UCSF Postdoc to Give Keynote at SFWorks' On-Ramp Graduation

Emmitt Jolly, a distinguished post-doctoral scholar in the Tropical Disease Research Unit at UCSF's Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research or QB3, will give the keynote address at the SFWorks' On-Ramp Biotech graduation ceremony. The On-Ramp program, which works with UCSF and its affiliated institutions, prepares low-income minorities with little or no previous scientific experience for careers in the life sciences. The ceremony will take place this Friday, Jan. 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the J. David Gladstone Institutes auditorium. It will honor students from SFWorks' sixth and seventh On-Ramp cycles. San Francisco Supervisor Sophie Maxwell also will participate in the ceremony, which is open to all interested UCSF faculty and staff. Ralph Kaan and Sahara Morris are two current SFWorks graduates. Kaan, a Native American who had been working in carpentry and painting since leaving the US Navy, joined the On-Ramp program and began his internship at the Gladstone Institute for Neurological Disease last fall. Kaan has been hired by the lab for the spring while he continues to build his skills in City College's Biotech Certificate program. He plans to complete a four-year degree. Morris, a former carpenter and painter currently working at Mervyn's, entered the On-Ramp program last summer. She began her internship in the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center's dermatology department, where she conducts research on wound healing with skin cells, while she continues her studies in the Biotech Certificate program. Substantive internships are an essential component that help students land lab and animal technician positions upon graduation. Labs interested in partnering with SFWorks can host an intern for as little as $2.50 per hour and receive help with a variety of lab tasks. SFWorks has placed 14 students in internships at UCSF and Gladstone, and 21 program graduates have been hired by both institutions. Interested labs should contact SFWorks' Bioscience Instructor and Industry Liaison, Kristin Byrd, a former post doctoral scholar at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. She can be reached by email or by phone at 415/359-7359. Links: Program Helps Residents Get Started in Biotech SFWorks