Watch Grad Slam 2024
Tune in here to on April 3 at 4 p.m. to join us for UCSF Grad Slam 2024! All are invited to view the competition – and vote for the audience favorite – on the live stream. Details below.
UCSF Grad Slam 2024
Wednesday, April 3
4 p.m. PDT
#GradSlam, #UCSFGradSlam
Part of UCSF's National Graduate Student Appreciation Week.
About Grad Slam
UCSF's popular annual Grad Slam competition returns on April 3 as a featured event during National Graduate Student Appreciation Week.
The ten PhD student finalists will present their research in three minutes or less, in language accessible to a general audience. It's a celebration not only of the finalists and contest winner, but also of graduate research at UCSF and of scientific inquiry.
The intention of Grad Slam is not to dumb-down or trivialize research; rather, it is meant to incentivize students to clarify their ideas and to help others appreciate and understand their work. Grad Slam contests are now held at all ten UC campuses, and a UC-wide event – featuring the top Grad Slam winners from each campus – is held annually each May.
Cash prizes of $4,000, $2,000, and $1,000 will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners chosen by the panel of judges. And the live and remote audiences will chose the "People's Choice" winner, who will receive $750. The 1st prize winner will go on to compete in the systemwide Grad Slam contest on May 3, 2024.
Congrats to the Prize Winners
First Prize
Ilina Bhaya-Grossman
Bioengineering Program
Edward Chang, MD, faculty mentor
The Magic of Language Understanding
Second Prize
Simone Kurial
Biomedical Sciences Program
Holger Willenbring, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
If You Can't Arboretum, Join 'em: Growing the Biliary Tree From Scratch
Third Prize (tie)
Reuben Hogan
Biophysics Program
Nevan Krogan, PhD, faculty mentor
Protein Folding is Pretty Sweet
Third Prize (tie) & "People's Choice" Prize
Sydney Williams
Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics Program
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD, faculty mentor
Rabs: Delivery Drivers of the Eye
Finalists
(in order of appearance)
Chad Altobelli
Chemistry and Chemical Biology Program
Michelle Arkin, PhD, faculty mentor
Sizing Up Drug Candidates With a Molecular Ruler
Cathrine Petersen
Neuroscience Program
Lennart Mucke, MD, and Ryan Corces, PhD, faculty mentors
Clustering: Giving Cell Types a Solo Performance
Olivia Barnhill
Neuroscience Program
Alexandra Nelson, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Lights, Camera, Stimulation
Rachel Rock
Biomedical Sciences Program
Peter Turnbaugh, PhD, faculty mentor
Gut Microbes in Mind: Exploring One Potential Reason Why Women Are More Likely to Suffer From Autoimmune Disease
Naz Dundar
Neuroscience Program
Zachary Knight, PhD, faculty mentor
The Hidden Hunger Hormone
Lorenzo Del Castillo
Tetrad Program
Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Shining Some Light on Sonic Hedgehog Signaling
UCSF is committed to providing accessible and inclusive programming to all participants. The Grad Slam live stream will be live-captioned.
