MPATH Faculty Search Webinar

Name: MPATH Faculty Search Webinar
Uploaded: 2024-09-25T17:24:20.19Z
Duration: 1 h 1 min 13 s

September 25, 2024

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ID: 12112
To Cite: DCA Citation Guide

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00:08Alright.
00:10Hello, everyone. I think, you
00:12are
00:13now being brought into our
00:15webinar.
00:16My name is Andy Goodman.
00:17I'm the director of the
00:19the chair of department of
00:20microbial pathogenesis and director of
00:22the microbial sciences institute at
00:24Yale School of Medicine.
00:25And,
00:27I'm gonna,
00:28use this time, to tell
00:30you a little bit about,
00:31the department, but really wanna
00:33have most of our time,
00:35to answer your your questions
00:37about the faculty search,
00:40about the position, about life
00:42in Connecticut,
00:43and anything else you may
00:44have have questions about.
00:47So I have a fantastic
00:49group of panelists here with
00:51me, and so maybe we'll
00:52start, with with introductions,
00:55from from them. Hesper, why
00:57don't you why don't you
00:58go first?
00:59Hi. My name is Hesper
01:01Rigo, and I'm an associate
01:03professor here in the department.
01:04My lab studies
01:06mycobacterial,
01:08pathogens at the level of
01:09single cells.
01:11And
01:12Yachi?
01:14Hi. My name is Yachi
01:15Ho. I'm associate professor also
01:16here at Microbial Pathogenesis.
01:19I work on mechanisms of
01:20HIV latency
01:22and some single cell genomics
01:23approaches.
01:25Great. And Craig.
01:28Hi. I'm Craig Roy. I'm
01:29a professor of microbial pathogenesis
01:31and immunobiology.
01:33I also serve as the
01:34director of the EOBBS graduate
01:37program, which is the large
01:38umbrella program that micro students
01:40enter through. So I'm happy
01:42to answer any questions you
01:43might have about the graduate
01:44program as well.
01:46And my lab studies, intracellular
01:48bacterial pathogens and how they
01:49manipulate the host.
01:52Great. Thank you.
01:54So,
01:54just briefly about about,
01:57the department of microbial
01:59pathogenesis.
02:01It was,
02:02founded over, twenty years ago
02:03initially as a section
02:05within the school of medicine
02:07and became a department,
02:09about ten years ago.
02:11There are currently,
02:13approximately ten,
02:14primary faculty,
02:16in addition to secondary faculty
02:17in the department,
02:20and they're primarily located in
02:22the Boyer Center at Yale
02:23School of Medicine, although there
02:24are some faculty who are
02:25at, West Campus.
02:29The,
02:30we're in the beginning of
02:31what I think is gonna
02:32be an exciting growth phase
02:33in the department.
02:35This is the second of
02:36what will be a series
02:37of of,
02:39faculty searches,
02:40that we've had, and and
02:42we're very excited that our,
02:44candidate last year recently accepted,
02:47her offer to come,
02:49join us in the department.
02:52In terms of the the
02:53faculty search, this is an
02:55open search,
02:56really open to all areas
02:58of
03:00microbial pathogenesis.
03:02We are interested in candidates
03:04focused on virology,
03:06parasitology,
03:06fungal biology, bacteria,
03:09who are using a wide
03:10range of approaches.
03:13The,
03:14applications
03:15are all through Interfolio.
03:16And if you have any
03:17questions about that process,
03:19I'm happy to to answer
03:20it.
03:22I can say briefly
03:24the way I think about
03:25about,
03:27recruiting,
03:28junior faculty is really through
03:29the lens of of two
03:30questions.
03:32The first is,
03:33how can we as a
03:34department
03:35help somebody
03:37do even better than they
03:38would otherwise?
03:39So we think a lot
03:40about,
03:41ways in which the support
03:43and mentorship and colleagues that,
03:45a candidate would have in,
03:47the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis
03:50could, allow them to do
03:52things even beyond
03:54what they would do do
03:55otherwise.
03:56And then the second question
03:58is, how would we as
03:59a department benefit from bringing
04:00on this new expertise? And
04:02so we're very interested in
04:03people who are thinking about
04:05things differently than the way
04:06we do,
04:08bringing in new approaches,
04:10new model systems, new organisms,
04:13etcetera.
04:15And,
04:16again, we really encourage you
04:18to apply. We've tried to
04:19make, the application,
04:21not too burdensome,
04:23and, again, are happy to
04:25answer,
04:26any of your questions about
04:28about, again, about the application
04:29process, about the position,
04:33the department,
04:34and the school of medicine
04:35and Yale in general.
04:37So the way to ask
04:39questions is actually to, just
04:41type them into the chat.
04:43That'll be visible only to
04:45the panel. So, again, we're
04:46keeping everything anonymous at this
04:48at this stage.
04:50So just type any questions
04:52you have in the chat,
04:54and then what I'll do
04:55is I'll look at them
04:56and
04:59make sure that that, there
05:01aren't redundant questions, then I'll
05:03read them back without your
05:04name,
05:05to,
05:06the audience, and then I'll
05:07ask, the panel to help
05:09with, providing their perspectives.
05:13So, yeah, look, go to
05:15the chat, start putting in
05:17in your questions. And while
05:18you're thinking about that, I'll
05:20just say one more thing,
05:22about the the momentum in
05:24microbiology
05:25here at Yale. You may
05:26have noticed that actually we
05:28have
05:28three faculty searches now open
05:31in microbiology.
05:32The one we're focused on
05:34today is,
05:36the search in the department
05:38of microbial pathogenesis.
05:40There are also two other
05:41searches in affiliation with the
05:42Microbial Sciences Institute, which is
05:45located at Yale's West Campus,
05:47and those are in partnership
05:48with the Department of Immunobiology
05:50and with the Department of
05:51Bioinformatics
05:52and Data Science.
05:53So those searches are separate.
05:55They have separate deadlines, separate
05:57review committees,
06:00and and I,
06:02so if you have questions
06:03about all these different searches,
06:05I'm also happy to, talk
06:06about that as well.
06:09So with that, I will,
06:12just start looking at the
06:13chat, and,
06:15please type in, any questions.
06:17Doesn't matter how simple,
06:19or how,
06:21complicated they are. If you
06:22have the question, I think,
06:24most likely other people do
06:25as well.
06:26I think here we won't
06:28focus on
06:30specific research programs.
06:33If your research program generally
06:35falls under the areas that
06:36are described in the ad,
06:38I would encourage you to
06:39apply,
06:40and I'm also happy to
06:43correspond with you by email
06:44if you have questions about
06:45your specific
06:47research program.
06:48Although I would add that,
06:49you know, the the, application
06:51is going to be evaluated
06:52by a by a committee,
06:54a search committee, and
06:56I wouldn't
06:58really interfere or get in
06:59front of their of their
07:01process.
07:03So
07:04yes, so please type your
07:05questions in the chat
07:08and maybe while we're waiting,
07:11panelists, if you have anything
07:12to add about,
07:14you know, one thing we
07:15could start with is is
07:16maybe your experience,
07:19starting your lab and coming
07:20to Yale,
07:22and,
07:23you know, what you can
07:24share about that.
07:28Craig, I don't know. To
07:30I can I can start
07:31a little bit? Been a
07:32long time for me, so
07:33I don't know if I'm
07:33the best person to speak.
