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The Postyour newsletter
January 2010
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Welcome to the first edition of The Post, your PDAC newsletter. This bulletin is born from the realization that we, postdocs of the UofC, urgently need more information and awareness related to profes-sional development and career planning. The academic job market has changed in the past years and it behooves postdocs to seriously consider that barely 1 out of 5 postdocs who want a tenure-track position will succeed. The situation outside academia is not better and in this bad economy, it is also challenging to secure a position in the industry or elsewhere.
This first newsletter of a planned quarterly series is intended to provide you with information that we hope you will find useful to your career. In the Career Trajectories section, you will have a chance to read the story of a previous postdoc who has now moved on with her career. Besides, in the Resources and Career Planning Tools sec-tions, you will find information on how to carefully plan your future.
The role of The Post is also to contribute to the development of a stronger postdoctoral community. In every newsletter, we will intro-duce selected postdocs in the Meet your peers section. We will also share a variety of information pertaining to funding opportunities, tax issues and PDAC activities. In addition, each UofC postdoc will have a chance to share a good experience with the community (res-taurants, museums, ski resorts…) by submitting ideas ([email protected]) which will be published in the Life in Calgary section.
Finally, an invited writer will share with us some of his/her ideas in a section entitled Feature article that you will find near the end of the newsletter.
We hope you will enjoy reading The Post and we encourage you to send us lots of feedback/ideas at [email protected].
Career Trajectories: The Assistant Professor Itinerary
Despite the widespread idea that postdoc-toral fellows can only target the tenure-track career, many of us eventually move to other career paths. The objective of this section is to introduce you with the wide variety of ca-reers offered to postdoctoral fellows. To that aim, we will interview previous postdocs who have moved on with their career. In this issue, we have talked with Dr Deborah Kurrasch, a newly-appointed Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine. Dr Kurrasch’s story is filled with great advice and we hope you will enjoy
reading it as much as we enjoyed hearing it.
I should state up front that I am a US citizen and my entire training was in the States. Additionally, I have spent the past seven years at R1 research institutions (aka, Faculty of Medicine) where the entire focus was on biomedical research, with virtually no teaching. My job hunt focused largely on R1 research institutions in the US. Thus, al-though my experiences are likely consistent throughout North America, it is important to highlight the basis of my perspective.
Could you tell us a bit about your back-ground?
I graduated from Purdue University with a BSc in Genetics. Upon graduation I stayed at Purdue and was hired as a Research Assis-tant while I applied to graduate programs. During this time, I became fascinated by the research we conducted and I decided to stay to pursue graduate studies. I gradu-ated with my PhD in Molecular Pharmacol-ogy 4.5 years later. From Purdue, I accepted a postdoctoral appointment at the Univer-sity of Texas-Southwestern Medical Centre
In this issue
Note from the Editors 1
Career trajectories: The Assistant
Professor Itinerary 1
Read about Dr Kurrasch’s story
Resources for postdocs 3
Career Planning Tools: Introducing
the IDP 5
Tax issues 5
Funding opportunities 6
Life in Calgary 6
PDAC News 6
Meet your peers 7
Feature article 8
Leading your Research Enterprise
- Part1, by Dr Rancourt
Contributors to this issue 9
Note from the Editors
(UTSW) in Dallas, Texas. I worked as a post-doctoral fellow at UTSW for a year and a half before a spousal relocation took us to San Francisco, California. I was a postdoctoral fel-low at the University of California-San Fran-cisco (UCSF) for five years.
Volume 1 ; Issue 1
Dr Deborah [email protected]
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When did you become an Assistant Profes-sor?
I joined the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary on April 1, 2009.
At which step in your training did you de-cide that you wanted to get an academic position?
I knew as a graduate student that I wanted to obtain a faculty position...although there were certainly periods of doubt over my nearly twelve years of train-ing. I think it is healthy, and wise, to explore opportunities that arise throughout one’s training, if for no other reason than to validate the dedication to a career in academe.
When did you actually start looking for a position?
I sent out applications throughout the fall and winter of 2007. My first interview was in March 2008 and I continued to interview through September 2008.
What was your job hunt strategy? My job hunt strategy was to send appli-
cations to all posted positions for which my research program was at least moderately appropriate. I decided to conduct a reason-ably focused job hunt and did not send ap-plications to positions that were a forced fit (obviously a judgement call). This was a per-sonal choice; some of my colleagues chose to send applications to every posted posi-tion for which they were qualified because, really, in the end, it’s hard to predict for what search committees are looking.
