For Immediate Release
Monday, May 1, 2009
RAISING THE BAR AND PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
Jacksonville, Fla. – Edward Waters College has a hidden gem roaming the halls of its campus. Prabir K. Mandal, PhD joined Edward Waters College last fall as an associate professor. In the last year he has taken on the roles of director of Title III Mathematics & Science Activity and Area Coordinator of the Biology Program. “We must raise the bar and prepare for the future” is what Dr. Prabir K. Mandal, chairman of the Biology Department at Edward Waters College states. “In the next five years Jacksonville will probably be the ‘Health Sciences Mecca’ for the Southeast, and third in the country. We must prepare our students so that they can be a part of that.” Mandal hopes to one day, in the near future, begin graduate programs at Edward Waters College. Currently the school offers programs that prepare students for prerequisite courses in areas of more traditional and direct medicine. Mandal hopes to create programs in the Allied Health Field. These are areas of medicine and research other than physician training that are essential to the medical profession, research, and the treatment of patients. This year alone, Mandal has been able to attain the following: • • • Florida Sea Grant. Nomination for the American Association for Cancer Research Minority-Serving Institution Faculty Scholar Award, 2009. Research proposals in partners with other departments of EWC: (1) Renovation of Biology Curriculum and facilities as a stimulus grant, (2) Biology Education as part of proposed Institute for Urban Education as a stimulus grant, (3) UNCF Faculty Development grant. Establishment of the partnership with Eastside Environmental Council to work on a collaborative approach for planning how to evaluate and reduce exposures to certain toxic pollutants in east Jacksonville, Florida. Proposal submitted to EPA Region VII Tutorial for CARE grants.
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RAISING THE BAR AND PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE (cont.)
In addition to Dr. Mandal’s accomplishments, the Department of Biology has recently been recognized as an independent department, and Dr. Mandal, Associate Professor of Biology, has been chosen to serve as an Interim Chair. This year alone Mandal has helped students participate in the following: • • • • • Genome Scholarship to attend the National Human Genome Research Institute’s 2009 Summer Workshop in Genomics. Christella Witsell Bryant Access Health Solutions and Science scholarship. UNCF Wilma Warburg scholarship CANR (College of Agriculture and Natural Resources) Summer Institute scholar for the duration of 10 weeks in 2009 from the University of Delaware. The most prestigious BE MIT (Department of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates scholarship sponsored by NSF (National Science Foundation) The program will pay a cash stipend, food stipend, MIT living group housing, travel expenses, and above all the laboratory/ research experience, seminars on BioEng/Biotech and Graduate school. UNCF scholarship. CSX African-American Inclusion Group (AAIG) partnership with EWC for Student Leadership Program for 8 weeks. Crew Leader for the Summer Conservation Internship with the Student Conservation Association (SCA).
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In his short tenure Mandal has made his mark at Edward Waters College. The students mean a lot of to him, and his dedication shows that. Read more about Dr. Mandal, his accomplishments, his mark, in the weeks to come.
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