Graduate Council Annual Awards for Outstanding Paper and Outstanding Thesis
The Graduate Council invites applications for two awards recognizing outstanding research by OHSU School of Medicine graduate students.
Outstanding Paper. To be awarded for an outstanding paper authored or co-authored by an OHSU School of Medicine graduate student and published in the preceding calendar year (journal publication date between January 1 and December 31). The award will be presented at a ceremony coinciding with the Student Research Forum in early May. Applications for the outstanding paper award must be received by March 1.
John Resko Thesis Award. To be awarded for an outstanding thesis by an OHSU School of Medicine doctoral graduate student who will graduate in the currect academic year. The individual receiving this award will be recognized at the School of Medicine Hooding Ceremony in early June. Applications for the outstanding thesis award must be received by April 15.
Applications for these awards will be evaluated by a review committee appointed by the Graduate Council.
Application materials for both awards should include 4 copies of the following (except a single copy of letters of recommendation should be provided):
- Cover page Indicate award for which the application is submitted (outstanding thesis or paper), student name and title of the thesis or paper.
- Student's curriculum vitae (including publications).
- Student's statement (1 page or less). The student should concisely assess how their studies provide major new insights and also describe their role in the studies. As many papers are co-authored, it is important to specify the student's contributions. This is often relevant to a thesis, as one or more chapters of the thesis may be based on multi-author papers. Factors which should be considered include description of student's contribution to development of the concept or hypothesis, experimental design, development of new methods or materials, collection and interpretation of data, and preparation and revision of a manuscript.
- Letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation from at least three faculty members. The letters should evaluate the significance of the studies and the contribution of the student to the studies. The letters should address the importance of the studies within a broadly defined field. The letters should indicate the relationship of the referee to the student (for instance advisor, committee member, collaborator). Letters from faculty at other institutions are acceptable and can be very useful. It would be helpful if letters from outside referees indicate how knowledge of the studies was obtained (published paper, scientific meeting, collaboration, personal discussion, etc). Letters of reference may be included with the application or sent directly to the address listed below
- Copies of thesis or paper. Fourcopies of the thesis (unbound) or paper should be provided.
Completed applications should be sent to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, L102
2006 Awards
2006 Graduate Student Speaker
The graduate selected as Hooding Ceremony speaker was Dr. Brenda McKee. Dr. McKee completed her dissertation research in Dr. Charlie Meshul's laboratory at the Portland VAMC and received the Ph.D. degree for work completed in the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology's Integrative Biomedical Sciences Program. The title of her dissertation is The Effects of Cocaine on the Dorsolateral Striatum of the Rat. Dr. McKee will soon begin postdoctoral research training in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
2006 Outstanding Master's Thesis Award
The recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Master's Thesis Award is Dr. Kimberly K. Vesco. Before entering the graduate program at OHSU, Dr. Vesco earned an MD degree from the University of California at San Diego and completed an internship and residency in Ob-Gyn at the University of Utah. She received the Master of Public Health degree for work completed in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Her thesis, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Linda Humphrey, is entitled Is surgical menopause associated with an increased risk of fracture in elderly U.S. women. Dr. Vesco is currently a Fellow in Women's Health at the Portland VAMC and OHSU.
John Resko Award for Faculty
The John A. Resko Faculty Research Achievement and Mentoring Award is presented to a basic science faculty member for outstanding research accomplishments and the mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The award is made in honor of the more than 30 years of research, mentoring and leadership contributions of John A. Resko, Chairman and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.
2006 John A. Resko Research Achievement Awards
Dr. Eric Guire received the 2006 John A. Resko Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award. He received the Ph.D. degree for work completed in the Neuroscience Graduate Program under the co-mentorship of Drs. Tom Soderling and Victor Derkach in the Vollum Institute. The title of his dissertation is Cellular Mechanisms of Synaptic Plasticity in Hippocampal Area CA1. Dr. Guire plans to pursue postdoctoral research training at OHSU.
Dr. John Crabbe received the 2006 John A. Resko Faculty Research and Mentoring Achievement Award. Dr. Crabbe came to the Portland VAMC and OHSU in 1979 when he was selected as one of the inaugural recipients of a prestigious VA research award to establish a program of basic research in the area of alcoholism. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and a Senior Research Career Scientist at the Portland VAMC. Dr. Crabbe's is one of the world's leading experts in the use of animal genetic models to study sensitivity to and dependence on alcohol. He is a pioneer in the use of selective-breeding and quantitative-trait-locus mapping procedures to identify the genes and neurobiological mechanisms underlying many different alcohol related behaviors.