And how did you prepare yourself for inter-views?
I took interviews very, very seriously. In the States at least (and it’s probably true in Canada, too), the search committee will generate a short list of candidates that they are interested in…somewhere between 5-7 candidates. When funding was better, the search committee would then invite all candidates on the short list for an interview. This is no longer the case. Now, the com-mittee will invite the top 2-3 candidates for an interview, and keep the remaining short-listed candidates as possibilities for future invites. Thus, if you are lucky enough
to get an interview you must be very pre-pared because there are other candidates they can call without too much effort. By far, I spent the most time preparing my job talk seminar. I started assembling my seminar weeks in advanced and I presented several versions to my colleagues before creating the final seminar. I also practiced this final version several times. In addition, to famil-
iarize myself with each PI on my agenda, I read a few “big hit” papers from each lab and was prepared to discuss them on at least a rudimentary level. Finally, I researched the univer-sity, the department, and the city, such that I could ask en-gaging questions either in the one-on-one meetings or dur-
ing meals. I was equally diligent preparing for second-round interviews, too.
How many interviews did you have?I was short-listed at five institutions (that
I know of ), and I had four interviews (plus second round interviews, site visits, etc).
How did you select the universities to which you applied?
Initially, I focused on US institutions that had posted positions in the journal Sci-ence or online; however, in the middle of my job hunt, my husband received an excellent job offer from a Calgary-based company. I then began to ex-plore the possibility of obtain-ing a faculty position at the University of Calgary. At that time UofC did not have any open searches posted. Not personally knowing anyone at UofC, I contacted a former postdoc from my lab who was a faculty member at Dalhou-sie University. He provided me with a list of four names. From there, it was tenacity, raw luck, and more tenacity that eventually led to me being invited to UofC for a “look-see” no commitment seminar, followed by a formal interview, and ultimately an offer. By working the phones, I called (no email) each person on the list and made it clear that I was looking for tenure-track position and requested the name of one or more col-leagues whom they thought might be help-ful to my search. I systematically contacted each and every name I was given. A quote
I am particularly fond of is, “never accept no from someone who can’t say yes” and I think this statement is particularly true if you are going to use the brut-force method to get yourself an interview, or at least a “look-see” seminar invitation. Several PIs told me that there was no way I was going to get a tenure-track position at UofC, but none of these people were actually Department Heads or Institute Directors or Deans. Thus, unless someone with the power to hire told me to bug off, I really saw no reason to do so. And, in this instance anyway, it worked out. Also, to be fair, when I started calling people at UofC I had received one written offer and was in negotiations with a second university, which did help provide me some credibility. BUT, I believe going rogue (sorry, Sarah Palin) can be an effective strategy to secure at least a “look-see” seminar at insti-tutions that you are really, really motivated to break into.
What was the most unexpected thing that happened during the application/interview process?
The most unexpected aspect of the pro-cess was how nervous I was prior to each and every interview. It never got easier, even though I became better at it. From chats with my friends also interviewing for
academic positions, about half of them really enjoyed the site visits and were relaxed and thrilled to talk science for two days and about half of my friends could not block out the magnitude of what was on the line. Although I predicted
I would be in the former group, in reality I was in the latter.
To your opinion, which particular aspect of your application allowed you to succeed in securing your current position?
As with any job, it comes down to fit. I got my current position because my personal-ity, my research program, and my long-term goals, all aligned with the search commit-tee’s vision for the open position. But that isn’t to absolve you of any responsibility in securing an offer; it is your job to convince the search committee that you have the proper personality, research program, and long-term goals.
“if you are lucky enough to get an interview you must be very prepared because there are other candidates they can call without too much effort”
“it was tenacity, raw luck, and more tenacity that even-tually led to me be-ing invited to UofC for a [...] seminar”
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Upcoming workshops
Available to postdocs (free of charge!). For more details and dates, please visit the UofC/Postdoc website here.
• InstructionalSkillsWorkshopA 4-day workshop in which postdocs can learn teaching concepts and practice their newly learned skills.Sessions from March 2010.
• ResearchOutreachWorkshopA 12-hour workshop designed to teach postdocs to effectively communicate their research to general audiences through written and oral platforms.Session in March /April 2010.
