Your source for monthly updates on BMEGG events and news!

Welcome, New Students!

Ally Statement from BESA

In light of recent events and discussions on systemic racism, BESA has been re-evaluating our responsibilities and priorities as it pertains to promoting equity and diversity. Please see our statement expressing our support and laying out some actions we can take as group and as individuals. We welcome any feedback; we are all in the process of learning how to better approach these issues. Read the full statement here.

SARS-CoV-2 Updates

All in UC Community Must Get Flu Shots

To support the health and well-being of UC students, faculty and staff and our communities, the University of California, in consultation with UC Health leadership, has issued a systemwide executive order requiring all members of the UC community to receive an influenza immunization before Nov. 1. See details here.

Stay up-to-date with Yolo County COVID-19 measures

In an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Yolo County, there is a continued requirement for face coverings in public and social distancing. This includes anywhere in the UC Davis campus. Stay informed by visiting the Yolo County novel coronavirus website.

UC Davis COVID-19 Graduate Student FAQ page lunached

Check out this FAQ page for your COVID-19 related questions about coursework, teaching, professional development, etc.

Upcoming Events

First BESA Health Committee Meeting for 2020-2021 - October 2, 2020

The first BESA Health & Wellness Committee Meeting is on Oct. 2, at 10 am. If you are interested in getting involved in BESA and are passionate about mental health and wellness, we encourage you to attend the first BESA Health & Wellness committee meeting of the academic year. We will be discussing the upcoming events for the Fall quarter and planning our second ever book club! 

Coffee Hour with Alumni Speaker - October 8, 2020

Charlie Ouyang, a strategy consultant at Triangle Insights Group, will be our first alumni speaker for the BIM 290 seminar. Charlie will be speaking on Oct. 8 and will be available to meet with graduate students over Zoom for a Q&A Coffee Hour from 10-11am.  The coffee hour will give you a chance to ask Charlie questions about what it’s like to work as a strategy consultant, industry culture, work-life balance, etc.  Please RSVP for this event here.

BESA Meeting - October 19, 2020

The October BESA monthly meeting on Oct. 19, at 1 pm. We also invite you to join the BESA Slack Group here to be in the loop about opportunities for you to get involved!

Fall Quarter Meditation Sessions by Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being

Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being will continue to offer three weekly meditation sessions through Nov 25.  These sessions are open to everyone: whether you are new to mindfulness or you have been practicing for a while.  And if you think you can’t meditate – they’ve got you covered, too. Register here.

Student Seminar Series

The student seminar series is a great opportunity to practice your QE presentation in a low-key friendly environment. If you are interested in presenting your research to your peers (virtually), please email Abby Niesen.

"Intro to Grad School" Presentation

Did you receive a fellowship or participate in professional development (Designated Emphasis, Big Bang, FUTURE, LFTF, PFTF, etc.) since you started graduate school? We are collecting a list of current BMEGG students' achievements for the "Intro to Grad School" presentation on Oct. 7 to give new students a point of contact for applying. Please email Abby Niesen with your professional development activities/awards/fellowships!

Announcements and Awards

Call for Applications: Chancellor's Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Board (CGPSA)

Graduate Studies is now accepting applications for the Chancellor’s Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Board (CGPSA). This is a great opportunity for first-year and continuing graduate and professional students to get involved in campus leadership, advocate on behalf of fellow graduate students, gain experience serving on a board, and begin building their CV. The deadline to apply is Oct. 16. Please email gradassistant@ucdavis.edu with any questions.

oSTEM (organization for LGBTQIA+ students in STEM)

oSTEM is a space for LGBTQIA+ students in STEM to develop personally, academically, and professionally. oSTEM holds social and career-based events for both undergraduate and graduate students here at Davis. Join their slack workspace here, and check out their instagram and facebook page for more!

Support BESA by ordering business cards or buying some BESA swag!

Business cards are available through Repro Graphics for interested students and post-docs. Standard cards are $28.55 for 500. Please contact our treasurer Caitlin for more info. Christal also has a variety of BESA items for purchase in her office, including some BESA pint glasses, the most recent BESA T-shirt, and a variety of older BESA T-shirts. You can find pictures of the shirts here!

