Trainee events at 2017 CSMB conference
Date:Â Tuesday, May 16th, 2017
Workshops are free to all CSMB2017 registered Trainees and will take place on the uOttawa campus *, a short walk from the Shaw Centre. Two sessions will be held, each with concurrent workshops.
1:30 – 2:30pm Workshops
I. “Strategic Communications: Marketing Yourself as a Trainee for your Dream Career”.
- The purpose of this event is to provide trainees with the necessary knowledge and tools for building a successful resume and social media presence.
- Our invited experts will run a session highlighting the Do’s and Don’ts of successful resume building for academic and non-academic job applications.
- Participants will be able to submit their resume beforehand, and our expert will provide advice and feedback for improvement.
- The rise of social media use by scientific researchers is apparent through the increasing use of platforms like LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Twitter and more. We hope to highlight tips that make social media a powerful networking tool for scientific researchers.
Confirmed speakers:
Dr. Nana Lee, Director and Lecturer, Departments of Biochemistry and Immunology University of Toronto
Dr. Lee brings her several years of biotech industry experience to her current position of Director of Graduate Professional Development at her alma mater. Along with Dr. Reinhart Reithmeier, she developed and implemented the innovative Graduate Professional Development (GPD) course for the Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto which was published in Science Careers and featured as a best practice by the Conference Board of Canada’s national report on PhD programs. Her course includes essential professional development strategies to help PhDs find rewarding, career trajectories. She is currently expanding the program at the faculty development level with the Faculty of Medicine in partnership with the School of Graduate Studies. Dr. Lee holds a PhD in Biochemistry (2000) from the University of Toronto in the area of genetic mapping, a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan in colorectal cancer research, and was a Visiting Scholar at Whitehead (Broad) Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT.
Dr. Reinhart Reithmeier, Professor, Department of Biochemistry,University of Toronto
Dr. Reithmeier is a Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of British Columbia in 1977. Following post-doctoral training at Harvard and the University of Toronto, he obtained his first faculty position at the University of Alberta in 1980. Dr. Reithmeier is known internationally for his research on anion transport membrane proteins in human health and disease. Dr. Reithmeier also developed and implemented the innovative Graduate Professional Development (GPD) course for the Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto. As former Chair of Biochemistry and a Special Advisor to the Dean of Graduate Studies on graduate professional development, Dr. Reithmeier is dedicated to ensuring that graduate students have the skill set and network to be fully prepared to take advantage of the diverse job opportunities available to them in today’s global marketplace. His leadership was recognized in 2012 by election to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Dr. Lee and Dr. Reithmeier recently published their book “Success After Graduate School”.
II.“Supporting the Professional Development of Women in STEM”.
The purpose of this event is to provide a domain for women to discuss and raise awareness about equal work opportunity in STEMs
We have invited a number of successful women in STEM who are highly versed and advocate in this area. This will be panel discussion where each invited speaker will discuss her career-path and answer trainee questions. Discussion topics will include: work-life balance, barriers for women in STEMs, how to receive equal work opportunity, resources offered to support women in science and more.
Confirmed speakers:
Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis, Director, Office of Equity, Diversity and Gender Issue, Associate Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Senior Scientist, Regenerative Medicine Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Dr. Tsilfidis organizes and delivers workshops to medical students, residents, graduate students and faculty on Harassment and Intimidation and Respect in the Workplace. Dr. Tsilfidis is passionate about promoting the advancement of women in science and is currently helping to create a mentoring program for female post-doctoral fellows in the basic sciences.
She currently holds the Don and Joy Maclaren Chair in Vision Research. Her research is aimed at developing a gene therapy strategy that blocks apoptosis and slows down retinal disease progression.
Dr. Imogen Coe, Advocate of Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity in STEM, Dean, Faculty of Science, Ryerson University.
Dr. Coe is an accomplished researcher in membrane protein cell biology and biochemistry. She is recognized internationally for her passion on advancing equity, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) in STEM with a focus on women’s leadership. Dr. Coe is the founding Dean of Faculty of Science, Professor at Ryerson University, and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for 2016. She is an affiliate scientist with the Li KaShing Knowledge Institute, Keenan Research Centre and St. Michael’s Hospital. Dr. Coe serves as an advisor for multiple groups focused on enhancing EDI in STEM, such as the non-profit organization hEr VOLUTION. She has over 20+ years of academic research experience, publishing 70 scholarly papers and experience presenting internationally in diverse venues such as TEDx and the Huffington Post.
