SyBBURE Changes Leadership but Plans to Remain Epitome of Undergraduate Support

Professor Christina Marasco is stepping down as director of the SyBBURE Searle Undergraduate Research Program after 8 successful years leading the program. Since Chrissy became the director of SyBBURE in April 2014, she has mentored 190 unique and promising undergraduates across multiple disciplines. She leaves a positive legacy of supporting undergraduate students in research and design experiences as well as in professional and personal development. We wish her the very best in her new position with a digital-health focused non-profit.

Dr. Jonathan Ehrman will be taking the lead as the program’s new director. Jon has mentored 160 talented undergraduates through SyBBURE since he joined the program as a graduate student in the spring of 2016. He continued with the program after earning his PhD in December 2016, and for the past 3 years has served as lab director of the SyBBURE program. We have no doubt that Jon will continue to uphold the ideals of the program while supporting our undergraduates.

A message from our incoming and outgoing directors to our Principal Investigator partners:

We want to thank each of you for the time, energy, and support that you provide the SyBBURE student or students who work with you. It is incredibly valuable for young researchers to gain this early, formative experience, and we believe this is even more impactful when our program partners with you and your lab. Today, the SyBBURE Searle program experiences a transition in leadership with our current director, Christina Marasco, departing for a digital-health focused non-profit and our lab director, Jonathan Ehrman, stepping up as the program's new director. We want to ensure you that the SyBBURE Searle program will continue to be your partner in the research training and mentorship of undergraduate students here at Vanderbilt.

-Christina Marasco, outgoing Director

-Jonathan Ehrman, incoming Director

The leadership of the SyBBURE Searle Undergraduate Research Program is changing, but the program will retain its position as a paragon of undergraduate support.

SyBBURE alumni who participated during Chrissy’s time as director and Jon’s time as advisor and lab director had great things to say about their experiences.

I'm very grateful to the SyBBURE program, because it allowed me to actually *do* science, as opposed to simply reading, getting lectured at, and taking tests about it.

-Jacob (Jake) Brady, class of 2013

SyBBURE was extremely valuable in providing me with a real research lab experience while at Vanderbilt. This is an experience that I otherwise would not have had with my BME degree. The lab classes we take do not provide this type of research experience. Although I ultimately pursued a job in industry, SyBBURE was vital in paving the road to that career. I now work in the Life Sciences and my experience with SyBBURE still provides a lot of background knowledge and expertise that I used regularly.

-Nikita Thomas, class of 2017

The SyBBURE experience is exceptional. As an undergrad you are welcomed into a research community of peers and mentors. Most notably, you are supported to pick your own research path. This far surpasses the traditional do-someone's-lab-work research experience. The summer program is even more integrative as you do research full time. And finally, the focus on your holistic development with exposure to entrepreneurship, the many research career paths and opportunities in industry - is just found nowhere else. Being in SyBBURE feels like being in a smart, ambitious family where all challenge and support each other to be better and chase intellectual excitement.

-Omar Omar, class of 2018

The SyBBURE program was my very first experience in scientific research of any kind. Participation in the program changed my career goals from a trajectory in business and law to science and medicine. I developed important research and analytical skills through the program, which provided a strong foundation that has allowed me to excel in my graduate and medical programs. The opportunities to present my research findings at national conferences added significant experiences to my resume, which has been vital in receiving several prestigious national grants and fellowships in my research pursuits as a medical student. I am forever grateful to Mr. Gideon Searle for his contributions in establishing the SyBBURE program.

-Cole Carlin, class of 2018

SyBBURE has given me so much confidence to pursue my passion for technology and innovation in the healthcare space. I always thought as a doctor I would be limited to only seeing patients and providing treatment, but SyBBURE has allowed me to expand my horizons into innovating and implementing technology and new ideas that can improve the health of a vastly greater number of people. Through sessions like tech centric and think tank, SyBBURE helped me realize I want to continue to harness tech and tech solutions in my career beyond college!

-Nitya Venkat, class of 2019