The first MI&I virtual (and second annual) department retreat was highly successful, with fantastic presentations regarding in-progress work from both principal investigators and a host of trainees. The Oestreich lab was well-represented, with a session chaired by post-doctoral scholar Dr. Srijana Pokhrel, and presentations by graduate students Jasmine Tuazon, Devin Jones, and Kaitlin Read (who all received prizes for outstanding presentations, as selected by department-wide votes). Congratulations to all!

Dr. Oestreich was named Mentor of the Year during Research Day 2021, hosted by The Ohio State University College of Medicine. In letters submitted by multiple nominators, Dr. Oestreich was described as enthusiastic, generous, committed, and motivating, and nominators emphasized his guidance for career habits, providing constructive feedback, and being an excellent citizen of the biomedical research community. We couldn’t agree more– Congratulations, Dr. Oestreich!

MD/Ph.D. student Jasmine Tuazon was awarded the Susan Huntington Dean’s Distinguished University Fellowship by the Ohio State University, which will support the first two years and final dissertation year of her Ph.D. research. This is a highly prestigious award for which the graduate program will nominate promising students in the incoming class. Congratulations, Jasmine!

The Oestreich Lab welcomed three new members this month! Post-doctoral scholar Srijana Pokhrel, Ph.D. and graduate students Jasmine Tuazon (who is working towards both an MD and Ph.D. in the OSU Medical Scientist Training Program) and Melissa Leonard, DVM (who is pursuing her Ph.D. while completing a residency in Veterinary Pathology at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine). Welcome, all, we’re so glad to have you here!

*This photo was taken in July 2021

Bharath Sreekumar successfully defended his doctoral thesis and completed the requirements for his Ph.D. on December 16^th, 2019.  Congratulations Dr. Sreekumar!

2^nd year graduate student Kaitlin Read was recently selected by her peers to serve as Vice President of the Microbial Infection and Immunity Graduate Student Society.  In this role, Kaitlin will organize trainee speaking opportunities and assist with other programmatic initiatives.  2^nd year graduate student Devin Jones was appointed as Secretary of the Society and will be responsible for record keeping and official communications from the organization.  Way to go Kaitlin and Devin!

2^nd year graduate student Kaitlin Read received a Nell Mondy and Hartley Corporation  graduate fellowship from the Graduate Women in Science Foundation.  Kaitlin was one of only seven recipients chosen from 292 applications.  Congratulations Kaitlin!

2^nd year graduate student Kaitlin Read received an Outstanding Abstract Award at the 2019 annual Southeastern Immunology Symposium held at Emory University.  Congratulations Kaitlin!

Bharath Sreekumar, a fourth-graduate student, and Mike Powell, a post-doctoral fellow, were selected to give talks during block symposia at the AAI2019 meeting in San Diego, CA.  Both Bharath and Mike received travel awards to attend the meeting as well.  Way to go Mike and Bharath!