Will Talbot

As 113 new graduate students in the biosciences prepare to begin classes Sept. 21, Will Talbot, PhD, professor and chair of developmental biology, is settling into the position of senior associate dean for graduate education and postdoctoral affairs.

Talbot was appointed to the post Sept. 1, replacing Daniel Herschlag, PhD, professor of biochemistry.

"I am very excited about my new role," Talbot said. "We are all inspired by the accomplishments of our graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, at Stanford and beyond. It is privilege to have a role in their training."

Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, said, "Will has shown a strong commitment to graduate education and postdoctoral training. Under his leadership, I am confident that the Office of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs will enjoy a bright future and will continue guiding and empowering the next generation of leaders and innovators in academia and industry."

The first-year students were selected from a pool of 1,986 applicants. Seventy of the students are men, and 43 are women. Twenty-four of the 113 students were born outside the United States, including Myanmar, the Ukraine and Ghana, and 31 are considered underrepresented minorities in the biosciences. Eighteen hold advanced degrees, including 11 with master's degrees and two with doctorates in veterinary medicine.

"The arrival of our new graduate students is a wonderful way to start our academic year," Talbot said. "This incoming class represents our most diverse cohort ever, and we are all excited about the great discoveries they will make as students and in the future."

The Office of Graduate Education, in collaboration with the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association, will hold the annual PhD lab coat ceremony Sept. 30 at the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge. At the event, each new student is introduced by his or her program chair and presented with a lab coat.