SGS SUPER-GRAD fellow Erika McCarthy co-authored a recent paper that was featured on the cover of the Journal of Physical Chemistry entitled RNA Electrostatics: How Ribozymes Engineer Active Sites to Enable Catalysis.
Making your LinkedIn profile highly visible and building your brand is essential for expanding your network and helping you get hired. However, most of us struggle with what and when to post and how to increase our contacts on LinkedIn. Penny Pearl of 2Actify is an expert at helping scientists articulate their unique value and create a brand that we can use for marketing ourselves as researchers who have transferable skills. Attend this workshop to learn best practices in posting and connecting with others to improve your chances of getting noticed by those who matter!
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126 Corporate Blvd
South Plainfield, NJ 07080
Admera Health provides genomic and bioinformatic services for researchers working on projects ranging from exploratory to clinical. Their technology also includes single-cell analysis, transcriptomics, and epigenetics which are essential services to researchers across the globe. Admera is hiring many scientists with PhDs at their New Jersey location so come visit to learn how you can get hired and contribute to this company’s amazing work.s.
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7 Clarke Drive
Building 2, Floor 4
Cranbury, NJ 08512
WuXi Biologics is a leading global Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) offering end-to-end solutions that enable partners to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercialization for the benefit of patients worldwide. WuXi Biologics leverages its technologies and expertise to provide customers with efficient and cost-effective biologics discovery, development and manufacturing solutions. Come visit their location in New Jersey where they are hiring many PhD level employees.
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777 Scudders Mill Road
Building 2, Floor 4
Plainsboro, NJ 08540
Genmab is a biotechnology company specializing in the creation and development of differentiated antibody therapeutics to fight against cancer and other serious diseases. Genmab’s proprietary pipeline includes bispecific T-cell engagers, next generation immune checkpoint modulators, effector function enhanced antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates. Come visit their location near Princeton where they are hiring postdocs and scientists to learn more about this growing company.
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Individuals with jobs in Regulatory Affairs negotiate the interaction between the regulators (the government), the regulated (industry), and the market (consumers) to get safe and effective therapies, products and devices to the market. This requires understanding the science behind the drug or product. Come hear from a panel of PhD level individuals who now work in Regulatory Affairs as writers and other roles to learn how you can also make the transition from bench to this area.
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A Contract Research Organization (CRO) is a great place for a fresh PhD to land their first job. More and more pharmaceutical companies are outsourcing parts of their projects to these CROs so it is a growing industry. Come meet PhD-level panelists from three of the largest CROs: Charles River Laboratories, Labcorp Drug Development, and Medpace to learn how you can get this kind of job and the benefits of working for a CRO.
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Growth mindset, or the belief that our abilities are malleable rather than set in stone, has become an educational buzzword in the past decade. This workshop addresses misconceptions of what it means to have a growth mindset and explores the benefits of adopting a growth mindset for both students and instructors. Additionally, the workshop will introduce actionable ways that instructors can create a classroom environment in which all students feel they can learn and grow.
During this workshop we will discuss tips and strategies for maintaining effective communication between TAs and faculty members. We will focus on discussing expectations with your faculty member, important questions to ask in the beginning of the semester, as well as maintaining effective communication throughout the semester.
3:00 - 4:00pm
679 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (Room #10)
Center for Advanced Biotech and Medicine, Busch Campus
Zoom option available.
~Snacks & coffee provided!~
Register to attend in person or on Zoom.
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the School of Graduate Studies as we enjoy, dialogue about, and learn from two fantastic graduate students -- Parameshwaran Pasupathy (Ph.D. student, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering) and Mary Lally (Ph.D. student, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics) -- who will share their research in a friendly and low-stakes setting. Learn more about the presenters and their presentations below!
