BGS Career Development

Making It Count!

Career: Research (government)

Symposium in Honor of P. Leslie Dutton

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faculty photo

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.

New iBioSeminar: Visual Communication in Biology

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“Scientists commonly use visual representation of data to show their results and ideas. In this seminar, Dr. Janet Iwasa provides an introduction to the field of molecular animation, and walks us through the process of using visualization tools to communicate scientific information. In her first video, Iwasa summarizes the common types of visualizations used in biology, explains the steps you should take to create a model figure, and summarizes key elements you should consider when creating your figures and models.

In her second and third videos, Iwasa provides an overview of the animation process. She shows different software that can be used to create molecular models (e.g. UCSF chimera), and illustrates the process of creating an animation and finalizing the video using software like Maya and Adobe After Effects. These videos will familiarize you with the process of creating an animation and show best practice techniques when using visual communication in biology.” (Via iBiology)

Watch Janet Iwasa’s iBioSeminar: Visual Communication in Biology

iBiology: “Let’s Experiment: A Guide for Scientists Working at the Bench”

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iBiology is offering a free, 6-week online course that teaches how to think through the design and execution of experiments.

Scientists from a variety of backgrounds give concrete steps and advice to help you build a framework for how to design experiments in biological research. Case studies make the abstract more tangible. In science, there is often no simple right answer. However, with this course, you can develop a general approach to experimental design and understand what you are getting into before you begin.

By the end of this course, you will have:

  • A detailed plan for your experiment(s) that you can discuss with a mentor.
  • A flowchart for how to prioritize experiments.
  • Tips and best practices for how to get started with an experiment.
  • A lab notebook template that is so impressively organized, it will make your colleagues envious.
  • A framework to do rigorous, reproducible research.

The course is built with a busy schedule in mind and is designed to take 1.5 to 3 hours per week. It begins Tuesday, February 19, 2019. Content will be released week-by-week each Tuesday.

For more details and to register, click here.

Deciding Where to Publish: Finding Publication Venues that Align with Your Goals

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“Whether it’s your first-time publishing or you are a publishing veteran, deciding where to publish can be a daunting task that will impact you for years to come.  Not only is finding the right “fit” for your scholarship extremely important, but your publication venue also determines other important factors, like where and how you can share your scholarship after it’s published (your personal website, academia.edu or ResearchGate, etc.) or whether or not you can reuse your work elsewhere (conferences, subsequent publications, etc.).

This presentation will help get you started in establishing your publishing criteria, developing a list of journals/publishers, and evaluating those publication venues based on the criteria you develop. The session will also briefly cover some best practices for submitting, reading/negotiating publishing contracts, and sharing your work after it’s published.” (Via the Graduate Student Center)

When: Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Where: Room 305 (3rd Fl), Grad Center, 3615 Locust Walk

Register here.

NCI Graduate Student Recruiting Program

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Reminder: the deadline to apply to the 4th Annual Graduate Student Recruiting Program is January 31, 2019!  Graduate students who apply and are invited to visit NIH have a distinct advantage in obtaining postdoc positions. Visit the GSRP website for useful information on the application process. 

The GSRP is a competitive program that provides students the opportunity to explore postdoctoral fellowships at the NCI.  During the two-day program in May invited applicants will visit the NIH, learn about the various resources that NIH and NCI have to offer, and network with NCI investigators, staff, and current postdocs.  In addition, the poster sessions provide an excellent opportunity to network and foster collaborations with scientists here at the NIH. NCI investigators looking to fill open positions view GSRP as a source of qualified candidates.

Should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the GSRP coordinator.

SfN: How to Prepare for a Science Policy Career

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The Society for Neuroscience has published a number of insights for students interested in a career in science policy. These include:

  • Learn about different science policy careers.
  • Track the issues.
  • Participate or plan advocacy activities.

The author provides fuller detail on these and other recommendations. For even more information, they recommend reading the government program management and policy and advocacy career path guides.

Read more here.