07:36Yeah. Yachi, go ahead.
07:38Yeah. So I started here
07:39twenty seventeen. I would say
07:41this is a wonderful program.
07:42To tell the truth, before
07:44I came for this interview,
07:46I did not know anyone
07:47in this department. And this
07:48is a microbial pathogenesis department
07:51working on very solid side
07:52in molecular biology, microbial hosting
07:55interactions.
07:56I work on HIV and
07:57clinical samples. So when I
07:59applied, I really didn't know
08:00whether I got a chance
08:01or not. And I don't
08:02know. It's just very different
08:03approaches, and I just came.
08:05And then after I came,
08:06I figured out that people
08:07are doing very diverse things
08:09and every everyone in science
08:10is solid and people are
08:11nice and wonderful. So at
08:13that time, I talked to
08:14my chair saying, oh, what
08:15what should I bring here?
08:16What do you want me
08:17to do? And back then,
08:18doctor Jorge Galan said, you
08:20know, just do the best
08:21science. So I've been enjoying
08:23that and my very great
08:24scientific journey. There are wonderful
08:26people here, very, very solid
08:27course such as the genomics
08:29and microscope
08:30and many others and many
08:31other wonderful colleagues here at
08:33Yale. So I really enjoyed
08:34this, and I will feel
08:35that there's no
08:37specific pathogen or approach or
08:38anything.
08:39I I I would hope
08:40to have, you know, anyone
08:42having,
08:43some great science and fun
08:44stories to to join us.
08:49Esper, anything to add?
08:51Yeah. My my experience was
08:52very similar to Yachi. I
08:54started just slightly before
08:56she did. And,
08:58you know, one of the
08:59main reasons why I wanted
09:00to come to this department
09:01is that they were working
09:02on questions that I I
09:03found fascinating, and that was
09:05the direction that I wanted
09:06my lab to move it
09:07move to. You know, specifically,
09:09for me, it was really
09:10about host pathogen interactions. And
09:12to be able to come
09:13to a place that has,
09:14you know, done so much
09:15seminal work in that area
09:16was really,
09:18you know, really exactly where
09:19I wanted to land.
09:21So for me, it was
09:22it was really great to
09:23to start a lab here,
09:25and happy to, yeah, answer
09:27any questions related to that
09:28as well.
09:30Great.
09:31So our first few questions
09:32have started to, come in,
09:35and I may not do
09:36them exactly in order, but
09:38I will try to cover,
09:39everything.
09:41So,
09:42I'll start with,
09:44we one question is,
09:47is there a specific career
09:49stage that the department is
09:50focused on? So this search
09:53is focused on the assistant
09:54professor career stage,
09:57and
09:58and,
10:00this would be someone who,
10:02you know, in most cases
10:03is,
10:05completing their, you know, postdoctoral
10:07studies currently, although they could
10:09be in some other kind
10:10of training stage.
10:11But the search is is,
10:13focused on on,
10:15the assistant professor,
10:18stage.
10:21So the next question
10:27is, whether
10:29ongoing funding is ongoing funding
10:32a critical requirement for the
10:34candidate, or is the perspective
10:36capability of acquiring grants enough?
10:39Anyone
10:40in the panel wanna comment
10:41on that?
10:45I don't think we've
10:46ever,
10:48put a high,
10:53you know,
10:54target or whatever on do
10:56you already have funding.
10:58When when recruiting at the
10:59assistant professor level, we usually
11:01look at the potential for
11:04success,
11:05for synergy with existing members
11:08of the the department,
11:11for value added, new new
11:12approaches, new organisms,
11:14etcetera.
11:17And then,
11:20you know,
11:21we've always had confidence in
11:23the people that we select
11:25will not have problem getting
11:27their funding, and I think
11:28that's mostly panned out. So
11:33So a related question,
11:36was whether it's necessary to
11:38include a budget
11:40information in the statement of
11:41research plan. So I can
11:42add to that. The answer
11:43to that is no.
11:45We're really focused on,
11:48the scientific questions you do
11:50wanna answer, why those questions
11:52are important,
11:53why you're the right person
11:54to answer those questions, and
11:56how we can help,
11:58you reach even further than
11:59you would, otherwise.
12:04There are some,
12:05there's a question about,
12:07interdisciplinary
12:09research.
12:10You know, do we encourage
12:11interdisciplinary
12:12research? The answer to that
12:13is absolutely yes.
12:16You know, many of our
12:17current faculty
12:19are highly interdisciplinary
12:20in the work that they
12:21do.
12:22One thing that I've really
12:23appreciated about,
12:25Yale is that
12:27it is,
12:28a large enough institution that
12:30there are experts in really
12:32anything you could imagine, but
12:33it's also small enough that
12:34it's very easy to collaborate.
12:37It's common for,
12:40for me to get emails
12:41just out of the blue
12:42from other Yale faculty or
12:43their students saying, you you
12:45know, I'm also at Yale.
12:46I'm interested in this or
12:47that about the microbiome, and
12:48could we meet?
12:50And, again, I think that's
12:51part of,
12:52Yale being in this, nice,
12:55sweet spot of size
12:57that,
12:58facilitates those kinds of,
13:00easy collaborations.
13:04And and I I could
13:05just add to that, Anthony,
13:06that, you know, one to
13:08to pitch again the BBS
13:09graduate program, one of the
13:11nice things about this large
13:12umbrella graduate program is we
13:14have students coming in with
13:15many different scientific interests who
13:18cross pollinate and fertilize many
13:19labs in many different departments
13:21bringing in,
13:22new approaches, new ideas.
13:25And in in in many
13:26instances, even if the student
13:28doesn't join your lab,
13:30they become friends with someone
13:32in your lab, and and
13:33lots of collaborations, lots of
13:35ideas,
13:36of an interdisciplinary
13:38nature are formed simply by
13:40the the,
13:41students,
13:43having this opportunity to, you
13:45know, come into this large
13:46umbrella program, meet each other,
13:48learn about what they're doing,
13:49and and interact. So,
13:52the other thing I'd like
13:53to add to that is
13:54that, you know,
13:57I've always found Yale to
13:59be one of the most
13:59highly collaborative places
14:01that I've been, including many
14:03places on the West Coast
14:04and the East Coast,
14:06that shall not be named.
14:07And departmental lines here, although
14:09they're important for administrative
14:11reasons,
14:12they're really not important for
14:13scientific reasons. This is probably
14:15one of the the friendliest
14:17and most
14:19interactive and collaborative places across
14:21disciplines,
14:22that that I've experienced. And
14:24and without,
14:26you know, having great colleagues
14:27in cell biology, great colleagues
14:29in immunobiology,
14:30great colleagues in structural biology,
14:33I don't think we'd we
14:35would have ever been able
14:36to have the success that
14:37we've been able to achieve
14:39at at most other places.
14:42Craig, maybe this is a
14:43good chance for you to,
14:44just say a little bit
14:45about the BBS program and,
14:47you know, every school is
14:48different and maybe just about
14:50the umbrella versus the graduate
14:52programs and,
14:54how that fits together at
14:55Yale.
14:57Yeah. So so the BBS
14:58graduate program here at Yale
15:00is an umbrella program. So
15:01students enter through,
15:03what we call tracks, which
15:05the tracks themselves
15:07are focused on,
15:09more,
15:11specific scientific areas of investigation,
15:14ranging from immunobiology,
15:16cell biology,
15:18microbiology,
15:19computational biology,
15:20pharmacology, physiology.
