Animal sciences doctoral student to participate in summer course

Chutikun Kanjanaruch, a doctoral student in NDSU’s animal sciences program, has been selected to attend an advanced summer course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. Kanjanaruch will take part in the six-week Frontiers in Reproduction course from April 26 through June 7.

Kanjanaruch was chosen as one of 20 participants from a pool of more than 50 applicants. The program draws advanced trainees from around the world, including senior doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, medical fellows and early-career faculty.

Kanjanaruch this year also earned NDSU’s Mary McCannel Gunkelman Recognition Award. The award was created in 1987 by the late John L. Gunkelman and his family in memory of Mary McCannel Gunkelman. The award is given annually to the student, staff member or faculty member who best makes the campus a welcoming, friendly place.

“Each of the three, two-week sessions of this course brings in 15 to 20 experts in each of the areas and sub-specialties,” said Larry Reynolds, Kanjanaruch’s advisor and University Distinguished Professor of Animal Sciences. “These are top-notch students, and being in a place like the Marine Biological Laboratory allows them to learn state-of-the-art concepts and methods from world-class instructors in a world-class setting. Because of that, our graduates are consistently much more successful in their careers than their peers.

Frontiers in Reproduction is an intensive laboratory and lecture experience built to provide training in modern methods and current concepts across reproductive biology. The course is divided into three two-week sections and runs long days, six days a week, according to course materials.

Reynolds previously served for years as a faculty and course consultant and later as a co-director of the program. Reynolds said the course’s format gives students direct access to leading experts and hands-on techniques that can accelerate their research development and career trajectory.

The Marine Biological Laboratory is known for its advanced research training courses, some of which have been offered for more than a century. More than 60 Nobel laureates in chemistry or physiology and medicine have had an affiliation with the laboratory as students, faculty, staff or visiting scientists.