Find and Align With Your Mission

Career Story by Tim Bassler, Executive Director of West Point Quality at Merck

The best advice I ever got from a mentor was to develop a mission statement, revisit that mission over time, and use it to help make career decisions.  My mission is:  Work to Live, Enjoy Work, and Make a Difference.  I set this mission statement 20 years ago and have not changed it since.  As I reflect on my career this mission has served as a barometer for my actions.  

What is the URBEST Program and Why Should I Join?

News Article By Tracey Baas, URBEST Executive Director

When people ask me to tell them a little bit about the URBEST program, it’s difficult to know where to start. The first attempt is breaking down the acronym: University of Rochester’s Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training. To tell you the truth, I don’t think very many people remember what the acronym stands for, but they do manage to take away the golden nugget. With the help of the National Institute of Health, the program exists to try to train the BEST scientists possible.

Dr. Lawrence Tabak Takes a Shot with UR Biomedical Trainees

News Article By Claire McCarthy, PhD candidate, and Julianne Feola, PhD candidate

As part of his visit to the University of Rochester on April 15^th, 2016, Dr. Lawrence Tabak’s only request was that he would get to meet with students and post-docs to have a discussion about the ethical issues surrounding biomedical research. As the Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he particularly enjoys hearing the perspective of trainees in the field. He was granted his wish with an hour-long Q&A session prior to his talk, “The Reproducibility of Biomedical Research.”  His Q&A session and talk were both well attended by scientists at all stages. According to Dr. Tabak, current issues of biomedical research have been garnering widespread interest among the scientific community as well as the general population.

Research bench to clinical bench: Two sides of the same coin

Career Story Blog Post By Lauren Brooks, PhD, Medical Technologist (ASCP) Trainee Rochester General Hospital/University of Rochester Medical Center

So you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up? You love bench science but the life of a PI doesn’t appeal? Look to the other side of the bench science world: Clinical Laboratory Science. 

Science Policy and the Road Ahead

Career Story Blog Post By Sesquile Ramon, PhD, Health Policy Specialist and AAAS Fellow

So you got a Ph.D., now what? Degree in hand, you now have the option to pursue a diverse number of career possibilities, including science policy. You do not necessarily need another academic degree, but you do need to diversify the skills section on your CV and learn how to leverage and translate your graduate school skills into marketable ones.