The GMS programme, a divisional programme based at the Centre for Human Genetics (CHG), aims to recruit and train future leaders in the application of genomics to human health. Since its launch, it has supported DPhil students working across CHG and other Oxford research centres, helping to catalyse collaborations between research groups.
Held at St Hilda's College, the symposium brought together current students, alumni, supervisors, clinicians and industry representatives for an evening celebrating the programme and its community. The event featured student talks and a poster session showcasing the breadth and depth of research taking place across the programme, alongside a keynote presentation from GMS alumna Dr Samvida Venkatesh, who reflected on her career journey and shared insights into her work at Illumina's AI laboratory in Cambridge.
Congratulations to Tina Rainey (2024 cohort), who won the poster competition for her work on transposons and chimeric transcripts in Drosophila, and to the poster competition runners-up.
Programme Director Dr Gavin Band said:
"The event was a great success and reflected the breadth and depth of scientific work being carried out across the programme. We are grateful to all the students, research groups and support staff who make this possible, and to Wellcome and the contributing departments for their continued support as we look ahead to recruiting and training the next 100 outstanding students."
Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making the inaugural GMS Symposium such a successful event.