ANNOUNCING: Summer 2013 Field Courses and REU Opportunities Mountain Lake Biological Station

Mountain Lake Biological Station (University of Virginia) is pleased to announce its summer program of field-based undergraduate and graduate-level credit courses offered by nationally recruited faculty, and its NSF REU undergraduate research internship program, now in its 21^styear. Work at MLBS focuses on field-based ecology, evolution, physiology, and behavior.  Located in the southern Appalachians. Learn more about the programs and apply on-line:

Courses:   http://mlbs.org/summercourses

Plant Conservation and Diversity– Zack Murrell, Appalachian State

Techniques in Conservation Biology- Melissa Aikens, University of Virginia

Wildlife Disease Ecology – Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia & Courtney Thomason, Texas Tech University

Behavioral Endocrinology – Caitlin Gabor & Andrea Aspbury, Texas State University

Biology of Fungi – Rytas Vilgalys, Duke University

Landscape Drawing Large and Small – Megan Marlatt, University of Virginia

REU:  http://mlbs.org/reuprogram, a 10 week learning and living research experience for undergraduates program.

Please forward this information to colleagues or students you think might be interested. 

Thanks for your help!  Best wishes, happy and safe holidays.

****    Learn all about Mountain Lake opportunities at  MLBS.org    ****

VMCAS Application Help

Wonder what it takes to complete the VMCAS application? 

Register to attend the first of four (4) Online Application Workshops geared to assist DVM applicants with understanding each of the components needed to complete the VMCAS Primary Application including:

·         understanding the DVM profession

·         working with pre-health advisors and choosing prerequisites

·         obtaining animal experience

·         preparing for the GRE

·         learning tips to obtain great letters of recommendation

·         preparing to write a personal statement

You are invited to join us for the first Online Application Workshop offered by Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Veterinary Medicine on Tuesday, December 18, 2012!

Please join us for this exciting event!  Feel free to forward this invitation to any other interested individuals!

To RSVP for this event, please complete the registration and an email with the link will be sent to you on Monday, December 17^th!

U.Va. Internship Programs: For Rising Third- and Fourth-Year Students
Deadline to apply: Feb. 25.
There are hundreds of summer and academic year internships in a wide range of areas. Learn more at the information sessions in January. If you have any questions, visit the UIP website.

Presidential Research Poster Competition: $500 Travel Funds for Each Winner
Posters due by March 18.
To recognize research as a central part of the U.Va. mission, we are holding a Pan-University Research Poster Competition to highlight high-impact and innovative growth areas for the University’s research. Visit the website for more information.

Community Service Grant Application: Class of 2014
Apply before the beginning of spring semester.
Are you a third-year with a great idea for a way to give back to the community? Do you need the money or manpower to make it happen? Apply for TYC's Service Grant and receive up to $500 to organize your event. For more information, please see the websiteor email jtt7ub@virginia.edu.

U.Va.: Research Study
The U.Va. Department of Human Services seeks men, women, and children ages 15 to 30 who have had an ankle sprain in the past two weeks for a research study. The purpose of the study is to understand the effects of an ice bag on different nerves in the lower leg, and pain and function. The study involves one visit of approximately 90 minutes. Eligible individuals will participate in pre-treatment measures, an ice bag treatment, and post-treatment measures. You will be compensated $25 for completion of this study. Please see the website for more information.  IRB-HSR No. 16341.

Virginia-Nebraska Alliance Summer MCAT Preparatory Program

The University of Richmond, in conjunction with the Virginia-Nebraska Alliance, offers a summer MCAT Preparatory Program to students enrolled in Virginia's historically black colleges and universities and other Alliance schools. This program provides students the opportunity to advance their skills through an intensive five week course. Accepted students receive housing, meals, a $1500 living stipend, access to the University's top facilities and all materials needed for the course.To learn more, visit:

http://prehealth.richmond.edu/mcat-preparation/virginia-nebraska-alliance.html

The MSAR Giveaway is Now Closed

The MSAR Giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the five students who won!

MSAR Giveaway!

Enter to win a copy of a 2010-2011 Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) Guide! The first 5 people to email healthprof@virginia.edu will be the winners!  If you do not receive a notification of winning, all copies have already been won!  These books normally run upwards of $100.  While some of the information in the guides may be somewhat out of date, they can be used as great starting points while you begin to explore medical schools.  These guides include information about all the Medical Schools in the United States and some in Canada!  Information that is in the guide includes requirements, tuition, application and acceptance policies, as well as information about each school's curriculum!  In the UCS library, we have the most up to date copies of the the MSAR, ADEA Dental School book, the Pharmacy School Admissions Requirement book, and the Veterinary Admissions Requirement book. 

Summer Academic Enrichment Program at VCU

The Summer Academic Enrichment Program is an intensive, six-week inter-professional academic enrichment program designed to enhance the academic preparation of junior and senior undergraduate students, and post-baccalaureate students, actively pursuing enrollment in a health professions school. The curriculum is designed around an inter-professional framework that provides:

• Three core courses
• Discipline specific instruction time (dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy)
• Learning skills and test-taking workshops
• Seminars featuring topics on health disparities
• Professionalism
• Group and individual counseling
• Social and networking events 

Participants are provided housing and a stipend to cover program expenses.

The program is available for those students who are interestd in attending a health professions school at VCU.  The program places a strong emphasis on enhancing the academic preparation of students approaching the application process.  Upon completion of SAEP, participants will have the tools that will help them to assess their strengths and weaknesses in regards to application to a health professions school.

For more information, please visit http://www.dhsd.vcu.edu/programs/college/saep.html. 

