About the Event
The Washington University in St. Louis Graduate and Professional Student Council is pleased to host the 30th Annual Graduate Research Symposium on March 27th, 2025. The event will be held from 12 to 7 PM at the Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC) on the WashU Medical Campus, co-sponsored by The Graduate Center.
The Symposium is an interdisciplinary platform, welcoming graduate and professional students from all fields and disciplines. It showcases the remarkable scope and depth of graduate research at our university. We invite contributions in all research forms, including primary studies, literature reviews, case studies, and the unveiling of new methodologies. Participants are welcomed to present a poster or an oral presentation and will be grouped by discipline, judged on the clarity, aesthetics, and content, as well as their presentation skills.
Schedule:
12:00pm-1:00pm: Poster Setup
1:00pm-1:30pm: Welcome
1:40-2:40pm: Round 1 – Poster and Oral Presentations
2:40-3:40pm: Round 2 – Poster and Oral Presentations
3:40-4:10pm: Poster Mingle
4:10-5:40pm: Keynote Speaker and Awards
5:40-7:00pm: Networking Reception and Poster Teardown
Registration
Registration and Abstract Submission: (open until March 13th, 2025, at 11:59 PM CST)
Presentation Guidelines
Below are guidelines for both the poster and oral presentations!
Keynote Speaker
Montrece McNeill Ransom, JD, MPH, PCC, BCC, the founder and CEO of The Empowermenteur Coaching and Consulting Group, is a dynamic global keynote speaker and leadership coach dedicated to unlocking the power of human potential through belonging. An ICF-certified executive leadership coach and a DEI-certified belonging strategist, Montrece leverages over 20 years of expertise in public health, law, training, and workforce development. Her distinguished career includes two decades at the CDC, where she spearheaded groundbreaking public health law training and workforce initiatives.
Montrece holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama, a Master of Public Health from Emory University, and an Executive Leadership Coaching Certification from Georgetown University. She has also completed advanced training in diversity, equity, inclusion, and facilitation. Recognized as an award-winning coach, speaker, and public health professional, Montrece was honored as one of Entrepreneur Mogul’s Top 5 Most Influential Coaches of 2021, the ABA Health Law Section’s 2019 Champion of Diversity and Inclusion, and the recipient of the American Public Health Association’s 2017 Jennifer Robbins Award for the Practice of Public Health Law.
Montrece’s leadership extends beyond the stage. She is the former President of the American Society for Law, Medicine, and Ethics, is a board member of Health Career Connections, and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential. A prolific writer, she has authored or contributed to over 40 journal articles and is the Co-Editor of Public Health Law: Concepts and Case Studies. Her forthcoming book, Belonging-Based Leadership: How to SPARK Change and Unleash Human Potential, is set for release in Summer 2025.
Judges
GPSC is currently seeking judges for the 30th Annual Graduate Research Symposium on March 27, 2025. To ensure fairness and avoid conflicts of interest, we aim to recruit judges exclusively from junior faculty, staff, and postdocs. Judges need to be present at the venue from 12:00 PM to 4:30 PM, and a complimentary lunch will be offered from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. We are still working on the details of the judging criteria and presentation guidelines, but we will go over this information with our judges during the lunch hour, so no prior preparation is required.
To sign up as a judge, please fill out the following google form: https://forms.gle/vgfGgfFerM9NdrASA
If you have any questions, please contact Nico Herzberg (h.nico@wustl.edu). Thank you for considering this opportunity to support our graduate community!
Please email gpsc@wustl.edu for any questions!