• TeachinginCanadianClassroomsA 5-day workshop providing international instructors whose first language is not English an opportunity to improve their communication skills and teaching abili-ties. Postdocs are encouraged to attend. Sessions in March/April or May/June 2010.
• AcademicPosterWorkshopLearn strategies for making an academic poster that will stand out from the others in this 3-day workshop. Provide and re-ceive feedback from your peers. TBA.
Fellowship information
If you are interested in applying to the trainee competitions for the March 1st, 2010 deadline, you can find information online on the AHFMR website from Janu-ary 26.
Career Related Resources
Decided to plan ahead? The UofC/post-doc website lists some helpful articles and independent development planners for postdocs.
Want to learn more about careers in aca-demia and industry? Check out the Career section for information on both of these avenues as well as material on managing a lab, mentoring, and grant writing.
Already made the decision and ready to start your career? Visit the Job section for a list of sites to help you land that perfect job.
And how did you convey that you were a good fit?
This is tough. On one hand it is listening to what the search committee is looking for and reflecting appropriate parts back, while on the other hand being confident and pas-sionate about your science and 100% your natural self. You can’t force a fit – the fit is either there or it isn’t – so while you might be able to spin an aspect of your research a bit, ultimately you are who you are and this is the time to stand tall and be proud.
According to you, what are the Top 3 ingre-dients necessary to beat the competitors? Determination, passion, and confidence.
Altogether, how long did the interview pro-cess take?
I can only speak for a job hunt in the biomedical sciences, but the process takes forever, and then some. The entire process from sending out applications to signing your job offer will be on average 9 months. If you assume most application deadlines are in November/December, with first-round interviews occurring in February/March and second round interviews in May/June, plus time for negotiations on the overall package, it can easily be July before any formal offer letter is signed. This is just an average. For example, at one University the process was very fast: my first-round in-terview was in April, the second interview was in May, and I had an offer letter by June (although the negotiating process lasted until August). However, at another Univer-sity the process was very slow: I had my first round interview in March and my second round interview in August. Every search is different, but in general, the process takes a very long time.
If you had the chance to change something in the way you prepared yourself prior to sending out your applications, what would that be?
Of course, there is always room for im-provement on my research plan, but over-all, I don’t think I would change anything. This isn’t to say my application was perfect, but rather, I am who I am and my research is what it is. That being said, I did spend a sig-nificant amount of time on my application packet and asked others to help me vet it, including postdoctoral colleagues, my PI, as
well as other PIs who regularly sit on search committees.
Now that you are an Assistant Professor, can you tell us about your new experience?
Being a new Assistant Professor is a lot of work. I find it shocking how much I have to do each and every day. For the first time, I am responsible for employees, account-able to several people (Department Head, Institute Chair, colleagues), and faced with a lot of deadlines. The expectations for a postdoctoral fellow are quite clear: conduct good research and publish solid papers. As an Assistant Professor, in addition to con-ducting good science and publishing solid papers, the responsibilities are expanded to also include teaching, grant writing, lab/people management, finances/budgeting, service (committee work, etc), and so on. Moreover, given that postdoctoral fellows are not trained for many of these added responsibilities, there is a rather large learn-ing curve that makes moving forward very slow. Of course, as time goes on these tasks become more familiar and easier to bal-ance, but the early days of being a new PI is simply overwhelming…not impossible, but overwhelming.
A plus of my job is the independence I have to establish my research program. For the first time I can pursue the research ques-tions I think are more interesting or buy the $10,000 PCR machine because I believe it really does make a difference. Early on I was given the advice that I am not to establish my lab by consensus, but rather to trust my gut and with confidence begin to build my own “island.” When you are starting your lab, everyone has an opinion of how best to go about it (hire just one tech; two techs; no techs but postdocs; no postdocs for at least 5 years but definitely graduate stu-dents; etc). I enjoy having the flexibility to make and execute whatever decision I think is best for my “island.” I’ve hired the people I think are strongest; purchased the equip-ment I believe is necessary; eliminated items I think we can do without; defined three research projects that I think are fea-sible and interesting; and remained flexible enough to make changes as we go along. Of course my lab is not truly an island, and I want to point out that I am strategic in my decision-making and I always keep in mind
Resources
Amy MacDonald
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the priorities and goals of my Department, Institute, and University, and to some ex-tent national funding trends. My research program doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and al-though it is true that you are creating your own island, don’t lose sight that your island cannot function without water, electricity, support staff, colleagues, currency, and in-frastructure – all of which are contributed by the University.