15:23And but the students, when
15:25they enter one of these
15:26tracks, they're still part of
15:27the large umbrella program. They're
15:29free to rotate in any
15:30lab they want and join
15:31any lab they want.
15:33So of the sum, you
15:35know, I think we're up
15:35to now four hundred faculty
15:37that make up the BBS
15:38graduate
15:40program. It's it's very common
15:42to get students who,
15:45you know, enter through another
15:46track, and and you as
15:48a faculty member
15:49oftentimes participate in multiple tracks,
15:53and therefore recruit students from
15:55those tracks to be part
15:56of your lab.
15:58So it's really kind of
16:00nice in that the selection
16:02process for students is based
16:03on the tracks, so it
16:05spreads the workload out.
16:07But the students have unlimited
16:09opportunities to to rotate and
16:11join any lab they want.
16:13I would like to add
16:14on. I'm the director for
16:15the microbiology
16:17PC program.
16:18So we have about five
16:19to ten students each year.
16:21They frequently rotate in our
16:23faculty labs, but, also, we
16:25will get, like, students from
16:27other tracks such as iBio
16:28or, computer science and things
16:30like those. What I what
16:31Quake just said is that
16:33all students affiliated with Yale
16:34BBS can choose any PI,
16:36but then Yale is a
16:38is a close community with
16:39the sizes that is not
16:40that huge. So we our
16:42PS do get access to
16:43students, very, very often.
16:48Okay. The next question, I'm
16:50gonna answer part of it
16:51and ask Yachi to answer
16:52the other part.
16:54So the question is, if
16:55someone's involved in clinical research,
16:58is the main campus or
16:59west campus better in terms
17:01of hospital access,
17:02you know, in in light
17:03of the other faculty searches
17:05that are going going on?
17:08So I'll talk about the
17:09west campus and main campus
17:10part, and then, Yachi, maybe
17:11you can talk about,
17:13clinical samples and and and
17:15that kind of thing. So,
17:17in terms of the main
17:18campus and west campus, they're
17:20about five miles apart from
17:22each other.
17:23This position is,
17:25for,
17:26lab space at the medical
17:28school in the Boyer Center
17:29for Molecular Medicine,
17:33And and,
17:35so that's where where the
17:36lab will be.
17:38But in terms of the
17:39appointment
17:40in microbial pathogenesis,
17:44that's really the defining feature
17:46in terms of being a
17:47member of the school of
17:48medicine. So,
17:50the
17:51the,
17:52you know, being a member
17:53of the school of medicine
17:54at the West Campus or
17:55at,
17:57the the main campus, you
17:59would
18:00interface with the same programs
18:02for clinical collaboration either way.
18:05The hospitals indeed are
18:07located at the medical school,
18:09the main campus,
18:12but the interaction is very
18:13close because, again, it's five
18:16miles away. There's shuttles that
18:17run every twenty minutes, and
18:19everybody who's at the West
18:20Campus is a part of,
18:23some department,
18:24at the the, the main
18:26campus.
18:28So maybe, Yachi, you could
18:29talk a little bit about,
18:32clinical samples.
18:33Sure.
18:34I do work on clinical
18:35samples. For example, I get
18:37a blood and it's the
18:38other samples from people having
18:40HIV.
18:41This is like bread and
18:42butter just like
18:43someone would count mouse in
18:44the mouse house. So I
18:45would say their existing IRB
18:47and then their existing access
18:49to these, collaborators in the
18:50clinic. And I there there
18:52has been setting up of
18:53these, like, collaborations for, like,
18:55ten, twenty years, so I
18:56can easily approach these physicians.
18:57They are very happy to
18:59recruit participants. And then I
19:00do need to file ARB,
19:02but there are templates and
19:03the ARB crew would help
19:04us to file those. So
19:05I would say I don't
19:06have any any problems getting
19:08those samples. For example, recently,
19:09we tried to get a
19:11gut biopsy samples from the
19:12hospital. We get it every
19:13week. So, they're still sending
19:15procedures,
19:17a bit to for us
19:18to get access to these
19:19samples.
19:21Right.
19:23Okay. Thank you.
19:26The next question is about,
19:28core facilities
19:30at Yale. So what core
19:31facilities are accessible,
19:33that may be useful for,
19:36research in microbial pathogenesis?
19:41I can take at least
19:42part part of this question.
19:44So I mean, there's lots
19:46of core facilities. The one
19:48a lot,
19:49one that
19:50our lab and I know
19:51others here use is a
19:52flow cytometry core.
19:54That has been really amazing
19:56for us. In fact, when
19:57I first started the lab,
19:58I actually thought about buying
19:59our own flow cytometer,
20:01and, I have been so
20:02happy with the core.
20:04And it's a core that
20:05exists at all sorts of
20:06different biosafety levels all the
20:07way up to BSL three.
20:10And, so we've been very,
20:12very happy with that. There's
20:14microscopy cores all around.
20:16One of the great things
20:17about
20:18Yale is actually that imaging
20:20is, really strong here. So
20:22even if you can't find,
20:23like, a microscope that you
20:24need,
20:25in a core facility,
20:26chances are there might be
20:27one that someone has built
20:29somewhere and, could potentially help
20:31you use.
20:32So we've been very happy
20:34with those core facilities. I
20:35we've also used sequencing core
20:36facilities, and there's actually a
20:39a drug discovery core facility.
20:41There's,
20:42you know,
20:44pretty much if you want
20:45it somewhat, it probably is
20:46here.
20:49I would like to add
20:49on the sequencing facility because
20:51my lab does a lot
20:52of single cell sequencing
20:54and many fancy platforms. I
20:55I would say when I
20:56came here for a second
20:57visit, I talked to the
20:58YCGA director and he said
21:00that basically the dean gave
21:01him ten million dollars to
21:02make the best facility ever,
21:04for to support research use.
21:06And during the COVID time,
21:07for example, people want to
21:08sort, you know, COVID passing
21:10mouse samples and human samples.
21:11How dangerous would that be
21:12in the court? They are
21:13to say, we will make
21:14it happen under the best
21:16spouse safety and support your
21:17research. So, basically, Yale is
21:19a place that when the
21:20dean has extra funding, they
21:21put that into into core
21:23facilities that we have the
21:24best high end, you know,
21:26sequencing facility that sequencing here
21:28is one million reads, is
21:29one dollar. So it's pretty
21:30cheap compared with other institutes.
21:32So I would say there
21:33are many different cores available
21:34that do support the research
21:36program.
21:38And they've also invested heavily
21:40in cryo electron microscopes,
21:41including three Titan Krios as
21:44well as some other really
21:45nice microscopes and
21:47and FIB milling. So, you
21:48know, we're now doing,
21:51high throughput
21:52volume
21:53rendering through cells by by,
21:56cryo EM where we can
21:57get, you know, three d
21:58reconstructions of an entire infected
22:00cell in a matter of
22:02days,
22:03which is something that, you
22:04know,
22:05we tried ten years ago.
22:07It just wasn't possible, and
22:09it's all through the core
22:10facilities and the investments
22:11Yale has made in in
22:14these these cryo EM facilities,
22:16which are just phenomenal right
22:18now.
22:20Thanks.
