On December 12, 2019, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology held its annual Winter Holiday Party. Faculty, staff, and graduate students came together in the Alice Campbell Alumni Center to celebrate and recognize our successes throughout the year. Coordinated by Shawna Smith and Holly Mansfield, all were treated to a night of music, food, and games.
The Winter Carnival theme was a hit. Guests could treat themselves to novelty foods like cotton candy and funnel cake in between rounds of bingo, the pipette “throwing”, and the photo booth. Inside the ballroom, everyone mingled and enjoyed the food and drinks while the submissions to the first MCB Research Image Contest were displayed on the projectors.
The Director of the School of MCB, Dr. Milan Bagchi, addressed the guests before beginning the awards presentation.
The recipients of the Outstanding Graduate Student Awards were: Savanna Sharum Skeeters (Biochemistry), Syeda Nayab Fatima Abidi (Cell and Developmental Biology), Alexander Palmer (Microbiology), and Sisi He (Molecular and Integrative Physiology).
The winner of the MCB Research Contest was Rachel Gonzalez from the Raetzman lab.
Shawna Smith was the recipient of the Outstanding Academic Professional Award.
William Metcalf (Microbiology) received the Faculty Excellence Award for Research. There was a two-way tie for the Faculty Excellence Award for Service– John Cronan (Microbiology) and Lori Raetzman (Molecular and Integrative Physiology). The Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching was also awarded to Lori Raetzman.
A good time was had by all, and the party left the personnel of the School of MCB relaxed, refreshed, and ready for the new year.