Life After a PhD; Landing a PostdocPositionimaginespor.com/wp...A-Post-Doc-Position-2020.pdf ·...
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Transcript of Life After a PhD; Landing a PostdocPositionimaginespor.com/wp...A-Post-Doc-Position-2020.pdf ·...
Gerry Morris Queen’s University
the mentor that believed in me
• You get weird ideas…. I like that!
• I'm not sure about that but spend some time and explore it!
• Are you happy or not?• Be good to yourself!
Lets make a better model of colitis so we can cure IBD!
TNBS Model• Hapten-induced model of chronic
inflammation and ulceration in the rat colon, Gastroenterology, 1989. Morris GP, Beck PL, Herridge MS, Depew WT, Szewczuk MR, Wallace JL,
• Transmural inflammation• Granulomas• Altered (immunocyte populations)• Macrophage dysfunction.• Later found to be a Th1 model of
colitis
Intestinal Homeostasis is a product of the ability of tissue to resist injury and the ability
to recover from injury• Barrier function• Immune regulation• Blood flow/endothelial
function• Repair and restitution• Remodeling and
resolution• Bugs.• Which cell populations
in IBD are playing the critical role;– immune cells – non-immune cells?
Wouldn’t it be cool!
Med School, Internal Medicine, GIUniversity of Calgary 87-96
• Med school-PhD juggle!• Basic science and
translational research!
(CHEST 2002; 121:647–649)
Why Not Treat HIV-associated Lymphoma?
• “NHL in HIV is a death sentence”
– Low CD4 counts, many infections– Predominantly high grade
lymphomas• Patients were not offered
therapy!• We started treating NHL in HIV
and found that they often responded well. In those that were treated NHL did not markedly impact on survival.
– Can J Infect Dis 1996; 7– Am J Gastro1996; 91– Can J Gastroent 2007;21– Int J Surg Pathol. 2007;15– Journal of Cystic Fibrosis 2008;7– Am J Gastroenterol. 2008 Jul;103
What are the Mechanisms in the Pathogenesis of Portal Hypertensive Gastropathy?
Internal Medicine, GI (1991-96)
• Those with PHG have altered blood flow, decreased prostaglandins and changes in nitric oxide signaling.
• Gastroenterology 1992;103• Am J Physiol 1993;265• Gastroenterology 1993;105• Hepatol 1995; 23• GUT 2001; 49• Curr Opin Gastroenterol
2003
Swain StudiesInternal Medicine-GI
• Hypothalamic pituitary axis is altered in cholestatic animals.
• Am J Physiol 1997;272• Hepatology 1998; 28• J Hepatol 2000;33• GUT 2001; 49
Making Plans Early!
• Know where you need to get to.• Know the routes/systems.• Know your competition.• Know the time lines.• Find help, make contacts!
“Pick Dr Podolsky up at the airport and take him for a hike before the
meeting”
Seek Out Your Mentors and Those That You Want to Train With!
How?•Connections•Meetings•Articles•Colleagues•Mentors
The Screamer! The Hugger!Be an active mentee!
Time…. the only non-elastic variable
• The first three things on your to do list have to be about research!
• Partitioning time!• Make use of all your resources!• Quality time for those that
count!• Educate your family.
Find Your Confidence…• No one is perfect! • Only one worse thing
than being last in a race is not running it!
• You can not be everything to everybody!
• Think about the impact of where you are going!
“If you can’t excel there people will think you won’t be able to excel
anywhere”
Think About Getting Your First Job Now!
• What does it take?– Papers– Awards– Experience
• What type of job?– Academic
• Run your own lab• Lab associate• Teaching/Mentoring
– Industry• Start up?• Big company?
• Something outside the box?
Take on Challenges!• Get involved;
– Teaching!– Seminars!– Mentoring!– Collaborating!– Extra-curricular activities!– Be a team player!– Organize Meetings!– Review papers and grants!
“Now that is the kind of person I want as a colleague”
What Field Should I Go In To?• Enhance the interplay!• Protection!• AFP vs no AFP?• Family expectations?• Know your strengths and
weakness! • What excites you most?• Find your niche!• What makes you happy?
What is Your Goal
• Where do you want to go?– Academic setting– Industry?– Other?
• What is your timeline?• Are you competitive for funding?
What is Your Niche?
• Interest/Identity• How do people know you?
– “oh she is the microbiome lung woman”• Viability
– Funding– Future
• Support– To start– To grow
Choosing a Mentor/Lab
• Mentoring Style?• Successes of other students?• Collaborator?• Size of Lab?• Focus?• Launch plans up front?
Nature or Nothing?
My way or the highway!
Stick to one project or else!
Money?• Are you competitive for funding?
– How much do post-docs make?• Cost of moving?• Cost of living (rent, child care, healthcare etc)?• Any other resources?
– Top ups?– Chance for other awards?– Can you work part time?– Can you get credit?
• Family; who, what, when, where and how – (most know the why)
The How Do You Have Kids Question!
Going to Industry• Bart de Vos, who oversees about 70 research postdocs at
Genentech "If they don't stay in contact with their peers and advisers, they get out of touch with the academic culture,“
• “People who go back to academia want more ownership of their research and accept lower funding and support as a trade-off”
• “Industry postdocs are less experienced in writing grants and fellowship applications than their peers in academia”
• “….candidates from industry bring valuable skills and experience. They have learned how to conduct practical research as part of a team and how to manage projects.”
• “…postdocs receive roughly the same amount of training in either sector.”
Nature 429, 324-325 (May 2004) | 10.1038/nj6989-324a
Life After A PhD• “…it should be your aim as a postdoc to publish a first‐author
paper. In psychology ‘10’ is the magic number of publications universities look for when hiring, in engineering 3 or 4. It is not necessary for all the papers to be first author.”
• How important is it to have a first author publication when seeking a postdoc?– “Critical… It’s a way of demonstrating that your thesis work made an
original and new contribution to the field.”• How many letters of recommendations do you need when
applying for postdocs?– You need 3.– Good to have 1 from major advisor, 1 from committee member. It would
be outstanding if your third letter was from someone in your field who knows your graduate work (this looks good).
– Much better if the letter is from a faculty member
From; Life after the PhD: Finding the Right Postdoctoral Positionwww.bu.edu/agep/files/2010/04/AGEP-Postdoc-Event-Notes4.pdf
Life After A PhD
From; Life after the PhD: Finding the Right Postdoctoral Positionwww.bu.edu/agep/files/2010/04/AGEP-Postdoc-Event-Notes4.pdf
Is a Post-Doc a Guaranteed Faculty Position?
• “For years postdocs have heard that a postdoc is a training ground for a tenure-track position”
• “ this causes them not to think about their own strategic career plan, because they think the postdocwill naturally flow into a tenure-track position.“
• “only 20 percent of postdocs advance to tenure-track employment, many find themselves realizing too late, or waiting too long, to make a career plan with tangible contingency options”Cathee Phillips, executive director of the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).
www. sciencecareers.sciencemag.org
Have a dream but also some back up plans!
Resources• CIHR• CAG• Provincial• NIH• Industry• Other
– www. sciencecareers.sciencemag.org– www.findapostdoc.com/firstmain.asp– www.postdocjobs.com– Life after the PhD: Finding the Right Postdoctoral Position
www.bu.edu/agep/files/2010/04/AGEP-Postdoc-Event-Notes4.pdf
My 4 Points for Success
• Work hard!• Be morally and ethically sound!• Be nice to people! • Strive to be happy!
Good Luck on Your Journey!
