August 15, 2014
Taylor Johnson, Medicinal Chemistry 4th year PhD student, describes her research project at one of the organization's monthly meetings.

Graduate students represent a significant portion of the College of Pharmacy’s students, with goals, aspirations, and needs that are distinct from pharmacy professional (PharmD) students. The College of Pharmacy Graduate Student Organization (CoPGSO) was formed in March 2014 not only to represent graduate students at the College, but also to provide a forum for fostering interdepartmental scientific discussions within the College. This organization will also help provide career development opportunities for graduate students, in addition to those already provided by the College of Pharmacy, Rackham Graduate School, and other organizations.

There are currently 27 active members of COPGSO. All graduate students in the College of Pharmacy are automatically members of the organization and represented by COPGSO, although active membership is not required.  COPGSO holds monthly, optional meetings for members. Each meeting includes short, 5-10 minute presentations from graduate students on their research projects or current findings.

The goals of COPGSO include promoting the professional development of each student, encouraging interactions between graduate students of various disciplines along with professional students, faculty, and administration of the College of Pharmacy.  Other goals include organizing social and community service events to promote interaction among students, faculty, and other members of the community.

This newly-formed student organization will host the First Annual COPGSO Award Lecture on Friday, September 12, 2014 in Rackham Amphitheatre from 3:00-4:00pm. This inaugural lecture will feature the College’s incoming Dean, Dr. James T. Dalton. Pre-registration for this event is required.

In addition to this event, COPGSO will be incorporating several different events, primarily focused on student career development, into their monthly meetings.  These events include CV and resume building, writing of abstracts, webinars, and panel discussions with young faculty and industry scientists.

The current COPGSO officers include:

  • President: TBD
  • Vice-President: Nathan Scharf
  • Treasurer: Michael Agius
  • Secretary: Kellisa Hansen
  • Social Chair: Jamie Connarn

Faculty sponsors of this organization include:

For more information regarding COPGSO, please contact Melissa Holt ([email protected]) or Kellisa Hansen ([email protected]).