Training & Education

The First Annual Southwest Undergraduate to Graduate Pathways Research Symposium (SW-UGRAPH) will be held at the University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC) on March 22nd and 23rd at the Elliman Conference Room of the Anschutz Health Sciences Building. This event will bring together training programs from the University of Colorado – AMC, New Mexico University, Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center (HSC), the University of Kansas Medical Center, University of Arizona, and the University of Utah.

The event will feature:

• a keynote address by Dr. Richard McGee, Associate Dean for Faculty Recruitment & Professional Development, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• panel presentations and discussion by:
  • Jeremy McIntyre, PhD: Program Officer – Division of Training, Workforce Development and Diversity at the NIGMS
  • Oliver Bogler, PhD: Director of the Center for Cancer Training at the NCI
  • Ellie Daniels, MD, MPH: Senior Vice President of the Center for Diversity in Cancer Research at the American Cancer Society
• breakout sessions on career paths in the biomedical sciences
• research presentations by trainees and students from training programs at the participating universities

Register HERE to attend.

We are excited to share that our American Cancer Society Diversity in Cancer Research (ACS DICR) grant was awarded! The ASCENT program (Advancement of Scholars in Cancer Education aNd Training) will offer a multi-dimensional mentoring and cancer research training experience to inspire and prepare post-baccalaureate students from historically underrepresented groups to enroll and succeed in a top-tier PhD or MD-PhD program and commit to cancer research careers. This funding will support four postbaccalaureate students in a two-year mentored research experience.

Learn more about the ASCENT program

PIKE-PREP Scholars Brooke Linden, Zoe Drigot, and Rebecca Han were recognized for their Outstanding Poster Presentations at the 2023 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS). At the conferences the scholars were able to share their science and network with other trainees and scientists with similar research interests. Congratulations on a job well done!

• Brooke Linden (Left): Outstanding Postbaccalaureate Poster Presentation in Immunology for her presentation titled, Redirecting anti-tumor immune responses using engineered CD1d-restrictred T cell receptor (TCR) T cells in acute myeloid leukemia
• Zoe Drigot (middle): Outstanding Postbaccalaureate Poster Presentation in Immunology for her presentation titled, The differential impact of airway Prevotella species on neutrophil activation and Streptococcus pneumoniae infection
• Rebecca Han (right): Outstanding Postbaccalaureate Poster Presentation in Physiology and Pharmacology for her presentation titled, Translocator Protein Ligands Inhibit Neuronal Excitability in Primary Neuronal-Glial Cultures

Learn more about the PIKE-PREP Scholars

Dr. Adela Cota-Gomez will kick off the 2nd Annual Cancer Center Student Symposium (C2S2) on October 12th, 2023. This year’s monthly presentations will include presentations from pre- and post-doctoral trainees from the various cancer center research programs. Last year’s C2S2 was a huge success with over X # of high school students attending throughout the year. This year, students who attend 6 of the 7 sessions will earn a certificate of completion. The CRTEC Office created C2S2 to connect the CU - Cancer Center with Colorado high school students and teachers through a monthly virtual symposium on cancer-focused topics.

Learn more / Register

The 2023-2024 cohort of PIKE-PREP Scholars have arrived on campus!

Preparation in Interdisciplinary Knowledge to Excel - Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PIKE-PREP) is a mentoring and training program directed by Dr. Eduardo Davila and Dr. Carlos Catalano and administered by Dr. Adela Cota-Gomez and Shawndra Fordham, which helps underrepresented post-baccalaureates to gain research experience and other needed training to gain admission into top-tier PhD or MD/PhD programs.

This year's Scholars have started the year off strong with an informative and fun orientation day, during which we got to know this wonderful and talented group of people. The scholars were also introduced to their research lab teams and started to get familiar with their research projects, where an abundance of their time and effort will be focused on.

This year's PIKE-PREP Scholars are Anne Williams mentored by Dr. Gidon Felsen, Brooke Linden mentored by Dr. Eduardo Davila, Daniela Gonzalez-Rivera mentored by Dr. Michael Harris-Love, Jordan Swartz mentored by Dr. Matt Sikora, Kat Arce mentored by Dr. Rachel Friedman, Megan Hupka mentored by Dr. Kelly Doran, Olivia Ovard mentored by Dr. Diego Restrepo, Rebecca Han mentored by Dr. Manisha Patel, and Zoe Drigot mentored by Dr. Sarah Clark.

Alongside their research projects, the Scholars will also participate in career and professional workshops on a variety of topics that will help them advance their career training and will present at either the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) conference or the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Diversity in STEM Conference. We are excited and honored to be able to support them on their professional journeys this year.

(Pictured: Top row left to right — Daniela Gonzalez Rivera, Kat Arce, Rebecca Han, Brooke Linden, and Zoe Drigot. Bottom row left to right — Megan Hupka, Anne Williams, Jordan Swartz, and Olivia Ovard)