Photo gallery

Lin Li has just received her diploma for her Ph.D. in Human Genetics at VCU's December Commencement. Though the tradition is only a few years old, it is very popular with graduates, and their family and friends. The graduating class of 2,300 students marks the largest total ever to graduate from VCU following the fall semester. Kelly Tracy, another student in the department, also received her Ph.D. at the same ceremony.

The MCV Alumni House is a beautiful setting for the Department's 2006 holiday party. It is a great opportunity for faculty, staff and students to interact and socialize.

At the 2006 Treacher Collins Connection Retreat, speaker Dr. Pilar Gordon, a craniofacial orthodontist, is shown with Judy Mosher and Thomas Hamel, co-founders of the Treacher Collins Connection, and speaker Dr. Rita Shiang, a molecular geneticist from Virginia Commonwealth University. The goal of the TC Connection, a support group for individuals and families with Treacher Collins syndrome, is to connect, educate and support the global community of people with Treacher Collins syndrome. The retreats serve as an excellent way to meet other TC families as well as listen to clinical and scientific talks about craniofacial disorders. More about this group can be found at http://www.tcconnection.org/retreat.html.

Former Elsea lab member Dr. Chris Vlangos, Emily Edelman (M.S. Genetic Counseling, 2006), Dr. Sarah Elsea and Santhosh Giriragan catch a bite and catch up at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in New Orleans, where Giriragan, a Ph.D. student, presented a poster. National meetings are an excellent way to reunite with former students.

Ph.D. student Dadi Jiang was one of nine graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from the Department of Human Genetics to present at the 23rd Annual Daniel T. Watts Research Poster Symposium. Jiang presented his research on the effects of p53 gain-of-function mutations on mouse salivary tumors at Watts Day, named for the former dean of Basic Health Sciences who was instrumental in developing Ph.D. training at VCU.

Heather Creswick, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Dr. Joann Bodurtha and Dr. John Quillin share a stage at the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation Awards Ceremony. The team from the Department of Human Genetics and the Massey Cancer Center won the 2006 Sharon H. Kohlenberg Healthcare Service Award for outstanding work in the fight against breast cancer.

View the 2005-06 photo gallery.