Scientific Writing

M.S. AtKisson. Ph.D. – Scientific Proposal Specialist, Office of the Vice Provost, Tufts University, Medford, MA
(’02 Neuroscience Program graduate)

Dr. AtKisson received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences in 2002, training with Dr. Kathleen Dunlap.  She has over fifteen years of laboratory experience in fields such as cell motility, cancer biology and synaptic physiology, with technical skills ranging from electron microscopy to electrophysiology, with protein biochemistry and molecular biology in between.  In 2002 Dr. AtKisson began to use her broad background and talent for writing to work with teams of investigators to assist in writing multi-disciplinary research proposals at Tufts University.  Dr. AtKisson works with twenty to twenty-five major proposals each year, from investigator-initiated research to institutional construction grants, and has secured well over ten million dollars in funding for the university and medical center.

Industry/biotechnology-based research

Paul Beresford. Ph.D. – Vice President of New Technologies and Personalized Medicine, Ventana Medical Systems, Tucson, AZ
(’98 Immunology Program graduate)

Dr. Beresford received a Ph.D. in Immunology from the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he studied with Dr. Judy Lieberman. After completing his doctoral work, Dr. Beresford was an Instructor and Junior Investigator at the Center for Blood Research at Harvard Medical School where his research focused on the elucidation of a novel caspase-independent cell death pathway initiated by the Cytotoxic T cell protease, Granzyme A.   He then accepted his position at Ventana, the world’s leading supplier of automated diagnostic systems to the anatomical pathology market. Their instrument and reagent systems are used in clinical histology, cytology, and drug discovery laboratories around the globe.  Dr. Beresford's group works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies providing diagnostic tools for developing targeted oncology therapies. 

Academia/graduate-level teaching and research

Sharon Cantor, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
(’97 Biochemistry Program graduate)

Dr. Cantor received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Sackler School, training with Larry Feig.  Here, she worked on a cell signaling by Ral proteins.  After receiving her degree, Dr. Cantor went on to a postdoctoral position with Dr. David Livingston in Genetics at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, where her training focused on hereditary breast cancer.  Dr. Cantor currently is Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts where she continues her work on BRCA1, an associated protein called BACH1 and its role in breast cancer and DNA damage responses. 

Patent Law / Intellectual property

Peter G. Carroll, Ph.D. - Partner, Medlen & Carroll, LLP, Quincy, MA
('83 Immunology Program graduate)

Dr. Carroll received a Ph.D. in Immunology from the Sackler School, training with Dr. Robert Schwartz, working on autoimmunity as well as human tumor antigens.  Dr. Carroll went on to a postdoctoral position with Dr. Gary Schwarting in the Biochemistry Department at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, after which he took a position with Travenol-Genentech Diagnostics, Inc. where he worked on one of the first diagnostic assays for AIDS.  In 1986, he graduated from law school and clerked with Chief Judge Greaney of the Appeals Court of Massachusetts (now a member of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts).  In 1987, he joined Limbach & Limbach in San Francisco as an associate. In 1991, Dr. Carroll served as Vice President of a biotechnology startup, now known as Cerus Corporation, a company formed to address the need for solutions to blood contamination.  In 1992, Dr. Carroll left the law firm of Limbach & Limbach to start his own patent law firm, Medlen & Carroll, now with offices in California, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Wisconsin.  Dr. Carroll prosecutes and litigates patents.  Most recently, Dr. Carroll served as patent trial counsel in Promega Corporation's successful defense against Hoffman La Roche's patent suit involving Taq DNA polymerase.  Dr. Carroll regularly advises universities and commercial entities regarding intellectual property, and serves as an expert witness in biotechnology patent cases.

Technology Transfer

Nicole D'Avirro Chiravuri, Ph.D. – Licensing Associate, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
(’02 Genetics Program graduate)

Dr. Chiravuri received a Ph.D. in Genetics from the Sackler School, training in the laboratory of Dr. Erik Selsing. There she focused on the genetic aspects of two important immunological processes: somatic hypermutation and gene conversion. After receiving her degree, Dr. Chiravuri began a career in technology transfer and joined the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts as a Licensing Associate. In this field, Dr. Chiravuri uses her scientific background to help protect, manage and leverage the intellectual property developed at the hospital.

Academia/undergraduate-level teaching and research

Martha Grossel, Ph.D. - George and Carol Milne Associate Professor of Biology, Connecticut College, New London, CT
(’96 Molecular Microbiology Program graduate)

Dr. Grossel joined the faculty at Connecticut College.  After completing her Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology in 1996, under the direction of Dr. Elliott Androphy at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Grossel did postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School with Dr. Philip Hinds.  She continues her work on cancer and the cell cycle, especially focused on the role of cyclin dependent kinase 6 in cell division and differentiation. Dr. Grossel also develops curriculum for teaching undergraduates biology and teaches several courses at Connecticut College.  She has designed a teaching module that allows instructors to incorporate genomics and proteomics into a wide variety of courses, and is working to incorporate research into the laboratory sections so that students can combine the excitement of discovery with classroom learning.