Distinguished Lecture Series

Matthew Bonaparte PhD, a College of Graduate Studies alumnus and a scientist with Sanofi Pasteur, speaks with students in Upstate's biomedical sciences graduate programs. Dr. Bonaparte was the invited guest speaker for the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series.

In an on-going effort to provide career development to students in the College of Graduate Studies, the Distinguished Alumni Lecture was created. The first annual Distinguished Alumni lecture was presented on April 12, 2010 by Dr. Carlo Nalin, Executive Director of the Novartis Oncology division of Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation. Dr. Nalin earned his Ph.D. in 1982 in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program at Upstate. His thesis sponsor was Dr. Richard Cross. Dr. Nalin's lecture was open to the public. Dr. Nalin also lunched with the students in the College of Graduate Studies and met with the members of the Patent Committee and the Upstate Community.

Dr. Kip West, Lead Senior Scientist at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, presented the second annual Distinguished Alumni Lecture on April 29, 2011. Dr. West earned his PhD in 2001 in the Anatomy and Cell Biology Program at Upstate. His thesis advisor was Dr. Christopher Turner. Dr. Paul Cheney, Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center presented the third annual Distinguished Alumni Lecture on May 15, 2012. Dr. Cheney earned his Ph.D. degree in 1975 in the Neuroscience and Physiology Department at Upstate. His thesis sponsor was the late Dr. James Preston..

The Distinguished Alumni lecture series is open to the public. The day-long event includes a one hour seminar to help mentor our graduate students in the area of career development, lunch with graduate students, and several meetings with our faculty.