Update: As of December, 22, 2021, GSS 2022 has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Welcome to GSS 2022!
The annual Graduate Student Symposium (GSS) is a day-long event organized by the graduate students in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University. GSS showcases current graduate student research in the department, ranging from mathematical modeling and simulations to materials science, bioengineering, and beyond. At GSS 2022, upper level graduate students in their fourth year and above will be giving oral presentations, and third year students will be presenting posters.
GSS is a proud department tradition. We believe that oral and poster presentations bring students in different fields together. Moreover, this event fosters an avenue for discussion between current Princeton students and faculty, and cultivates relationships within academia and industry. Ultimately, the environment created annually by GSS provides an excellent opportunity for collaboration and networking.
We are excited to be back after a long year and a half! This year's Graduate Student Symposium will be held on Friday, January 21, 2022. Please register for the event and check back on this website for updates about keynote speakers, scheduling, and location.
We are delighted to welcome Princeton CBE alumni Dr. Stephanie Amato Ricci (*15) and Dr. Udit Batra (*96) back to campus as our keynote speakers for GSS 2022.
GSS 2022 Keynote Speakers
Dr. Stephanie Amato Ricci (*15)
Stephanie Amato is an Associate Director of Strategic Analysis at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Princeton University under the mentorship of Mark Brynildsen. During her graduate studies, Stephanie explored mechanisms of persister formation, rare and transient phenotypic variants within an isogenic bacterial population that cannot be readily killed by antibiotics. Via experimental microbiology techniques and mathematical modeling, she demonstrated the presence of persister heterogeneity to two different classes of antibiotics in response to a nutrient source transition, a stress commonly found during normal bacterial growth, and recognized mediators of persister formation pathways that can be utilized as therapeutic targets.
Since obtaining her degree, Stephanie has worked in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector both on the external consultation as well as internal industry side. She first worked for a boutique life-sciences consulting firm working closely with several pharmaceutical companies to conduct research and strategy projects to assess development and commercialization opportunities for therapies from early clinical development to pre-approval. She next joined the specialized oncology group at a larger healthcare consulting firm, where she analyzed emerging therapies across all tumor types to advise pharmaceutical companies on further development and investment opportunities in the space. After working several years on the consulting side, Stephanie joined Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where she works in conjunction with several functional leads including research and development, commercial, business development, and the C-suite to analyze how external competitive activities can help inform and drive innovative strategies across the Immunology & Inflammation and Infectious Disease portfolio.
Dr. Udit Batra (*96)
Udit Batra currently serves as President and CEO of Waters Corporation, one of the largest life science technology companies in the world. With more than two decades of leadership and operational expertise in the healthcare and life sciences industries, he has a proven track record leading multi-billion-dollar global organizations and driving results at the top of the industry.
Before joining Waters in September 2020, Udit served as CEO of the $7.7 billion life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the United States and Canada. In 2015, Udit led the formation of MilliporeSigma, with the largest merger in the life science tools industry at the time. Udit led the team that oversaw a strategic and operational transformation of the business that drove record sales growth and margin development. Throughout his career, Udit has championed science education, especially for low-income students, developed and promoted women’s leadership, and has been a strong advocate for increasing diversity across the organizations he has led.
Udit has received numerous leadership accolades and recognition, including being named 2020 New Englander of the Year by the New England Council, 2019 New England Choice Awards Business Person of the Year, PharmaVOICE Top 100 Most Inspirational People (2017 - 2019), Boston Business Journal’s 2019 Power 50, and the 2016 CPhl Pharma CEO of the Year. He is also currently a board member of Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio); the Massachusetts High Tech Council, of which he is immediate past Chairman; and the Analytical, Life Science & Diagnostics Association (ALDA). He also serves on the Advisory Councils of the Chemical Engineering Departments of Princeton University where he earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and the University of Delaware where he earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.
Contact
If you have questions about GSS 2022, please feel free to reach out to this year's organizers:
Joanna Schneider (js105@princeton.edu)
Christopher Browne (cabrowne@princeton.edu)
Alex Johnson (aj10@princeton.edu)