Student Life
Graduate Student Association
Established in 2003, the Cell & Developmental Biology Graduate Student Association (CDB GSA) focuses on strengthening student interactions, and student scientific and professional discussion. A major activity of the group is to identify and invite two speakers per year for the CDB seminar series and arrange all aspects of their visits. The GSA also meets once during each IGP rotation to introduce rotating IGP students to CDB Graduate Students in an informal environment. All meetings are relaxed, often with pizza and beer; many take place at a local restaurant within walking distance to Vanderbilt. Other GSA social events include a yearly picnic and baseball game in the early summer, when new graduate students are introduced to the department. A Town Hall Meeting occurs each fall, when the GSA meets with the Director of Graduate Studies and Department Chair. Issues related to student training are discussed and the GSA-invited speakers are selected. Elections are held for the leadership of the GSA at the yearly Spring Meeting. The GSA has one president and one president emeritus. A new president is elected each spring and is expected to stay on for a second year as president emeritus. Students are eligible to become a GSA president only after passing the Qualifying Exam.
Meet CDB Students - Q&A
Lindsay Bramson, 5th-year student
Chris Wright Lab
Thesis project in ten words or less: Determining the molecular and cell architectural changes contributing to asymmetric organ morphogenesis.
Prior education: B.S. in Biology (minor in Spanish) from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.
What is your favorite thing about being a student in the CDB department? I love how our department has an open door policy. If I ever need help on an experiment or need a reagent we don't have, I can walk into any of the department labs to find help! It creates a community atmosphere.
What is the most important lesson or skill that you have learned in graduate school thus far? This department has challenged me to work hard and think deeply about my project.
Advice to incoming graduate students: Get to know the labs in your department-- They will be instrumental in your thesis project as it develops and expands.
Future career plans/goals: Post-doctoral fellowship at another medical center/university.
Billy Carver, CDB GSA co-president, 3rd-year student
Anna Means Lab
Thesis project in ten words or less: I study growth factor signaling in insulin cell development.
Prior education: Microbiology and English Literature from University of Tennessee- Knoxville
What is your favorite thing about being a student in the CDB department? I always feel well taken care of by the administrative assistants and the faculty.
What is the most important lesson or skill that you have learned in graduate school thus far? How to speak about my research and make it interesting for others; it's a work in progress.
Advice to incoming graduate students: Immerse yourself in the literature!
Future career plans/goals: I would like to teach biology at a small liberal arts college.
Julie Merkle, 5th-year student
Laura Lee Lab
Thesis project in ten words or less: Investigating the mechanism of cell cycles during early Drosophila embryogenesis.
Prior education: B.S., Susquehanna University (Selinsgrove, PA)
What is your favorite thing about being a student in the CDB department? Multidisciplinary science throughout the department
Describe your experience as a graduate student in the CDB dept in three words: stimulating, nurturing, challenging
What is the most important lesson or skill that you have learned in graduate school thus far? To stay positive. It’s easy to get discouraged during the 4th and 5th years of graduate school, but the time and frustration pays off in the end.
Advice to incoming graduate students: You’ll hear this all the time, but nothing pays off more than hard work.
Future career plans/goals: A post-doc next and then a faculty position, hopefully. I’m most interested in undergraduate education and basic research, so I most see myself teaching at a small, mainly undergraduate university.
Laura Terry, Ph.D. (recent CDB graduate)
Susan Wente Lab
Date of defense: Defended Ph.D. in November 2008.
Thesis project in ten words or less: analysis of factors regulating import and export from the nucleus
Prior education: B.S. in Biology, College of William & Mary, 2003
What is your favorite thing about being a student in the CDB department? faculty genuinely interested in training students and post-docs to succeed
What is the most important lesson or skill that you have learned in graduate school thus far? Trusting my instincts as a scientist. The best experiment I did was a simple one that my mentor had told me wouldn't work.
Advice to incoming graduate students: Above all else, seek labs that offer multi-disciplinary approaches to scientific questions and an engaged, supportive mentor.
Future career plans/goals: Post-doc, long-term goal is academic research.
Rebecca Thomason, CDB GSA co-president, 3rd-year student
David Bader Lab
Thesis project in ten words or less: Investigating the developmental potential of mesothelium in embryonic heart and gut.
Prior education: BS, Davidson College (2004)
What is your favorite thing about being a student in the CDB department? The collaborative environment between students and professors.
What is your favorite CDB memory? At WIPS reception, Halloween 2007, when Chris Wright came dressed as the grim reaper. It was funny and unexpected.
What is the most important lesson or skill that you have learned in graduate school thus far? This is the point [post qualifying exam] in your career where you really begin to develop the intellectual independence and confidence to make the steps necessary to becoming a successful, creative scientist.
Future career plans/goals: I definitely want to do a post-doc following graduation.
