Kadner 2008: What They Don’t Teach You in Graduate School….

But Probably Should

Siabhon M. Harris

Kadner 2008: The Fundamentals

Who? What?

One week workshop on When? Where? Why?

Who…Can Attend Kadner?

Are you eligible? ASM Member Upper-Level Student or Post-doct Establish project in microbiology

www.asmgap.org

What…Is the Kadner Institute?

One week INTENSIVE workshop addressing the following: Prep, Review, Critiques of Research Proposals Presenting your research Teaching methods Careers in Microbiology Others: Networking, Job Interviews, Preparing

a CV, ethics, balance home and work

When…and….Where

Is the Workshop…. Mid-July

Are applications Due Mid-May (Notification of acceptance within 2 wks)

Where is the Workshop? Past 2 years – Boulder, CO Next year - ??????

Why…Attend this Workshop

#1 – Looks good on your CV

#2 – Find out what else is out there

#3 – Networking, networking, networking

#4 – Training, Training, Training

#5 – Other (collaborations, advice, etc)

How…Do I Attend this Workshop

The Application Process CV (1-2 pgs) Summary of Research Project (1-2 pgs) Summary of goals/expectations for participating

(1 pg) Summary of Career Goals (1 pg) PI Approval Page and Recommendation Letter

How…Do I Pay for Kadner

Cost Analysis $300 Registration (includes meals and

transportation between airport and conference) $350-650 Housing Travel $$$ (airplane, travel per diem)

Look into other venues for payment (program director, department chair, PI)

You’re Accepted…Now What?

More work to be done: Pay registration and make travel arrangements 10 pg proposal CV and cover letter (optional) 10-12 minute powerpoint

Review 3-4 proposals from other participants

Submitted End of June

Careers Represented at Kadner

Research U. (VCU) Small and Undergraduate U. (Colorado State) Biotech Industry Government/Federal Institutions (FDA) Foundation/Nonprofit Organizations (Burroughs

Welcome Foundation, DARPA, Howard Hughes) Science Writing (Quintiles) Patent Law (Govt patent office, private)

Career Prep

CV – presentation, one-on-one critique Obtaining Postdoct Pathways to Tenureship Interview tips Networking Balancing personal/professional life

Grant Writing

Small group critique on proposals NIH mock grant review Grant writing process Preparing a fundable grant NIH/NSF Review process

Scientific Presentations

One-on-one and group critiques How to prepare an effective presentation Rules of Thumb

1. San serif type (Arial/Geneva)2. Upper and Lower Case3. Appropiate Background (White for small, Black for large)4. 1-6-6 (1 point, 6 lines, 6 words/line)5. Title = Conclusion6. Use Entire Slide7. Proofread8. Practice, practice, practive

Teaching

Emphasize importance of understanding the fundamentals and what’s most important

How students learn? Battery, Light Bulb, Wire Shape of planet’s orbits

Who can answer this problem?

3 1

4 2 = 6/4 or 1.5

The CV Presentation and One-on-one critique Do…

Include pubs, abstracts, presentations Include professional activities (committees, relevant

volunteer work) Start thinking about these things now!

Don’t Worry too much about length (usually 3 pgs) Include personal information Have spelling/grammar errors List large numbers of manuscripts in progess Neglect to name research supervisor

Components of the Interview

One-on-one with faculty Meet grad students Seminar to faculty/students Chalktalk with committee members Sample teaching lecture (optional) Meeting with dept head/dean Meeting with those you ask to see Meals (table manners, alcohol etiqutte, stay away

from personal issues and politics)

The Interview

Things to Ask in beginning Who will you be meeting with? What is the schedule? Who is your audience? Who will make accommodations? Who will cover

expenses? Prepare

Know the institution and faculty What can you contribute Practice presentation (1-, 3-, 10-, 60-minute) Prepare list of questions to ask them

Questions…

You should not be asked What does wife/husband do? Do you plan to have children? Pregnany?

You should ask them Does faculty collaborate? What type of projects? Is job description clear? Staff support? (grant writing, specialized facilities) Types of courses expected to teach? Research/Teaching facilities available on campus

Responding to questions you should not be asked

Address the employers concerns rather than the actual question (ex: what childcare arrangements do you already have in place?)

Respons in a way that conveys empathy with the concern

Reframe the question or minimize a negative comment or situation

Stonewall cheerfully when asked for negative information (ex: “Oh, so has there been a negative experience with this?”)

