GPS Office Team and Organizational Chart

Flow chart of the GPS Office Staff with the Director at the top, Office Associate below the director, Associate director before the Office associate, and the three program managers below the Associate director.
GPS Office - Marketing - Medical School Ranking
Helping to navigate your graduate and postdoctoral training in the biomedical and health-relevant sciences
GPS Office Marketing - Michael Lipscomb

Director

Michael W. Lipscomb, PhD
lips0046@umn.edu

As Director of the GPS Office, I am responsible for the strategic design, development and delivery of services and resources supporting biomedical graduate students, graduate programs, postdoctoral scholars and research education training initiatives. I work closely with the Dean's Office, Office of Research and other units in the Medical School and the Graduate School to support trainees and provide services and resources to our learners.

Caucasian female with brown hair and glasses.

Associate Director

Brenda K Davies, PhD
kehre017@umn.edu 

My role in the GPS Office is to develop new and innovative initiatives to enhance trainee outcomes, oversee the execution of programmatic activities and manage the day-to-day operations. I work closely with our GPS Office program managers and coordinators, graduate students, postdocs, faculty and various Medical School units. Together, we focus on the four pillars of recruitment, retention, research education and career development to provide the best services and resources to our learners.

GPS Office Marketing

Administrative Associate for Graduate Education

Genne Fritts
mcand003@umn.edu

I am responsible for handling the backend operations to support our graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.  This includes overseeing administrative policies, budget management, procurements of supplies, managing travels and registrations and processing student fee waivers, fellowships, awards, stipend and health benefits. I also work closely with various student groups to support their activities and missions.

photo of Marlena

Program Manager for Graduate Studies

Marlena Yang, EdM
yang1358@umn.edu

My goals are to support the recruitment, retention, research education and career development of graduate student trainees within the Medical School. To do so, I work closely with the graduate programs, students and other units across the Medical School to employ the  best practices to recruit top-notch students and ensure a healthy work environment for their success. This includes running several programs to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as supporting enhancement in research education and career development. 

 

GPS Office Marketing

Program Manager for Postdoctoral Studies

Nhung Nguyen, MSW
nhung@umn.edu

Supporting the postdoctoral community in the Medical School is my main goal. I work closely with the Medical School Postdoc Council, various T32 program directors and other key stakeholders to provide key information, resources, and services for our trainees. I run several programs to bolster our recruitment efforts and facilitate various workshops, seminars, and events to enhance the retention, research education and career development of our learners.  I also work with external business partners to help postdocs transition into new careers in academic and non-academic settings.

Caucasian female with blonde hair and glasses.

Program Manager for Career Development

Rin Heise, EdM
krheise@umn.edu 

I work both with trainees in 1-on-1 sessions and also on the backend to provide a wealth of career and professional development resources. I work to educates trainees in self-reflection and in identifying their options for careers and to communicate skills and interests through written methods and interpersonally. I am also engaged in coaching our trainees in individual and group settings on topics such as career practices, resources, and decision making processes. Lastly, I work to create and distribute career content with our trainees, as well as assist in planning career events, mentoring programs or other opportunities for engaging/interacting with alumni and potential employers.