Have you ever wondered if graduate school is right for you and how to succeed once you’re there? This year’s graduate student information session has a round-robin format where you will rotate through a series of topic tables and can have your questions about Ph.D. programs answered. During the session you will have the chance to speak with CSU faculty who have advice about graduate school and with graduate school recruiters from campuses such as UCLA, UC Davis, and UC San Diego, among others. We will kick things off with an introduction from Nouneh Boodaghian, an alum of CSU LA, who is currently a PhD student at UC Riverside. Nouneh will host a table to answer questions from a student’s perspective. Finally, have you ever considered returning to a CSU as a faculty member? Representatives from the Chancellor’s office will be there to provide opportunities for funding while an undergrad or during your PhD.
Nouneh received her B.S in Microbiology with a minor in Biology from Cal State LA. As an undergrad she did not discover her passion for research until her last year so after graduating she applied for her Master’s in Biology at Cal State LA. She worked in Dr. Susan Cohen’s lab working on investigating the roles of essential genes in cyanobacteria using CRISPR interference. After graduating she worked as a research technician at USC in Dr. Gage Crump’s lab working on craniofacial development in zebrafish. Currently she is a PhD student at UC Riverside under the mentorship of Dr. Ansel Hsiao. Her research focuses on developing a genetic system in gut commensal bacteria.
Table topics
1. CSU Alumni
Nouneh Boodaghian, PhD candidate, University of California Riverside
2. Preparing for Graduate School: How, When, and What to Do?
3. Selecting the Graduate School or Program (that is a good fit)
4. How to Find or Choose a Mentor (and select the best one)
5. Work-Life Balance (during and after graduate school)
6. Where Will a PhD (or MS) Degree Take Me (and how do I find a job afterwards)?
7. “Always writing" (a strategy to crank out a great thesis)
8. University of California, Irvine
Thomas Martinez, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biological Chemistry
9. University of California, Los Angeles
Stacie McKinney, M.Ed, Graduate Programs in Bioscience
10. San Diego State University
Mike Bergdhal, PhD, Faculty, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
11. University of California, San Diego
Edgar Beas, Officer, Diversity Outreach, Recruitment, and Retention, Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs
12. University of California, Davis
Alex Svensson, Director of Admissions, MBA program
13. University of California, Berkeley
Meng-meng Fu, Faculty, Department of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
14. University of Southern California
Richard Watanabe, PhD, Associate Dean for Health and Population Science
Masters and Undergraduate Programs, Keck School of Medicine
Karina Recinos, Student Services Advisor, Programs in Biomedical and Biological Sciences
15. Keck Graduate Institute
John Lacey, Admissions Outreach Representative
16. ExFAB BioFoundry, Cal Poly Pomona & UC Santa Barbara
Jamie Snyder, PhD, Cal Poly Pomona, Dept of Biology
Sherylle Mills Englander, UC Santa Barbara, Managing Director
Arica Lubin, PhD, UC Santa Barbara, Education Lead
17. California State University, Funding Opportunities
Christopher Murphy, Ed.D., Diversity Programs Administrator, California Pre-Doctoral Program