Students awarded outstanding research award

Jason Robert O'Rourke, left, Carla Cuda, right, and Jason Weinstein, not shown, recieved the 2008 Graduate Student for Outstanding Research Award.

The Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences at the UF College of Medicine awarded Jason Robert O’Rourke, Carla Cuda and Jason Weinstein with the 2008 Graduate Student for Outstanding Research Award during a welcoming reception for new students at the Founders Gallery on Sept 5.

“It gave me the opportunity to advertise my hard work,” O’Rourke said. “The cash prize is a big deal to poor graduate students.”

The IDP is a Ph.D. graduate program emphasizing biomedical laboratory research specializing in six advanced concentrations, including biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics, immunology and microbiology, molecular cell biology, neuroscience and physiology and pharmacology.

“The best thing about the IDP is the faculty,” O’Rourke said. “They are always available for stimulating discussions, and my mentor Dr. (Maurice) Swanson has been instrumental in my intellectual maturation.”