2018 ASPIRE Cafe for Postdoctoral Fellows
Orientation to BRET Career Development Resources for Postdocs
Thursday, January 11, 2018
350 Light Hall
“Negotiating Your Faculty Compensation and Start-Up Package”
Thursday, January 25, 2018
419 Light Hall
Join Kathy Gould, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Biomedical Sciences and Louise B. McGavock Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology as she shares tips and strategies for how to negotiate your salary and start-up package for your faculty position.
“Mastering the Art of Being Interviewed”
Thursday, February 8, 2018
419 Light Hall
Join us as we use Story Mason(TM), an interactive tool developed to help you prepare for interviewing. Learn through peer-to-peer feedback how to instantly connect and develop rapport, handle unexpected disruptions, decode questions, and distinguish yourself with memorable answers. Find out how to turn intimidating one-way interviews into interesting two-way conversations, and how to close with purpose.
“A Fair Look: How to Review A Paper”
Thursday, February 22, 2018
306 Light Hall
Reviewing scientific manuscripts is an important skill to develop during your training, is a critical service to the scientific community that will be expected of you as you progress in your training, and it helps you to write better papers. Kathy Gould, Ph.D., Louise B. McGavock Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Associate Dean for Biomedical Sciences will lead this session in which you will take a look at how to approach reviewing a paper and what goes in to writing a helpful review. Tips will be shared that detail the step-by-step process to ensure that you have evaluated a manuscript critically and fairly to provide the feedback necessary to help the editor make a sound decision about publishing the work.
CANCELLED -No Cafe for this day
Thursday, March 8, 2018
“Exploring and Preparing for Faculty Careers”
Thursday, March 22, 2018
407A-C Light Hall
Do you know the different types of academic faculty positions that are available in the U.S.? What skills do you need for each type? What type of faculty position is right for you? Join Kathy Gould, Ph.D., Louise B. McGavock Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Associate Dean for Biomedical Sciences for a session in which we will explore the different types of faculty positions available to life scientists and the variable skills a competitive applicant needs to demonstrate for each type. Participants will use the Academic Career Readiness Assessment (ACRA) Framework, developed by the UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development, to assess their level of preparedness for different positions and to set professional development and research goals that are aligned with the hiring criteria used to assess job candidates.
“Writing a Better Cover Letter”
*Thursday, April 19, 2018
350 Light Hall
Learn cover letter basics such as general cover letter structure, what should be/should not be included, & what it means to tailor your letter to the position. We will explore tips for polishing your cover letter, look at some examples of good and not-so-good cover letters, and discuss strategies for making your cover letter stand out. If you dare (!), feel free to bring along your own cover letter, and accompanying job description, to share with the group.
Orientation to BRET Career Development Resources for Postdocs
Thursday, April 26, 2018
350 Light Hall
“Informational Interviewing-Your Most Powerful Networking Tool”
Thursday, May 10, 2018
206 Preston Research Building
Have you ever heard of an informational interview? Come learn about one the most powerful, yet underutilized, networking tools available to you. Find out what an informational interview entails, how to set one up, what questions you should be asking, and how this type of activity can help you explore career options while also growing your professional network. (Led by Ashley Brady)
“Recognizing and Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome”
Thursday, May 24, 2018
350 Light Hall
Maureen Gannon, Ph.D., Professor, Depts. of Medicine, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University
You will learn to recognize Imposter Syndrome in yourself and others and how to deal with this issue. Impostor syndrome describes people who are unable to internalize their accomplishments despite external evidence of their competence. Impostor syndrome is particularly common among high-achievers. Those exhibiting the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved. Instead success is dismissed as luck, timing, quotas, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be.
“How to Give an Effective Scientific Talk”
Thursday, June 14, 2018
306 Light Hall
Oral presentations are a critical part of the scientific enterprise. The ability to deliver an effective and clear scientific talk is thus a critical career skill, yet many people struggle with preparing and delivering an on-point and engaging presentation. In this session, William Tansey, Ph.D., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology will present a five-step method for preparing a scientific talk. I will discuss how to structure a presentation, how to design clear and compelling slides, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to capture—and keep—the attention of an audience.
