October 24, 2017

The Research Leadership Scholars program provides graduate students with opportunities to participate in collaborative research planning in the OHSU School of Medicine, thus developing their own collaborative leadership skills, as well as providing the Collaborative Research Leadership Group with important perspectives from developing biomedical scientists.

"This is important not only in developing future research leaders, but in broadening the skill sets of our students and expanding their career possibilities," said Allison Fryer, Ph.D., associate dean for graduate studies, OHSU School of Medicine.

Two scholars have been selected from a competitive pool of applicants. Please help us congratulate:

Kristóf Törkenczy, Molecular and Medical Genetics Graduate Program

Törkenczy was born in Budapest, Hungary. There, he received his bachelor of science degree in physics from Eötvös Loránd University in 2011. Subsequently, his interests shifted towards evolutionary biology and he got his master of science degree from the University of Edinburgh in 2012. Currently he is working on his doctoral research in the lab of Andrew Adey Ph.D., associate professor of molecular and medical genetics, OHSU School of Medicine, and member of the Knight Cardiovascular Institute. Törkenczy aims to understand somatic heterogeneity in normal and diseased tissues by performing complex analyses on multiplexed single-cell sequencing data. In addition to his academic pursuits, he serves as the current Graduate Student Organization vice president and is an active member of the International Employee Resource Group.

Eileen Ruth S. Torres, Behavioral Neuroscience Graduate Program

Torres is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate working with her mentor, Jacob Raber, Ph.D., professor of behavioral neuroscience, neurology and radiation medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, studying effects of genetic and environmental factors on cognition and affect using mouse models. Her dissertation research focuses on how different forms of apolipoprotein E., a protein involved in cholesterol metabolism, may influence symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Along with other student activities, Torres serves as the student representative for the Graduate Program Steering Committee. In addition, she strives to foster a more inclusive research community and acts as a Steering Committee member for the Alliance for Visible Diversity in Science.