Kathleen Gould, Ph.D., has been named associate dean for Biomedical Sciences and director of the Office of Graduate Student Support at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
“This role is critical for the continued enhancement of our education and training programs in the biomedical sciences,” said Susan Wente, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for Research and senior associate dean for Biomedical Sciences.
Gould is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and a Louise B. McGavock Chair, Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology. She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011.
Gould has a long track record of training graduate students and in 2000 received one of the first Vanderbilt University Medical Center Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching.
She has served as director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology since 2006, and is founding director of the Vanderbilt International Scholar Program in Biomedical Research, established in 2010.
The Graduate Student Support office is a newly organized entity within the Office of Biomedical Research Education & Training (BRET). As director, Gould will work closely with Wente and Roger Chalkley, D.Phil., senior associate dean for BRET, to align institutional efforts that support graduate students throughout their training.
She will work with the BRET Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, the Chemical & Physical Biology Admissions program, and with the directors of graduate studies for each of the Ph.D. programs affiliated with the School of Medicine to support faculty development and graduate student mentoring.
Her position will include overseeing and developing new approaches to the BRET career development activities for graduate students.
“I look forward to joining the dedicated team of the BRET group as we spearhead new efforts to ensure that our trainees are well-prepared to meet the challenges of their future careers,” Gould said.
“Our graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will pursue many different careers in the coming years, and I am excited to work with our faculty and alumni to provide all possible training opportunities for our trainees.”
Working with Wente and the Office of Research, Gould will also coordinate the Medical Center’s renewed efforts to enhance both internal and external honorific awards, as well as the nomination processes.
“We are delighted that Dr. Gould has agreed to serve,” Wente said. “Her vision and commitment to help build the ‘engine that makes research go’ at Vanderbilt aligns completely with the medical center’s overarching vision … (that) the intersection between research and education is the foundation for discovery.”