The graduate students of the Wayne State University School of Medicine announced that their 19th annual university Graduate Student Research Day is set to take place Sept. 17 on the campus of the School of Medicine and will feature a Nobel laureate as keynote speaker.

Graduate Student Research Day is a student-organized event that facilitates interactions between Wayne State University departments and students within biomedical research fields. The event aims to increase awareness of research conducted by WSU graduate students, and to provide a forum for collaboration and networking. The event is a daylong symposium, and includes oral and poster presentations by graduate students, and a lecture from an invited keynote speaker.

The keynote speaker for 2015 is Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Utah. He was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine with Sir Martin Evans and Dr. Oliver Smithies for his pioneering work on the development of gene targeting in mouse embryo-derived stem cells. His work set a new standard for research worldwide and holds possibilities for development or better management for every known human disease.

The event, which is open to the public, will take place in the Margherio Family Conference Center and the Scott Hall cafeteria beginning at 8:30 a.m. The day's lineup commences with poster and oral presentations by students, culminating with the keynote address by Dr. Capecchi at 4:15 p.m. in the Green Lecture Hall.

For more information, please go to http://gsrd.med.wayne.edu/ or follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WSUGSRD. Questions can be directed to the Graduate Student Research Day Organizing Committee at wsugsrd@gmail.com.