Dr. Ariadni Athanassiadis, Lawyer – Intellectual Property, Kyma Professional Corporation, Consultant, FindYourWave, Board Member, VIVe Foundation
Ms. Athassiadis is a senior intellectual property attorney and registered US and Canadian patent agent and Canadian trademarks agent with expertise in working with biotech, chemical, pharma, clean tech, mechanical devices, LED, optical and information and business method technologies, and routinely assists clients in a variety of other industries. She has 20+ years of multi-disciplinary experience in arts and science, law, business management, teaching and research. She obtained her M.Sc. in Biochemistry at the Queen’s University (1990) and LL.B., B.C.L. at the McGill University (1998).
3:00 – 4:00pm Workshops
III. “PI/PDF Job Hunting: Preparing Future Faculty”.
The purpose of this event is to provide trainees with information regarding finding Postdoctoral Fellowship and Principal Investigator positions.
Panel includes newly hired PI’s and search committees members to provide their expertise. Discussion topics will include: how to apply for PI and PDF positions at a university, interview tips, can you survive the chalk talk, and etiquette.
Confirmed speakers:
Dr. David Lohnes, Director, Transgenic Core Facility and Professor, Chair, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa
Dr. Lohnes was a PhD student at the Queen’s University (1989) with Dr. Glen Jones. He subsequently carried out post-doctoral training at the CNRS/LGME Strasbourg (1994). As an independent investigator with over 21 years of experience at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Lohnes has considerable expertise in mouse genetics, post-implantation development, transcription/gene expression.
Dr. Daniel Figeys, Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Canada Research Chair in Proteomics and Systems Biology, University of Ottawa
Dr. Figeys received his PhD in chemistry from the University of Alberta and did his postdoctoral research at the University of Washington. After that Dr. Figeys became a Research Officer at the NRC-Canada in the field of proteomics technology and application (1998-200), the Director of Mass Spectrometry and Applied Research MDS Ocata, a privately held company (January-December 2000) and the Senior VP of System Biology and Lead Profiling with MDS-Proteomics (2000-2004). In 2004, Dr. Figeys joined the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa as a Professor and the Director of the new Institute of System Biology. Dr. Figeys’s research involves developing proteomics and lipidomics technologies and their applications in systems biology to provide better understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.
Dr. Michael Downey, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa
Dr. Downey was a PhD student at the University of Toronto (2002-2008) with Dr. Daniel Durocher and subsequently carried out post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF, 2008-2014) with Dr. David Toczyski. Dr. Downey was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa in 2014. His lab combines work in yeast and cell culture models and aims to understand how post-translational modifications govern cell growth and division.
Dr. Mathieu Lavallée-Adam, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa
Dr. Lavallée-Adam was a PhD student at the McGill University (2013) with Dr. Mathieu Blanchette. He subsequently carried out post-doctoral training at the The Scripps Research Institute (2016) with Dr. John R Yates. Dr. Lavallée-Adam was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa in 2016. His lab integrates machine learning approaches and large-scale genomics and proteomics data to derive novel biological knowledge about cellular mechanisms and disease processes.
IV. “Alternative Career Options in Science: Not so Alternative Anymore”.
Given the competitiveness for a career in academia, trainees have increasingly become interested in alternative career opportunities.The purpose of this event is to provide participants with suggestions about career opportunities outside of academia and how to search for them.
The panelists represent a variety of non-academic fields. Discussion topics will include: how to find job postings, how to prepare for a career outside of academia, how to leverage your wet-lab skills and more.
Confirmed speakers:
Invited Speaker: Dr. Natalie Sopinka, Communications Coordinator, Canadian Science Publishing
Dr. Sopinka is a passionate communicator of science and continues to contribute in this role with Canadian Science Publishing. She has several published articles to her name including blog posts and poems on aquatic natural history and scientific research. Dr. Sopinka graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia.
Invited Speaker: Dr. Rafal Iwasiow, Vice President Research and Development, DNA Genotek
Dr. Iwasiow completed PhD training in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa (1998-2004) and a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Research Council of Canada in neurogenesis and neuroprotection (2004-2006). During his PhD, Dr. Iwasiow had demonstrated his leadership by serving as the President of Biotech Network Inc., a human resources and employment solutions company (1998-2000). Dr. Iwasiowjoined DNA Genotek in 2006 as a Research & Development Scientist. In 2008 Dr. Iwasiowbecame the Manger of Product Development team and then the Vice President of Research and Development in 2012. With this leadership position, Dr. Iwasiow is responsible for research & development, physical design, product validation and compliance, technical support, and the management of intellectual property. He has significantly contributed to the development and commercialization of numerous products that are marketed worldwide.
