Professional Development

In addition to participating in extensive community events, the Center offers opportunities for professional development:

a. ISB Annual Symposium. The Center participated in the 6th International Annual Symposium in April. This year´s theme was "Systems Biology and the Environment." The two day event featured leading researchers and included 12 speakers and over 200 participants.

b. Women´s Conference. The Women´s Conference: "Women in the Workplace: Charting a Course to Success" was held in February 2007. The Conference topics were based on survey results and featured an autobiographical career development presentation. Over 100 participants attended event.

c. Association for Women in Science (AWIS). In January 2008, the Center hosted 100 participants for a networking event in support of women in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The event was designed to focus on providing networking opportunities for participants and included research presentations from Faculty, including John Aitchison, Center Associate Director, Dr. Aimee Dudley, Faculty and Dr. Amy Schmidt, Postdoctoral Fellow.

d. Annual ISB Retreat. The Annual Retreat provided an opportunity for scientific collaborators from University of British Columbia (UBC), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), and Accelerator Corporation start-up companies, to participate in a combination of talks and break-out sessions.

e. Research in Progress Seminars (RIP). Weekly RIP seminars offer scientists the opportunity to present their recent unpublished results and receive feedback. Postdoctoral fellows and research scientists are especially encouraged to present their work, as this provides a useful venue for practicing public speaking.

f. Panel Discussions: Biotechnology Start-ups. This series educates scientists on the opportunities and challenges of starting a company by inviting panelists to share their hands-on experience and expertise.

g. Who says women in science don´t take risks? This series of autobiographical presentations features women who have participated in unusual or challenging endeavors related to science. In addition, the Center provides a variety of activities aimed at professional development. For example:

a. "How did I get from there to here?" career development paths. We periodically invite pairs of Faculty, research staff and administrators to tell us about their career choices. The four sessions have conveyed the non-linearity of career development and have proved, based on the number and spectrum of attendees, very popular.

b. Discussion group. The discussion group provides an environment for presenting and asking questions about systems biology-related topics. Cross-disciplinary research requires a willingness to become familiar with concepts and languages that one might not have been trained in. Senior researchers, Postdoctoral fellows, Graduate students, and technicians have facilitated sessions.

c. Research Career Information sessions. We conduct sessions with details oriented to aspects of research careers.

d. Ad Hoc Grant Review sessions. The Center offers the opportunity for Faculty or senior research scientists to present their Specific Aims to an ad hoc review panel.

e. SysBioForum. The internal online "SysBioForum" serves two purposes: repository for information and a stimulus for discussion. As of November 2007, 131 registered users have contributed 972 posts on the forum.

f. Microfluidics Interest Group (MIG). This forum functions to exchange experimental results and innovations, brainstorm solutions, and discuss technological improvements for the Microfluidics and Imaging Core facility.

g. Software developer coffee hour. These meetings provide a forum for developers to share knowledge, aid other projects and to avoid ‘re-inventing-the-wheel'. The meetings are open to everyone.