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Trainee Page |
The luncheon started with a warm welcome by Dr Alan B. Diekman in the absence of the Trainee Affairs Committee Chair, Dr Michael Palladino. Dr Diekman welcomed the ASA Trainee Professional Development Panel members and thanked them for agreeing to participate. The luncheon was catered with lemon rosemary chicken breasts marinated in pan jus, wild piñon rice, and broccolini and was enjoyed by all. Dr Diekman briefly introduced the participating panel members: Donna Vogel, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University; Philip Purdy, PhD, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); Charles Lynne, MD, University of Miami; Richard Clark, MD, PhD, Glaxo-Smith Kline; and Janice Evans, PhD, Johns Hopkins University. The panel members were instructed by Dr Diekman to discuss their current careers and their career paths to their respective positions, and to provide any words of wisdom for trainees interested in similar professional avenues.
Dr Donna Vogel was the first member to speak, providing information in the field of research administration. An embryologist by training and a self-described recovering introvert, Dr Vogel worked as a National Institutes of Health program officer for 13 years. She ran a grant program in which she advised investigators writing grants, dealt with lots of bureaucracy and paperwork, and enjoyed using a surprising amount of creativity. Dr Vogel retired from government work in 2005, worked for a private foundation for a year, and is currently working in the professional development office at Johns Hopkins University. Dr Vogel said her job was a helping profession and that it was like having a lab of 600 people. She emphasized that being a program officer is indeed a career in science and "you are very much a scientist." She further advised us to keep our minds open when searching for jobs.
The next speaker was Dr Philip Purdy, who talked about the benefits of working in a USDA government lab. Dr Purdy currently works as a category 4 scientist in the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation at the USDA. He is not required to publish or write grants, but does so anyway to advance his career and obtain extra research money. Benefits to his job include job security, medical and dental benefits, and mandated salary increases. Dr Purdy suggested that the trainees search federal jobs at www.usajobs.com and advised them to focus on the "criterion of KSA, which means knowledge, skills, and ability."
Following Dr Purdy, Dr Charles Lynne, a clinical urologist, discussed scientific jobs in the clinical field. Dr Lynne shared his experiences with the trainees by telling them that he got into research because his clinical department chair instructed everybody to do research. He said that most clinicians do not have research experience, so someone with research experience would be considered more qualified and, therefore, welcomed into a clinical department where he or she would "become a big fish in a small pond." Dr Lynne also stated that within the area of clinical science things are viewed in broad perspective and there is a high demand for reproductive endocrinologists.
The next speaker was Dr Richard Clark from Glaxo-Smith Kline, who talked about careers in industry and academia. Dr Clark recently made the transition to industry from a clinical academic center and said that he misses patient care and teaching, but he has finally discovered weekends and vacations, and he can enjoy his family. Dr Clark stated that in industry there is a lot of demand for energetic and bright people who have a lot to offer. Dr Clark emphasized the importance of networking, stating that all of his jobs have come from personal contacts and that the field of andrology is very small so one would benefit from taking such an approach within this area of science.
The panel discussion ended with the last speaker, Dr Janice Evans, who talked about the faculty life at a public health institution. Dr Evans is currently an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She said that by virtue of getting a degree, we have already experienced an academic environment, but academic settings are all "wildly different." Dr Evans has experienced life at a state institution, a research institution, and a private institution. Additional research environments would include health sciences centers, colleges of arts and sciences, and veterinary or agricultural programs. Expectations for grants and teaching would differ among all of these academic settings. She said that many trainees are turned off by academia, but you should try different things to figure out what you like best. Dr Evans also stated that the advantages to her job are flexibility and freedom, such as flexible working hours and wardrobe, and that she gets to spend her time pursuing questions that interest her.
The trainee luncheon concluded with a question and answer session between trainees and the panel members. In answering the question of how to avoid so much trial and error in different job fields, Dr Vogel suggested eliminating the things that you do not like from those that you do like. Dr Clark's suggestion was to find out the expectations of the jobs that interest you. Another question was what approach one should take in order to switch from one field of science to another. The suggestions received from the panel members included social networking, attending a scientific meeting, and working as a sabbatical fill-in for a short time period. Overall, the trainees were very excited about having one-on-one interaction with representative members of different professional fields. On behalf of all the trainee members, we want to thank the Trainee Affairs Committee Chair, Dr Michael A. Palladino, and the Minority Affairs Committee Chair, Dr Arthur L. Burnett II, for their time and continuous support in organizing this wonderful event for the trainees of the ASA. We look forward to the Trainee Affairs Committee and Diversity Committee event every year.
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