Funding Opportunities

Annual Internal Fellowship Competition for Continuing Graduate Students

UC Davis Internal Fellowship Application for continuing academic graduate students is open! This application is used to award fellowship funding for the upcoming academic year. 

• Learn more about the eligibility requirements and application process by visiting the Fellowship Program website.
• Fellowships will be open from Sep. 23, 2020 to Jan. 15, 2021.

Call for applications – Fall 2020 Graduate Studies Travel Award

Graduate students who have traveled, or will be traveling, to present at meetings of nationally and international recognized professional societies between July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 may now apply for the Graduate Studies Fall Travel Award. The award is for students who are near the completion of their degree who have not previously received the award. Students must be in good academic standing, registered in full-time status, and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. The application deadline for students is Oct 23. Applications must be submitted to the student’s graduate program for first review. Awards will be announced the week of December 14, 2020. Please visit the Graduate Studies website for details concerning the award and application process. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Ruth Lee at rlee@ucdavis.edu.

NIH Individual Fellowships F31 and F32

The deadline for the current cycle of NIH individual fellowships (F31 and F32) is Dec. 8, 2020! More information can be found here.

Know of more funding opportunities and want them featured in the next newsletter? Email them to Alex or Jun before the first of each month. 

Publications

Pacifici, N., Bolandparvaz, A., & Lewis, J. S. (2020). Stimuli‐Responsive Biomaterials for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutic Applications. Advanced Therapeutics, 2000129.

Tjandra, P. M., Paralkar, M. P., Osipov, B., Chen, Y. J., Zhao, F., Ripplinger, C. M., & Christiansen, B. A. (2020). Systemic Bone Loss Following Myocardial Infarction Mice. Journal of Orthopaedic Research.

Zhang, T., Kho, A. M., & Srinivasan, V. J. (2020). Water wavenumber calibration for visible light optical coherence tomography. Journal of Biomedical Optics, 25(9), 090501.

Rojalin, T., Koster, H. J., Liu, J., Mizenko, R. R., Tran, D., Wachsmann-Hogiu, S., & Carney, R. P. (2020). Hybrid Nanoplasmonic Porous Biomaterial Scaffold for Liquid Biopsy Diagnostics Using Extracellular Vesicles. ACS sensors.

Online Resources

Seminar series, journal clubs, conferences, and training information

• BME Seminar Series:
  • Oct. 1, Cheemeng Tan, Ph.D. Host: Steven George, Ph.D.
  • Oct. 8, Charlie Ouyang, Ph.D. Host: Abby Niesen.
  • Oct. 15, BMES, No seminar
  • Oct. 22, Warren Chan, Ph.D. Host: Cheemeng Tan, Ph.D.
  • Oct. 29, Beth A. Lopour, Ph.D. Host: Steven George, Ph.D.
• Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, In-house Seminar Series, 4 pm, Oct. 9, via zoom. Speaker: Keith Baar, Ph.D., Professor, School of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology.
• Frontiers in Pharmacology Lecture Series, 11 am, Oct. 20, via zoom. Speaker: Dr. Federica Accornero, Assistant Professor, Physiology and Cell Biology, The Ohio State University. Host: Crystal Ripplinger, Ph.D.
• Fourth Journal Club of the UC Davis Optics Club, 9 am - 11 am, Oct. 27, via zoom. Email Brent Weyers to join the email list for more details and updates.

Career Development

Workshops, training, and job info for career preparation and exploration

• Info Session for CCST Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, Oct. 15, 12 pm. You'll hear from CCST Executive Director Amber Mace and get a firsthand account of the experience from current CCST Science Fellows and alumni. Come get your questions answered at this upcoming webinar! Register here. This webinar information is obtained from the UC Davis Future program.
• UC Entrepreneurship Academy, Oct. 5-8. The UC Entrepreneurship Academy helps students, postdocs and faculty in all academic disciplines and fields gain the knowledge and networks needed to identify, develop and validate the commercial potential of your research or idea. See details here.

BESA Calendar
 

Click the button below to add the BESA google calendar (view only) to your other google calendars to stay up to date! 

Have feedback, questions, or something you'd like added to the next newsletter? Email Jun Zhu and Alex Vargas.