Student Member of the Board of Visitors Application

Applications are now available for the 2013-2014 Student Member of the Board of Visitors!  This is a great opportunity to get more involved at the University!
 
Please visit http://www.virginia.edu/vpsa/bov-stud/ for the application.
Applications are due online on Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

Criteria for eligibility include:

• Minimum Cumulative G.P.A. 2.5 and full-time student status.
• At the time of application, undergraduate students must be within one year of completing degree requirements (an undergraduate student can serve only during her or his final year of undergraduate study, and therefore s/he applies during the next-to-last year of study).
• At the time of application, graduate/professional students must be in at least their second year of study, or they must previously have attended U.Va. as an undergraduate.
• Meet deadline for application no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon), Tuesday, January 22, 2013.
• Grant permission for the Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer, or her designee, to access, print and share with the selection committee an applicant’s unofficial transcript (“advising transcript”) for the purposes of application review.
• All applications must be submitted online to the Office of the Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer, at http://www.virginia.edu/vpsa/bov-stud/. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Healthcare Policy and Research Open House at VCU

Healthcare Policy and Research Open House
Virginia Commonwealth University
January 23, 2013, 4:30-5:30 PM
RSVP to Kate Grant at kagrant@vcu.edu

For more information abot the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at VCU, please visit http://www.healthpolicy.vcu.edu/.

Post-Bacc Programs for Pre-Dental Students

Most post-bacc programs seem to be “pre-health post-bacc programs” and are indeed “applicable” to students interested in pursuing dentistry, but are there programs specifically designed for pre-dental students? 

Yes there is!  See the following two links for more information about post-bacc programs geared specifically toward pre-dental students!

Boston University

The Master of Arts in Medical Sciences (MAMS) Oral Health Sciences Track

http://www.bumc.bu.edu/gms/academics/masters-in-medical-sciences/oral-health/

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)

M.S in Biomedical Sciences  Dental Scholars Program

http://njms.umdnj.edu/gsbs/academic_programs/masters_dentsch_interest.htm

Johns Hopkins Summer Human Anatomy Course

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine announces the thirteenth annual Summer Institue in Anatomy.  The Institute will offer a four week Human Anatomy course in June 2013 on the campus of the JHU School of Medicine in Baltimore.  The course will be taught by memebers of the faculty of the Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution.  For further information, please see the website at http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/FAE/anatomyinstitute.

Miss the MSTP/MD-PhD Panel on December 3rd?

Did you miss the MSTP/MD-PhD panel on December 3rd?  Want to know more information about the program?  Please see the following googledoc for a powerpoint from the presentation!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=1Z3rURRv3JgaUTKEkVWIdTKMXSR6P1nZeCQduTkF7iwh3OEii9N7WDzWN3jcy

2012 Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic

The University of Virginia is pleased to participate in the 2012 Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic, a basketball doubleheader to benefit Virginia's Food Banks. A recent study by Feeding America found that more than 1,012,500 Virginians are considered "food insecure." Many of these individuals are children, senior citizens, adults with disabilities, and the new face of hunger - individuals who have lost their jobs and are having problems making ends meet. In December 2012 and 2013, the Richmond Coliseum will be the site of what will certainly be exciting games in support of the Commonwealth's Food Banks.

The Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic began on November 15 and runs through December 15. All donations through U.Va. will support the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

Ways to Give:

• U.Va. employees can conveniently give through the CVC. Visit the "Pledge Online" page and follow the instructions. The code for the BRAFB is 3608.
• Make a financial contribution in any amount using the "Give Now" button on the right and following these steps:
  
  1. Select or enter the amount of your donation.
  2. Enter your contact and billing information.
  3. Select your payment method.
  4. Submit.
• Text FEEDBR UVA to 85944. A $10 donation will be added to your cell phone bill. Phones billed as part of a family or company plan are not eligible. More details.
• Donate a non-perishable food item at a location below.

Donation Locations

• 400 Ray C. Hunt Drive
• Alderman Library
• Bice House
• Claude Moore Health Sciences Library
• Courts & Commerce at the U.Va. Law School
• Crossroads at O-Hill
• Dabney House
• Lambeth Commons
• Leake Building – Facilities Management
• Madison Hall
• Madison House
• Piedmont Building at 2405 Ivy Rd
• Rouss/Robertson Hall at the Commerce School
• Ruffner Hall
• U.Va. Bookstore

Peace Corps Information Sessions

Upcoming Peace Corps Information Session and Events
Peace Corps General Information Session - UVA/Charlottesville
Wednesday  12/5/2012; 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Commonwealth Room, Newcomb Hall
It's never too early to think about Post-Grad plans! Come out to this presentation to learn more about the Peace Corps.  Serving in the Peace Corps is a great way to immerse yourself in a new culture, learn a new language, and have the experience of a lifetime. Join recruiter and Return Peace Corps Volunteer April Muñiz at this information session to learn about Volunteer experiences, have your questions answered, and gain tips to guide you through the application process.  This event is presented by University Career Services and sponsored by Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.

Peace Corps Public Health Seminar - "Stomping Out Malaria" - UVA/Charlottesville
Friday 12/7/2012; 4:00pm-5:30pm
Bryant Hall Football Recruiting Room (at Scott Stadium)
Chris Hedrick, Coordinator of Peace Corps' Africa Region Initiatives will be presenting a case study on "Stomping Out Malaria" and discussing how aid and development work is effectively carried out by Peace Corps Health Volunteers.  April Muniz, the Peace Corps Campus Recruiter, Paige Hornsby, UVA's Public Health Master's International Program Coordinator, and other Returned Peace Corps Volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about the program and the application process.