Pascale Guiton, daughter of Mercer Island resident, named Bouchet Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis

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ST. LOUIS, MO (04/14/2011)(readMedia)-- Pascale Guiton, daughter of Celine Anelone of Mercer Island, Wa. (98040), was recently named a Bouchet Fellow by the Washington University Bouchet Honor Society.

Guiton, a doctoral student in the Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, was selected along with Natecia Williams, a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Program in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, to be the 2011 Bouchet Fellows.

The students were inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society at the annual Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education March 26 at Yale University.

The Bouchet Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. Its network of pre-eminent scholars exemplifies academic and personal excellence, character, service and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.

Sheri R. Notaro, PhD, associate dean in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, coordinates the WUSTL chapter of the Bouchet Society.

"Washington University is fortunate to have two impressive scholars join the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society," Notaro says. "Both Pascale Guiton and Natecia Williams embody the qualities of Dr. Edward A. Bouchet - outstanding scholarship coupled with a sincere commitment to community service and outreach."

Guiton's dissertation project in the laboratory of Scott Hultgren, PhD, the Helen L. Stoever Professor of Molecular Microbiology and director of the center for Women's Infectious Disease Research, focuses on understanding the process of biofilm development by the Gram positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis and its contribution during the establishment of catheter-associated mono- and polymicrobial urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).

Implications of her work will provide a better understanding of E. faecalis as a uropathogen, elucidate the general characteristics of single and multi-species bacterial communities during CAUTIs, and possibly uncover novel E. faecalis virulence factors that may serve as potential therapeutic targets in the fight against these infections.

Guiton has received several awards, including the Robert A. Watkins Graduate fellowship award from the American Society of Microbiology. Guiton, who earned a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Georgia State University in 2005, participates in several outreach programs and mentoring activities at Washington University.

Yale and Howard universities established the Bouchet Society in 2005 to recognize the life and academic contributions of Edward Alexander Bouchet, the first African-American to earn a doctorate from an American university. He earned a doctorate in physics from Yale in 1876.

WUSTL was invited to become a Bouchet chapter member in 2007, joining Georgetown and Cornell universities and the universities of Michigan and Washington.

WUSTL's Bouchet Society Selection Committee comprises Richard J. Smith, PhD, dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and the Ralph E. Morrow Distinguished University Professor; Notaro; and Leah Merrifield, executive director for academic-civic engagement in the Office of Government and Community Relations.