The minus of my position is that no mat-ter how many hours I work, I am always be-hind, despite being a focused, multitasking machine (like most people in science). There really is that much work to do. And this is something you just need to come to peace with. Keep pushing, remain focused, prioritize the “to do” list, and tackle the most important items first. Some weeks I feel as though someone put a treadmill under my feet that incrementally increases in speed until suddenly I feel as though I am run-ning out of control…and this is when I stop, take a breather, and get back in control. Ev-erything will get done, it always does, and the key is to not let the small details derail you from global reason why you are in aca-demia.
Which leads me into my take-home mes-sage to anyone considering a career in aca-demia, you must, unequivocally be able to answer the question of why you are devoted to a career in academia or you will struggle with this career path. You must be passion-ate to your core about science or teaching or mentoring the next generation or whatever it is for you because your devotion to this career will be tested over and over and over again. I am not going to sugar-coat it (and you wouldn’t believe me if I did): you will struggle to get grants, publications, quality people in the lab, lectures done, and service work completed. This line of work is short on praise and long on criticism, helpful or oth-erwise. You work long hours, for moderate pay. And at no point along your career can you stop and bask in the glory of making it…the treadmill never stops (although I do believe at some point being a PI becomes less intense than in the early days). Thus, in order to slog through these long valleys of
challenges, you must 1) relish the peaks of success and harness that energy to propel you forward and 2) you must find some as-pect about a career in academia fulfilling. It is your job to be honest with yourself.
Although your objective was to secure a faculty position, had you thought of an al-ternative career you could pursue in case you would not succeed getting a faculty position?
I most definitely explored alternative careers and I highly recommend every
person to do so, regardless of how committed they are to a career in academia. Anyone who is on the cusp of apply-ing for academic positions has likely spent 10-15 years within the walls of academia and is probably fairly naïve about the business world that exists outside the Ivory Tower. In my
opinion, this nativity comes at a high price: 1) you haven’t done the due diligence to make sure a career in academia is really your passion and 2) you are limiting your network of contacts to people in academia, which is unwise given the considerable discussions at the national level around trying to re-warding researchers who bridge academia and industry. It is one thing to sit and listen to a PowerPoint presentation about a career in patent law or venture funding or biotech research and decide it doesn’t sound very interest-ing, but it is a different experi-ence when you visit a patent law office or venture firm or biotech lab and feel what it’s like to work there. Moreover, at least in the biomedical sciences in the States, the business and academic worlds are quite dif-ferent and it is unwise to assume that if the academic position doesn’t materialize, you will waltz your way into an industry position. Remember, you have no experience work-ing for a corporation and that makes you a risky hire because there is nothing on your CV to show that you can successfully transi-tion from academia (with few deadlines and curiosity-driven research) to industry (with hard deadlines and very focused research). The truth is, you will work just as hard to se-cure an industry job as you do an academic
job. Times have changed; competition for jobs is steep.
To explore alternative careers, I set up informational interviews with a variety of sectors across the life sciences, including biotech, large pharma, venture capital firms, consulting firms (both boutique and large), medical diagnostic companies, and so on. An informational interview is a request to meet on site with someone you know or was put in contact with to learn more about the company—to be clear, an informational interview is not a job interview but is a non-committal way to get yourself in the door. It took considerable energy to network my way into each of these companies such that I could request, and hold, an informational interview, but this was energy well spent. I learned a lot about how business func-tions, the pitfalls and the benefits, and I gained valuable outside perspective on my academic career path. Moreover I was able to expand my network and already I have found myself reaching out to various busi-nesses that may be of help to me as I build my research program. Sometimes these in-formational interviews led to a bona fide job interview, but more often than not, they led to additional contacts in other sectors that helped expand my network.
Finally, do you have any word for current UofC post-doctoral fellows who are thinking of getting a faculty position?
My final advice is to be hon-est with yourself. If you are pas-
sionate about science and feel a calling to-ward a career in academe, then go forward with confidence and determination and you will be successful. If you find yourself waver-ing as to whether the pursuit of knowledge speaks to you, then explore other options…and do so with confidence and determi-nation. And do it soon. The dark secret no one tells you is that the longer you stay in academia, the harder it is to transition to a career outside of academia. Remember, you are highly trained individual with a skill set, largely bench science, which is not ap-plicable for 99% of the jobs out there. And unfortunately, there is a shortage of indus-try Scientist positions for which your skills do apply. In my humble position, there is no advantage to staying another year to
“you must, un-equivocally be able to answer the ques-tion of why you are devoted to a career in academia or you will struggle with this career path”
“The truth is, you will work just as hard to secure an indus-try job as you do an academic job.”
