2019 Annual Report
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Highlights<br />
GRADUATE SCHOOL<br />
Dean leads cancer consortium<br />
Van Andel Institute Graduate School Dean Steven J. Triezenberg, Ph.D., was elected<br />
as president of the Cancer Biology Training Consortium. CABTRAC is a national<br />
organization dedicated to training the next generation of cancer scientists. As<br />
president, Triezenberg will spearhead development of the CABTRAC 2020 annual<br />
meeting hosted by Vanderbilt University, as well as support programmatic<br />
committees focused on diversity, training grants, curriculum development,<br />
postdoctoral training and medical school curriculum. He began his term at the<br />
CABTRAC <strong>2019</strong> meeting in October <strong>2019</strong>. Triezenberg joined VAI in 2006 as a<br />
professor and founding dean of the Graduate School. He is a respected authority<br />
in viral biology. For 31 years, his lab explored the molecular control systems that<br />
allow viral infections to progress. Triezenberg’s discoveries with herpes simplex<br />
virus opened new possibilities for antiviral drug development and revealed new<br />
insights into how human cells control gene expression.<br />
Graduate student statistics<br />
Fall <strong>2019</strong> Cohort<br />
6 Domestic<br />
1 Underrepresented minority<br />
4 International<br />
GRADUATE SCHOOL<br />
Student earns career development award<br />
Van Andel Institute Graduate School Ph.D. student Robert Vaughan earned a<br />
prestigious Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award from the National<br />
Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The award, also known as the<br />
F99/K00, provides continuous support for outstanding research Ph.D. candidates<br />
through the completion of their dissertation research training into mentored,<br />
cancer-focused postdoctoral career development research positions. This unique<br />
fellowship — the first awarded to a student of the Graduate School — is intended<br />
to support students recognized by their institutions for their high potential and<br />
strong interest in pursuing careers as independent cancer researchers. The award<br />
will help Vaughan develop his skills in analyzing genomic and epigenomic data,<br />
with hands-on training from VAI’s Genomics and Bioinformatics Core.<br />
5.29 Median years to degree<br />
65% Completion rate for Ph.D.<br />
73% Completion rate for M.S. and Ph.D.<br />
24 | VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE ANNUAL REPORT <strong>2019</strong>
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