STAR Workshops

The workshops greatly contribute to making the STAR experience more than just a summer job.  STARs come together as a group twice a week for informal and interactive workshops to promote interaction with fellow STARs as well as with MCG faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and staff.   

These workshops provide STARs with the opportunity to learn more about the variety of research initiatives and approaches at MCG beyond what their own research project is focused on.  Towards this aim, each biomedical science graduate program is given individualized time with the STAR participants to spotlight their field of science and highlight their research and educational opportunities.  Students are exposed to cutting-edge research in a variety of formats including poster sessions, seminars, “mini” presentations of faculty research, discussion groups, laboratory tours and scientific demonstrations.

These include workshops in:

• Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

• Cell Biology & Anatomy

• Pharmacology

• Physiology

• Vascular Biology

• Molecular Medicine

• Neuroscience

Students also visit the Georgia Prevention Institute; a clinical research unit of the Department of Pediatrics that conducts epidemiological and interventional research on the pediatric antecedents of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.  Additional workshops topics have included: biomedical research ethics, introduction to biological and chemical safety in the laboratory, the use of humans and animals in biomedical research, Neurobiology-the brain, topics in cancer biology, a tour of  MCG’s non-human primate center, Homeostasis and Body Fluid Balance, the biomedical science PhD and MD/PhD graduate programs at MCG, how to prepare and present a scientific poster, how to keep a lab notebook, and tips on applying to graduate school.

The diversity of formats and the range of topics satisfy everyone’s personal style preference and keep the weekly meetings dynamic and interesting.