
Meeting topic: Careers in the industry sector and how to navigate the system for visas and other immigration requirements as an international candidate
Committee Members
Chair of the Trainee Association
Austin Petersen, MS student, Chair of the Association
Graduate Research Assistant, Zimmer Lab
Graduate student, Integrated Biosciences
Faculty Advisor to the Trainee Association
Sarah Lacher, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Medical School Duluth Campus
Co-Advisor Trainee Association
Conor Ronayne, PhD
Department of Pharmacy
Duluth Campus
Contact
For additional information about the BMS Trainee Association program, contact:
Austin Petersen, MS student
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Medical School Duluth Campus
[email protected]