22:22Another question. And now we
22:23have many questions, so I'm
22:24gonna do my best, to
22:27identify,
22:29go through all of them.
22:31How valuable are computational
22:33skills in this role? Is
22:34there a possibility they have
22:36a purely computational lab in
22:37the department?
22:38Maybe I'll answer that.
22:41There's quite a bit of
22:42of,
22:43computational focus in the department,
22:45including Yachi's lab as as
22:47one example.
22:49And, certainly, that's an example
22:51of an area where, we
22:54would,
22:56again, we're we're looking for
22:57labs that will,
22:59not only that we can
23:00help do better, that will
23:01help us do better. And
23:03so we're definitely open to
23:04people bringing in other techniques.
23:06You know, that said, we
23:08also it's very important to
23:09us that we can provide
23:10the best mentorship,
23:12possible for our junior faculty.
23:15And so I think it
23:16really would come down to
23:17the individual program and,
23:20convincing
23:21ourselves that that,
23:23you know, as a department
23:24of of, microbial pathogenesis that
23:26we can, again, provide the
23:28best mentorship for someone. So
23:30it depends on, I think,
23:31a purely computational lab. It
23:33would depend
23:34on the program and their
23:35goals and what kind of
23:36support they they need to
23:38do their best in terms
23:39of whether that would be
23:40a good match.
23:44The,
23:47there's a question about if
23:48you're potentially,
23:51eligible for more than one
23:52of these searches.
23:54Is it recommended to apply
23:55to both or just one?
23:57Probably better to apply to
23:59both. I mean, we'll be
24:00keeping an eye on all
24:02the searches together and interfacing.
24:04So if there are applications
24:06that come in through one
24:07search and are better suited
24:08for another, we will be
24:10able to,
24:12identify that,
24:13but probably best for you
24:14to apply for the searches
24:16that,
24:17you know, you think you're
24:18eligible and would be a
24:19good match, for you.
24:23Andy, correct me if I'm
24:24wrong, but the current MSI
24:26search isn't
24:27through microbial pathogenesis, meaning that
24:30people applying to that search
24:32will not be appointed
24:35to the department of microbial
24:36pathogenesis.
24:37So they won't be part
24:38of our cohort.
24:40Yes. That's exactly right. It's
24:41a these are separate searches.
24:44I think people who do
24:45us, you know, search on
24:46science careers for microbiology at
24:49Yale, all three of these
24:50will come up, which is
24:51why I wanted to highlight
24:52it. But those other searches
24:53are primary appointments in other
24:55departments.
24:56Again, one in bioinformatics and
24:58data science, the other in
25:00immunobiology.
25:04We there's a question about,
25:07is there a limit on
25:08the number of years after
25:09PhD for the candidate?
25:11And maybe we can kind
25:13of talk more broadly about,
25:16you know, what are the
25:18you know, whether or not
25:19we have limits and rules
25:21in that way in terms
25:22of who could be a
25:24a candidate.
25:25Well Does anyone I I
25:27don't think it's uncommon these
25:28days for people sometimes to
25:30have done two postdocs. Maybe
25:31they wanted to switch areas
25:32of interest
25:34after doing a four year
25:35postdoc or or explore another
25:37area.
25:38So, you know, the clock
25:39will be different for different
25:41people. I don't I don't
25:43think that we've ever, you
25:44know,
25:46looked at someone and said,
25:47oh, they've been in this
25:48position for postdoctoral position for
25:51seven years.
25:52That's too long.
25:53Right?
25:54I think it's, you know,
25:56more a matter of what
25:58questions are you
26:00investigating,
26:02you know, what what's your
26:03potential,
26:05going forward,
26:07and how can we
26:09mesh and and is it
26:11a good fit
26:12synergistically
26:13in the department? I I
26:15I would venture as a
26:17member of a search committee
26:18not to put a lot
26:19of,
26:21stock in kind of number
26:22of years post PhD that
26:25the the applicant has had.
26:27But if anyone feels differently,
26:28please No. I completely I
26:30completely agree.
26:32The the next question is
26:33about teaching. Maybe I'll throw
26:34this one to Hesper.
26:37Wondering about opportunities
26:39for teaching at the graduate
26:42level,
26:43which courses are available,
26:47changes or developing specific courses,
26:49and then also,
26:50teaching at the undergraduate level.
26:53Right. So the position that
26:55we're talking about is at
26:56at the medical school. So
26:57there isn't a formal undergraduate
27:00teaching requirement,
27:02as you know, this is
27:03very much in contrast if
27:04you were to apply to
27:05a department that,
27:07was at sort of the
27:08the main campus
27:10as as at least I
27:11call it.
27:12So this is so because
27:13of that, you know, we
27:14mostly teach graduate students and
27:16our core and our department
27:18administers,
27:20several courses,
27:21in,
27:23in
27:24microbiology. So we run a
27:25course, and I'm one of
27:26the course directors for the
27:28bacterial
27:29bacteriology course,
27:31that's really focused on bacterial
27:32pathogens
27:33and bacterial pathogenesis.
27:35And then we also,
27:37administer a course in virology.
27:40And those courses are very
27:41small. They're very geared towards,
27:43graduate students in their first
27:45and second year. They're, you
27:46know, often about five,
27:49students, and they're very seminar
27:51based.
27:52I will say that I
27:52also,
27:55am involved in teaching in
27:56other ways here. So I
27:57actually helped teach a microscopy
27:59course, through the department of
28:01cell biology. And I I
28:03do a few lectures even
28:04for the undergraduate,
28:06microscopy
28:07course as well. So there's
28:08definitely opportunities,
28:10to be involved in teaching
28:11in all different
28:12levels if that's something you're
28:14you're interested in. But it's
28:16certainly not a especially
28:17at the at the,
28:19undergraduate level, it's not a
28:20primary focus of of, what
28:23we do. That being said,
28:24of course, you know, you're
28:25teaching your graduate students in
28:26your lab and that's really,
28:27you know, at least how
28:28I view it, that's a
28:29primary source of, a mentorship
28:31and teaching,
28:32for for, you know, this
28:34type of position.
28:36Right. One thing that I
28:37really liked when when I
28:38came here having spent two
28:40years at another medical school
28:41for my first two years
28:42as a
28:43assistant professor is we weren't
28:45responsible for teaching the medical
28:47students medical microbiology.
28:49That's all done by the
28:50clinical departments. We don't have
28:51to teach any of the
28:52the medical students,
28:55which I like.
28:59I would like to clarify
29:01that these academic jobs, some
29:02are more teaching focused, such
29:03as, like, seventy five percent
29:04teaching,
29:05sponsored, kind of responsibilities, but
29:07our department are, mostly mostly
29:09research focused. So I teach
29:11no more than five classes,
29:13three to five class. It's
29:14like a three to five
29:15hours
29:16a year. So we are
29:17focusing on research.
29:20Yep. I mean, we we
29:22continually evolve these courses, and
29:24so there's always opportunities to
29:26bring in new areas.
29:28I did that when I
29:29was course director. Hesper's done
29:30that quite a bit now
29:32as as course director.
29:34So there is opportunity are
29:35opportunities to,
29:37expand our teaching. But like
29:39Yachi said,
29:41the typical
29:42teaching contribution
29:44is,
29:45you know, maybe one or
29:46two lectures per semester,
29:49in a in a small
29:50group format.