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IDP. Individual Development Plan.Many of us have never heard of it. Most of us are unsure of what it is. There is a very good reason why this has to change: in this increasingly challenging job market, the In-dividual Development Plan is a highly-valu-able tool that will allow you to focus your professional development on your identi-fied career objectives. Used consistently, your IDP will help you become competitive for the jobs you have chosen and achieve a successful career.
The concept of the IDP is quite simple. The idea is to appraise the skills that you currently have, your assets and your weak points, and to compare them to the skills and qualities necessary to be competitive for your next career move. Of course, this implies that you have done some self-as-sessment work prior to writing your IDP and have decided what is it that you want to do with your life. Your IDP will then allow you to identify the skills in which you are proficient, the skills you need to enhance and any new skills you need to develop. With an IDP you highlight gaps. It is then your responsibil-ity to implement actions that will allow you to fill these gaps. For instance, if you don’t feel comfortable with public speaking but you know it is a requirement for your career, you are responsible for taking workshops, or starting to teach, to help you get better.
The IDP is a living document, meaning that you need to keep it up to date so that it reflects both your achievements and what remains to be done. Ideally, you should write your IDP in cooperation with your faculty mentor. S/He should help you to de-
fine your career objectives and assist you in identifying developmental opportunities to attain or enhance the skills you require. But we know how mentors are sometimes re-luctant to talk about professional develop-ment, especially if you have decided to not pursue a career in academe. Still, it remains a powerful tool, even if you have to write it, amend it, and update it on your own.
Several institutions provide information and documents to help you building up your IDP. The Federation of American Soci-eties for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is one of them and I encourage you to read the
descriptive document located here. More information on IDPs is available for you on the UofC/Postdoc website (here), where you will also find a blank IDP form for your con-venience.
All postdoctoral fellows and mentors who remain unconvinced of the relevance of writing up and keeping up-to-date such a document should refer to the Sigma Xi postdoc survey performed in 2005 in the US (highlights here and results here). Accord-ing to this study, setting up a formal, written plan of research and training expectations early on in the postdoctoral experience cor-relates with higher research productivity (measured as the number of publications), higher satisfaction with one’s advisor’s men-torship as well as a higher satisfaction over one’s postdoctoral experience.
Several good reasons to start building up your own IDP.
Marilyn Mooibroek & Mathieu Chansard
Career Planning Tools: Introducing the IDP perfect another technique (and yes, even with a paper in the works). I do want to end on a positive note and that is to say that everyone lands on his or her feet. The hard part is figuring out what you want to do; the easy part is applying all the focus and tenacity and intelligence that has got-ten you this far into a full-on job hunt. You have to put yourself out there to get to the next level, whatever it may be.
Good luck!
Dr Deborah Kurrasch , Adrienne Benedikts-son, Julia Boughner & Mathieu Chansard
The Tax Of The Matter
It’s almost tax time again, so like me, I’m sure a lot of you have the perennial ques-tion: “do we have to pay tax this year?”
Unfortunately the answer would ap-pear to be YES. The CRA are still dragging their heels on how to interpret the law. Although from some sources it seems they may have made a recommenda-tion, but still require Ministry of Finance approval. What this recommendation is, who knows?
So the advice this year is the same as for previous years: file and pay your taxes but include a letter of petition. (You can find a template on the PDAC website here).
Also, CAPS (Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars) is suggesting that ALL postdocs write to the CRA and Min-istry of Finance and emphasize that they are “highly qualified personnel and might consider the EU or US for their next postdoc if the inconsistencies in taxation continue”.
For all correspondence with the CRA or the Ministry of Finance please refer to the letter sent by CAPS on behalf of all Canadian postdocs which requested an official Ruling on the issues of tax exemp-tion and postdoc status. Its reference is “2009-030856”.
Let’s hope there is a decision soon!
