Category Archives: GSC social events

Community, Events for Students, GSC, GSC social events, September 2017

Scientists Run in Circles, Locals Confused – 22nd Annual Sackler Relays

September 19, 2017 Judith M. Hollander

Written by Daniel Fritz and Judith Hollander.

On July 21st, members of each graduate program, eager for a day out of the lab, piled onto buses and traveled to the mysterious Medford campus for hours of friendly competition and socializing for the 22nd Annual Sackler Relays.

Wisely, the competitive running events were up first so as to beat the midsummer heat. Runners braved the July sun to compete in a 100 m dash, a 4 x 200 m relay, and a 1 mile race. The women’s 100 m dash was a photo finish with Neuroscience’s Rachel Jarvis pulling out a narrow victory over CMDB’s Joslyn Mills. Immunogenetics took the women’s mile with an impressive 5:25 mile time by Maiwenn Le Corre! Participants and guests enjoyed food and drink as a break before the rest of the contests began.

Cooperative weather this year allowed for the return of the full event list, including the volleyball bracket and the obstacle course, with Neuroscience claiming a decisive volleyball victory. Unfortunately, dodgeball was cancelled partway through the games due to exuberant and strong throws prematurely deflating the dodgeballs. The day ended in a show of great teamwork, when CMDB stole victory from the MD/PhDs in the final matchup of the tug-of-war tournament.

The final placements saw Neuroscience on top yet again this year with the full standings below:

1st: Neuroscience
2nd: Immunogenetics
3rd: Microbiology/PPET
4th: MD/PhD
5th: CMDB

Following the sporting events, Rebecca Silver, our new Graduate Student Council president, announced the raffle winners of various prizes, which included day passes for the Rock Spot climbing gym, Paint Bar coupons, and Tufts swag, among other rewards. Our new Dean, Dr. Dan Jay (or, D(e)an Jay, as he quipped), introduced himself to the group and gave a rousing speech regarding some of his aspirations and goals in his new position, including new initiatives towards career development and preparing Sackler students for life beyond graduation. We enthusiastically wish Dean Jay the best of luck and look forward to his leadership!

Generous support from the Provost’s Office and the President’s Office were instrumental in making this year’s Relays a success, along with help from the Dean’s Office. The Graduate Student Council, with assistance from Sackler Faculty, held a successful relay day that will only raise the bar for next year! Thank you to Microbiology’s Claudette Gardel for team and event photos, and thank you and congratulations to all who participated!

articles, arts & culture, Community, Events for Students, GSC, GSC career events, GSC social events, May 2017

ICYMI: Sackler Speaks Flash Talks Competition

May 15, 2017 Jessica S. Elman

The second annual Sackler Speaks Flash Talk Competition, which took place on April 24, 2017 at 5PM in Sackler 114, was an exciting opportunity for Sackler students to practice their science communication skills in front of an audience and panel of judges. Snacks, wine, and beer were served, and Aaron Bernstein (CMP, 4^th year), always the dazzling host, emceed the event.

The speakers had 3 minutes to give a presentation on their research, with the option of an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. The judges were Stefan Gross, director of enzymology at Agios Pharmaceuticals and a graduate of Claire Moore’s lab, and Jonathan Garlick, a Sackler professor whose lab focuses on regenerative medicine using iPSCs.

The event had five participants who spoke in the following order: Dominique Ameroso (Neuro, 2^nd year), Julia Yelick (CMDB, 4^th year), Linus Williams (MD/PhD, 1^st year), Brad Gardiner (CTS, MS student), and Alex Jones (Neuro, 5^th year).

Every speaker brought something different to the table, but just from watching the presentations the audience got a fantastic sense of what works best for a flash talk. Some common mechanisms that most helped speakers get their points across were the use of similes to simplify complicated scientific concepts and effective use of animations and imagery in the slides, as opposed to plain text.

The judges had fifteen minutes to discuss and finally announced the winners: Julia Yelick, Dominique Ameroso, and Brad Gardiner came in 3^rd, 2^nd, and 1^st place, respectively!

An informative discussion on what makes a great flash talk followed, led by Garlick and Gross. They both strongly agreed on the following points:

Start with the punch line to grab the audience’s attention.
Use your body language to communicate with the audience- don’t just cross your legs and lean on the podium! Face the group, make eye contact, be excited about what you’re talking about.
Are you addressing the question of, “So What?”
- Is what you’re talking about relevant to your life? Is it personal? Is it easy for someone on the outside to understand why it matters?

The significance of this event taking place just two days after the March for Science should not be lost on us—the importance of clear and logical communication of scientific endeavors and achievements is obvious, especially in light of the proposed cuts to science funding. The more curiosity we pique in explaining our research, the more likely we are to receive support and funding.

All in all, the event was a success, but it would be great if more students volunteered to participate next year! This is a great opportunity to practice communication skills with your colleagues and even people from outside of the university. Keep an eye out for the announcement next year and challenge yourself to participate and possibly win a prize!

articles, Community, Events for Students, GSC social events, September 2016

RECAP: 21st Annual Sackler Relays, 2016

September 12, 2016 Nafis Hasan

The 21st Annual Sackler Relays did not start out the way it was meant to be – buses filled with adrenaline-fueled graduate students pulling up at the Medford campus (a location rarely frequented by most attendees), the summer heat bearing down on the participants in a myriad of athletic events for which only a few are ever prepared for, and ending with merriment amid delicious food and copious amounts of beer. Unfortunately, the weather refused to cooperate on the morning of Friday, July 29 and the organizers were forced to move the events indoors. However, if you think that the weather could deter the spirit of Sackler, then you’d be gravely mistaken – weeks of trash talk, camaraderie and secret strategizing for the tug-of-war culminated into a boisterous gathering on that fateful day in the Sackler building basement.

