CTSC Presents, "Playing God: The Rock Opera"
The CTSC cordially invites you to this Biomedical Ethics Musical produced by Tuija Takala, Matti Hayry, and Corky Laing. Kate Mueth directs this critically acclaimed rock opera which provocatively raises questions about the bioethics of genetic interventions and has been compared with such classic rock operas as Tommy and The Wall. Showtime is at 7:00pm on Thursday, April 23, at the Hunter College Kaye Playhouse, 695 Park Avenue, and will be followed by an open panel discussion led by WCMC Medical Ethicist, Dr. Joseph Fins. Please RSVP here and contact playinggodrocks@med.cornell.edu for more information. 

KL2 Scholars Defending Master's Theses in April
Congratulations to our KL2 Scholars—Nicole Kucine, MD, and Danielle Novetsky Friedman, MD—on presenting their theses before the Master’s Examining Committee in April. Nicole, a WCMC Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, presented on her CTSC KL2 research, "Evaluation of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms in Pediatric Patients." Danielle, an MSK Instructor of Pediatrics, presented on her CTSC KL2 research, "Chronic Conditions in Adult Survivors of Retinoblastoma." We’d also like to thank their mentors (Drs. Ross Levine, James Bussel, Kevin Oeffinger, Erika Abramson, and Chaya Moskowitz) and our Associate Program Directors (Drs. Yuan-Shan Zhu and Dean Bajorin) for attending and showing tremendous support for their mentees.

CTSC Research in Progress Luncheon
The CTSC's next Research in Progress Luncheon will be held on Friday, May 8from 12:30 - 1:30pm at Weill Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, Payson Solarium (P-224), The luncheon will be hosted by Dr. Olaf Andersen, MD, CTSC Associate Program Director, WCMC Professor of Physiology and Biophysics and Director of the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, and will feature these presentations:

• EEG Correlates of Music Processing in Disorders of Consciousness, Brian Fidali, BA, CTSC TL1 Award Trainee
• Diagnosis of Tuberculosis & Th1 Immune Response in Pregnant Women in Haiti, Jyoti Mathad, MD, CTSC KL2 Award Scholar
• Sphingolipids and Pediatric Asthma, Jennie Ono, MD, CTSC MS Degree Candidate

2015 CTSC Travel Award Winners
Every year the CTSC sponsors Travel Awards for scholars and trainees to attend and present research abstracts at the Translational Science Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The Translational Science Annual Meeting is a great venue for our students to gain national exposure and network with others working in clinical and translational research.

We congratulate the 2015 CTSC Travel Awardees:

•    Laura Breda, PhD, MS, KL2 Scholar, will present her research, Comparing Strategies to Reactive _-Globin Expression in Patients with Β-Globinopathies.
•    Jayme Burket, PhD, Master's Degree Candidate, will present her research, Outcomes of Hip Arthoplasty 2 Years Postoperatively by Bearing Surface.
•    Kelly Chiles, MD, KL2 Scholar, will present her research, Intratesticular Aromatase is Primarily Responsible for the Conversion of Endogenous Testosterone to Estradiol.
•    John Lee, MD, KL2 Scholar, will present his research, Gut Microbiota Profiles Associated with Post-Transplant Complications in Kidney Transplantation.
•    Whitney Reid, BS, Advanced Certificate Student, will present her research, Definition of Thrombotic Microangiapathies in the Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Setting.
•    Andrea Suarez, MD, PhD, KL2 Scholar, will present her research, A High Throughput Zebrafish Model for Investigating the Role of SOX10 in Invasive Melanoma.

CTSC Summer Intensive Fellowship in C/T Research for Medical Students
We are pleased to announce this year's CTSC Summer Intensive in Clinical and Translational Research Fellows. The CTSC Summer Fellowship is an 8-week continuous program that provides medical students with an introduction to basic, translational or clinical research.  

• Venkat Boddapati, BA, will be working with Dr. Yen-Michael Hsu on a research project titled, "Osteoblast Characterization in Auto-SCT & Orthopedic Surgery Clinical Outcomes." 
• Clare S Burke, BA, will be working with Dr. Heidi Stuhlmann on a research project titled, "EGFL7 as a Potential Biomarker for Pre-Eclampsia." 
• Naveen Galla, BA, will be working with Drs. Ilhami Kovanlikaya and Linda Heier on a research project titled, "Role of Imaging Biomarkers in Identifying Bevacizumab Sensitive Glioblastoma." 
• Cole Brandon Hirschfeld, BBA, will be working with Dr. Gabriella Wernicke on a research project titled, "Combined Surgery and SRS Versus SRS Alone in the Treatment of Brain Metastases." 
• Colin Ogilvie, BA, will be working with Dr. Timothy Wilkin on a research project titled, "A Retrospective Review of Anal Cancer Screening Outcomes in HIV Infected Women." 
• Andrew Raikhel, BM, MM, will be working with Dr. Kristen Marks on a research project titled, "Comparison of Care of HVC Between Specialized and Non-Specialized Physicians."
• Birra Rissa Taha, BSC, will be working with Dr. Ashish Raj on a research project titled, "An Investigation into Eigenspaces of Schizophrenia and Related Brain Diseases." 
• Yoshiko Toyoda, BA, will be working with Dr. Jason Spector on a research project titled, "Effects of Non-thermal Plasma on Wound Healing and Sterilization." 

