Introduction by Director Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, PhD

Welcome to the Fall 2022 issue of The Dish. As we prepare for Thanksgiving and the holiday season, campus is bustling with activity. We have much to celebrate here at Penn BGS, and in this issue, we’ll share a few highlights with you.

The continued growth of BGS thrills me. I am pleased to announce that this year’s incoming class is, once again, the largest in our history. Each year, we welcome more and more talented graduate students to a world-class educational experience that will shape them as scientists. They, in turn, will shape the future of science, pursuing a variety of important career paths.  

Although day-to-day life has returned to something close to normal, I remain in awe of the tenacity and collaborative spirit our students continue to demonstrate —not only through the challenges of the past few years, but also through the more typical challenges of graduate life. I am so proud of their determination as they work and learn alongside our faculty, bringing fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and new approaches to questions while our faculty mentors carefully guide their development as scientists. 

The importance of these mentor/mentee relationships cannot be overstated, particularly during challenging times, when shared experiences become even more meaningful. Positive mentorship builds resilience in students and allows them to feel comfortable asking questions, offering suggestions, and taking risks. As mentors, our faculty are challenged to consider new ideas and novel approaches to their work. This creates a robust atmosphere for discovery. At BGS, we facilitate these experiences through the thoughtful pairing of mentors and mentees and a variety of training opportunities for both, as well as opportunities for alumni to engage with our students through the Career Paths Mentorship Program. Having served as a mentor myself, I  can personally attest to the immense value of these relationships for both the mentee and the mentor. 

As I have said before, we are deeply committed to ensuring broad access to our program, and you will learn more about two such efforts in this issue of The Dish.  PennPREP enables Penn to provide college graduates from underrepresented communities with the intensive biomedical research experience required for admission into doctoral programs, and PennPORT supports the recruitment of postdoctoral researchers dedicated to enhancing education areas of high need. There is no doubt in my mind that initiatives like these enrich the experiences of our students, faculty, and staff, and create meaningful impact in Philadelphia — and beyond.

We are pleased to feature two former PennPREP scholars, Joshua Parris, GR’21, and current MD-PhD student Pedro Méndez Fernández. Joshua and Pedro reflect on their experiences with PennPREP and in BGS, the value of their relationships with their Penn mentors, and their goals for the future. Their compelling stories offer a glimpse into the bright future of medical research. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.

As always, thank you for your continued support of BGS. Through both engagement and example, our alumni inspire our students to strive for excellence in all they do. Your generosity provides them with the tools they need to get there. We are so grateful.  

Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, PhD
Professor of Pathology, Department of Oral Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Director, Biomedical Graduate Studies, Perelman School of Medicine

Alumni Spotlight: Joshua Parris, GR’21

Joshua Parris, GR’21, once dreamt of playing in the NBA or the NFL. But rather than catching the winning touchdown in a Super Bowl, Josh is pursuing a different kind of victory – this one in the battle against cancer. The former college athlete is now a postdoctoral researcher at Janssen, working to refine a therapy approved by the FDA for non-small cell lung cancer.

The Coopersburg, Pennsylvania native’s motivation is deeply personal: He lost his mother to colorectal cancer when he had just turned 14. At the time, he says, he understood the impact cancer has on patients and their families, but he didn’t fully comprehend the disease.

“[Later,] that question lingered in the back of my head: What is cancer and what about it can lead to such devastating effects? And so that's been the question that I've been pursuing since that time. It all started with that one question. And I think that bringing it back to the original ‘why’ has helped to sustain me through those harder periods of research,” Josh explains.

After earning a BS in biology from Lehigh University, where he excelled in the classroom and on the football field, serving as team captain during his senior year, Josh applied to Penn’s Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PennPREP). He wanted to pursue a career in cancer research, he says, but as a college athlete, he’d spent most of his time focused on football and hadn’t completed some of the necessary steps to prepare for graduate school. PennPREP, a priority of PSOM’s IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Learner) Research program, offers a one-to-two-year research experience for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree and are interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in the biomedical sciences. Josh saw PennPREP as an opportunity to prepare for graduate school without committing to a program right away.

Josh enrolled in PennPREP in 2015 and was placed in the lab of Kathryn E. Wellen, PhD, where he worked with a postdoc on a project related to the effects of metabolism on the development of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. There he had his first experiences working with cells and animal models and doing tissue cultures. He presented a poster at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, drafted a proposal for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, and took graduate-level courses in preparation for applying to grad school.

The lab environment was comfortable and informal, Josh says. Mentors and colleagues were generous with their time. They encouraged him to ask questions, taught him new techniques in the lab, and helped him develop his grant-writing and presentation skills.

“I gained confidence,” Josh explains. “I had never done cancer research. I'd never worked with cells or on tissue culture before. All this was going to be new for me, and that can be a little intimidating. And so the big takeaway that I got from PennPREP was: I can do this.”

After such an empowering experience in PennPREP, Josh was happy to remain at Penn, entering the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group’s Cancer Biology program in 2016. He conducted research in the lab of Maureen E. Murphy, PhD, at The Wistar Institute, focusing on the impact of astrocytes on the treatment of metastatic melanoma with targeted therapies and on the effect of a p53 SNP on the immune tumor microenvironment. He earned his PhD in cell/cellular and molecular biology in 2021.

The welcoming and collaborative environment at Penn was Josh’s favorite part of his graduate student experience. He felt comfortable talking to his mentor, Dr. Murphy, not only about his research, but also about his professional development and personal life. Before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted lockdowns and social distancing, Josh played intramural sports, and even initiated a student/faculty basketball game which, he says, “speaks to the environment and the culture of the graduate program.”