Introducing the relays mascot "Richard", a Richard Simmons inspired Jumbo. (Courtesy - Jess Elman, CMDB) — Introducing the relays mascot “Richard”, a Richard Simmons inspired Jumbo. (Courtesy – Jess Elman, CMDB)

As porky the pig was being slow roasted outside, the Sackler community convened in the basement of Sackler building to start the aptly named process of pre-gaming. The organizers of the event – the Graduate Student Council and the Dean’s Office were not daunted at the change of plans. Instead, kegs were in place and food were in plenty – as any veteran event organizer in the Sackler school knows, the path to graduate students’ hearts is through their stomachs. While the number of athletic events were curtailed down only to the obstacle course and the tug-of-war, the most important event of the Relays. In place of the other events, the organizers decided to screen the PhD comic movie in the Sackler auditorium, followed by a re-run of the game night. Hey, if you can’t compete physically, why not rumble on screen with your favorite Super Mario character?

There were some changes in the teams this year – in keeping with the tradition of collaboration and mergers, programs chose to merge to balance out the number of available participants for each team. Cell, Molecular & Development Biology (CMDB) merged with Biochemistry and Cellular & Molecular Physiology (CMP), Immunology joined teams with Genetics, Microbiology went with Pharma (PPET) while Neuroscience chose to play solo. In addition this year also introduced new contenders in the game – MD/PhDs across programs chose to participate by forming their own team, the Sackler MuDPhuDs. While the competition was intense, as always, Neuro did manage to keep their title as the victor, and the dark horse MD/PhDs came in second (watch out, Neuro!).

The newest addition to the Relays - Team Mud Phuds, led by their fearless leader Dr. Gordon Huggins. (Courtesy - Claudette Gardel, Micro) — The newest addition to the Relays – Team Mud Phuds, led by their fearless leader Dr. Gordon Huggins. (Courtesy – Claudette Gardel, Micro)

"Only determination is Real." - Team Neuro on how to win the Relays — “The Determination is Real.” – Team Neuro on how to win the Relays

The Relays were supported by generous donations from BioTechne/R&D, Starbucks, Coolidge Corner Yoga, Trader Joe’s, Cheesecake Factory, RockSpot climbing, Coolidge Corner Theater, Harpoon Brewery, Sam Adams Brewery, Canary Square, Roche Brothers, BoLoCo, The Paint Bar, Back Bay Yoga (YogaWorld), New England Biolabs, Downeast Cider, Tufts Bookstore, Airgas, Sigma Aldrich, Invitrogen and Chipotle. The Relays would not have been possible without the organization of the Graduate Student Council, the help of the Sackler Faculty, particularly Dr. Ira Herman, the Dean’s Office, and of course, the students, post-docs and every member of the Sackler community. A HUGE thank you to Claudette Gardel (Micro) for the amazing photos and to Jess Elman (CMDB) for designing the mascot.
More photos from the 2016 Relays can be found here.

articles, Community, Events for Students, GSC social events, Summer 2016

Sackler Relays 2016

July 26, 2016 Kayla Gross

It’s that time of year again to get out of the lab, into the sun, and show off your program pride: the Sackler Relays are here! As you are all bringing your A-game to the fields of Medford this Friday, the Insight Newsletter team decided to step up to the plate and help get everyone pumped for a great day of fun and friendly competition by outlining what the GSC has put together for everyone this year.

First up: the teams! We have some programs joining forces, with Biochemistry, CMP, and CMDB merging together into a new program and thus a new team for this year’s Relays. Immunology and Genetics are also going for some cooperative action, as well as Microbiology and PPET. And lastly (but not least), let’s see if this year’s new MD/PhD team can put some pressure on last year’s Neuroscience champions.

The GSC has a classic event lineup planned (see below), with a BBQ lunch and raffle scheduled as well. The proceeds from that event will go towards the Sackler Student Enrichment Fund, which provides support for students to present research at scientific conferences or attend career development events.

12:00-1:00 pm Arrival at Medford Field
1:00-1:30 pm Running events (4 x 200m relay, 100m dash, 800m dash)
1:30-2:30 pm Lunch and raffle
2:30-4:00 pm Volleyball, dodgeball, obstacle course
4:00-4:30 pm Water balloon toss
4:30-5:00 pm Tug of war
5:00 pm **Announcement of final scores

Scoring is point-based per event, with increasing points awarded the higher the team placement for the event (Table 1). The scoring for the obstacle course is time-based, while the volleyball, dodgeball and tug-of-war events are scored based on single-elimination tournaments (see graphic for brackets). Total points are tallied from all Relay events as well as points awarded from the March Madness bracket competition to determine the winning team.

Table 1. Scoring scheme for the 21st Annual Sackler Relays.

	2 x 400m relay, 100m dash, Half mile	Volleyball, Dodgeball, Obstacle Course, Water Balloon Toss, Tug of War***
*1st*	8	16
*2nd*	6	12
*3rd*	4	8
*4th*	1	4
*5th*	1	1

* There must be at least one male and one female competing.

** Separate heats for males and females.

*** Teams must come to an agreement regarding # of each gender participating based on available members of each team.

Get excited Sackler, and see you on Friday!