Students in the Joint Degree Program are talented, innovative, and committed. They are pursuing cutting-edge fields of study. We are proud to list their selected accomplishments:
Lauren Beach, JD, PhD candidate in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics, spent the 2008-09 school year completing her first year of law school. She also co-founded and administered the Point Foundation Alumni Association’s Regional Community Service Networks. This year, Ms. Beach won scholarships from PFund Foundation and Point Foundation in recognition of her academic achievements and service benefiting GLBTA communities.
Mollie Gurian, JD, MPH candidate in Public Health Administration & Policy, served as one of the two 1L representa- tives on the board of the Public Interest Law Students Association. During Summer 2009, she received a Robina Public Policy Fellowship from the Law School to work as a law clerk for the housing and disability attorneys at AARP in Washington, DC.
Rachel Herder, JD, PhD candidate Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics participated in the National Moot Court course at the Law School. In May of 2009, she was the recipient of the Developmental Biology Program Training Grant from the University of Minnesota.
Katherine Dick Krueger, JD, PhD candidate in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics, received her doctorate in September 2008. She was recently published in PLoS One. (Krueger K.A. et al., SNP haplotype mapping in a small ALS family. PLoS One. 2009;4(5):e5687.)
Jamie Kurtz, JD, candidate in Pharmacology, spent Summer 2008 interning at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) reviewing patents and interviewing UW inventors.
Crystal Liu, JD, MPH candidate in Public Health Administration & Policy returned as a Summer Associate for Hogan & Hartson in Washington, DC, where she worked in the summer of 2008. Her article on HLA tissue typing and PGD was published by the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. Her article, "Limiting Access to Infertility Services: Using a Historical Analysis and the Victorian Experience to Shed Light on What is a Justified Limitation on Reproductive Freedom," was recently published in the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology. She received a Consortium Award to return to Australia to study the legislation surrounding donor conception, anonymity, and access to identifying information.
Geeta Naidu, JD, MPH candidate in Public Health Administration & Policy, interned in Fall 2008 with the Minnesota Department of Human Services Health Care Administration Budget and Legislative group. She spent Summer 2009 working as a law clerk at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Counsel to the Inspector General specializing in health care fraud. She recently received a Consortium Scholars Grant from the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences to complete her Public Health Master’s project, which is focused on improving access to dental care for Medicaid enrolled children.
Taylor Pierce, JD, MPH candidate in Public Health Administration & Policy, worked for the Refugee Health Program of the Minnesota Department of Health and volunteered at the Battered Women’s Legal Advocacy Project during 2008-09. In summer of 2009, Ms. Pierce worked at the Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) in Accra, Ghana on human rights and housing rights issues as a Robina and Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellow.
Christopher Pinahs, JD, MS candidate in Plant Biological Sciences joined the Joint Degree Program in 2008, following his first year in the Plant Biological Sciences Graduate Program, where he conducted research in collaboration with Dr. Peter Reich and Dr. Rebecca Montgomery. His thesis work examines the effect of elevated climate on seed germination for Minnesota temperate and boreal species.
Tchao-Hou Thao, JD, MD candidate in Medicine spent Summer 2009 as an extern for the Honorable Richard H. Kyle, Senior U.S. District Judge, District of Minnesota.
Amber Thomas, JD, MPH candidate in Public Health Administration & Policy, was selected by her peers to serve as the 2008-09 student representative to the JDP Governing Committee. In 2009-10 she will serve as an Articles Editor for the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology.
Christopher Walker, JD, MPH candidate in Epidemiology, held a student position with the Minnesota Department of Health, where he was very involved in developing, implementing, and working on H1N1 surveillance during the 2009 outbreak. He also helped with the 2008-09 Haemophilus Influenza serotype B outbreak investigation of vaccination patterns and vaccine efficacy in Minnesota.
Lindsey Yock, JD, MD candidate in Medicine, is in her second year of medical school, having completed the law school course work for the Joint Degree Program in the summer of 2007. She completed her JD magna cum laude in May 2008, with a Concentration in Health Law & Bioethics.
