Biochemistry Welcomes Everyone

  • The Department of Biochemistry is committed to achieving excellence by promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion for all students, staff, and faculty.
  • We seek to foster an environment of inclusion through the development of a supportive community of people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, which will serve as the foundation for teaching and learning.
  • We aim to improve our recruitment, retention and success of all underrepresented groups through a number of initiatives led by our departmental diversity and inclusion committee in collaboration with graduate and undergraduate cohorts.

Department Initiatives

DEI Climate at Biochemistry
Regular check-ins on DEI climate of the department
Department Events
Department DEI events and activities
Biochemistry Seminar speakers
Biochemistry invites diverse perspectives for its seminar series
Diverse and Equitable Hiring
Biochemistry supports best practices in diverse and equitable hiring

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Special Events

Check back here for upcoming events!

We post events as we become aware of them so if you have an upcoming event that everyone needs to know about, please let us know. Or if you are simply wanting to be social - keep coming back!

Building A Strong and Diverse Student Community

 

2021 Incoming Class     2021 incoming student class

 

Biochemistry participates in...

The Colorado Advantage Program​

The Colorado Advantage Program introduces students to the outstanding science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) doctoral programs at CU Boulder. The program invites prospective applicants to CU Boulder during a weekend in the fall to learn about STEM doctoral opportunities, meet with faculty, tour research facilities and interact with current graduate students. Applicants for the program must be currently applying for admission into a STEM PhD program. The goal of the program is to recruit a diverse pool of candidates into CU Boulder’s STEM doctoral programs. *Biochemistry offers application waivers for prospective students considering the department for their doctoral program!

  • Provides introduction to graduate programs​

  • Gives campus and lab tours​

  • Sets up individual meetings with faculty and students​

  • Hosts workshops on application prep​​

The CU Boulder Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics (IDEA) Plan

  • The campus’s blueprint for diversity, equity and inclusive excellence. This plan outlines goals for climate, infrastructure and leadership as well as recommendations and actions, the result of five years of collaborative work across campus.

Training

Cross-disciplinary Science Fosters Community

Otto Kletzien/Batey Lab at 2020 Retreat

Otto Kletzien/Batey Lab at 2020 Retreat

Biochemistry bridges cutting edge fields​

Training is provided in...

  • Single-particle cryoEM​

  • Advanced proteomics​

  • Microscopy

  • Advanced imaging

  • Next-gen sequencing and CRISPR screening​

  • And many others​

 

​Scientific diversity fosters training and communication​

  • Colleagues can support training each other on new methods

  • Collaborative atmosphere with shared goals​​

  • Enhances career development and agility

  • Robust connections with Boulder and Front Range bioscience companies

NIH-funded Training Programs

Biochemistry Lab

The NIH funds two T32 programs open to Biochemistry graduate students​ in...

  • Graduate Training Program in Signaling and Cellular Regulation​

    • ​The Signaling and Cellular Regulation Graduate Training Program is an interdepartmental effort between faculty in the departments of Biochemistry and of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology with the goal of promoting interactions between laboratories, enriching perspectives and expertise, and providing a wide pool of mentorship for graduate students. 

  • Molecular Biophysics Program​

    • The Molecular Biophysics Program at the University of Colorado, jointly sponsored by NIH and CU, is a collaborative effort involving students, postdocs and faculty from five departments on the Boulder campus. Participants share a common interest in biological systems, and seek to understand these systems in terms of physical and chemical principles. The breadth of the program arises from 40+ affiliated laboratories in the Departments of:

  • The NIH has a longstanding interest in promoting scientists from historically underrepresented backgrounds​​

  • Students apply for membership after choosing a thesis laboratory​

Mentoring

CU-sponsored Programs

Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building

Biochemistry participates in...

Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART Program)​

  • 10 week program​

  • Stipends for both mentee and mentors​

  • In-depth mentoring experience​​

  • Member of CU LEAD Alliance to promote diversity and equity​​

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)​

  • Provides pay for undergraduates to do research and assistantships in labs

  • Committed to social justice and equity​

The Wuttke-Beckman Scholars Program​

Wuttke_Beckman

The Wuttke and Beckman Foundation Biochemical Sciences Research Award provides support for undergraduate students who are majoring in Biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, in order to reduce financial barriers that may prevent students from obtaining appropriate research support. Recipients will be students who are pursuing research opportunities in laboratories of faculty members who are rostered in a science department.

  • Provides pay for Biochem undergrads​​ to perform research in laboratories

  • The stipend allows selected students to conduct research in the lab of their choice​​

​

Student Support Organizations

MASP Together We Rise                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo montage courtesy of MASP

STEM Routes​

  • Graduate student-led organization to promote underrepresented individuals in the sciences at CU​

  • Affiliated with SACNAS @ CU​

  • UPLIFT research program: 8 week shadowing, 16 week research experience​​

MASP: Miramontes Arts and Sciences Program​

  • For 1st gen undergraduates and those from underrepresented backgrounds​

  • Faculty seminars, study space

Biochemistry Student-Led Groups

June 2023 P2P Networking Event with Alumni
Graduate students network with Joan Marcano, alumnus + Aktiv Pharma Group at the June 2023 social.

 

FLC

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Science Community Outreach Program and Education (S.C.O.P.E.)

CTL

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring (P2P)

  • Biochemistry graduate students mentor first-year graduate students

CU Campus-wide Resources

CU Cafe Members
Inaugrual CU Cafe student group

College of Arts and Sciences Office of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

CU Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

CU Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC)

Report to OIEC

Center for Inclusion and Social Change​ (CISC)

Center for African and African American Studies (The CAAAS)

CU Café​

  • A collection of diverse STEM trainees at CU​

  • Promotes inclusivity and scientific excellence​

  • Seminar series with distinguished scientists of color​​​

EMPOWERS @ BioFrontiers Institute

  • Queer in Science (Qsci)

Pride Office

Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE)​​

STUDENT GROUPS:

Bring Your Own Gender (BYOG)

Out in STEM (oSTEM)​​

Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC)

The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA)

Biochemistry Department

All of us at Biochemistry are involved in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment! Thank you to everyone for their part in building a strong and supportive community in Biochemistry!