John C. Panepinto, PhD, explains the potential paths available to undergraduates at the Jacobs School.

Jacobs School Rolls Out Welcome for Undergraduates

By Bill Bruton

Published February 24, 2023

Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, UB’s vice president for health sciences and the dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and John C. Panepinto, PhD, senior associate dean for biomedical education, have been looking for a way to bring Jacobs School undergraduates into the fold.

Largest Student Group at School

“This was a good way to introduce the biomedical sciences undergraduates to all that is available at our downtown Jacobs School building. We want them to feel welcome. They are an important part of our research mission.”
Allison Brashear, MD, MBA
UB’s vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
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They accomplished that goal with the inaugural Jacobs School Research and Graduate Programs Open House.

“Many people are not aware that our undergraduate population is the largest student cohort in the medical school (1,000-plus students, even larger than the MD student population of 740),” said Beth White, director of graduate enrollment in the Office of Biomedical Education. “Many of these students don’t spend much time downtown, since their classes are on the North and South campuses, so this was a first step toward reinforcing and building their identity as Jacobs School students.”

Event Features Tour of Labs

The final attendance count was 62.

“We were happy with that for our first event,” White said.

Panepinto welcomed the group and gave an overview of the event and the facilities during the opening session.

The second session featured “Finding Your Career Path,” which introduced students to the variety of career opportunities available; and “Plan Ahead! Strategize Now for Your Future,” which explored the value of academic year and summer research opportunities, as well as how to finance graduate school.

The third session featured “Research 101: Finding Research Opportunities,” with a panel of faculty and students providing resources to land great opportunities; and “Grad School 101: Applying to Graduate School,” which offered an overview of the application process and tips on presenting the best application possible.

The fourth session featured “Unlock Success: Utilizing Our Academic Support Services,” which offered tools for success in the undergraduate years; and “Mind the Gap: Gap Year Considerations,” with a panel of students discussing their gap year choices.

The event concluded with student-led tours of the laboratories inside the Jacobs School building.

“This was a good way to introduce the biomedical sciences undergraduates to all that is available at our downtown Jacobs School building,” Brashear said. “We want them to feel welcome. They are an important part of our research mission.”

Jacobs School officials hope to make the open house an annual event.