Tufts Boston Insight

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!

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!