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IMSDNews
Volume 1 | Number 3 | May 2021
Initiative to Maximize Student Development | graduate.ucsf.edu/imsd
From Zach...
Zachary Smith, JD
Gratitude and a New Normal

In my first few months in the Graduate Division, I feel extremely fortunate for how welcoming and supportive that Dr. D’Anne, Dr. Jason, and everyone in this community have been. I am most grateful that I have had the opportunity to get to know some of you both virtually and in-person!

Each interaction with you all is enlightening, energizing, and provides a source of inspiration to continue to do the diversity, equity, and inclusion work that Dr. D’Anne, Dr. Jason, and each of you have advanced on campus.

Looking ahead, I am excited to start the virtual Summer Research Training Program in June and to continue building community within IMSD! These programs excite me because they are opportunities for social justice by way of educational access and community.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that the pandemic has illuminated the structural harms that many of the most marginalized members of our community continue to suffer from. While we work towards a recovery from the pandemic, I feel that it is our responsibility for us not to just return back to “normal.” Ultimately, I look forward to us collectively building a new normal that empowers and treats our community members with dignity and humanity.

In community and solidarity,

‒ Zach
Reflections from a Recent Grad...
Jessica Enogieru, PhD
It's commencement season, so we decided to check in with a recent alum who is participating in this year's Graduate Division Virtual Commencement as well as the recent Diversity Graduation.

Jessica Enogieru, PhD received her doctoral degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics in Winter 2020, and is currently a scientist at Amgen. She reflects below on her time in UCSF's IMSD program:


"The IMSD program was one of the first communities I joined at UCSF. The positive impact of IMSD on my scientific journey and other underrepresented scientists has been tremendous. We participated in various interactive workshops and professional discussions that gave us important skills needed to become successful, confident scientists. Importantly, it provided an interconnected community of underrepresented graduate student researchers. The diligent work of previous IMSD director, Michele de Coteau, and the current IMSD director, D'Anne Duncan, has created an environment of tangible guidance and support for underrepresented graduate students. This has positively impacted many previous cohorts of UCSF graduate students and I hope IMSD continues to support present and future UCSF cohorts."
UCSF's annual Diversity Graduation was held virtually on May 11, 2021, hosted by the Multicultural and LGBT Resource Centers and UCSF Student Life. You can watch the video or flip through the digital event program.

The Graduate Division Virtual Commencement airs on May 27, 2021 at 2 p.m. PDT.
View the ceremony on May 27 or any time after.

If you're celebrating this year's grads on social media, use the hashtag #2021UCSFGrad.
2021 Fellowship Awardees & Honorable Mentions
Congratulations to the following members of the IMSD community who are awardees or honorable mentions for prestigious fellowships this spring!

Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship
Fred Santana, Tetrad

Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
Sita Chandrasekaran, Bioengineering

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP)

Awardees
Francisco Aparicio, Neuroscience
Lauren Cech, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics
Jocelyne Fadiga, Tetrad
Grace Hernandez, Biomedical Sciences
Adriana Padilla, Neuroscience
Juliana Sucharov Costa, Biomedical Sciences

Honorable Mentions
Liz Bond, Tetrad
Mauricio Jacobo, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics
Ellery Jones, Neuroscience
Gabriel Mateo-Semidey, Neuroscience
Rhea Misra, Biomedical Sciences
Don't Forget...
  • On June 10, tune into the next event in Gladstone Institute’s Amplified: Race and Reality in STEM series, featuring Dr. D’Anne Duncan, assistant dean for diversity and learner success in the Graduate Division, on Enacting Change through Cultivation of Student Activism and Engagement with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Learn more and register in advance.

  • Read about the six UCSF learners who were recently awarded the Graduate Division Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Students recognized include IMSD community members Stella Belonwu, Roberto Efraín Díaz, and Muryam A. A. Gourdet!