POSTDOCTORAL SEMINAR SERIES

This monthly postdoctoral seminar series is sponsored by the RWJMS Office of Research and supported by the UMDNJ Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. All UMDNJ postdoctoral appointees are invited to participate and meet your colleagues. Lunch is provided. Please contact Dr. Martha Soto for additional details or if you wish to participate.

Unless otherwise noted, seminars will be held at:
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway
Research Tower, Dean's Conference Room, Room 123/124

Friday, May 4, 2012
"What is it like to teach and conduct research at a 4-year college, and what kind of faculty do 4-year colleges want to hire"
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Location: Daniel I. Kessler Teaching Labs, C1 and C2

Speaker:

Dr. Margaret Carroll
Professor of Biology, Director, STEP into Science Program
Medgar Evers College - CUNY, Brooklyn, NY

Everybody talks about involving undergraduates in research, but few are as experienced at this as this month's invited guest, Dr. Margaret Carroll. Dr. Carroll's undergraduates conduct independent research, present their findings at numerous national meetings, and are accepted to top graduate programs. This is particularly notable given that Dr. Carroll teaches and conducts research at a small urban college with somewhat limited resources. In addition to being the Director of the STEP into Science Program, Dr. Carroll is also much admired for her teaching skills. If you are considering using your research training to help train the next generation of scientists, or if you want to hear what 4-year colleges are looking for when they hire new faculty, or if you want to be inspired, come hear Dr. Carroll's presentation and help us welcome her to our campus.

Friday, April 13, 2012
"Transitioning from Academia to Industry"
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Location: Daniel I. Kessler Teaching Labs, N1 and N2

Speaker:

Dr. Nicholas Di Prospero
Director of Translational Medicine
Janssen Pharmaceutical Research and Development LLC
Raritan, NJ

Come hear from a RWJMS graduate who has successfully transitioned from academia to industry, directing translational medicine research groups, first at Johnson and Johnson and now at Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Nicholas Di Prospero received his M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and his Ph.D. in pharmacology jointly from UMDNJ and Rutgers University. Following training in internal medicine at Georgetown University, he conducted clinical trials in neurodegenerative disorders. In 2007, he became Associate Director of Experimental Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology at Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, LLC in Raritan, NJ. He is currently Director of Translational Medicine at Janssen Pharmaceutical Research and Development, where he leads interdisciplinary clinical study teams to collaboratively conduct Phase I/IIa trials to evaluate proof-of-concept for new drug candidates.

Friday, March 2, 2012
"Career Planning for Postdocs: Self-Assessment, Career Exploration and Individual Development Plans "
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Speaker:

Monica Kerr, Ph.D.
New York Academy of Sciences
Director, Science Alliance

Dr. Monica Kerr, Direcor of Science Alliance, will discuss the fundamentals of career planning. You'll learn how to find and obtain the perfect job through use of self-assessment tools, career exploration strategies, and individual development plans.

Monica Kerr earned her PhD in cell and developmental biology from the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kerr subsequently moved away from the bench to focus on higher education as an Instructor and Curriculum Fellow also at Harvard Medical School. In this role she taught and developed science-based curricula for undergraduate, graduate, and medical school science courses, as well as led career advancement initiatives for science PhDs. Dr. Kerr joined the New York Academy of Sciences in February 2010 as the Director of Science Alliance, an international career development program for graduate students and postdocs in the sciences.

Friday, February 3, 2012
"Transitioning to Careers Outside Academia: Advice from an Academic turned EPA Scientist, turned Biotech Project Manager"
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Speaker:

Melanie Jardim , Ph.D., Project Manager
Next Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics, Genewiz
Formerly, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Exciting research opportunities are not limited to academic laboratories. Dr. Jardim will share her experiences transitioning to an EPA laboratory where she used molecular biology techniques to analyze a scientific problem with implications for human health and for policy decisions. She left this exciting research to manage projects at a biotech firm that provides genomics services to academic and industry labs. Come hear her perspectives on how to explore career opportunities outside academia.