Balancing Work/Life

“Blood is thicker than LB broth” Find out what’s expected during the interview Organization, lists, support system – Impt! There are tradeoffs – can’t make every

graduation, play, game, etc…

Ethics/Conflict resolution

http://grad.msu.edu/conflictresolution/vignettes/

What I Learned from Kadner?

There’s life outside of academia You can have a life and tenureship (Lists! Lists!

Lists!) Confidence is important Publications, Presentations and Workshops

Count “Only way you can be sucessful as a scientist is

if you’re happy as a scientist” One postdoct can give a competitive edge Going it alone isn’t that bad Gummy/Children’s vitamins are awesome!

Things to Ask Yourself

What do want to do? Benchwork Administration Family

Where do you want to be in 12, 24, 36 months

Who will write your recommendation Is your CV strong

Grad/Medical U. Salary

Public (~$80K), Private (~$110-120K)

Day in the Life (Tenure-track) Research/Scholarship (Pubs, Prez, Grants) Teaching (committees, courses) Service (dept. committees, study sessions)

Tenure vs. Non-Tenure Nontenure – no teaching/service required, salary paid by

grant Tenure – more security, more service/teaching required

Pros (security, independence, travel)/Cons (funding, travel, management, responsibilities)

Undergraduate Institution (Colorado College, Colorado State U.)

Salary Similar to graduate institition (varies with

responsibility) Day in the Life

80% Teaching (full load, course plans) 15% Research (summers, with undergrads) 5% Service (advising, committees)

Pros/Cons (small classes, more teaching, little research)

Government (FDA) Salary

Non Lab (Reviewers, Inspectors, Sci Writers, Policy/Admin) Lab

Staff Fellows (similar to postdocts) Staff Scientists (similar to non-tenure track) – renewable

($75-80K) PI ($80K+)

Day in the Life Research Regulation, Bureaucracy

Pros (security, no teaching?, research access), Cons (no teaching, small research groups of 4-6 people managed by lab chief, bureaucracy)

Industry (Dupont)

Salary Starting $75-80K

Day In the Life Research

Typical New Employee (PhD, 2-5yr postdoct, at least 4-5 first author papers)

Selection Process 2004 (PI Search) Pubs (140 applicants to 40) Field/Expertise (to 20)

Recommends/Networks (to 8) Interviews (2 hires) Pros (small groups 1-3people, high throughput,

spend $$$ for techniques, stock options for small companies), Cons (Usually 10hrs/day, Team Player?, small part of large project)

Patent Law

Salary Gov’t (Start $50-60K) Private (Start $60K)

Day in the Life Private – Explain what’s going on to lawyers, search

literature, write analysis (30-100pgs) Gov’t Patent Examiner – Get docket of 30-80 patents (30-

100pg application), figure out invention, search articles from 1980’s and above, Send off for articles, move on, write analysis

Pros (security, benefits, no postdoct required/real world, pay for law degree = more money), Cons (lots of reading/writing, quota system-govt)

Science Writing (Quintiles) Salary

CRO - $55-76K mean Biotech/Pharm (more risky) - $77-100K Govt - $51-71

Day in the Life Contract Research Org - Read background on disease,

read protocol and statistical analysis plan, write model report (intro, methods), deliver to client, receive stats from trial, summarize results, send back to client (or FDA)

Pros (Flexibility, work from home possibility, no research?), Cons (salary, “dry” writing, postdoct recommended)

Public Health (CDC) Commissioned Corps – respond to public health needs

(www.usphs.com) ASM/NCID post doct program (1/15 deadline)

2 year position with CDC 50 applications average – 10 funded Meet with interested PI and develop proposal

Emerging Infection Disease fellowship (10/15) MS or PhD; More epidemiology Placement at CDC or state public health

Other fellowships: ORISE, DHARMA, Epidemic Intelligence Service (www.cdc.gov/eis)

Pros (security, family-friendly, career movement within agency), Cons (less basic research, less money comparably, bureaucracy)

Clinical Microbiology

10 CPEP approved programs across US (ex. UNC, U. Utah, U. Penn, U. Rochester, Mayo Clinic, NIH)

2 year program (very competitive) No clinical background needed Train you to management clinical labs (mainly at

hospitals) Pros (job security, job outlook, up to $150K-200K

after 25years), Cons (competitive entry, must have PhD)