New Students 2025 Agenda

BGS New Student Orientation - Biomedical Research Building Lobby and Auditorium

Monday, August 11, 2025 - Welcome!

8:00 am – 9:00 am

Arrive and Check In - Light Breakfast

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Welcome Remarks from the Deans and School Representatives

Dan Kessler, PhD
Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Education, PSOM
Interim Director, BGS

Dave Meaney, PhD 
Vice Provost for Research, University of Pennsylvania
Senior Associate Dean, SEAS

Chris Lengner, PhD
Chair of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine

Kristy Shuda-McGuire, PhD
Dean of Biomedical Studies, The Wistar Institute

Donita Brady, PhD 
Assistant Dean and Research Trainee Affairs Director, University of Pennsylvania

Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, PhD 
Vice Provost for Graduate Education, University of Pennsylvania

10:00 am – 10:30 am

Making the Most of Graduate School

Kyndall Nicholas
NGG Student

10:40 am – 11:00 am

Welcome from the PSOM Dean

Jon Epstein, MD
EVP, University for the Health System
Dean, PSOM

11:00 am – 11:40 am

Introduction to Grad School and Professionalism

Dan Kessler, PhD
Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Education, PSOM
Interim Director, BGS

11:40 am – 1:00 pm

Lunch

Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - Connections in the Lab and Beyond

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Mentorship Overview – Dan Kessler

10:00 am – 11:00 am

Student-Led Mentorship Case Studies

(Small groups will be set up in lobby, BRB 251, 252, and 253)

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Graduate Student Organizations Panel

  • Biomedical Graduate Student Association (BGSA) 
  • EE Just Biomedical Society (EE Just) 
  • LTBGS+ 
  • Penn Biotech Group (PBG)
  • Penn Graduate Consulting Club (PGCC)
  • Penn Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (PGWISE) 
  • Penn Science Policy and Diplomacy Group (PSPDG)
  • Pharm4GOOD 
  • SACNAS 
  • Trainee Advancement Alliance (TAA) 
  • Venture Lab
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Lunch

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

BIOM 6000 Prep Workshop - Smilow 10-146AB

(Optional)

Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - BGS and University Resources

9:00 am – 9:45 am

Graduate School Logistics (Welcome from the Staff)

Judy Jackson
BGS Administrative Director

Kyle Brown
BGS Registrar

Carol Reich
Payroll Manager

10:00 am – 11:00 am

University Resources Panel Session

  • Graduate Student Center
  • Penn Libraries/Holman Commons
  • Public Safety 
  • Recreation and Athletics
  • Wellness General
  • Weingarten Learning Resource Center
11:00 am – 11:30 am

Religious and Ethnic Interests/Title VI

Sarah Estey and Majid Alsayegh
Office of Religious and Ethnic Interests (Title VI)

 

11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Lunch

Thursday, August 14, 2025 - Building Inclusive Culture

9:00 am – 9:30 am

Introduction to Research Trainee Affairs and the Trainee Advancement Alliance (TAA)

Donita Brady, PhD 
Assistant Dean and Research Trainee Affairs Director

Kellie Jurado, PhD
Presidential Assistant Professor of Microbiology

9:30 am – 10:30 am

Restorative Conflict & Communication Skills

Imani Hester
Restorative Practices@Penn

10:45 am – 11:00 am

Building Cultures of Excellence in Research Spaces

Donita Brady, PhD 
Assistant Dean and Research Trainee Affairs Director

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Student-Led Inclusive Culture Case Studies

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Lunch

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Student Organizations Ice Cream Social

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

BIOM 6000 Prep Workshop - Smilow 10-146AB

(Optional)

Friday, August 15, 2025

Graduate Group Specific Activities

Monday, August 18, 2025

Graduate Group Specific Activities

Graduate Group Specific Activities 

Fontaine Society Orientation

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 - Lab Notebooks and Documentation

9:00 am – 9:30 am

Introduction to Lab Notebooks

Ben Voight 
Chair, Genomics and Computational Biology Graduate Group

9:30 am – 10:15 am

Student Perspectives on Lab Notebooks

Data and File Organization - Chelsea Thorsheim
What’s an e-Notebook? - Victoria Subritzky Katz
Work in Computational Areas - Jimmy Kelliher

10:30 am – 11:30 am

Hands-On Training: Lab Archives, Benchling, One Note

Lab Notebook Exercises (Participants should bring laptop)

11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Lunch

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 - Doing Science Well

9:00 am – 9:30 am

PSOM Core Facilities & Computing Resources

Yale Cohen, PhD 
Assistant Dean of Research Facilities and Resources, PSOM
Li-San Wang, PhD
Associate Dean for Computing, PSOM

9:30 am – 10:20 am

Responsible Conduct of Research/Community for Rigor

Steve DiNardo, PhD
Director, Training Support & Career Development, BGS
Carolina García & Zac Parker 
Community for Rigor

10:20 am – 11:00 am

Ready, Set, Experiment!

Kurt Engleka, PhD
Curriculum Director, BGS

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Student-Led Experimentation Case Studies

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Lunch

Thursday, August 21, 2025 - Career Development

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Certificate Programs Introduction and Overview

Graduate Training in Medical Science (GTMS) 

Public Health (PHCP) 

Community Engagement (CECP) 

Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) 

10:00 am – 10:45 am

Intro to Careers

Steve DiNardo, PhD 
Director, Training Support & Career Development, BGS

11:00 am – 11:30 am

Holman Biotech Commons Open House

11:45 am – 1:00 pm

Lunch

Friday, August 22, 2025

Graduate Group Specific Activities

Monday, August 25, 2025

Graduate Group Specific Activities

Thursday, August 28, 2025

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

BGSA Welcome Student Mixer

Rittenhouse
RSVP: http://bit.ly/4lmYgh4