KL2 Scholars Organize Symposium Addressing Attrition of Women from Global Health Research
On February 2, CTSC KL2 Scholars, Drs. Jyoti Mathad and Jennifer Downs, participated in an international panel they helped organize at Weill Cornell discussing the low percentages of women in global health leadership positions. Please read more about this event here.

MS Candidate Receives American Society of Hematology Fellowship
CTSC MS Candidate, Jacqueline Barrientos, MD, received the 2015 American Society of Hematology-Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (ASH-AMFDP) Fellowship. Names of other recipients can be found here. 

KL2 Scholar Receives NYAM Academic Research Award in Dermatology
CTSC KL2 Scholar, Andrea Suarez, MD, PhD, received the New York Academy of Medicine Academic Research Award in Dermatology for her project titled, “The Role of SOX10 in Invasive Melanoma.” Please read more here.

CTSC Mentor Receives Star Award from the ASRM
Dr. Peter Schlegel, mentor to KL2 Scholar Kelly Chiles, MD, will be presented with the Star Award from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) at this year's annual meeting in October in Honolulu. Dr. Schlegel is being recognized for his contribution to the field and for past presentations at nine of the Society’s annual meetings. Please read more here.

CTSC Mentor Gives Keynotes at Major Conferences
Dr. Costantino Iadecola, mentor to former CTSC KL2 Scholar Babak Navi, MD, was the keynote speaker at the 11th International Symposium on Resistance Arteries hosted this past September in Banff, Alberta, Canada. September was a busy month for Dr. Iadecola; he was also the keynote speaker at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Conference in San Francisco. Please read more here.

Cornell Tech Health Hackathon
President Sarah Kishinevsky co-founded the Bench to Bedside Initiative (BBI) (formerly The Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club) in 2010 which has resulted in the creation of several seed-funded biotech startups. The BBI unites members of the tri-institutional community (Weill Cornell Medical College, Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) and professionals in NYC interested in entrepreneurship and/or venture capital in the life sciences, and their mission is to provide scientists in our community with the fundamental skills needed to translate their ideas into commercially accessible products that will benefit patients. 

On April 10-12, Cornell students joined a Hackathon and enjoyed the line up of lecturers from MSKCC, Pfizer and Flatiron Health. The Bench to Bedside Initiative also partnered with MIT to invite their own students. If you would like to subscribe to the BBI mailing list, please email them here. 

Tri-Institutional Career Symposium
This year's Tri-Institutional Career Symposium will be held on Tuesday, May 12, from 9:15am - 7:00pm in Uris Auditorium, 1300 York Avenue. Hosted by WCMC's Office of Post-Doc Affairs & Post-Doc Association, MSK's Office of Career Services, and The RU's Post-Doc Association, this day-long event will provide postdoctoral fellows and graduate students from the three sponsoring institutions information about the range of career opportunities available to PhDs in the biomedical sciences. The symposium will include five panels, each focusing on a different career path followed by a networking reception with participation from more than 20 professionals from different industries! 

• 9:15 - 10:30am, Search Committee Perspectives on Academic Hiring
• 10:45am - 12:00pm, Science Communication Careers
• 12:15 - 1:15pm, Lunch
• 1:15 - 2:30pm, Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Careers
• 2:45 - 4:00pm, Consulting and Business Careers
• 4:15 - 5:30pm, Biotech/Pharma Industry Careers
• 5:30 - 7:00pm, Networking Reception: All Careers

Careers in Biotech and Pharma
The MSKCC Office of Career Services sponsored an event, "How to Break into Pharma and Biotech: Myths and Realities," on Tuesday, April 14, from 5:00 - 7:45pm in the Zuckerman Research Center auditorium and lobby. This panel discussion covered:

• Realities of the biotech and pharma job market
• How to prepare for careers in industry during your academic training
• What companies look for in competitive candidates
• Individual career paths of several professionals

A networking reception with 16 professionals from 12 different companies followed. Please contact Thomas Magaldi, Office of Career Services Administrator, for more information.