March 9, 2015–CBCB is extremely delighted to welcome Ms. Katie Lakofsky as our new Assistant Director for Graduate Education and Outreach.

Many of you already know Katie well, as she previously served as the CBCB Education and Outreach Coordinator during the formative period when the bioinformatics Master’s and PhD programs were being established. She served as the Associate Director of DBI during the past two years, leading programs and initiatives in collaboration with the life science industries and education communities in Delaware.

Katie has been instrumental in supporting the Bioinformatics Student Association (BiSA) to receive their NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology) outreach grant last year, serving both as a collaborator and advisor for their outreach activities. She also has a solid understanding of the multidisciplinary research conducted by our (>60) program faculty and institutional knowledge of our (~20) affiliated departments and (6) colleges. Katie has offered—in collaboration with the CBCB Bioinformatics Core—very successful bioinformatics training workshops targeted at both researchers (students, staff, and faculty) and educators, that provided hands-on opportunities for “non-bioinformaticists” to learn concepts and skills which they could apply to their research and/or classrooms.

As the Assistant Director, Ms. Lakofsky will serve as a primary resource for all students and faculty about matters concerning degree requirements, curriculum options and academic policies in all stages of student progression through the Bioinformatics Graduate Programs. She will formulate and implement the Center’s educational recruiting and outreach activities, including development of outreach materials and organizing Center events. She will also manage the graduate programs, including cross-campus coordination and program assessment, and lead development projects to expand the PSM and Certificate programs.

Building on her years of professional experience, and with her passion for education, institutional and program knowledge, and strong connection with students, faculty and affiliates, Ms. Lakofsky will bring our interdisciplinary Bioinformatics graduate education and training programs to the next level. We are excited to welcome Katie to our CBCB team!