Thursday, October 31, 2013

BISC-499: From Developmental Biology to Regenerative Medicine


Course description:


This course focuses on general mechanistic principles that underpin development, maintenance and repair of body systems from worms to man. We will discuss critical experimental studies that frame the current view of animal organization, and the application of knowledge-gained to the goals of regenerative medicine. Lectures will be supplemented with a study of groundbreaking papers from the primary literature. 




Gene function analysis with PANTHER



Workshop: PANTHER classification system for large scale gene function analysis

Noon-1:30pm, Friday 11/15/2013, Norris Medical Library West Conference Room
Presenter: Dr. Huaiyu Mi, Assistant Professor in Prev. Med and co-developer of PANTHER

Cited in over 1,200 journal articles, PANTHER (Protein Annotation THrough Evolutionary Relationship) classification system (http://www.pantherdb.org/) is a comprehensive online system that combines gene function, ontology, pathways and statistical analysis tools that enable biologists to analyze large-scale, genome-wide data from sequencing, proteomics or gene expression experiments.  This hands-on workshop provides a detailed description of how to analyze genome-wide experimental data using the PANTHER system.

Lunch will be provided.  Registration is required:



Yibu Chen and Meng Li

Bioinformatics Service Program
Norris Medical Library
University of Southern California
323-442-3309 (Yibu)
323-442-3447 (Meng)

Friday, October 18, 2013

NSF GRFP fellowship site now open and accepting applications



Hello all, the NSF FastLane site is now accepting applications for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/Login.do).  The deadlines, which vary by field, are included below.

All the best, Meredith

November 4, 2013, Engineering; Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Materials Research
November 5, 2013, Mathematical Sciences; Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy
November 7, 2013, Social Sciences; Psychology; STEM Education and Learning
November 8, 2013, Life Sciences; Geosciences




Meredith Drake Reitan, PhD
Assistant Dean, Fellowships
The Graduate School
Office of the Provost
University of Southern California

Monday, October 7, 2013

Graduate Students Awards to Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates 2014

Hello all,

I just received the information below regarding the 2014 Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates. Next year’s meeting will focus on Medicine and Physiology and students in medical, biomedical, and other biological sciences are eligible to apply.  USC may nominate up to three PhD students to attend.  Please circulate this information and if anyone is interested have them contact me.  Submissions have to be coordinated through the graduate school. The deadline to apply is Friday, November 1, 2013 at 4:00 pm, Eastern Time, so we will need to work quickly.

Best, Meredith

Meredith Drake Reitan, PhD
Assistant Dean, Fellowships
The Graduate School
Office of the Provost
University of Southern California
mereditd@usc.edu

>>>

Mars, Incorporated & ORAU

October 1, 2013

Dear President, Chancellor, or Director:

Mars, Incorporated and ORAU are pleased to announce that they will nominate and sponsor a maximum of 40 graduate students to attend the 64th annual meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, from June 29 through July 4, 2014. Mars, Incorporated and ORAU invites your institution to nominate up to a total of three students (two students to Mars, Incorporated and one student to ORAU) to be considered for this very exciting opportunity.

Since 1951, Nobel Prize winners and students in chemistry, physics, and physiology or medicine have met annually in Lindau, located on Lake Constance in southwestern Germany. It is anticipated that some 550 students from more than 70 countries will attend the weeklong meeting in 2014. There are formal lectures in the morning, and the remainder of the day is set aside for the students to meet informally with the Nobel Laureate scientists, as well as with their fellow students from around the world. Information on the most recent meeting and comments from students who attended are available at http://www.orau.org/lindau/past-mtgs/default.shtml.

In 2014, the meeting will feature recipients of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. You may nominate students to attend this meeting who:

·                     are U.S. citizens currently enrolled at a university as full-time graduate students;
·                     have completed by June 2014 at least two academic years of graduate studies toward a doctoral degree in medicine/physiology or in a related discipline, but not be planning a dissertation/thesis defense before December 31, 2014;
·                     be actively engaged in research, and
·                     for ORAU, be at an ORAU member institution (http://www.orau.org/university-partnerships/members.aspx

We are especially interested in receiving nominations from a diverse group of students, including women, minorities and people with disabilities. Please check http://www.orau.org/lindau for specific eligibility criteria of each sponsor.

Unfortunately, this year we will not have federal sponsors as we have in the past.  While this is disappointing, ORAU and Mars, Incorporated are standing firm on their commitment to supporting students.  This is further complicated by the hard deadline that the Lindau Meeting has placed on all nominations, which is a result of having two meetings in 2014.  Information on the second (Economic sciences) will be forthcoming in about a week.

The selection process for the Lindau Meeting occurs over three phases. The universities and National Laboratories complete the first phase by selecting up to two students per sponsor and submitting the nomination packet for each student.  Mars, Incorporated and ORAU complete phase two by selecting the students to nominate to the Lindau Meeting.  The final phase of selection is completed by the Lindau Meeting and its screening process. All three phases ultimately adhere to the Lindau Meeting’s selection criteria.

All nominations from phase one must be submitted online before Friday, November 1, 2013 at 4:00 pm, Eastern Time.  Nominees in phase two will be notified by December 31, 2013 whether they have been selected. An information sheet on the program is enclosed. Further information about the program, including the Web site for submission of nominations, can be found online beginning at http://www.orau.org/lindau/.

You may delegate responsibility for submitting nominations to another office in your institution. However, individual faculty members may not submit nominations directly. If you have any questions or need further information, please contact one of us using the contact information below.

Best Regards,

Samuel Held
Program Manager
ORAU
sam.held@orau.org
865-576-8223 office
865-368-3272 mobile

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Churchill Scholarship



Churchill Scholarship
USC Campus Deadline: October 25, 2013 for 2014-2015 study year

The Churchill Scholarship provides tuition and funding toward graduate work in engineering, mathematics and the physical and natural sciences at Churchill College, Cambridge University. Funds cover all University and College tuition and fees (approximately $25,000). In addition, Scholars receive a living allowance of £10,000 for nine-month programs, £12,000 for eleven-month programs, and £13,000 for twelve-month programs. Scholars also receive an allowance of up to $1,000 for travel to and from the United Kingdom, as well as reimbursement of application fees for a UK visa. The total award is worth approximately $45,000 to $50,000.

Desired qualities are outstanding achievement in academic work as indicated by course grades, a capacity for original, creative work as shown by special recognitions or letters of references, and intellectual leadership, character and adaptability.  www.winstonchurchillfoundation.org

Candidates must:

*be a U.S. Citizen
*be between the ages of 19 and 26
*hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a United States college or university, and may not have attained a doctorate.
*be nominated by USC

Churchill Scholarship Instructions Now Available.

If you have questions, please contact the Office of Academic & International Fellowships at aifstaff@usc.edu
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Office of Academic and International Fellowships Noosha Malek, Director Martha Enciso, Associate Director Katie Calvert, Assistant Director http://www.usc.edu/aif GFS 227