Announcements
Beyond Grant Writing: Exploring Career Opportunities in Scientific Communication through the Vanderbilt ASPIRE Program
Jul. 15, 2021—This article was originally published in the 2018-2019 Annual Report. By Natalya Ortolano, Graduate Student I had an interesting discussion about future career options with my six-year-old niece recently who asked a question I ponder daily, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I explained in kid-accessible terms that I was currently...
Look and Act the Part: The Importance of Professionalism in One’s Career Development
Jul. 15, 2021—This article was originally published in Results & Discussion, Issue 9, Spring 2019. By Christopher Smith, Ph.D., former Postdoctoral Fellow, now Postdoctoral Affairs Program Manager, North Carolina State University Landing a dream job can be a daunting task for even well-seasoned scientists. However, with underdeveloped soft skills, such as effective communication and emotional intelligence, or an...
Our Journey Into Business and Management Consulting
Jul. 15, 2021—This article was originally published in Results & Discussion, Issue 7, Spring 2018. By Siwei He and Aparna Shekar, Graduate Students Working towards a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences not only instills a wide repertoire of positive personal and professional qualities in trainees, but also opens many doors in a wide gamut of career paths....
BRET Trainees Get a Look “Inside the Beltway”
Jul. 15, 2021—This article was originally published in Results & Discussion, Issue 1, Spring 2015. by Suneethi Sivakumaran, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow This past fall, the BRET Office of Career Development and the Vanderbilt ASPIRE Program partnered with the Vanderbilt Office of Federal Relations and other campus offices to provide trainees an externship opportunity in federal stem policy...
Bridging the Gap Between Science and Business
Jul. 15, 2021—This article was originally published in Results & Discussion, Issue 5, Spring 2017. By Derrick Cumberbatch, Graduate Student “Participating in this module helped me have a more entrepreneurial mindset, which has changed how I view my career. Seeing business as an integral part of everything we do has made me more mindful in how I...
Career Center Launches Full Access to The Versatile PhD
Jul. 14, 2021—The VU Career Center recently announced that it is providing VU students, faculty, and staff with complete access to Versatile PhD. This online resource helps students explore career possibilities, view job postings appropriate for PhDs, network with 85,000+ members, prepare to build a professional career, and more! VPhD is the largest online community dedicated to non-academic and non-faculty careers for PhD...
ASPIRE on the Road: Boston
Jul. 14, 2021—This article was originally published in Results & Discussion, Issue 8, Fall 2018. Exploring the Most Innovative Square Mile on the Planet By Ralph J. Hazlewood, Ph.D., and Jessica M. Overstreet, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellows The BRET Office of Career Development ASPIRE Program furthered its mission to empower and prepare biomedical trainees at the Ph.D. and...
ASPIRE Trainees Fly to San Diego
Jul. 14, 2021—This article was originally published in the 2018-2019 Annual Report. By Lorena Infante Lara, PhD, with contributions from Salma Omer, Graduate Student La Jolla, San Diego, CA, is home to a sizable life sciences cluster, housing over 1,200 life sciences companies and more than 80 independent and university-affiliated research institutions. For trainees interested in developing...
Pin Drop: Alumni Employer Proactive Worldwide Visits Campus
Jul. 13, 2021—This article was originally published in the 2018-2019 Annual Report. By Justine Sinnaeve, Graduate Student Proactive Worldwide wants to know how job candidates have been fire-tested and how they have learned from those experiences. The good news is that the management consulting firm is all too familiar with the challenges that Vanderbilt Ph.D. students and...
Career Symposium Features the Significance of Mentorship and Networking
Jul. 13, 2021—This article was originally published in Results & Discussion, Issue 8, Fall 2018. By Jessamyn Perlmutter, Graduate Student Each year, the BRET Office holds its Annual Career Symposium for hundreds of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows looking for advice on how to take the next steps in their careers. Held on June 1, this year’s...
Opportunity Begets Opportunity: Leveraging Connections to Gain Invaluable Career Experiences
Jul. 13, 2021—This article was originally published in Results & Discussion, Issue 7, Spring 2018. By Heather McCartney, Graduate Student As the stress of preparing for (and passing!) my qualifying exam started to dissipate, I began to wonder what type of career I could have after I finally earned my doctorate. Aiming to get exposure to as...
Postdoc Preview at University of Michigan Medical School
Jul. 12, 2021—Twice a year, the University of Michigan Medical School hosts Postdoc Preview, a recruiting event and opportunity for 20 upper-level graduate students to explore the extensive postdoctoral research and training opportunities in biomedical sciences at Michigan. During a virtual visit, candidates will interview with prospective mentors, network with their current postdocs, and learn about life...
Self-Paced Scientific Writing Training
Jul. 7, 2021—This series of 14 lessons and exercises was developed at Vanderbilt. It covers the structure of manuscripts and proposals, tips for making writing more efficient, and revision techniques to improve organization, logical flow, and sentence structure. Each lesson uses examples to illustrate how to make scientific writing easier to understand, and each exercise guides critique...
Navigating Freelance Work in the US as an International Student
Jul. 6, 2021—Are you an international student thinking about freelance work during or after your academic program? Check out this recent article from The Open Notebook that provides an overview of the steps international students need to take to ensure they’re able to get the right authorization. As the article notes, this avenue of work comes with its...
Register now for Postdoc Academy’s second online course, Building Skills for a Successful Career
Jun. 28, 2021—The Postdoc Academy’s second online course, Building Skills for a Successful Career, will launch July 19, 2021 and run for 7 weeks. This series of modules will build advanced skills that will enable postdocs to transition to independence. Participants will learn how to: Inform their approach to leadership; Build and supervise a team; Manage projects; Apply...
Still Accepting Applications! Reaching the Peak: A Science and Technology Career Summit
Jun. 24, 2021—Reaching the Peak: A Science & Technology Career Summit, Research!America’s summit for early career researchers, is still accepting applications! The summit is Wednesday, June 30, 2021 from 11-6 p.m. ET. During this one-day virtual event, early career researchers will have the opportunity to explore an array of career paths, network with fellow researchers, participate in...
Virtual Career Development Workshop, July 28-29
Jun. 24, 2021—The Leadership Alliance is excited to announce its upcoming Virtual Career Development Workshop from July 28-29, 2021. The ASPIRE team is proud to be a part of the planning committee for this year’s event, which also features Senior Associate Dean Kathy Gould and Assistant Dean Ashley Brady as speakers. The Virtual Career Development Workshop is an opportunity for...
ASPIRE Internship: Science Communication Intern, VI4, PMI, VUMC
Jun. 18, 2021—ASPIRE Internship Opportunity: Science Communication Intern, VI4, PMI, VUMC August- December, 2021 VI4 and PMI at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are looking for Science Communication Interns. This position provides an opportunity to contribute to VI4’s mission of training the next generation of scientists and physicians and making fundamental discoveries in the areas of infection biology,...
Want to volunteer with the BRET Office of Career Development ASPIRE Program?
Jun. 18, 2021—Each summer, the BRET Office of Career Development ASPIRE Program puts out a call to current biomedical science graduate students and postdocs, seeking volunteers. There are a number of ways you can help in this upcoming academic year. We are looking for: Writers for newsletters and other projects PhD Career Stories moderators Annual Career Symposium...
Lilly Virtual Postdoc Career Fair: August 25
Jun. 17, 2021—Discover Lilly’s Postdoctoral Research Program through a virtual career fair on Wednesday, August 25th, from 3:00-6:00 pm EST. See the flyer below for more details and registration instructions.