29:53Good. So I think I
29:54mean, there are there's been
29:55many questions on the chat
29:56about teaching. Hopefully, that covered,
29:58the gist of it, and
29:59you're welcome to email me
30:01if your question wasn't wasn't
30:02answered,
30:04as well.
30:15So there's a question about
30:18kind of about fit on
30:20the topic
30:22and
30:24getting a sense for for
30:25students
30:27and
30:28publications
30:29from PhD students before graduating.
30:31So maybe the first one
30:32is is what kind of
30:34conferences
30:34do our students typically go
30:37to?
30:41Anyone wanna share about that?
30:46You know, large society
30:48meetings, you know, the ASM
30:50general meeting,
30:52you know, there's a big,
30:54I know, virology meeting. A
30:55lot of the virology students
30:56go to each year.
30:58The Cold Spring Harbor meetings.
31:00Cold Spring Harbor is very
31:01accessible to here, so a
31:02lot of people go to,
31:04meetings at Cold Spring Harbor
31:06that are related to their,
31:08field of study.
31:10The Gordon Research Conferences are
31:12are a very popular
31:14series and and very diverse,
31:16so there's always subject areas
31:18that,
31:20you know, are within the
31:22scope of what we do
31:22here in the Gordon Research
31:24Conferences,
31:26as well as, you know,
31:27smaller workshops and and international
31:30meetings.
31:32I think our students are
31:34well represented at at a
31:35lot of these meetings and
31:36and are often selected,
31:39as, you know,
31:40speakers for ten minute talks.
31:45Thank you.
31:46We have a question.
31:47I'm not sure how well
31:48we can answer this, but
31:49someone asked about the competitiveness
31:52for this application.
31:54I think what I can
31:55say there is,
31:57that,
31:59we
32:00well, first thing I can
32:01say is that we do
32:03have the possibility of offering
32:04multiple,
32:06positions,
32:08and that will again depend
32:09on on the applications we
32:10get.
32:11So there there, again, there
32:13may be more than one
32:14even within this microbial pathogenesis
32:16search, there may be the
32:17possibility of of offering more
32:19than one person
32:22a job offer.
32:24Every application will be read
32:26by multiple members of,
32:29of the search committee as
32:30well.
32:31And oftentimes,
32:33when we do this initial
32:35review,
32:36if there's any applications where
32:39even if one committee member,
32:42was was less enthusiastic, if
32:44there's a split score,
32:45we'll take the time as
32:47a group to discuss the
32:48application, together.
32:50So your application will be
32:51looked at, very carefully, again,
32:53by multiple people,
32:55on the search committee,
32:57and and we also do
32:59have the at least the
33:00possibility of offering multiple,
33:03positions out of this one
33:04search.
33:06The next question,
33:08maybe I'll ask one of
33:09my panelists, maybe multiple
33:11panelists to comment on,
33:13is, talking about resources for
33:16junior faculty support
33:17in terms of career development,
33:20NIH funding, and mentoring.
33:24Maybe I'll kind of start
33:26from my perspective as as
33:27chair, that I I consider,
33:29you know, mentoring junior faculty
33:31to be a main part
33:32of my job.
33:34And when junior faculty come
33:36in, we establish mentoring committees
33:38within the department,
33:40that meet with new faculty
33:42on a regular basis,
33:44to give guidance on all
33:45of the challenges that come
33:46up when you start a
33:47lab anywhere,
33:49including writing grants,
33:52and building your lab.
33:55In addition, there is,
33:57at the school of medicine,
33:59there's,
34:01a cohort of junior faculty
34:03across the school of medicine
34:04that in basic science that
34:06kinda come in around the
34:07same time
34:08and, connect together to talk
34:10with each other about,
34:12challenges and opportunities in starting
34:14a new lab. So there's
34:16both peer mentoring as well
34:17as faculty mentoring,
34:19going on in in the
34:20department.
34:21I often read,
34:23grant applications
34:24from junior faculty
34:26as well to provide a
34:27perspective and and guidance.
34:30And then we also have
34:32what we call faculty research
34:33in progress,
34:35talks
34:35within the department. These are
34:37faculty only,
34:38and it's time where everyone
34:40in all the faculty in
34:41the department are really focused
34:43on your research and using
34:44their experience,
34:46on study section and writing
34:47grants themselves to provide guidance,
34:50and that can be a
34:51very helpful way also for
34:52getting support on these kinds
34:54of things.
34:56Other panelists wanna comment on,
34:59resources
35:00and practices at Yale?
35:02I'd just like to point
35:03out, Andy, that we have
35:04a mandatory requirement
35:06for all
35:08PIs, including existing PIs if
35:10they haven't taken the the
35:12mentoring
35:13workshop,
35:14that they must now complete,
35:17a Yale
35:18sponsored mentoring workshop, which I
35:20think there's something like eight
35:22sessions over a semester,
35:25that was developed by the
35:27National
35:28Mentoring Research Network.
35:30And our our,
35:33instructors in this have been
35:34been trained through the this
35:36organization.
35:38So all of the all
35:40of the PIs
35:41have to complete this mentoring,
35:44workshop,
35:45in order to take PhD
35:46graduate students.
35:49And
35:50it's offered free of charge.
35:51And and
35:53on a on a semester
35:54each semester, we offer it
35:56to the new investigator. So
35:59you do get you do
36:00get,
36:02mentoring on being a mentor.
36:07Other comments?
36:10Yeah. The I think that
36:11all those things sort of
36:12cover it.
36:14You know, I when I
36:15was very first started, I,
36:17actually, Yale paid for me
36:19to go to
36:20a two day intensive mentoring
36:24workshop,
36:24that was overnight in a
36:26nearby town called Old Saybrook.
36:28And, you know, I still
36:29rely on the lessons that
36:31I learned from that. And,
36:33this is one of the
36:33things that, you know, when
36:34you're first beginning, you don't
36:36you don't really know how
36:37to manage, and you're really
36:38you know, I think it's
36:39a big challenge, and I
36:40think that Yale,
36:42acknowledges that it's a challenge
36:43and and really works to
36:44to help you out as
36:45an assistant
36:47professor. I and in terms
36:48of getting funding, you know,
36:49I,
36:51you know, I sat in
36:52in Jorge Galan's office for
36:54many many times with my
36:55r o one sort of
36:56splayed open, and, you know,
36:58we really went into it,
37:00and really and
37:02enormous, very detailed,
37:04you know, discussions, and it
37:06was,
37:07incredibly helpful. And, you know,
37:09I it was really through
37:10those discussions that I was
37:11able to to get my
37:12first r o one. So,
37:14I think the the, you
37:15know,
37:17the desire and the ability
37:18here is to help,
37:20new professors,
37:22you know, get the things
37:22that they need to succeed.
37:25I'll add on to that.
37:26You know, when I just
37:27came, I have this feeling
37:29that, at that time, it
37:30was doctor Jorge Golang as
37:31the chair. What the feeling
37:33he gave me is that
37:34if I'm not able to
37:35tenure, he will feel very,
37:36very sorry. So this is
37:37a department that in the
37:39very first year, he will
37:40keep asking me, actually, do
37:41you need this? Do you
37:42need that? I can do
37:43this. Do you want this?
37:44Do you want that? This
37:45is a department that you're
37:47trying all the best to
37:48support us to to grow,
37:49and I really enjoy this.
37:50And second, for the faculty
37:52faculty mentoring committee, you are
37:54not assigned with someone. You
37:55find someone, which I found.
