Venkata Thulabandu is a PhD candidate in Dr. Atit’s lab whose research is focused on understanding the molecular events during embryonic skin development. He recently won the ‘best graduate student poster award’ in the Midwestern Society for Developmental Biology conference held here at Case Western Reserve University.  His poster was titled ‘Dual roles for Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 in skin development’ wherein he discusses the importance of a specific epigenetic histone modification in regulating the differentiation of both dermal and epidermal cells during development. The award entitles him to a free travel to Boston to participate in the national level Society for Developmental Biology conference scheduled in next July. We wish him good luck in Boston.