BSD Diversity Committee

The BSD Diversity Committee and the Graduate Recruitment Team co-sponsored our 1st Annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Retreat on April 23, 2021. Panel summaries and video are here.

The BSD Diversity Committee works to enhance diversity in UChicago Biosciences by providing a central office that coordinates and promotes:

Social, cultural, and scientific interactions
Awareness of issues facing underrepresented students
Administrative student support, educational programs, and mentorship
Availability of funds for diversity programs
Student recruitment strategies through networking with established regional and national URM-serving organizations as well as by enhancing our programs' visibility.

The committee is led by co-chairs Eileen Dolan, Medicine and Cancer Biology, and Adam Hammond, Biophysical Sciences, and student co-chair, Juan Ibarra, Cancer Biology, and is composed of faculty, administrators, and students who represent the breadth of our graduate programs.

Contact us at bdc@lists.uchicago.edu.

2014

Paul Sereno and Nizar Ibrahim: helped solve the puzzle of Spinosaurus, the first dinosaur known to swim

German scientist Ernst Stromer unearthed the original bones of Spinosaurus at the turn of the 20th century but they were lost in World War II. The giant dinosaur eluded scientists until 2014, when an international team, including UChicago paleontologists Nizar Ibrahim and Paul Sereno, analyzed newly acquired fossils, remains from museum collections, and historical records to render the dinosaur’s skeleton and reveal it as the first truly semi-aquatic dinosaur.

Reconstructed Spinosaurus skeleton

1890s

Henry Chandler Cowles: led formational work in the study of ecology

Botanist Henry Chandler Cowles’s study of ecological succession in the Indiana Dunes along the southern shore of Lake Michigan in the late 1890s opened a new field of inquiry in the natural sciences: ecology. The investigation of a changing natural landscape carries increasing importance amid growing concerns about our environment.

1965

Donald F. Steiner: discovered proinsulin, advancing diabetes treatment

Biochemist Donald F. Steiner, SM’56, MD’56, discovered proinsulin, the first “pro-hormone” and precursor to insulin. The 1965 finding led to the synthetic production of human insulin, markedly improving therapy for diabetes sufferers, and laid the groundwork for improved understanding of how other proteins in the body are made.

Biochemist Donald F. Steiner, SM’56, MD’56, discovered proinsulin, the first “pro-hormone” and precursor to insulin. The 1965 finding led to the synthetic production of human insulin, markedly improving therapy for diabetes sufferers, and laid the groundwork for improved understanding of how other proteins in the body are made.

1930s

Joseph B. Kirsner: transformed the field of gastroenterology

Gastroenterologist Joseph B. Kirsner joined UChicago in 1935, then pioneered modern understanding and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease He was one of the first to show the link between ulcerative colitis and increased risk of colon cancer, introduced guidelines for how doctors should care for patients, and helped found the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

1977

Eugene Goldwasser: discovered source of red blood cell formation

Biochemist Eugene Goldwasser isolated erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone behind red blood cell formation. The 1977 discovery led to the development of the first blockbuster drug of the biotech age, which has since treated millions with anemia.

Biochemist Eugene Goldwasser