37:57For example, I found an
37:58HIV person and and actually
37:59doctor Craig Roy works on
38:01having nothing to do with
38:02HIV, but he gave me
38:04such, wonderful
38:05advice career advices that I'm
38:07still talking to him, like,
38:08like, every week and very
38:09frequently.
38:10And I also reach out
38:11to other faculties at Yale
38:12such as doctor Joe Craft,
38:13Immuno Biology. There's no limit.
38:15And people are all very
38:17willing to help, and I
38:18really enjoy, like, working with
38:20me.
38:22We have a question,
38:25about,
38:26whether it's possible to submit
38:27more than three letters of
38:29reference.
38:30I think the form is
38:34is set for only three.
38:37And depending on the situation,
38:39you know, one
38:41one path there is to
38:42just select the three who
38:43would best be able to
38:44comment on you and your
38:46work.
38:47If the advisers like, in
38:49the case of multiple postdoc
38:51advisers,
38:52if they
38:53are if the project is
38:54collaborative and one of them
38:56can write
38:58on behalf of both of
38:59them, that's another
39:00possibility.
39:02If there's truly no way
39:03to identify which three can
39:05best represent
39:07your,
39:09your work, and it's not
39:11possible to have one of
39:12them
39:14integrate comments from more than
39:15one person, send me an
39:16email, and we'll figure out
39:17what to do there.
39:23Now we have lots of
39:24questions, so thank you. If
39:26I don't get to your
39:26question, please follow-up by email.
39:33Let's see.
39:34So,
39:36there's a question about
39:39funding opportunities,
39:40institutional
39:41or departmental funding opportunities available
39:43for
39:44new junior faculty.
39:47So we could maybe talk
39:48about the process, the internal
39:50grant process,
39:52for those,
39:53grant programs that the university
39:55can only put in one
39:56or two nominations.
39:59Anyone wanna talk about about
40:00that?
40:02Sure. So yeah. So in
40:03your first few years, there's
40:05you're gonna get a lot
40:06of emails about
40:07different junior faculty
40:09awards,
40:10many of which can only
40:11have one,
40:13person submitted from Yale. And
40:15so there's actually an internal
40:16Yale committee
40:17that reads applications from all
40:19over Yale and then selects
40:20one,
40:22maybe two, depending on the
40:23the foundation,
40:25to then go and compete
40:26nationally.
40:27So it's these are very,
40:30you know, very simple applications.
40:32Often, they're, like, two pages,
40:34and,
40:35and our department, I think,
40:37has had a pretty good
40:38history of actually getting,
40:40quite a few of those.
40:42Yeah. So and then there's
40:43yeah. I I think that
40:45that pretty much covers it.
40:46There's other there's actually some
40:47internal funding for postdocs and
40:49things like that that actually
40:50is a,
40:51new faculty,
40:52is quite helpful.
40:58And, you know, in addition,
40:59in terms of internal funding,
41:01the
41:02you know,
41:03our goal is really to
41:04set up junior faculty to
41:06be successful.
41:08When we provide a start
41:09up package, we think about,
41:12what the candidate's goals are
41:14in terms of developing their
41:15lab,
41:16and
41:18especially in the first three
41:19years. And the idea is
41:20that,
41:22that support,
41:24is will allow you to
41:26reach those goals for the
41:27first, three years
41:28of your,
41:31your time,
41:32as starting your lab. So
41:34that's a significant,
41:35initial,
41:38component of departmental,
41:40support.
41:42Certainly during COVID, the university
41:43and the school of medicine
41:44offered,
41:46faculty support specifically to junior
41:48faculty,
41:49to
41:51deal with the challenges that
41:53arose, during
41:54during the pandemic,
41:56and there's kind of a,
41:57there's also other,
41:59for example, programs for supporting
42:01a postdoc that are internal
42:04Yale supported programs that, multiple
42:06members of the department have
42:08have used.
42:12Let's see.
42:16There is a question about,
42:18I'm gonna paraphrase,
42:21you know, research program
42:23that
42:25has implications in human health
42:26and disease but is not
42:28directly related to pathogenesis.
42:32I think I would I
42:33mean, without knowing the specifics,
42:34I would still encourage,
42:36encourage applications
42:38there.
42:39The department is focused on
42:40microbial pathogenesis, and that's, I
42:42think, an area that we
42:43provide key expertise,
42:45that interfaces with many other
42:47areas of the university.
42:49So, again, our focus is
42:51on is on microbial pathogenesis,
42:53but also we're open minded
42:55in terms of of,
42:57individual
42:58applications.
43:02There should be a bug,
43:03though.
43:05Yes.
43:09No bug. Probably no no
43:11go.
43:12Yeah.
43:16Here's a question about the
43:18cover letter. You know, would
43:19it be helpful to
43:21highlight
43:23examples of mentorship or service
43:25in the in the cover
43:26letter or what should be
43:27in the cover letter?
43:29Everyone here is members of
43:30the search committee. What do
43:32you look at in the
43:32cover letter?
43:34Any comments there?
43:38I typically don't read cover
43:39letters, so I
43:46just being honest.
43:50Yeah. I think the most
43:50important component of your application
43:52is your is your description
43:53of your future research plans.
43:55I think We're really yeah.
43:57We're really looking for
43:59your vision of what your
44:00lab would look like, and
44:02I think that shines through
44:03a lot more in the
44:04in that component of the
44:05application than in a cover
44:07letter.
44:09Yeah.
44:10Yeah. I think writing a
44:11clear and concise,
44:13research statement that kind
44:15of lays out
44:18what you've done
44:19and where you wanna go
44:20in the future and how
44:22that interfaces
44:24with the department.
44:26That's really in the first
44:28pass of applications,
44:31kind of what
44:32I think most of the
44:33reviewers look at. It's kind
44:34of like, what's this person
44:35done? What do they want
44:37to do? And how does
44:38that fit into our mission?
44:40And
44:44I I would add that
44:45when we get to the
44:46interview stage, there will be
44:48you know, that's also an
44:49opportunity to learn more about
44:50your,
44:52perspective on mentorship and and
44:54experience, and that will include,
44:57meetings with trainees in the
44:58department.
44:59And we do,
45:01ask for their feedback too,
45:04once we get to that
45:05stage.
45:08Okay.
45:13There is a question
45:17about,
45:18you know,
45:20whether
45:21it's possible as a new
45:23faculty member to attract graduate
45:25students
45:26or postdocs?
45:31Graduate students love new labs
45:34to the point where I
45:35I often have to mentor
45:36new faculty that you don't
45:38need to take every graduate
45:39student that shows an interest
45:40in your lab and accept
45:41them into your lab. Take
45:42the ones that best fit
45:44your culture
45:45and best,
45:46you know,
45:49show an interest in what
45:50you're doing,
45:51because
45:53they will come
45:55to you, and they like
45:57new PIs. They like PIs
45:58who are still working in
45:59the lab.
46:01And and,
46:03I think some of the
46:04biggest challenges for new PIs
46:06here
46:07are they
46:09were desperate to have graduate
46:10students. They've taken three or
46:11four graduate students in the
46:13the the first two years,
46:14and now they're having problems
46:15with them
46:16because they didn't really select,
46:20appropriately.
46:22Getting them is not a
46:23problem. Yeah.
46:26Yeah. I think that's right.
