BGS Career Development
Making It Count!
The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) features one scientist’s reflections on the process of searching for a postdoc position as he neared the end of his PhD. The author ultimately decided to join a newly opened lab despite initial misgivings, and he shares honest insights on what he sacrificed and gained in the process (i.e. loss of built-in networks versus gaining an immediate impact on the lab’s research and culture.)
Read more here.
This year’s BGS Professional Skills Series will conclude with, ‘Science & International Diplomacy’, presented by Dr. Mahlet Mesfin, Deputy Director of the Center for Science Diplomacy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), on Thursday, May 16th, 4:00 – 5:30 PM in the Barchi Library (140 John Morgan). This event is co-sponsored by the Penn Science Policy and Diplomacy Group (PSPDG).
Dr. Mesfin will speak to the intersections of science, policy, and society. An alum of Penn (SEAS PhD ’11), Mesfin joined AAAS in May 2017. She also serves as executive editor of the open-access policy journal Science & Diplomacy. Read more on her background here.
Light refreshments will be served! Please register here: https://forms.gle/wkibmCk5XbQjvNQs6
If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Lopez.
One of the PSOM’s most distinguished faculty members, P. Leslie Dutton, FRS, Eldridge Reeves Johnson Professor of Biophysics and Biochemistry, is retiring. Leslie is a former chair of the B&B department, and a former chair of the Biophysics Graduate Group (before BC and BP merged). There will be a scientific symposium in his honor, Friday, May 31st – Saturday, June 1st.
More than 25 PhD students graduated from Leslie’s lab, from 1978 onwards, and almost ALL of them will be at the symposium! About 10 of them will be speaking. These alumni have gone on to successful careers in academia, industry, gov. research. consulting etc., so this would be a unique opportunity for BGS students to see and meet them. The symposium is open to everyone, and there are also two breakfasts which would provide opportunities for students to meet and talk informally with these alumni.
To see the full itinerary for ‘Les Fest,’ click here.
This Nature article emphasizes the importance of expressing the excitement of research through one’s scientific writing. Done successfully, communicating science can both increase its accessibility and progress your career. The author explains how to use research to tell a story, determining when to write and when to use a figure, and more.
Read the full article here.
12TH ANNUAL NIH CAREER SYMPOSIUM
NIH Campus, Bethesda, Maryland
Natcher Conference Center, Building 45
May 10, 2019 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
The NIH Career Symposium highlights the diversity of career choices available to your generation of biomedical researchers. Whether you are a new graduate student, postdoc, or clinical fellow just beginning to consider career options or a senior student/fellow ready to look for a job, the NIH Career Symposium is for you. Here are the panel descriptions and the agenda:
Panel Descriptions
Career Symposium Agenda
NIH invites any postdoc, clinical fellow or PhD-level graduate student to join, regardless if you are part of the NIH intramural program or not. This event is free to attend (participants are responsible for their own travel expenses)
Wondering what the Career Symposium is all about? Check out past events here.
(Via NIH)
The NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) career development blog recently published this post about navigating a multi-prong career search. The author is a postdoctoral researcher who found themselves weighing their interest in a tenure-track faculty job versus a non-academic career, either in medical writing or graduate & postdoc professional development. They reflect on the logistical challenges of strategically applying to both academic and non-academic jobs as well as the factors that led them to ultimately accept a role helping postdocs navigate their career search processes. These factors included intuition, work-life balance, and salary, among other considerations.
Read more here.