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annotate postdoc.txt @ 120:94284c1ca133

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author bshanks@bshanks.dyndns.org
date Tue Jul 07 15:47:43 2009 -0700 (16 years ago)
parents e8d297fdde78
children

rev   line source
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bshanks@114 22 \begin{document}
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bshanks@118 24 === Postdoctoral mentoring plan ===
bshanks@118 25
bshanks@118 26
bshanks@114 27 ==== Personal availability ====
bshanks@114 28
bshanks@115 29 I have a small lab and meet frequently with all members of my lab. Once or twice a day, I walk around and chat with lab members who are not too busy. These chats last from twenty minutes to over an hour. I check in with each lab member at least once a week, if not more. I have an open door policy and frequently have multi-hour discussions with lab members who walk in.
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bshanks@114 31
bshanks@115 32 ==== Skills mentoring ====
bshanks@115 33 Postdocs in my lab work closely with me and receive a large amount of
bshanks@115 34 one-on-one training and practice in theoretical skills such as how to:
bshanks@114 35
bshanks@115 36 * be on the lookout for unexplained regularities within experimental data; come up with interesting new theoretical hypotheses; search the literature for existing theoretical hypotheses that might explain a regularity in data; mathematically formalize hypotheses
bshanks@115 37 * apply advanced mathematical tools from physics, mathematics, and statistics to solve problems; produce formal mathematical proofs; rigorously make predictions based on a theoretical hypothesis
bshanks@115 38 * make predictions which can be tested by comparison with data already available in the literature; search the literature for this data; know when it is time to apply a theoretical approach, and when it is time to apply a computational approach; use computational methods to analyze data; find or create appropriate controls for analyses of data; make predictions which can be plausibly tested by new experiments; interpret the results of available data and new experiments in a rigorous manner
bshanks@115 39 * explain the importance and relevance of particular research topics; explain hypotheses and results in a clear fashion
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bshanks@115 41 Postdocs also have the freedom to choose which lines of inquiry to
bshanks@115 42 pursue, to find and to assist in the application of grants, and to choose which venues to give
bshanks@115 43 talk at; these choices provide valuable practice in career decision-making.
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bshanks@115 45 The Salk Institute as well as the University of California at San
bshanks@115 46 Diego (UCSD), which is located across the street, offer a variety of
bshanks@115 47 seminars and workshops for postdoctoral career development. Salk is
bshanks@115 48 also a charter member of the National Postdoctoral Association.
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bshanks@115 50 In addition to remote conferences, for which travel support is provided, postdocs have frequent opportunities
bshanks@115 51 to give talks to other members of my lab, to lab meetings of other
bshanks@115 52 labs at Salk and UCSD, and to periodic small regional neuroscience conferences
bshanks@115 53 which are located here.
bshanks@114 54
bshanks@114 55 ==== Career planning and professional development ====
bshanks@114 56
bshanks@114 57 One alternative is to have a formalized bureaucratic system where postdocs and mentors produce written plans and evaluations of themselves and each other. This can be counterproductive in a small lab. Instead, I meet frequently with each member of my lab and we discuss career development on an ongoing basis.
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bshanks@114 60 \end{document}