Student Affairs Committee

There are currently six active ISPE Student Chapters in the Boston area:

Northeastern University
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of Massachusetts -Lowell
Tufts University
University of New Hampshire
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

With the growing number of Student Chapters, each having approximately three to four guest speakers from industry per year, there is a growing need for more volunteer speakers from industry. Talks are typically 45 minutes to an hour with 15 to 20 minutes for questions. The students take it upon themselves to advertise the speaker and topic before the event and often will order pizza and soda to start the meeting.

If you would like to volunteer as a speaker, please send a brief abstract and biography to Kevin Lynch, Boston ISPE Student Affairs Chairman at klynch@shire.com .

Annual Student Poster Competition

Another major event held each year for students is the Annual Student Poster Competition. The winner of the Boston ISPE Student Poster Competition receives an expense paid trip to the ISPE Annual Meeting. 

In an unprecedented event, two of the top winners of the 2008 ISPE International Student Poster Competition held in sunny Boca Raton last month were both from the Boston Area Chapter. They are Jason Lajoie from the University of Massachusetts, who was one of two winners in the undergraduate category (they actually tied) with his poster entitled “Directed Evolution of the RHiI Protein.” And, Padmaja Magdala from Northeastern University, also one of two winners in the graduate category (unbelievably, they tied also), with her poster entitled “Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Targeted Engineered Gelatin Nanovectors for Gene Delivery and Transfection in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.”

These two students had won the local ISPE Boston Area Chapter Student Poster Competition held last May at Northeastern University and were sent to Boca Raton by the Chapter to compete at the international level. The competition was ferocious. Over 30 students from 12 Chapters nervously described their research in concise five-minute talks to six stern-looking and knowledgeable judges. They then handled numerous rapid-fire questions about their research with poise and skill. The competition was so tight that two winners for each contest were tied for first place by the judges. Each winner happily took home $500.

In all the years that this poster competition has been held, never have both contest winners originated from the same Chapter. Boston was well served by these students. Congratulations to Jason Lajoie and Padmaja Magdala on a job fantastically well done!

Thanks to all the presenters for their excellent posters and for the support of their friends and colleagues!

• Previous Student Poster Competition Winners

Students are also encouraged to attend the ISPE Boston Area Chapter events including the yearly ISPE Product Show. Students can network, post their resumes, and meet each other at a Student Forum to be held.
The primary benefits for both ISPE and the students are:

• Education
• Career growth
• Future employment for students - future employees for local firms

For Committee Member email information, please refer to the ISPE Membership Directory .