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1.) "A Fractional Viscoelastic Model of the Axon in Brain White Matter" by Parameshwaran Pasupathy
Abstract: Traumatic axonal injury occurs when loads experienced on the tissue-scale are transferred to the individual axons. Mechanical characterization of axon deformation especially under dynamic loads however is extremely difficult owing to their viscoelastic properties. The viscoelastic characterization of axon properties that are based on interpretation of results from in vivo brain Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) are dependent on the specific frequencies used to generate shear waves with which measurements are made. In this study, we aim to develop a fractional viscoelastic model to characterize the time dependent behavior of the properties of the axons in a composite white matter (WM) model. The viscoelastic powerlaw behavior observed at the tissue level is assumed to exist across scales, from the continuum macroscopic level to that of the microstructural realm of the axons. The material parameters of the axons and glia are fitted to a springpot model. The 3D fractional viscoelastic springpot model is implemented within a finite element framework using a vectorized user defined material (VUMAT) subroutine in ABAQUS finite element software. Representative Volume Elements (RVE) of axons embedded in glia are developed and subjected to a relaxation displacement boundary condition. The homogenized orthotropic fractional material properties of the axon-matrix system as a function of the volume fraction of axons in the ECM are extracted by solving the inverse problem.
Presenter Bio: Parameshwaran Pasupathy is a 4th year PhD student at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. His dissertation is on the multi-scale modeling of brain tissue, which is at the intersection of mechanobiology, computational solid mechanics, and interfacial mechanics. His interdisciplinary research on micro-scale modeling of white matter seeks to develop a fundamental understanding of brain injury and its relevance in detecting mTBI (mild-Traumatic Brain Injury), which is currently undetectable by standard diagnostic tools (such as MRI and DTI.). Paramesh has a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan. Prior to beginning his PhD at Rutgers, Paramesh worked as an Senior Technical Engineer for Siemens PLM as a part of their HEEDS multi-disciplinary design optimization team.
2.) "Dissociating the local and systemic effects of the non-absorbable antibiotic vancomycin" by Mary Lally
Abstract: Vancomycin is commonly prescribed to treat Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs), yet even with antibiotic treatment, CDIs cause 15,000 deaths per year. Previous studies have investigated vancomycin's impact on the microbiome and antibiotic resistance; however, none have differentiated between the antibiotic’s effects on the microbiome and on the host. When administered orally, vancomycin remains in the gut; it is neither absorbed nor metabolized. Since the microbiome has an important role in processing dietary fiber and training the immune system, vancomycin-induced changes likely affect the host’s ability to respond to infections and treatment. The long-term goal of this project is to elucidate the differences between local changes to the microbiome and systemic changes to the host induced by the non-absorbable antibiotic vancomycin. My hypothesis is that changes in the gut microbiota alter circulating factors like immune cells, lipids, and microbial metabolites to induce changes in host health. Understanding what alterations occur can eventually help counteract them to provide the best care for individuals with CDIs.
Presenter Bio: Mary Lally is a second year graduate student in the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Program and works in Dr. Martin Blaser’s laboratory. She earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences in 2020 and M.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2021 from Fordham University. Mary first became interested in the microbiome when she was an undergraduate student and studied the salamander skin microbiome. She researched how bacteria living on a salamander’s skin protect the amphibians from the deadly chytrid fungus. Now, Mary researches the impact of antibiotics on the mammalian microbiome and its host and hopes that her work will improve outcomes and care for patients that receive antibiotic treatment.
Research Café brings together the entire graduate student community of Rutgers University-New Brunswick/Piscataway campus to strengthen scholarly literacy and interdisciplinary research communication by providing a platform for budding researchers to connect, share their in-progress research or scholarship, and benefit from peer feedback in a friendly and low-stakes setting.
Research Café is a monthly, one-hour event to occur at rotating locations across the Rutgers New Brunswick/Piscataway campus (a Zoom option will be available, too). Each event will feature:
Sign up to attend in person or on Zoom at https://grad.rutgers.edu/research-cafe.
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Questions? Contact the program coordinators:
Sonal Gahlawat at sg1389@scarletmail.rutgers.edu, Briana Bivens at bb770@grad.rutgers.edu, and Ramazan Güngör at rg835@grad.rutgers.edu.