News
Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

A room in Slaughter Hall seats 150 students and is meant to simulate the learning spaces in the Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED) that will hold classes next fall. The Slaughter classroom, dubbed the “betaSHED,” combines three rooms to give professors and students a preview of the large-scale learning environment.

Tori Russell, a second-year biotechnology and molecular bioscience student from Warsaw, N.Y., recently added the College of Liberal Arts’ applied modern language and culture program as a second major. Russell is enrolled in the newest French option for this program.

The Conversation asks Maureen Ferran, associate professor in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, about the two vaccines that can protect against monkeypox.

The 31st annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on July 28 featured some of the best in undergraduate research ideas and solutions. Research proposals were featured in a series of oral and poster presentations throughout the day. Students who were unable to present their research at the in-person event can showcase their research at the International Day Online Gallery on Aug. 3.

Dean Sophia Maggelakis will be leaving RIT to become the senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Maggelakis joined RIT as an assistant professor in 1990, became head of the School of Mathematical Sciences in 2001, and became dean of the College of Science in 2010.

Environmental science alumna Sydney VanWinkle ’19, ’21 MS will head to Madagascar this fall to study the impact that conservation initiatives have on local communities and the environment as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Sherry Dadgar ’08 MS (bioinformatics) wants the future of medicine to empower patients. Dadgar, a clinical assistant professor of medicine at George Washington University, launched her company, Personalized Medicine Care Diagnostics (PMCDx), in 2020 with a goal of delivering advanced clinical genomic diagnostic testing to patients and their physicians.

Many RIT students' experiences as undergraduates have helped them get into top graduate degree programs.

The course Honors Science and the Law: Biological, Ethical and Legal Perspectives emphasizes how science permeates the profession of law and concludes with a mock trial, giving students the opportunity to use scientific evidence like cell phone triangulation, medical assessments, and crash reconstruction in the context of a real case.

RIT graduate degree programs in engineering, science, and business were featured in the U.S. News & World Report 2023 edition of Best Graduate Schools, released in March.

The National Institutes of Health are funding RIT scientists to explore vesicular stomatitis virus’s (VSV) potential for treating prostate cancer. Associate Professor Maureen Ferran from the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences secured a three-year, $451,718 Research Enhancement Award (R15) grant from the NIH to investigate prostate cancer cells’ susceptibility to the virus.

RIT students planted trees in Louisiana, revitalized farms and greenhouses in West Virginia, and repaired hiking trails in Georgia and Virginia as projects during this year’s Alternative Break.