Friday, January 13, 2012
"Scientific Teaching Workshop: Lessons from the National Academies Summer Institute-Improving Student Learning and Teacher Effectiveness"
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Speakers:

Charles desBordes, Ph.D.
Professor, Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Matthew Marcello, Ph.D.
INSPIRE Fellow, Rutgers/RWJMS

Science education is undergoing a revolution that is changing what students in K-12 classrooms experience and learn. However, when these students reach college, many encounter some of the same antiquated lecture halls and teaching methods that have traditionally driven students away from science and engineering. At a time when new jobs require science and technology training, we continue to lose some of our best and brightest students from the fields of science, engineering and math. Drs. desBordes and Marcello will introduce key elements of Scientific Teaching in this interactive Workshop based on the Howard Hughes/National Academies Summer Teaching Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology. They will introduce core Scientific Teaching concepts (active learning, diversity and assessment) and will share tips on how to incorporate these concepts into the classroom to improve student learning outcomes and your teaching effectiveness.

Friday, December 9, 2011
"Lab Management Skills for Postdocs- Part II - Staffing your research group, Mentoring your lab members, and Receiving the Mentoring you need "
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Speakers:

Monica Driscoll, Ph.D.
Professor, MBB Department, Rutgers
Paul Copeland, Ph.D.
AssociateProfessor, MGMI, RWJMS

Successful scientists need to recruit and select the right people for their labs or research groups. Once people join your research team, you need to figure out what kind of mentoring each person needs. Unfortunately, most PIs learn these skills the hard way, on the job, while struggling to get their research program going. The postdoctoral years are an ideal time to develop these essential People Management Skills, and to practice reaching out to potential Mentors. Come hear two successful faculty members share their insights on how to develop these skills.

Friday, November 4, 2011
Lab Management Skills for Postdocs - Pt. 1 - Write, Write, Write
Writing Strategies for Manuscripts and Grants
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Speakers:

Smita Patel, Ph.D., Professor, Dept of Biochemistry, RWJMS
Jim Millonig, Ph.D., Associate Professor, RWJMS Neuroscience
Christopher Barbieri, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, RWJMS, Biochemistry
Mary Ho, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Rutgers and CABM

Effective writing that communicates the significance of your research is essential for securing jobs and grants, and for advancing in your field. Most scientists would also agree that writing well is one of the hardest skills to develop. Come hear from successful writers at different stages in their careers about the tricks they have developed to keep their writing focused, frequent, effective, and well-received.

On behalf of the Postdoctoral Career Development Program, I would like to invite you, your faculty advisors, your fellow postdocs and graduate students to the 3rd Annual National Postdoc Appreciation Day Symposium.  This event, organized by the members of the UMDNJ/Rutgers Post Doctoral Association (PDA) was a huge success in 2009 and 2010,  with over 150 participants last year.  

Date:                           Thursday September 22nd, 2011
Time:                           9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Location:                     RWJMS-UMDNJ Research Tower, East Lecture Hall
                                    Busch Campus, Piscataway, NJ
To help us plan for refreshments and space, please register at the website listed below. Registration is FREE, and includes lunch.  We encourage postdocs to submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation.  For registration and other information go to:  http://pda-nj.appspot.com/symposium.html

Friday, August 5, 2011
"What are employers looking for in Industry and Academia?"
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Speaker

Jeffrey H. Toney, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Natural, Applied and Health Sciences
Kean University

Dr. Jeffrey H. Toney is an educator and a scientist whose career has spanned academia and the pharmaceutical industry. He serves as the Dean of the College of Natural, Applied and Health Sciences at Kean University. He is dedicated to strengthening public appreciation of the beauty and impact of science in our daily lives. His news media publications include The Star Ledger, USA Today, The New York Times as well as regular blogs at NJ Voices, Op Ed News and The Huffington Post; he has published more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications and holds six US patents.