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Yelitza Rodriguez, a Ph.D. student in biochemistry and
molecular biology, was the first to present her research
on the Zoom platform.
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Most Wednesdays, the Cell and Molecular Biology Journal Club meets in a second-floor conference room at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. The club gives graduate students studying basic sciences an opportunity to present research they've had a hand in conducting.
Typically, students stand at a podium with a large screen behind them, as they introduce and explain the topic. More than a dozen other students and faculty attend the meetings. At the end, the audience has an opportunity to ask questions of the students.
Because all of USA’s classes have been moved online following the COVID-19 outbreak, the journal club is holding lectures virtually through the Zoom platform.
“Journal club presentations help students prepare for future public presentations of research or any other scientific topic during their careers in academia or industry-related fields,” said Lyudmila Rachek, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology at the USA College of Medicine.
“It helps students to keep up with current findings, increase their scientific literacy, exercise critical thinking skills, and improve their presentation and debate abilities. All of this will be imperative in their transition to future careers.”
The first Zoom presenter was Yelitza Rodriguez, a Ph.D. student based in the medical school’s biochemistry and molecular biology department.
While the questions and answers portion of the presentation has moved online, it remains a valuable part of the presentation: “It increases student confidence and debate abilities,” Rachek said. “Also, as I always say to students, it develops and improves their abilities to start and maintain a scientific discussion.”
