The BTP is committed to identifying and recruiting promising candidates from under-represented minority and  disadvantaged groups.  Patrick Martin won a UNCF/MERK postdoctoral fellowship (only one of ten awarded annually) and is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University.  Antonio Ubiera is a research scientist at MedImmune.  Recent graduate Gary Davis is currently a postdoc.  Current minority students include: Ernie Perez Almodovar, Kristina Little, Olugbemisola Oredein and Tanya-Tanassa Watson.  All have actively contributed to BTP activities.  Antonio organized BTP rafting and ski trips. Kristina chaired the ’07 - ’08 BTP Seminar Committee.  Olugbemisola was editor of the BTP newsletter.  Tanya served on the ’06 - ’07 BTP Seminar Committee and helped in BTP promotion.  A key element of BTP outreach is BTP Minority Day.

BTP Minority Day
   Patrick originated BTP Minority Day in 2002 with students from Virginia Union University.  Gary Davis directed BTP Minority Day in 2005 with invited speakers David Patteson (Biotage, now at Advion) and Bob McKown (JMU), and over thirty visitors from Virginia Union University and Norfolk State University.  Ernie Perez Almodovar serves on the BTP Seminar Committee and participated in a panel discussion with Olugbemisola (top picture) during our recent Minority Day on 9.23.08 with students from Norfolk State University.  This event was organized by Michael Stadnisky with speakers Cheryl Apprey (Director, Office of Graduate Student Diversity Programs), David Chen (BTP externships; also directs translational efforts in UVa's School of Medicine and UVa's Coulter Project)  and Gordon Laurie (BTP Director).  Cheryl outlined a number of wonderful diversity programs available from her office.

Service to Minority Institutions
    BTP faculty travel to Virginia Union University to give research talks to  MARC U*STAR students.  Talks were given in 2003 (Gordon Laurie), 2004 (Isa Hussaini), 2005 (Erik Fernandez) and 2007 (Will Guilford).  Gordon Laurie travels annually to Norfolk State University as a member of the NSU-NIH/CBBS Planning and Advisory Committee for NSU’s NIH funded Center for Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences.