Cell Biology Service Day
The Cell Biology EDI Committee is organizing community service at the NC Diaper Bank during the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will be packaging diapers and period supplies for people living in the Triangle. Here are the details:
Wednesday, January 22nd 9:30am-11:30am
Address: 437 Dimmocks Mill Rd, Suite 1, Hillsborough, NC 27278
Registration link: https://x.gldn.io/e/whafLNx7OOb
Waiver: https://form.jotform.com/202125631919048
Notes: All volunteers must wear close-toed shoes during the volunteer session. Keep in mind that the warehouse is not air-conditioned or heated, please dress comfortably and bring a water bottle!
The lab with the highest rate of participation will win lunch!
Please make sure you register and fill out the waiver.
EDI Committee Membership
Over the last several months, we have had some changes in membership.
Thank you to the members who have stepped down from the committee. We will miss you!
Laura Childers – graduate student
Dr. Yarui Diao - faculty
Dr. Sharyn Endow – faculty
Mark Langan – departmental staff
Jamarcus Squire – departmental staff
Welcome to our new members:
Dr. Suzanne Barbour – faculty
Yule Martinez Castillo – graduate student
Molly Gooden – research staff
Dr. Akankshi Munjal – faculty
Cell Bio Classifieds
The EDI committee has created a new mailing list named CellbioClassifieds for connecting people with common interests in our department. CellbioClassifieds will be a good way to post ads for advertising or inquiring about things, like selling furniture, finding an apartment, looking for a housemate, carpooling, etc. We think it will be a nice way to connect within the Cell Biology community and other departments in the future. Whoever is interested in being included in the mailing list to post and receive ads can subscribe to the list at: https://lists.duke.edu/sympa/review/cellbioclassifieds. If you have any problems, send Lucio Schiapparelli (lucio.schiapparelli@duke.edu) an email.
2023 EDI Award Winners
- Faculty/Staff EDI Award Winners: Jodi Belanger and Chantell Evans
- Trainee EDI Award Winner: Latanya Coke
- EDI Honorees: Eleanore O'Neil and Arinze Okafor
See the EDI Awards page for more details.
Committee Membership Changes
Pia Rodriguez is stepping down as EDI Committee Co-chair. Thank you to Pia for serving in this role for the past 3 years and for all of her hard work, enthusiasm, and vision! We will miss you!
Cell Biology's Support the Food Bank!
Cell Biology EDI Service Day!
Thank you to everyone who volunteered at our Cell Bio EDI workday at the NC Food Bank on April 21! We sorted 2,500 meals! Congratulations to the Evans lab who won lunch with 100% participation! Honorable mention goes to the Soderling and Gladfelter labs.
Lowe’s Grove Middle School Supply Drive 2023
The EDI Committee held a drive this Spring to benefit Lowe’s Grove Middle School, which is a STEM Magnet School in Durham. Most of the Lowe’s Grove students are from low-income families and >90% are under-represented minorities in STEM. Members of the Cell Biology Department donated around 400 items to replenish Lowe’s Grove's Supply Closet, including back packs, classroom supplies, socks, and school snacks, for students in need. Eight boxes of donated items were dropped off at the school on April 18, which were welcomed by the school principal and teachers (see photo). Thanks to the members of the Department who contributed to the drive!!
Light Microscopy Outreach at Lowe’s Grove Middle School
EDI Committee members Sam Reisman, Crystal Colón Ortiz, and Sharyn Endow with two students from her laboratory, Matthew Wang and Matthew Lee, held a light microscopy session for Lowe’s Grove Middle School students on March 8, 2023. Lowe’s Grove is a Title 1 STEM Magnet School in the Durham Public Schools that is also the beneficiary of the Cell Biology Spring Drive for the school's Supply Closet to provide items for students in need. The outreach session was held in the After School Encore Program in collaboration with the Biophysical Society, which provided small wooden microscope kits for the students. Around 15-18 students in 6th-8th grades attended the afternoon session, which greatly engaged the students (see photos).
Duke Cell Biology Academy (CeBA) 2023 for high school URM students
Become a student mentor for the Cell Biology Academy this summer!
We are recruiting graduate student and postdoc mentors for our department's new summer research program, the Cell Biology Academy (CeBA). CeBA's goal is to provide scientific research and mentorship opportunities to high school students from underrepresented backgrounds in the sciences. Mentors will guide their mentees through an independent, six-week long research project culminating in a poster session this Summer, June-July of 2023. Please reach out to CeBA at ceba@duke.edu if you are interested in becoming a mentor or volunteer!
Access to Lactation Room for Cell Biology Department
We are excited to announce that Cell biology department members have access to a lactation room in the Nanaline Duke building. The Biochemistry department has graciously invited Cell Biology members to use their lactation room which is located at 232 Nanaline Duke. Please sign up in advance and follow the safety instructions mentioned in the room for cleaning after using the room.
If you have any questions or issues, please email Jennifer Carbrey, Cell Bio EDI Committee co-chair (jennifer.carbrey@duke.edu).
Little River K-8 School Science Night Volunteer Opportunity (Organized by Julie Kent) a Success!
Volunteer to run a science station at Science Night at Little River School
(2315 Snow Hill Road, north Durham) on Thursday, March 16th, 2023 from 5:00-8:00PM!
We open this event to students from all over the Durham Public School System- hundreds of students and their families rotating through science stations all evening! Classrooms are set up for different science experiments for students and their families to explore. We have several Duke groups that attend and set up their own science stations in a classroom- Duke's SMIF, Duke Outreach in Genetics and Genomics, Duke Biochemistry, Duke Chemistry, etc. In addition to these, we have quite a few science stations that are already planned out, but simply need volunteers like you to run these stations!
Committee Name Change
We have changed our name to the Cell Biology EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Committee. This is to align our name with the School of Medicine Office of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (OEDI).