Peter Jones
“Piled Higher and Deeper” by Jorge Cham / www.phdcomics.com
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• 2009 PDAC Research Symposium: Invest
in your Success!A big thank you to all who helped make the 2009 PDAC Research Symposium a success! With over 50 participants shar-ing their research achievements and tips for securing that elusive job offer, the day was both a celebration of postdoctoral excellence and an inspiring forum for career development. The PDAC member-ship extends a special thank you to Dr. Gary Libben, the Associate VP Research of the University of Calgary, who has been very supportive of the symposium and of postdoc issues on campus. We look forward to seeing you at the next sympo-sium!
• PDAC – Walk the Job TalkApplying for faculty jobs? If you’re short-listed by the search committee you will
be invited for an interview, and probably asked to give a “job talk” about your work. PDAC – Walk the Job Talk is a casual monthly forum where postdocs help each other interview well for faculty jobs. Need to practice your job talk and get construc-tive feedback before your interview? Want info and tips from postdocs who have already been through one or more job interviews (academic or other)? Then PDAC – Walk the Job Talk is for you!
The regular seminars happen the last Fri-day of each month from 12:00-12:50 PM, Room 1504/1506 in the O’Brien Center (in the Health Sciences Center on south cam-pus). Postdocs will have time to practice a 40 minute talk with about 10 minutes for questions.
January 29th is our first seminar! Two postdocs, Julia Boughner and Peter Jones,
will discuss their recent faculty job inter-views: what went well, what went not-so-well, and what they learned from the in-terview process with lots of opportunity for Q&A amongst the group!
We’re always looking for future present-ers, so keep this seminar series in the back of your mind if you have an interview in the future and contact us to set up a prac-tice talk for yourself or to share your tips!
Heather Jamniczky & Julia Boughner
• AHFMR postdoctoral full-time fellowship award (AIHS, click here for more information).For doctoral graduates who conduct medical or health research.A stipend (35000$ to 45000$ depending on your status) and a research allowance (3000$ annually) are attributed for 3 years, maximum.Deadline for application: March 1st, 2010. Internal deadline for signatures (Faculty of Medi-cine) is February 22nd,2010.
• CIHR postdoctoral fellowship award (click here for more information).For candidates at the post-PhD or post-health professional degree stages who conduct health research.A stipend (40000$ to 50000$ depending on your status) and a research allowance (5000$ annually) are attributed for 3-5 years, depending on your status.Deadline for application: February 12th, 2010.CIHR funding opportunities in specific research areas are also available. Please see the website for more details (click here for more information).
• Alberta Centre for Child, Family, and Community Research postdoctoral award (click here for more information).For doctoral graduates who are undertaking research in Alberta in areas of interest to the Centre.A 100000$ award to be divided into a stipend (to a maximum of 40000$ per year) and a research allowance is attributed for 2 years, maximum.Deadline for application: February 15th, 2010.
• CIHR Science to Business (S2B) scholarship (click here for more information)For applicants with a PhD in a health-related field who wish to pursue an MBA. A stipend (30000$ per year) is attributed for 2 years, maximum. Please see the website for more details and eligibility criteria.Deadline for application: March 1st, 2010.
Funding Opportunities
PDAC NEWS
NEW
3-1-1 Operation Centre
If you are walking to work in these difficult icy conditions, you have probably experi-enced a few slips and maybe even a few falls… And what is more dangerous (and upsetting) than a sidewalk that has not been cleaned up... The City of Calgary has a solution: the 3-1-1 Operation Centre. Call 311 and report any slippery sidewalk. The City will clean it up for the security of ev-eryone. The Operation Centre offers a wide range of other services like streetlight re-pair, road and sidewalk maintenance, resi-dential waste removal and so on.A useful service to keep in the back of your mind. Also available online.
La Chaumière Restaurant.
Located on 17th Avenue SW, this elegant French restaurant offers everything you want for your special celebrations: great food, a large selection of fine international wine and an excellent friendly service. All in a quite and intimate environment. Sure-ly it’s a little bit expensive, but after trying it, you will find that it is totally worth it. Bon Appétit !
Tandoori Hut Restaurant
If you like spicy and tasty food, you have got to try this Indian restaurant. Located on 10th street NW in the Kensington area, a block away from the Bow River, it offers a good selection of classic Indian dishes with great taste at a reasonable price. The dim lights create a nice relax-ing environment which will help you en-joy your dinner experience. A must-try.
Life in Calgary
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Current position and time spent at UofC: I started my postdoctoral appointment in the Bone Imaging Lab (Faculty of Kinesiology, Schulich School of Engineering) in August, 2009.