Invited Speaker: Jessica Fullerton, M.Sc., CIC, Infection Control Practitioner – Construction Lead, University Health Network
Jessica Fullerton completed her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Guelph. She then attained her Masters of Science degree in Microbiology studying the bacterium that causes Whooping cough, also at the University of Guelph. She worked for a time as a research laboratory technician, until ultimately deciding she wanted to move into clinical healthcare. Human infectious diseases had always been an interest and after completing the Infection Control and Epidemiology course offered by the Michener Institute, Jessica was hired as an Infection Control Practitioner with the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto. UHN comprises three acute-care hospitals and three rehabilitation hospitals in downtown Toronto. The Infection Prevention and Control Department is responsible for monitoring emerging infectious diseases, managing patients with infectious diseases within the hospital and preventing hospitalized patients from developing an infection. As the Infection Prevention and Control department at UHN is one of the largest in Canada, the Infection Control Practitioners often consult for other, smaller health care facilities providing advice and guidance. For the past several years Jessica’s speciality has been health care facility design and construction, focusing on design elements to help prevent the spread of infection. She currently sits as a member of the technical subcommittee providing expert content for several Canadian Standard Association standards related to health care design and construction.
Invited Speaker: Dr. Linda Harris, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Dr. Harris has been a research Scientist with Agriculture &Agri-Food Canada since 1990. She is currently Principal investigator of three research projects and co-applicant of two other projects funded by government and industry. Dr. Harris utilizes genomic and proteomic analysis to study plant/pathogen interactions at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Dr. Harris obtained her PhD in Genetics at the University of British Columbia (1988) with Dr. Ann Rose. She subsequently carried out post-doctoral training at the University of Oregon (1990) with Dr. Vicki Chandler.
Invited Speaker: Dr. Carmen Gervais, Program Deputy Director, Networks of Centres of Excellence, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Dr. Gervais obtained her PhD in Biology from Queen’s University in 1996. Since then she has held various positions in the government sector. She was a program officer at NSERC (2000-2005), a senior program officer at Canada Research Chairs (2006-2008), and a senior advisor of the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program(2008-2012). She also served as the director of Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa in 2011. From 2012 to 2016, she was the director of fellowships for the Human Frontier Science Program Organization in France. Since 2016, she has taken the Deputy Director position at Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada where she manages a number of programs to gather multi-stakeholder communities of experts, to catalyze the movement of innovation from the bench to the market and to enable the mobilization of new knowledge that brings social, health and/or economic benefits to Canadians.
Invited Speaker: Dr. Sabrina Kim, Sector Analyst, Emerging Technologies Directorate, Innovation, Science & Economic Development Canada;
Dr. Kim received her PhD in Genetics, Molecular Biology and Developmental Biology from the University of Toronto in 2006, and has been working in the Canadian federal government since 2009. From 2009 to 2015, she was a Patent Examiner in the Biotechnology Division at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), which is an agency of Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; formerly “Industry Canada”). Since 2015, Dr. Kim has been a Sector Analyst in the Emerging Technologies Directorate of the Manufacturing and Life Sciences Branch at ISED. The focus of her work is on industrial biotechnology and bioproducts, and bioeconomy policy, and she is also interested in cross-cutting and emerging biotechnologies with potential for industrial applications
Invited Speaker: Dr. Angela Yeung, Program Officer, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Dr. Yeung was a former PhD student at the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa. Her career has been focused on the government sector for the last 7 years. From 2009-2011, she was a research associate at NRC Canada. She became a Senior Regulatory Affairs Officer at Health Canada in 2012 and an analyst of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
* Room location will be announced later to the date.
2. Networking events.
i. Networking time with speakers and other trainees. 4:00-5:30pm
Right after the last workshops, refreshments will be served so that trainees have an opportunity to socialize with the speakers individually.
i. Pub Night- Networking/Social event. Tentative time: 9:30pm-12:00am
Following the Opening Night Reception at the Shaw Centre come on out to pub night (Location will be announced closer to the date). We hope that this social will create new or enhance any connections made during the workshops between trainees, or trainees and professionals.