46:27Yeah. We just our a
46:28brand new lab just started
46:29in our department, and she
46:30already has two graduate students
46:32that joined the first year.
46:33And I I had two
46:34join my my first year
46:36as well.
46:37So they they come they
46:38often come in pairs. It's
46:40yeah. It's not a problem.
46:42We have a question about,
46:44joint appointments.
46:46And is this possible
46:48after establishing an independent lab?
46:53Craig, maybe since you have
46:54a secondary appointment, do you
46:56wanna talk a little bit
46:57about about that?
46:59Sure. I mean, you know,
47:01when I got here,
47:03you know, we were actually
47:04so so I was one
47:05of the founding members of
47:06this department, and and we
47:08originally started as three people.
47:10And we were really run
47:12out of cell biology.
47:13So this department was kinda
47:15formed,
47:16with the understanding that we
47:18need to
47:19develop a better understanding between
47:21how
47:22microbes
47:23interact with the host and
47:24and manipulate the cell biology
47:26of the host. And cell
47:27biology was really big on
47:28bringing
47:29bugs here because there were
47:30no bug people.
47:33And we didn't need any
47:35sort of joint appointments to
47:36get cell biology students or
47:38or to interact with the
47:40cell biologists, and I never
47:41asked for
47:43a joint appointment because administratively,
47:46you know, what what was
47:48the reason behind it? I
47:49think you only want to
47:50have a joint appointment.
47:52Or maybe sometimes you don't
47:53even want to have a
47:54joint appointment, but you're asked
47:56to be a joint appointee
47:58because
47:59you do will contribute
48:03towards the mission of that
48:04department in
48:06in in other ways. So
48:08for instance, I'm a joint
48:09appointee in immunobiology,
48:11which means
48:12I teach, you know, the
48:14immunobiology
48:14course. I
48:16participate in a lot of
48:17the the
48:19the the faculty activities within
48:20that
48:21department. But I was a
48:22member of the immunobiology
48:24graduate program for ten years
48:25before they,
48:27you know, offered me a
48:28joint appointment, and I never,
48:30you know, requested one because
48:32why do you wanna look
48:33for more work than you
48:34already have?
48:36So so,
48:38you know, because of the
48:39umbrella program, because of the,
48:41you know, the lack of
48:43scientifically
48:44departmental lines are very meaningless
48:46here,
48:48there's not a lot of
48:49reasons to have a joint
48:50appointment unless,
48:52you're in a clinical department
48:55and you want access to
48:57graduate students because here at
48:59Yale,
49:00clinical faculty can't train graduate
49:03students. They don't have access
49:04to the the the PhD
49:06programs,
49:08unless they get a joint
49:09appointment with a basic science
49:11department.
49:12But the job we're talking
49:13about, you get a basic
49:15science
49:15appointment. So you're a member
49:17of the Graduate School of
49:18Arts and Sciences,
49:20and you are you're qualified
49:21to to
49:23mentor PhD students.
49:25So there there there's very
49:26few reasons why you would
49:27want to have a joint
49:28appointment. If you wanted one,
49:30you know, it's certainly something
49:31that can always be discussed
49:32and always be
49:34negotiated.
49:36But just to have a
49:36title by your name,
49:39you know, there's really no
49:40need for it.
49:43Great. The okay. We're gonna
49:45shift gears a bit. We
49:46got a question. What's it
49:47like raising kids around Yale?
49:49What do you typically do
49:50with them on the weekend?
49:53Well, we have a beach,
49:55lots of beaches,
49:56lots of zoos,
49:58lots of museums right here
50:00in new in New Haven.
50:01When my kids were little,
50:02the Peabody Museum was a
50:04favorite spot. They knew every
50:06single
50:07diorama,
50:08all the rocks, all of
50:09the dinosaurs.
50:12You know, there's music everywhere
50:14here, theater.
50:16You know,
50:18I have to say
50:19having had multiple opportunities to
50:22go to other institutions,
50:25one thing that's always kept
50:26me here at Yale
50:28other than just the remarkable
50:30colleagues, which is first and
50:31foremost,
50:32is just the ease of
50:33living here, raising a family,
50:36and the the the low
50:38stress
50:39involved in all of that.
50:41You know, Hesper and Yachi
50:43have
50:44little kids and a little
50:45older kids, so maybe they
50:46can comment on
50:48how how how that transition
50:49has gone for them since
50:51they've
50:51they've arrived.
50:54Yeah. I if you know,
50:55I'm not from Connecticut.
50:57And if you told me,
50:58like, ten years ago that
50:59I would be living in
51:00Connecticut, I would have probably
51:01laughed in your face, but
51:02I actually love living here.
51:04And I love specifically living
51:05in New Haven. I live
51:07right by the undergraduate campus.
51:09So I actually bike my
51:10kid around everywhere. And I
51:12bike him to school and
51:13then I bike to work,
51:14and, it's just very easy
51:16to live here in a
51:17way that in other,
51:19places, you know, with universities
51:21that are like, you know,
51:22it's not as easy.
51:23So, you know, I take
51:24my yeah. Like I like
51:26Craig said, I take I
51:26actually live right next to
51:27the Peabody, so we go
51:28there a lot.
51:30We, you know, we go
51:32we have we are members
51:33of a pool, so we
51:34go to the pool a
51:35lot. We go to the
51:36beach. We go you know,
51:37there's just so many cool
51:38things to do with kids.
51:40You go we we take
51:41him into New York City.
51:43You know, he likes going
51:44on train rides, things of
51:45that. And it it's just
51:46it's very easy, to live
51:48here. And and if you
51:49have kids, you know, all
51:50of us, I think, in
51:50the department have kids. Like,
51:51we can all talk about
51:53schools
51:54and all the you know,
51:55where to live and all
51:56of these things.
51:57But, you know, I'm I'm
51:58very happy here, and, it's,
52:00yeah.
52:01Now I think I will
52:02continue to talk about five
52:03hours about this. Basically,
52:05at your your start of
52:06your career, you're starting as
52:07assistant professor. You have a
52:08family to raise. This is
52:10really the best place because
52:11life is really easy. We
52:13we get the the the
52:14the price you spend in
52:15those big cities. I got
52:16a huge house. It's even
52:17the lawn is too big
52:18to mount. It's just it's
52:19just wonderful living here. There
52:21are many different activities. You
52:22can you can see, you
52:23know, near New Haven. Also,
52:25we go to New York
52:26a lot. We're very close
52:27to the beach. We're in
52:28the northeast.
52:29I would like to add
52:30on to this location thing
52:32is that because we're in
52:33New Haven, our living expenses
52:35way lower, not only to
52:36sustain a family. I take
52:38my whole lab to Boston,
52:39to New York, to Philadelphia,
52:40and NIH at least twice
52:42a year. My whole lab,
52:43I just put them in
52:44an Airbnb that I can
52:45let them talk to these
52:46collaborators,
52:47like, participate in NIH meetings
52:49that they have actually affordable
52:50living. I also have affordable
52:52living. So doing science and
52:53and enjoy life is actually
52:55pretty good here. It's quite
52:57unique.
52:58Yeah. And I would add
52:59too. One thing I've really
53:00liked about,
53:02living here is just how
53:03many different options there are.
53:04So even just among this
53:06panel, I think each of
53:07us lives in different areas,
53:11in the New Haven area.