Main research focus: I investigate the impact of whole body vibration training on bone quality in older women with low bone mass (osteopenia) using a new imaging device, high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomog-raphy (HR-pQCT).
Technical expertise in… Testing skeletal muscle performance and balance, design of well-controlled bed-rest studies to investigate the effects of unloading, assessment of bone metabolism using bone biomarkers, MRI for the evaluation of cartilage in human joints.
Career objectives:I would like to stay in academia and be involved in clinical research.
Most enjoyable fact about working at UofC: I enjoy the cooperative and collaborative research environment within the Human Performance Lab (Kinesiology) and the UofC.
Meet your peers
Current position and time spent at UofC: I am a postdoctoral fellow in Walter Herzog’s group (Faculty of Kinesiology) and I have been in this posi-tion for little over a year.
Main research focus:My primary area of research is elucidating the mechanisms of muscle contractility. In particular, I study the ubiquitous phenomenon of stretch-induced damage by which muscle micro-injury occurs during unaccustomed activity. In future I plan to evaluate assumptions of the present paradigm of muscle contraction, namely the cross-bridge and sliding filament theories.
Technical expertise in…In-vitro skinned muscle fiber and myofibril preparations. As a biomedical engineer with lots of industry background, I have expertise in developing instrumentation (mechanical, electrical, and software) and imaging technologies.
Career objectives:I would like to be a tenured track professor and I would like to extend my areas of research into tis-sue engineering and cardiac myopathies.
Most enjoyable fact about working at UofC:The biggest attraction at U of C is my advisor, Walter Herzog, who is world-renowned in my area of re-search. He is an excellent role model for those in the early stages of their career.
Anna-Maria Liphardt
Appaji Panchangam
Heather Macdonald
Current position and time spent at UofC: I have been a postdoctoral fellow in the Bone Imaging Lab (Faculty of Kinesiology, Schulich Schoolof Engineering) for almost 1 year.
Main research focus:I am using in-vivo imaging and numerical simulation to evaluate the strength of an implant fixation in bone. This non-invasive approach will significantly reduce the number of animals in orthopedic studies.
Technical expertise in…Biomechanical testing, mathematical simulation, imaging (scanning electron microscopy, micro-computed tomography).
Career objectives:I hope to have a faculty position in bioengineering. I would like to manage my own team of researchers.
Most enjoyable fact about working at UofC:It is interesting to work at a developing University where lots of things are happening in bioengineering and there are many new projects and opportunities (Alberta Innovates/SRMT/BOSE centre). This is a big change compared to European universities where things have been set up for a long time.
Vincent Stadelmann
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Dr Derrick Rancourt is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Oncology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Medical Genetics, and is the establishing director of the Univer-sity of Calgary’s Embryonic Stem Cell Facility. His research program is related to the deriva-tion, expansion and differentiation of pluripo-tent stem cells. He recently stepped down as Graduate Coordinator of the Master of Bio-medical Technology graduate program.
Showing a keen interest in professional development for academics, Dr Rancourt has accepted to let us publish an article, divided in three parts, where he described how to successfully lead a career in research. In this initial section, he will write about the five ca-reer stages in research and point out the im-portance of both professional development - translate acquiring key skills - and career planning.
The Five Career StagesRecently I presented a lecture to research trainees on finding funding for research. As I prepared my lecture, I visited a number of national funding websites. It struck me, as a mid-career research scientist, I was only be-ginning to understand the vista of research support for an academic career. Rather than presenting a sterile talk pointing out websites and funding programs, I cast my lecture in a format, which would have been useful to me when I thought about a career in academia.
A career in academic research can be broken down into five stages (Fig. 1). The first stage, Apprentice is when a budding researcher is in a training role. It is a critical
time where trainees nurture new projects, relationships and the beginnings of an in-dependent research program. In the second stage, called Project, a young investigator secures an independent research position and begins to lead a small group project. During this stage there is an expectation
of growth, so by the time the investigator enters into the next stage, Program, s/he is leading a number of interdependent proj-ects and teams. Then during the Program stage the investigator builds a local, nation-al and/or international reputation and net-work. While this network is nurtured, the lab matures to the point where it largely runs it-self, and the investigator often grows into a role where s/he has the opportunity to build an Enterprise. An Enterprise can be in the form of leading/building a research group or Department. It could also mean building a distributed network within the country or the world. Finally, in the later stages of a career when a se-nior investigator has proven his or herself as a leader, s/he can be inspired to lead the development of a larger enterprise or a Legacy; one which might have a future impact on their peers, their institution, province and/or country.
