UMass Chan Student Trustee
Bethany Berry is an MS4 MD/PhD candidate and current UMass Chan Student Trustee who completed her thesis research studying epigenetic mechanisms of meningioma, a type of intracranial tumor, in the laboratory of Mark Johnson, MD, PhD, the Maroun Semaan Chair in Neurosurgery, chair and professor of neurological surgery and senior vice provost for mentorship, leadership and transformation. Her interest in translational neuroscience has grown throughout her exceptional early career conducting research at the Jackson Laboratory, Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mayo Clinic, Wesleyan University and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Ms. Berry joined the Johnson laboratory in the Fall of 2020 and her work ethic, professionalism, and meticulous attention to detail led to her being awarded a research supplement by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in 2021.
Bethany is a rural Maine native and Williams College graduate who is passionate about promoting equity and justice in health care and research. Since matriculating, she has served on the University of Massachusetts Medical Scientist Training Program Student Council and as a representative to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Diversity Interest Group, and she was awarded the 2023 JEDI Leadership Award and the 2024 Deborah Harmon Hines, PhD, Award for her contributions. She has also taken on leadership roles at the state and national level serving as the Vice Chair of the American Medical Association Medical Student Section Minority Issues Committee and as a voting student representative to the Massachusetts Medical Society and the State Student Advisory Council to the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. She previously served as the 2022-2023 UMass Chan Student Trustee and served on the Committees on Academic Affairs & Economic Development, Administration and Finance, and Audit & Risk. In her free time, she is an avid figure skater and plays jazz trumpet. She plans to apply to Psychiatry residency this Fall.