53:13So there's some faculty who,
53:15like Hesper said, live right
53:16downtown,
53:17like to work,
53:19walk to restaurants, everything like
53:21that.
53:22And I live about twenty
53:24minutes outside of New Haven
53:26in a smaller town,
53:28near the beach and love
53:30that. There's other other faculty
53:32who live a bit to
53:33the north, you know, where
53:34there's more, like, forests and
53:36hiking trails and things like
53:37that. So, really, you have
53:39your choice in terms of,
53:42like, what kind of living
53:44environment you you want,
53:47when you when you're here
53:49in in New Haven.
53:52There's a bunch of questions
53:54about,
53:55preprints and bioRxiv.
53:58Maybe to summarize them,
54:01I think they in general
54:03are asking,
54:04you know, whether preprints can
54:05be included in an application,
54:08and how they,
54:10relate to peer reviewed publications.
54:14Anybody wanna take that one?
54:18I mean, I would highly
54:19encourage it. I think preprints,
54:21I I are great. I
54:23mean, at least, you know,
54:24that's my view, and,
54:26and I certainly would encourage
54:27it as part of an
54:28application. I think it really
54:29shows that you have a
54:30finished product,
54:32that has, hopefully been submitted
54:34to a journal,
54:35and I think it gives
54:36a lot of value to
54:37an application.
54:39You know, I will say
54:39that,
54:41you know, when I
54:43came here, when I got
54:44this job, I actually didn't
54:45have
54:45my postdoc paper completely published
54:48yet. And one of the
54:49things that really attracted me
54:51to this department was that
54:52they were reliant on their
54:54own estimation
54:55of my work and not
54:56the estimation of a journal
54:58editor.
54:59And that really,
55:00you know, was a huge
55:02positive in my,
55:04in my book. I think,
55:05you know,
55:06my colleagues want,
55:08you know, accepting and and
55:09understanding how that my work
55:11was exciting,
55:13you know, to them was
55:13was, yeah, just really valuable
55:15and really showed that they
55:17have their own minds,
55:19and are, using them. So
55:25Right.
55:26Well said, Hesper.
55:29Yes.
55:33Okay.
55:34Well, we're kind of coming
55:36to the end. I I
55:38know that I haven't
55:40covered everything. Oh, maybe I'll
55:42grab one more question here
55:44about,
55:45the tenure
55:46process and tenure timelines.
55:50And, you know, briefly, maybe
55:52I'll start and you guys
55:53can chime in.
55:55The appointment again is at
55:56the assistant professor level.
55:59There is,
56:00an initial review at the
56:02three year point,
56:04and then a second review,
56:06which is typically,
56:09approximately
56:11three years after that,
56:13for the promotion to associate
56:15professor on term. So that
56:16is
56:17not a tenure,
56:19promotion, but it's a promotion
56:20to associate professor. The tenure
56:22promotion follows,
56:24next, to the level of
56:26associate professor with tenure,
56:29and and then the professor
56:30appointment is is after that.
56:32So typically,
56:34the maximum
56:35combined amount of time for
56:37the assistant and associate
56:39on term
56:40length is ten years.
56:43Although again, there can be
56:44lots of individual circumstances there.
56:47I think the important thing
56:48to say is you're not
56:49on your own in navigating
56:50the tenure process. It's something
56:52that I talk with junior
56:53faculty about,
56:54quite a bit
56:56along the way as well
56:57as their mentoring
56:58committee.
57:00And,
57:02yeah, the goal is to
57:03provide that guidance and experience
57:05so that it's something that
57:07is consistent with your overall
57:09goals as a scientist.
57:10It is not, something that,
57:14we kind of work on
57:15separately from
57:16generally
57:17having a successful and exciting
57:19research program.
57:22Other comments about the tenure
57:24process?
57:26When when I
57:28was considering coming here, having
57:30been at another institution for
57:31two years,
57:33the comment I received at
57:34my other institution was, why
57:35would you wanna go to
57:36Yale? You're you're gonna get
57:37tenure here in three years.
57:40You know, you may not
57:40even get tenure there.
57:42And my response to that
57:44was always, well, if I
57:45can't get tenure, I have
57:47bigger problems
57:48because my career has not
57:50gone as I envisioned it.
57:51So you know? And I
57:53think that holds true here.
57:56We we strive
57:59to select people that we're
58:00confident will get tenure because
58:02they're great scientists. They have
58:04a great vision for their
58:05future,
58:06and and we wanna do
58:07everything we can to help
58:09them,
58:10you know, fulfill that vision.
58:12And tenure is gonna happen
58:14as a consequence. It's it's
58:15not something you're you're
58:17you should really worry about.
58:18And,
58:20you know, some people argue
58:21that our clock is too
58:22long.
58:24You know, it can be
58:24as short as you want.
58:27Right?
58:28But it also gives you
58:30the
58:31the
58:32margin
58:33to really develop new projects
58:35and to do science that
58:37you really want to do
58:39and fulfill your vision
58:41rather than be rushed into
58:42getting, you know,
58:44x number of papers in
58:46five and a half to
58:46six years
58:48because that's what you need
58:49to meet the the the
58:51requirements for university
58:53x's tenure decision. Right? We
58:55we really want you to
58:56develop
58:57as an independent science,
58:59fulfill your scientific vision,
59:01and
59:03a consequence of that will
59:04be you get tenure. No
59:05big deal.
59:08Great.
59:10There's one maybe this will
59:11be the last question I
59:12cover here,
59:14about
59:14support,
59:16for partners,
59:17getting a job, in the
59:18New Haven area if you
59:20apply.
59:21That is something,
59:23what I think you'll see
59:25when,
59:26like, for example, at the
59:27interview stage is that we
59:29we actually don't ask,
59:31about,
59:32you know, partners at that
59:34point because
59:35the the recruitment is really
59:37focused on you as a
59:38scientist, and that's not a
59:40factor that,
59:41we use to,
59:44you know,
59:46prioritize certain people over others.
59:48That said, after the offer
59:50is made, I do jump
59:51in with both feet in
59:52finding
59:53opportunities for partners, and that's
59:55involved,
59:56both working across the university,
59:59not just the school of
60:00medicine, but also other,
01:00:02the undergraduate campus all across
01:00:04the university,
01:00:05working with local biotech, for
01:00:07example,
01:00:09to find opportunities
01:00:11for, partners. So,
01:00:13it is again, it is
01:00:14not a it's not a,
01:00:16you know, something that will
01:00:17penalize your application if your
01:00:20partner has specific job requirements.
01:00:22We will only,
01:00:25start working on that after
01:00:26we,
01:00:27extend an offer, But then
01:00:29once we get to that
01:00:30point, it is something we,
01:00:31work work hard on.
01:00:34So with that, we've hit
01:00:35one o'clock. Thank you all
01:00:37for the really good questions,
01:00:39and,
01:00:41I hope that this was
01:00:43was helpful.
01:00:44Thank you to the panelists,
01:00:45for your really good answers,
01:00:48and again, if there are
01:00:49questions that that I didn't
01:00:51get to or misinterpreted,
01:00:53just email me. I'm happy
01:00:55to,
01:00:56follow-up
01:00:57more.
01:00:59Again, I strongly encourage you
01:01:00to apply and look forward
01:01:01to seeing all your applications,
01:01:05fairly soon.
01:01:06Okay. Bye, everyone. Take care.