The Ohio State University and Wilberforce University partnership around STEM brought together faculty and postdocs from both institutions for a multidisciplinary minisymposium, hosted March 20, 2024, on the Wilberforce campus. The Ohio State Multidisciplinary Minisymposium at Wilberforce University was made possible thanks to support from the National Science Foundation (GR133174, PI: Zakee Sabree) and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (GR128445, PI: Zakee Sabree).
Photo: Dr. Moonsun Yang, an assistant professor of biology at Wilberforce University begins her research talk which is entitled, “Effect of in vitro Digestion on the Bioefficacy of Basil and Ginger”.
During the symposium attendees were provided with welcome messages, introductions and a series of discussions from faculty and postdocs from various departments at both universities. Research areas that were represented included evolution, ecology and organismal biology, neuroscience, food science and technology, environmental and natural resources, radiation oncology, translational data analytics, and biology. The day concluded with a networking event, poster presentation, and a panel discussion on academic training and careers with a focus on successful applications for graduate school and summer programs.
Photo: Ms. Jeliyah Odon, who is a junior biology student at Wilberforce presents her research poster, entitled, “Ovarian Cancer – Exploring Early Detection Methodologies”.
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) within the Graduate School at Ohio State was one of the driving forces behind the collaboration with Wilberforce and the organization of the symposium. OPA regularly partners with universities nationwide to provide programming for current students and postdocs that supports career development through research opportunities.
Photo: Members of the Ohio State team that visited Wilberforce held a panel at the end of the symposium focused on career exploration and applying graduate school moderated by Dr. Zakee Sabree, associate professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology. From left to right Harshavardhan Bhat (postdoctoral scholar, Translational Data Analytics Institute), James Gentry (director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs), Belkis Clark (program director for inclusive excellence, Comprehensive Cancer Center), Kristina Slagle (senior researcher, School of Environmental and Natural Resources), Dana McTigue (professor of neuroscience and associate dean for foundational research, College of Medicine), Gina Sizemore (associate professor, Radiation Oncology), and Thuvaraki Balasubramaniam (assistant professor of biology, Wilberforce University).
About the Ohio State Multidisciplinary Minisymposium Program
This initiative was originally established in 2018 by Dr. Zakee Sabree, an associate professor of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University as a broader impact initiative related to his research funded by the National Science Foundation. This program provides an essential bridge between Ohio State STEM departments and their counterparts at minority-serving higher education institutions by supporting highly research-productive faculty and postdocs from Ohio State to travel to these institutions to give science talks and interact with faculty and students in the hosting institution’s STEM departments. This program has two important goals, which include building a pipeline of scholars from communities historically underrepresented in higher education into summer research and graduate degree programs at Ohio State and facilitating faculty and postdoc-driven collaborations between STEM departments at Ohio State and their counterparts at the hosting institution.
Since its creation in 2018, Dr. Sabree has held minisymposia each year with partnering institutions such as Howard University, Agnes Scott College, Morehouse College and Spelman College. The event held in March is the first minisymposium hosted with Wilberforce University and we look forward to many more in the coming years! Read more about Dr. Sabree’s outreach activities on the minisymposium website.
To find out more about OPA and the resources and opportunities it offers for postdocs, visit the Graduate School website or contact osupostdocs@osu.edu.