Welcome to the Alliance for Visible Diversity in Science!

We focus on one central mission- to increase visible diversity within the Graduate Studies programs at Oregon Health and Science University by recruiting, retaining, and most importantly, supporting graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, staff, and faculty members from underrepresented backgrounds. 


​A snapshot of why active racial inclusion is important:

September Newsletter


Refer to Calendar for details

*|MC:SUBJECT|*
 
 TODAY: AVDS Happy Hour!
It's time for August happy hour! AVDS happy hour is the only campus happy hour open to ALL students faculty and staff. (Flyer)

When:  5:00 PM last Friday of the
month

Where: Mac Hall Courtyard

AVDS Invited Speaker:
Dr. John Matsui
AVDS is thrilled to announce our first invited speaker! Dr. Matsui is the founder of the Biology Scholars Program (BSP) at the University of California-Berkley. The BSP's goal is to make biology training at UC-Berkley accessible to students from all backgrounds.
    Dr. Matsui has created a support structure for BSP students  in addition to  mentoring numerous biology students from underserved communities. President Obama awarded Dr. Matsui the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) for those efforts. We are looking forward to hearing how Dr. Matsui started his program and his thoughts on how to develop successful scientists. Learn more about Dr. Matsui and the BSP here.

"Universities like UC Berkeley are set up in a way that best supports students from backgrounds similar to those who've been historically successful. I was looking to fill the gaps, to create the support that was missing at Berkeley in order to better serve the students that no one really expected to survive or succeed in science. I saw a lot of talent being wasted, so, like Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics, I went looking for that "undervalued talent" - students with the potential to be scholars."
                                                                                                - Dr. Matsui
 
This event was planned and organized by the AVDS Steering Committee and funded by the OHSU School of Medicine.

Itallia Pacentine PhD Defense
Itallia is the first AVDS Steering Committee member to defend her thesis. Come out and support her next Tuesday! (Flyer)
 
When:  September 4th, 2018
     9:00 AM

Where: Vollum Auditorium (M1441)
Marquam Hill

NGP/BEHN Neuroscience Post-Bac Program
Call for Volunteers:      
         OHSU is offering a new, one-year neuroscience post-baccalaureate research opportunity starting this September! This is a joint effort between the Vollum Institute, Neuroscience Graduate Program, and the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience. The post-bac is geared towards providing research training, academic support, and professional development activities to individuals that identify as being part of an underrepresented group (as defined by the NIH: an underrepresented minority, disabled, or from an underserved background) and are interested in pursuing a PhD.
          We are in the final stretch of making selections from nearly 50 applications! If you are faculty and interested in getting involved, consider hosting/hiring (at the discretion of the applicants/PI) one of our candidates.
          If you are a current graduate student or post-doc interested in mentoring and teaching scholars from diverse backgrounds, there will be opportunities for that as well! Please don’t hesitate to connect with Letisha Wyatt (wyattl@ohsu.edu) for more information. (Flyer)


Women in Science
Grant Writing Lunch and Learn 
WIS is planning a Lunch & Learn Seminar Grant Writing Series with two sessions. The first session will take place on Wednesday, September 5th,  where Jackie Wirz Ph.D. will share useful tips/resources on how to search for grants), and the second session will focus on experiences from graduate students and post-docs who have successfully applied for grants and what lessons they have learned (later in September, exact date TBD). 
What: Grant Writing Lunch and Learn

When:  September 5th

Where: TBD
What: Grad Student and
Postdoc Grant Panel

When:  TBD

Where: TBD
We have donation page on our website now!
If you want to support our cause, please consider donating! Any amount helps!
a4vdis.weebly.com/donate.html
The Alliance for Visible Diversity in Science
AVDS Event Calendar






This email was sent to *|EMAIL|*
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
*|LIST:ADDRESSLINE|*

*|REWARDS|*
What I have learned from these experiences about surviving as an underrepresented minority in the sciences is that many such students do not take proactive steps to reach out, seek help, and get answers to concerns they have. They wait for someone to come to them. But they must learn how to reach out in order to survive. For institutions, creating a culture of inclusion and a space for these students to air their thoughts is a great help."

​​– Erich Jarvis, Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center