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NEWS
and Notes
- The MORE Division is pleased to announce its revamped Web site at http://www.nigms.nih.gov/minority/. Visit the site to learn about MORE funding opportunities using the interactive "Program Overview by Career Stage;" read the latest news about MORE programs and participants; obtain grant information, lists of program contacts, and more.
- Dr. LaShawn R. Drew recently joined NIGMS as a program director in the MARC Branch. Prior to her appointment with NIGMS, she served as the director of the NIH Academy and was an adjunct professor of biology at the University of Maryland, University College.
Drew earned a bachelor's degree in natural science with a concentration in chemistry in 1991 from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in biology in 1998 from Howard University in Washington, DC, where she participated in the MBRS program as a research associate. Her postdoctoral research was conducted in the Molecular and Clinical Hematology Branch of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH.
Drew is a member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Hematology and the Association for Women in Science.
- Two NIGMS minority program directors were among the most recent recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The annual awards recognize influential institutions and individuals who have been leaders in encouraging minorities, women, and disabled persons to pursue careers in science, math, and engineering.
The recipients included Dr. R. David Bynum, an associate professor of biochemistry and cell biology at Stony Brook University, State University of New York; and Sara L. Young, director of the American Indian Research Opportunities (AIRO) program at Montana State University-Bozeman.
Bynum directs the MARC program at Stony Brook University. He is credited with mentoring undergraduate students and laying a path for community college students to study molecular biology.
Young directs the Initiative for Minority Student Development program at Montana State University. The Initiative is a component of Montana State's AIRO program, a consortium of Montana's seven tribal colleges that provides opportunities to Native American students studying science, math, and engineering.
Another individual associated with NIGMS' minority programs, Dr. Steven G. Greenbaum of the City University of New York, Hunter College, also received the award. Greenbaum, a physics professor and a subproject investigator on NIGMS' Support of Continuous Research Excellence grant, was recognized for mentoring students who have become major figures in industry, academia, and research.
The three were among 10 individuals and 6 institutions that received the awards during ceremonies at the White House in March. The awards, established by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and administered through the National Science Foundation, consist of a $10,000 grant and a commemorative Presidential certificate.
- Dr. Glenn D. Kuehn, director of the MBRS and Bridges to the Baccalaureate programs at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, received the university's Racial Harmony Award in January. This is the second time Kuehn has received the award, which is presented annually to a university employee who has promoted racial harmony and been supportive of students. Kuehn, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is credited with mentoring 53 minority students, 42 of whom have gone on to graduate or medical school.
- Dr. Marquita M. Qualls, a former participant in MARC programs at two institutions, became president of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers in July. Qualls was a MARC trainee at Tennessee State University in Nashville, where she received a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1994. She went on to become a MARC predoctoral fellow at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, where she received a Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry in 2001. She is currently a pharmaceutical researcher at GlaxoSmithKline.
- Dr. Laura J. Robles, the MBRS program director at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), received a 2003 National Role Model Mentoring Award. The award was presented by Minority Access, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization that assists Federal agencies, universities, and corporations to improve their recruitment, retention, and training of minority researchers. Robles, a professor of biology at CSUDH, was cited for mentoring minority students at the university for the past 28 years. She received the award during a ceremony at the National Role Models Conference in Washington, DC, in September.
- In recent months, we have received word about the following student participants in NIGMS minority programs ... Brian Carr, a former MBRS program participant at the University of Southern Colorado (USC) in Pueblo, earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in December 2002 and is currently employed as a research scientist at Merck & Co., Inc ... Anthony Chambers, a former MARC undergraduate student at Hampton University in Virginia, defended his dissertation in June and expects to receive a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville next spring. Chambers is currently a clinical fellow in psychology at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he is participating in a program that integrates clinical work with research ... Larry J. Dishaw, a former MBRS participant at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami Shores, earned a Ph.D. in biology from the university in December 2002 and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Miami ... Janette Garcia, a former MARC undergraduate student at FIU, is currently attending pharmacy school at University of Florida in Gainesville ... Paul Hoover, a former MARC undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, Tucson, spent this past year as a research fellow with the NIH Academy, where he performed research for the National Cancer Institute. He will enter the M.D.-Ph.D. program at Stanford University in California this fall ... Celeste Lopez, a former MARC student at the University of Arizona, spent the past year conducting research in Peru and recently entered the M.D. program at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA ... Laisel Martinez, a former MARC undergraduate student at FIU, is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in biology at the university, where she participates in the MBRS program ... Tori Matthews, a former MARC undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, will enter NIGMS' Medical Scientist Training Program for training leading to the combined M.D.-Ph.D. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham this fall ... Brandi Mattson, a former MBRS participant at USC, earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in Newark. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH ... Lida Oum, a former MBRS program participant at CSUDH, is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at New York University ... Gerardo Perez, a former MBRS program participant at San Diego State University, entered the University of California, San Diego/San Diego State University Joint Doctoral Program in biological sciences this fall ... Armando Salazar, a former MARC undergraduate student at FIU, is currently pursuing a D.M.D. at Harvard University ... Orlantha Whitehair, a former MARC undergraduate at the University of Arizona, recently entered medical school at the University of Arizona College of Medicine ... Sergio Wong, a former MBRS program participant at FIU, is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco ...
- Dr. Joaquin Bustoz, a professor of mathematics and the MARC program director at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe since 1993, died on August 13, 2003, from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident in July. Bustoz had been a member of the mathematics faculty at ASU since 1975, serving as department chair from 1982-1985. A full obituary on Bustoz is available on the ASU Web site at http://www.asu.edu/news/faculty_students/bustoz_090403.htm.
We are always interested in hearing about NIGMS
minority program faculty, alumni, and students.
Photographs of your students, research labs, and
activities are also welcomed and encouraged.
Please send information to:
Editor
NIGMS Minority Programs Update
Room 3AN.32
45 Center Drive MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200
Tel: 301-496-7301
Fax: 301-402-0224
atheys@nigms.nih.gov
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