News

The 2026 ARCS Foundation Atlanta Chapter Annual Meeting was held at The Cherokee Town Club on May 6th. The meeting was called to order by Frances Swensson, President, promptly at 10:15 am.

Prior to the business of the Board Meeting, the attendees were treated to a panel discussion featuring four ARCS Scholars affiliated with the Regenerative Bioscience Center at the University of Georgia. The moderator was Dr. Morgane Golan, an ARCS Atlanta Scholar from 2021-2024 thanks to the Cooper/Mukharji Award. Morgane received her Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine. The panel included:

Moira Taber: 2nd year ARCS Scholar, Cooper/Mukharji Award, Ph.D. Student, Regenerative Bioscience

Jordan Parker: 2nd year ARCS Scholar, McGonigle/Rosenbaum Award, Ph.D. Candidate, Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Skylar Settles: 1st year ARCS Scholar, Dick Award, Ph.D. Candidate, Genetics

Christina Endara-Arnold: 2nd year ARCS Scholar, David, Helen and Marian Woodward Award, Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience

Each Scholar detailed her current research and spoke about the personal and academic paths that sparked interest in Regenerative Bioscience. Each woman concluded with a heartfelt thank you to the ARCS organization for the scholar award and highlighted what the award allowed them to do to further their studies. Questions from the audience were fielded and answered by Morgane and the panelists.

After this presentation, our members and guests enjoyed lunch and the chapter held the Board Meeting. The Board approved the 2026-2027 Board of Directors slate. Membership reported that five members have submitted resignation letters and nine new members were approved for membership. University Relations has completed visits to the four schools supported by ARCS Atlanta. For the 2026-2027 academic year, Emory University will select five new scholars; Georgia Institute of Technology, three new scholars; Morehouse, three new scholars and the University of Georgia, five new scholars. The forward calendar was reviewed and the Old Board/New Board Meeting will be held on June 10th, hosted by Patty Reid.