A number of attributes are needed to navigate an academic career (inset), but leadership is paramount. An Apprentice must develop leadership skills to guide a small group in the Project phase. Likewise,
during the Program stage, an investigator must hone their leadership skills to inspire a team of researchers to work together on a number of projects, while also building a network. Furthermore, the investigator’s leadership skills must evolve to guide a group of diverse, investigators to a com-
mon objective. Those who are able to steer through such a challenging course are often called upon by their institute, province or country to champion important new initia-tives. Although leadership is measured dif-ferently at various career stages, it is always grounded upon an evaluation of whether the research is being performed at the forefront of knowledge on an international level.
During an academic career one must al-ways plan for of the next career stage and build toward it. Strategic planning prin-ciples help navigate the challenges and ex-
pectations of the next stage. Strategic planning advises us to have a Vision, which is the desired state of your research career five to ten years in the future. For an Apprentice, the desired state should be the Project stage, while an investigator in the Project stage should want to reach the Program stage, etc.
To achieve your Vision you need to establish a number of Missions: one to three year campaigns. These campaigns get you past hurdles preventing you from reaching the Vision. They also build towards the expecta-
Feature Article: Leading Your Research Enterprise - part1
Key Attributes for Academic Success • Entrepreneurship • Networking • Resourcefulness • Teambuilding • Vision • Fortitude • Patience • Mentoring • Time Management • Leadership
Dr Derrick [email protected]
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tions of the next career stage. Each Mission has a number of Strategic Thrusts, which can be two to twenty-four months in duration. Each Strategic Thrust has a number of three to six month Action Plans, which define the who, what, where and when of each plan.
An equally important part of strategic planning involves competitive analysis.
Also known as SWOT analy-sis, this method teaches us to look closely at an organiza-tions internal strengths and weakness, combined with an external assessment of oppor-tunities and threats. From this analysis a basis for future di-rection is realized. It is through SWOT that an organization forms its Vision, Mission, etc.
A very useful place where strategic planning can help with one’s academic career development is in plan-ning the transition from the Project to the Program stage. At this stage an investiga-tor must move from a single project focus to a multiple project focus. He or she must
map out a territory of endeavor, but must be careful not spread themselves too thin or venture into territory where there is a lack of credibility. In mapping out this strategy, the investigator must look at the existing strengths of their group while examining opportunities, which lie within their grasp. In order to infiltrate this new area, an investi-
gator may need to recruit addi-tional expertise to their group or form strategic partnerships (i.e. collaborations) with other groups. Likewise, an investiga-tor might need to change as-pects of their laboratory from within. This can mean chang-ing methods, processes and or-ganization. For example when planning a transition from Project to Program, it may be
necessary to break the lab down into teams, which can help with the management of several projects being pursued at one time.Although academic researchers are well trained in the strategic planning of proj-ects, this training does not extend to their
career development. For example, when contemplating a move to the Project stage, an Apprentice should examine what it takes to become an independent investigator. They should do a critical self evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and should develop strategies to help them to shore up their weaknesses, while exploiting their strengths. As I have mentioned previously, this can be done effectively through the preparation and maintenance of a profes-sion development plan (PDP). The PDP has two components to it: a career plan, which uses the principles of strategic planning to map out career goals and a portfolio, which can be used to document achievements re-lated to your career plan. Together, the PDP can be used as a platform to discuss career goals with one’s mentor(s) and it can be used as a document to market oneself into career opportunities. It is a living document, requiring constant review and revision.
Dr Derrick Rancourt
“They should do a critical self evalua-tion of their strengths and weaknesses and should develop strategies to help them to shore up their weaknesses, while exploiting their strengths.”
Editors / WritersMathieu ChansardAdrienne Benediktsson
WritersHeather JamniczkyAmy MacDonaldHeather MacdonaldMarilyn Mooibroek
Contributing Editors / WritersJulia BoughnerPeter Jones
Newsletter Advisory CommitteePDAC Executive
Contributors to this issue
In order to develop further The Post, your newsletter, PDAC needs the involvment of UofC post-docs. The idea is to minimize the workload of each contributor while improving the quality of the newsletter. If you are interested in taking part of this project, we would like to hear from you ([email protected]). This is a great opportunity for you to develop a set of new skills!
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