“Finding Funding: An Introduction to SPIN and other Resources”
Thursday, June 28, 2018
350 Light Hall
Join Vanderbilt’s Corporate and Foundation Relations team from the Development and Alumni Relations office to learn how use a Vanderbilt resource, SPIN, to find funding for your endeavors. Learn how to establish your personal profile, do funding searches, set up saved searches to receive weekly updates, and use SPIN to manage your applications. We will also (1) share other online resources available to you to identify and maximize your funding searches for federal, non-profit and corporate mechanisms, and (2) discuss best practices for private grant applications.
Handout: CFR Overview
“Setting up and Running a New Lab”
Thursday, July 12, 2018
419 Light Hall
Come hear from a panel of junior faculty about their experiences getting their new lab up and running. Erin Calipari, Ph.D., Asst Prof of Pharmacology, Vivian Gama, Ph.D., Asst. Prof of Cell and Developmental Biology and Yi Ren Ph.D., Asst Prof of Biochemistry, will share their tips regarding what has worked for them, what were the greatest challenges, what they wish they had known beforehand, and maybe even where they really messed up. You will have the opportunity to learn from them by asking all the questions you ever wondered about that big transition from postdoc to PI.
Orientation to BRET Career Development Resources for Postdocs
Thursday, July 26, 2018
306 Light Hall
“Preparing a Faculty Position Application Package”
Thursday, Aug 9, 2018
419 Light Hall
Please join us as we welcome John Karijolich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, and Chris Wright, D. Phil, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Louise B. McGavock Chair, to share their tips and strategies for preparing a faculty position application package that will make you stand out in a positive way. They will share their perspective as a newly hired faculty member (Dr. Karijolich) who has recently been on the job search and a full professor (Dr. Wright) who has served on multiple search committees and has reviewed many application packages over his tenure at Vanderbilt.
“K Awards: Which One is Right for You?”
Thursday, Aug 23, 2018
306 Light Hall
Please join Abigail Brown Ph.D.,To learn the basics about the different types of K awards, from institutional (K12) to K99 awards.
“Grant Resources at Vanderbilt”
Thursday, Sept 13, 2018
306 Light Hall
Please join Abigail Brown Ph.D., BRET, Director, Outcomes Research to learn how Vanderbilt can help you write your grant: a focus on resources for writing career development or R grants. Will cover the many grant writing resources available to Vanderbilt researchers to help produce strong grant applications.
“Preparing for a Teaching Demo”
Thursday, Sept 27, 2018
306 Light Hall
Cynthia Brame, Ph.D., Asst. Dir. ,Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
How do you put together an effective teaching demonstration for a job interview? How is it different from a research seminar–and how can you link the two? Come learn about key considerations for developing this important piece of your interview portfolio.
Handout: The Teaching Demonstration; CBE 2013
“LinkedIN Powerboost”
Thursday, October 11, 2018
306 Light Hall
You DO have a LinkedIN profile, right? Come discover why LinkedIn is the social media tool of choice for over 250 million professionals around the world! Bring your laptop (or a printout of your profile) and we will work together to enhance and improve your profile on the spot. In this session, we will look at some of the most important places you can make simple improvements, and discuss better ways to use your account to grow your network and start preparing for the next step in your career.
Orientation to BRET Career Development Resources for Postdocs
*Thursday, October 18, 2018
306 Light Hall
No Cafe Session
Thursday, October 25, 2018
“What to Expect from a Faculty Interview”
Thursday, November 8, 2018
419 Light Hall
Bring your questions and hear from a panel of faculty members: TBD
No Cafe Session
Thursday, November 22, 2018
“How to Give A Chalk Talk”
419 Light Hall
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Bring your questions and hear from a panel of faculty members: TBD
No Cafe Session
Thursday, December 27, 2018
* Not regular 2nd and 4th Thursday schedule