Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are invited to meet Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Volkow is coming to UMBC as the Spring 2015 Distinguished Speaker for the ADVANCE program at UMBC. UMBC ADVANCE reached out to PROMISE and worked with Dr. Volkow to create a special session specifically geared to connect with graduate students. Dr. Volkow’s research is on addiction and the brain, but she is also interested in sharing about her role as a woman leader in STEM. Dr. Volkow grew up in Mexico and has been studying addiction since she was a teenager. She has published more than 580 articles, and 90 book chapters and other papers!

Come and meet this phenomenal leader!

• Monday, April 13, 2015
• Special Session for graduate students and postdocs: 1:00 – 2:00 PM, UMBC Campus, University Center, Room 310 (Light refreshments will be served.)
  • UMBC RSVP here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/31746
  • Grad students who have participated in PROMISE, but are not at UMBC, RSVP with your name and school in the comment section below.
• Afternoon Research Lecture: 4:30-5:30 PM, AOK Library Gallery (All invited, reception to follow), http://my.umbc.edu/groups/advance/news/50784

NIDA’s website describes Dr. Volkow’s work as follows:

Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate the toxic effects and addictive properties of abusable drugs. Her studies have documented changes in the dopamine system affecting, among others, the functions of frontal brain regions involved with motivation, drive, and pleasure in addiction. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and aging. (REF: http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/directors-page)

See Dr. Volkow’s talk from TEDMED:

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The PROMISE AGEP would like to express gratitude to UMBC ADVANCE for specifically developing a session with Dr. Volkow for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. We express sincere thanks to Dr. Autumn Reed (Program Coordinator for Diversity Initiatives, Office of the Provost, UMBC)  for strengthening the ADVANCE-AGEP connection through this structured and coordinated event with Dr. Volkow. 

• ABOUT ADVANCE: National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE)
• ABOUT ADVANCE at UMBC: http://advance.umbc.edu/
• ABOUT the ADVANCE Hispanic Women in STEM Project with UMBC & Puerto Rico: https://hispanicstemwomen.wordpress.com/

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Dr. Volkow’s image and biographical information are reprinted with permission from the National Institute on Drug Abuse Press Office. 

This message came to us from UMBC Chemistry alumna, Dr. LaTese Briggs. Dr. Briggs completed a postdoc at The Broad, a collaborative between Harvard and MIT. She is now a Program Analyst for Faster Cures, a division of the Milken Institute. 

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The NIH has issued a Request for Information about implementing the recommendations of its Working Group on the Biomedical Research Workforce.The comment deadline is April 22. Responses are being sought from all stakeholders in the extramural community, including students, postdoctorates, scientists, scientific societies, and NIH grantee institutions, as well as from the general public. 

Here is the Link:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-13-045.html