By: Laurie
Risner, PhD, Postdoctoral Affairs Administrator
The
American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, annual conference
was held in Chicago last month. This was
an excellent opportunity for BSD postdocs to attend an international conference
with wide-spread scientific interest and a variety of programming in our own
hometown. Thanks to an effort by the PDA
to spread the word about this event, and generous support from the Dean of the
Biological Sciences Division, Dr. Polonsky, over twenty postdocs were able to
attend. The BSD Postdoc Office was also
represented at the AAAS conference with Dr. Nancy Schwartz and myself attending.
Beth
Russell, a postdoctoral scholar in Surgery and co-chair of the Public Affairs
subcommittee of the Postdoctoral Association, thought of the idea to request
special funding from the Dean, so that a few postdocs could take advantage of
the opportunity to attend the AAAS conference during a year that it was being
held in Chicago. Dean Polonsky
generously offered to provide funding for ten BSD postdocs’ registration, so
that we could receive the discounted group rate.
I
organized a lottery in which postdoc scholars and fellows from across the BSD
could submit their names to receive funded registration at the conference. Thirty-seven postdocs submitted their names
in the lottery, which is over 10% of the postdoc population. Ten grateful postdocs were selected in the
lottery and received the group rate. In
addition, myself and more than twelve UC postdocs and research professionals were
selected to be poster judges for the AAAS student poster competition and were
honored with an very low registration rate.
In the end our group from the BSD came to at least 25 people!
In
addition to our many poster judges for the student session, several postdocs
also presented posters of their own research at the conference. Postdoc scholar Sunhwan Jo commented, “I was
able to connect with several poster presenters, including undergraduate
researchers and postdocs. I could see
their passion and it was great talking to them.” Postdoc Santosh Kumar added, “I was able to
present my research project to an out-of-field audience, where I was given
ideas to expand my work. I am extremely grateful that I was given this great
opportunity to participate and attend the AAAS Conference.”
The
theme of this year’s AAAS meeting was “Meeting Global Challenges: Discovery and
Innovation.” The conference consisted of career development workshops,
scientific symposia, plenary lectures, poster sessions, a large exhibit hall, a
family science day open to the public, and many special events. I especially enjoyed the plenary talks. Nobel Laureate and former US Secretary of
Energy, Dr Steven Chu, discussed the energy crisis in our country and offered
promise for the future. Alan Alda,
former actor turned science advocate and communicator, offered us great reason
and tips to communicate science to the public. In addition, having the chance to talk to
students interested in science and to attend career development workshops made
the AAAS conference a very positive and inspiring experience. Postdoc Rebecca Pompano reflected on the
conference, “I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to attend the AAAS
meeting this year. AAAS is unlike most
other conferences, in that does not focus on the details of the science arising
out of a particular area of study.
Instead, it focuses on the impact that scientific research can have on
society, and on ways that scientists can get make sure that their messages are
heard by the public and the policy makers.
It is exciting to feel be reminded of how important our work can be and
what impact it can have on the lives of real people.”
The
career development workshops were especially useful and appealing to our
postdocs. A recurrent theme at the
career workshops and many other AAAS events was “communication skills.” From talking to politicians, to using
LinkedIn and social media, to understanding how to use improvisation as a tool
in communicating science to the public, it was clear that scientists need to
enhance their communication and share their stories about their research and
life as a scientist with the rest of the world. Postdoc Natasha Wadlington commented on the
communication sessions: “Receiving tips on how to use social media, talking
with the press, and even the improvisation session to help connect with your
audience was such an invaluable learning experience. I am currently utilizing
the methods that I learned, not only for my own career, but I am also passing
down some of the information to colleagues and students in our lab.”
Overall,
our group had a very positive and inspiring time at AAAS. Here are some final quotes from our postdocs
who attended the conference:
“I
was thrilled by the convergence of multiple topics in all fields of science,
many unfamiliar to me. It was an important reminder of how urgent global
awareness is for a scientist. I mostly focused in all science communication
events and workshops and had an extremely valuable experience closely
interacting with several professionals in that field. Thank you for this great
opportunity to be a better scientist and a better communicator!”
Ana Cristina
Gomes, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
“The greatest part about AAAS was the diversity of the
presentations and the professionals there. I attended meetings covering federal
funding of basic research, entrepreneurship, and advances in big data for
health sciences. Additionally, there were fantastic networking opportunities
there: I talked with Congressman Randy
Hultgren and Nobel Laureate Dr. Martin Chaulfie in addition to many other
leaders in academic and private sciences. These connections will be invaluable
for my career to come. I would highly recommend attending the AAAS to any
graduate or postdoctoral scientists.”
Sean W. Fanning, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
“I particularly enjoyed the many career development workshops
offered during the meeting, and I am quite confident that new skills I have
learned in writing, presenting, and communication, will no doubt help me with
my future career path. This meeting has instilled me a desire to pursue some
form of scientific outreach, and I will continue think of ways in which my
scientific training and background can help and influence the community.”
Heather
Titley, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
“While
I have been fortunate to have had many positive experiences throughout my
tenure at UChicago, attending the 2014 AAAS meeting was one of the most
positive experiences of my scientific career… Many times as post docs, we are
at the bench with our “nose stuck in the data” and we are almost too close to
our own studies to see the forest through the trees. It was very refreshing and
invigorating to attend the AAAS annual meeting to get back up to the
30,000-foot level to get an overall survey of where we stand as scientists in society
as a whole. It is an experience I won’t soon forget, and I would like to thank
Dean Polonsky for the opportunity to attend the AAAS meeting.”
Vanessa Leone, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar
Read full reflections from the postdocs here.
