More than 6,000 people from across the globe gathered in Pittsburgh last week for the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), held here for the first time.
Carl Lawson, associate vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion, health sciences, says hosting the event was an opportunity to showcase Pitt as a research-driven institution, opening doors for future scientists who attended ABRCMS to return to the University as graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Health Sciences Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted a reception for 520 conference attendees on Nov. 15 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in downtown Pittsburgh.
ABRCMS is an annual gathering for underrepresented community college, undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As it’s grown, it has also become a space for graduate students, postdocs, faculty, program administrators and more.
Friday night’s reception was both a networking opportunity and a chance to unwind with dancing and live music after days of presentations, workshops and poster sessions.
“Since we were unable to bring all these people to Pitt, we brought our Oakland campus to them,” Lawson says. Designated areas provided opportunities to network with various Pitt departments and their leadership, while dedicated spaces featured photo opportunities with iconic Pitt imagery. Meanwhile, screens on both floors of the center showcased the accomplishments of Pitt Health Sciences. Attendees were given gift bags filled with candy from local shops and Pitt memorabilia.
Some members of the Pitt community, like Saleem Khan, associate dean for graduate studies and academic affairs, School of Medicine, were returning to the event as faculty after starting their journeys there as students.
“This is a great community in the STEM field,” Khan said. “We want the young scientists to take away two things when leaving this year—that Pittsburgh is a great city and how friendly people are here. After speaking with many of them, I think we accomplished that.”
More information on ABRCMS is available here.
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Photos by Rayni Shiring