Now at Janssen, Josh is using his time as a postdoc to learn a different side of cancer research, with new techniques and a learning curve he says he feels prepared for, thanks to his time at Penn. He’s also considering where he wants to take his career, honing his skills and making his own contributions along the way. Although he may be uncertain about where his path will ultimately lead, Josh is certain that it will involve helping cancer patients. He believes he’s found something just as gratifying as his experiences scoring touchdowns and leading his team in receptions at Lehigh: scientific discovery.

“It might not get the fanfare,” he says, “but it can still feel really rewarding, especially because there's a lot of hard work that goes into actually making that discovery. And, ultimately, you realize that the discoveries that you make now and the things that you do as a team can lead to helping somebody else. And to be a part of that system, to be a part of that team trying to achieve this goal, I think, is really exciting and really rewarding.”

Penn “PREPped”: Pedro O. Méndez Fernández’s Medical School Journey

If someone had told Pedro O. Méndez Fernández, M’26, GR’26, when he was a child that he one day would be enrolled in a medical scientist training program at the University of Pennsylvania’s illustrious Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM), he would have never believed it. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Pedro didn’t have the option to learn about science, much less realize that it was a career path that could be pursued — many marginalized children aren’t exposed to science at a young age. Today, he credits much of his journey of becoming a medical school student to the many opportunities that were made available to him during and after college, especially the PennPREP and SUIP programs.

Penn’s Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PennPREP) and Summer Undergraduate Internship Program (SUIP) both fall under PSOM’s IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Learner) Research program. [Ed. note: Check out a previous issue of The Dish for our interview with Assistant Dean Donita Brady, PhD, about IDEAL Research and other diversity efforts.] Both offer intensive hands-on research experience that prepares students for the next stage of their education or careers; more than three-quarters of PennPREP alumni enroll in PhD programs.

For Pedro — and many students like him — PennPREP provided other benefits besides the opportunity to conduct leading-edge research, including exposure to many fields of scientific inquiry and real-life skills beyond the lab, such as networking, giving presentations, and publishing. Pedro gained a deep understanding of the life of a researcher, and he found he greatly enjoyed and felt passionate about the work.

Just as importantly, Pedro valued the diverse community and mentorship the program provides for students like himself. Pedro began PennPREP early in the pandemic, in the summer of 2020, but was still able to meet with Peter Klein, MD, PhD, virtually until he could move to Philadelphia that September. Chief Scientific Officer Jonathan Epstein, MD, quickly became another valuable mentor to Pedro, both inside and outside the lab — including advising Pedro through the process of applying to MD-PhD programs. “I feel lucky to have role models like Jon, who all share a passion for science and mentoring. They have motivated me every step of my career, helping me reach my goals,” Pedro said. These programs gave Pedro the chance to have other fantastic BGS mentors, like Director Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, PhD, Daniel Kessler, PhD, graduate student Joel Rurik, and former faculty member Arnaldo Díaz, PhD.

Pedro is grateful for all the skills and experiences that his internship at Penn and the Penn PREP program afforded him. He studied with developmental neurobiologist Stewart Anderson, MD, from June 2019 through August 2019, where he was able to work on one specific project: enhancing the production of post-mitotic cortical interneurons by the inhibition of the Notch Signaling Pathway. His duties included characterizing the development of interneurons through immunohistochemistry and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). When he was accepted into PennPREP and assigned to Epstein’s lab, he assisted with the generation of CAR T cell therapies to treat cardiac injury — a project that made the cover of Science in January 2022.

Pedro is now in his first year at PSOM, enrolled in Penn’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MD-PhD).  “PennPREP and similar pipeline initiatives have served as powerful reminders for me and my colleagues about the importance of mentorship,” explains Dr. Epstein. “I got to know Pedro as a mentee of one of my lab members, Joel Rurik, and I am excited to continue to work with such a talented scientist pursuing his potential. That Pedro has entered our MSTP program as the first from PennPREP is a credit to the program — and also makes us reflect on how many others have not had access to the relationships that were so fundamental to our own training.”

Pedro’s long-term goal is to become an independent principal investigator studying the developmental pathways that govern organogenesis, through which he may be able to generate therapies for various disorders. Additionally, he wants to train the next generation of scientists. Medical school has been a change of pace for him: He’s getting used to attending classes instead of spending all his time in the lab. The presentation skills he learned during PennPREP helped prepare him for his studies, and his enjoyment of being at the bench drives his aspiration to be a physician-scientist.

Pedro is passionate about making sure children from underrepresented communities are given the chance to learn more about science and medicine. He’s a member of the Latino Medical Student Association and plans to pay it forward by serving as a mentor. He hopes to participate in outreach activities, such as visiting Philadelphia schools so students can hear firsthand what it’s like to work towards a degree in science or medicine. Pedro hopes that by sharing his story with young people, he can help them realize that they, too, can pursue a career in biomedical research.

“My experience [in the Penn PREP program] was so enriching that other students should feel encouraged, knowing that these programs do open doors to labs, experiences, and world-class mentors like Jon. My experience in the Epstein lab was fundamental to my professional development and cemented my desire to pursue a career as a physician-scientist.”  

Make a Difference: Give to the BGS Fellowship Fund Today

The incredible research happening here at Penn wouldn’t be possible without our graduate students. If you would like to support the BGS students’ efforts and ensure future generations of scientists have similar opportunities — especially in these times of constant change — we ask that you consider making a gift to the BGS Fellowship Fund. Your support provides our students with the resources they need to open new frontiers of scientific discovery.

You can make a gift online or send a check payable to "The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania" and include “Biomedical Graduate Studies Fellowship Fund” in the memo line. Mail it to:

Penn Medicine Development
c/o Amelia Klein
3535 Market Street, Suite 750
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Thank you for your partnership.