2019 Biochemistry Retreat at Geneva Park

The 2019 Biochemistry Retreat was a huge success. Members of the department spent September 4th to the 6th up at Geneva Park where they heard talks from students, postdocs, faculty and invited speakers. In the midst of all this, department members partook in a scavenger hunt, fireside singing and other group activities. the department also distributed awards to its trainees for their accomplishments.

Here are some highlights:

Sarah Kronheim from the Maxwell lab won for the best publication by a grad student in 2019 on how bacteria produce chemicals to combat phages.

Brandon Ho from the Brown lab won the Sela Cheifetz Centennial award for best all around PhD student.

Swetha Raman from the Julien lab was selected to give a talk on her Postdoctoral work.

Chloe Mitchell from the Deber lab won the David A. Scott Award.

We also heard talks from our two key note speakers:

Dr. Anne S. Meyer, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Rochester who spoke to us about bacteria survive environmental stress and how to harness bacteria and 3D printing to generate new matterials.

Dr. Joyce C. Havstad, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy Oakland University who spoke to us about the motivations of scientists and whether these align with our ethical standards and ideals.

Here are some photos from the retreat:

Sarah Kronheim, Anne Meyer, Alex Ensminger, Alan Davidson

Mathieu Lemaire, Nana Lee, Joyce Havstad, Brandon Ho, Haley Wyatt and Angus McQuibban

Swetha Raman, Greg Fairn, Oliver Ernst, Gil Privé, Chloe Mitchell and James Rini