Augusta University Molecular Medicine Graduate Program celebrates new graduates

The two newest graduates of Augusta University’s Molecular Medicine Graduate Program have their pick of job opportunities, and Nada Aboelella and Leidy Caraballo Galva say they can’t wait to start their careers helping patients via research.

“I was looking for a program that would give me a translational approach, but at the same time, train me in immunology,” said Galva, who started the program in 2017 and worked with Dr. Yukai He on his recently published paper about a new form of liver cancer treatment.

The Molecular Medicine Graduate Program was established in 1997 with the goal to prepare students for careers in basic and translational biomedical research by providing advanced training in the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases. The program requires five years of full-time study from students, who also must complete a PhD dissertation based on original research.

“We want the students to be successful not only in the bench work portion, but also in their future work to benefit their patients,” He said. He is the director of the Molecular Medicine Graduate Program and is also a professor of the Department of Medicine in the Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Cancer Center.

Since graduating, Aboelella, is currently working as a postdoc in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago, while Leidy is still deciding between multiple job offers at universities across the country.

“I want to encourage students who are interested in immunology and immunotherapy to contact our faculty in this program,” He said. “In the next year or so, we will have a new and very prominent tumor immunology leader in the cancer center, which will be a great opportunity for our students.”

Learn more about the Molecular Medicine Graduate Program, including student successes and the program manual.