Faculty Question and Answer

Transcript

• 00:00Okay. Hi, everyone. Thank you
• 00:02for for joining. My name
• 00:04is Andy Goodman. I am
• 00:05chair of the department of
• 00:06microbial pathogenesis at Yale School
• 00:08of Medicine.
• 00:09I'm here with,
• 00:11Katie Schafer and Walter Mothis,
• 00:13two other faculty members here
• 00:15in the department.
• 00:16I will introduce them a
• 00:17little more later.
• 00:19But first, I just wanted
• 00:21to thank you all for
• 00:22joining. My plan for our
• 00:23next, hour
• 00:25is to just show you
• 00:26a couple slides,
• 00:28a little bit of background
• 00:29about,
• 00:30the position
• 00:31and the search process.
• 00:34But I wanna save most
• 00:36of our time for your
• 00:38questions.
• 00:39Just to remind you, everybody's
• 00:41anonymous,
• 00:42in our webinar here, but
• 00:44you can post your questions
• 00:45in the q and a.
• 00:47If you can't find the
• 00:49q and a option,
• 00:51at least on my Zoom,
• 00:52it's under the more button.
• 00:54So you have to go
• 00:55to more and then q
• 00:57and a.
• 00:58And so please post your
• 01:00questions there.
• 01:02And if that doesn't work
• 01:03for you, just put them
• 01:04in the chat, and I'll
• 01:05look for the questions in
• 01:06the chat as as well.
• 01:09And and then
• 01:10what I'll do is I'll
• 01:11read the questions out loud,
• 01:14without your name and everything,
• 01:15and,
• 01:17then
• 01:20the three of us will
• 01:21do our best to,
• 01:22provide our perspectives on on
• 01:24your questions. So I hope
• 01:25you came with your questions,
• 01:27and I hope that the
• 01:28next,
• 01:29hour or so is is
• 01:31useful.
• 01:33Katie here actually,
• 01:34I think
• 01:36attended this webinar before she
• 01:37applied
• 01:38a couple years ago, so
• 01:39that encouraged me to run
• 01:41this, run this again.
• 01:43So I'll start by trying
• 01:44to share a couple slides.
• 01:46Let's see if I can
• 01:47manage this.
• 01:52Okay.
• 01:54So, again, I just have
• 01:55about five slides, with a
• 01:57bit of an overview
• 01:58of the of the position.
• 02:01Again,
• 02:02this is a tenure track
• 02:04assistant professor faculty search, at
• 02:06Yale School of Medicine.
• 02:08Some of the areas we're
• 02:09interested in are listed here,
• 02:12and all of this information
• 02:14is available at our website,
• 02:15which is listed at the
• 02:16bottom.
• 02:19So so who is the
• 02:21department of microbial pathogenesis?
• 02:23We're currently,
• 02:25twenty four faculty, fourteen primary
• 02:27faculty.
• 02:29I mentioned,
• 02:30Katie and Walter already, and,
• 02:32actually, maybe now is a
• 02:33good time for the two
• 02:34of you to just briefly
• 02:35introduce yourselves and,
• 02:38a sentence or two about
• 02:39your research, interest. So, Katie,
• 02:41do you wanna go ahead?
• 02:42Yeah. Happy to.
• 02:44It's nice to be here.
• 02:45I I think I'm coming
• 02:46up on my one year
• 02:48anniversary here at Yale, and
• 02:50my group is focused on
• 02:52using chemical biology tools to
• 02:54understand
• 02:56how human and human associated
• 02:58bacteria
• 02:58are interacting.
• 03:01And like many other people
• 03:02in the department, I I
• 03:03would say I'm chemical biologist,
• 03:05but also very interdisciplinary.
• 03:09Great.
• 03:10And
• 03:11what the motives, the our
• 03:13group
• 03:14is interested in how viruses,
• 03:17spread, and and we study
• 03:18this all across scales.
• 03:21And we also apply
• 03:23multiple biophysical
• 03:25techniques to understand virus entry.
• 03:28Thanks. Great.
• 03:30So Walter is a few
• 03:31years past his one year
• 03:32anniversary of starting his lab.
• 03:35So but, hopefully, you'll get,
• 03:37perspectives both from someone who
• 03:38is is,
• 03:40building their lab as we
• 03:41speak and also someone who
• 03:43has a lot of experience
• 03:44in the department.
• 03:47As far as my own
• 03:49research,
• 03:50my focus is on the
• 03:51gut microbiome,
• 03:52the interaction between resident gut
• 03:54microbes and invading pathogens, and
• 03:56the role of the microbiome
• 03:57in in drug metabolism.
• 04:01More broadly, the department brings
• 04:03together scientists with diverse interests.
• 04:05I think all of us
• 04:06share a focus at the
• 04:08intersection of microbes and disease,
• 04:11but
• 04:12those microbes vary widely.
• 04:15And with including our primary
• 04:17and secondary faculty, we span,
• 04:19bacteria,
• 04:20viruses, parasites,
• 04:24and a wide range of
• 04:25research approaches ranging from chemistry
• 04:27to genomics to structural biology,
• 04:30cell biology,
• 04:31and and many others.
• 04:33This specific position
• 04:34is for newly renovated lab
• 04:37space, which is on the
• 04:38fourth floor of the Boyer
• 04:40Center at Yale School of
• 04:41Medicine.
• 04:42So the home of the
• 04:43department where most faculty are
• 04:45located is the third floor
• 04:46of the same building.
• 04:48Katie is actually moving upstairs
• 04:50to the fourth floor as
• 04:51our first pioneer,
• 04:53along with, Yachi Ho, hopefully
• 04:56within a month.
• 04:58And, again, we've recently renovated
• 05:00that space and are
• 05:01actively recruiting,
• 05:03for this part of this
• 05:04major expansion of the department.
• 05:09So,
• 05:10what are we looking for?
• 05:12I don't have, you know,
• 05:13one answer for that.
• 05:14There is not a specific
• 05:16topic, a specific pathogen
• 05:19that is,
• 05:21you know,
• 05:22defined in this search.
• 05:25And so in the context
• 05:26of this q and a,
• 05:27it's gonna be difficult for
• 05:28me to answer questions about
• 05:29whether
• 05:30your specific research project is
• 05:32appropriate for the search. But
• 05:34I think if you evaluate
• 05:36your research interests in the
• 05:37context of this slide, that
• 05:39will will help you.
• 05:41So
• 05:42the what we're looking for
• 05:44is someone who has identified
• 05:46a research question that's important
• 05:48and who is in the
• 05:50right position to make progress
• 05:51on their question,
• 05:53meaning they have the right
• 05:54tools, the right expertise, the
• 05:56right preliminary data,
• 05:58where the time is right
• 06:00in addition to the, the
• 06:02importance of the research question.
• 06:05We also think about, candidates
• 06:08that we think, will thrive
• 06:10and,
• 06:12you know, benefit from us
• 06:14as colleagues and mentors,
• 06:16as well. So, I think
• 06:18all of you will will,
• 06:21be
• 06:22successful
• 06:23in
• 06:24your research if you're looking
• 06:26at faculty positions.
• 06:27What we think about is
• 06:28how we can help people
• 06:32do even better,
• 06:34be more creative, reach even
• 06:35further,
• 06:37by having,
• 06:39our department as their their
• 06:41their colleagues.
• 06:44So so, again, what we
• 06:45can do to,
• 06:48to help people succeed.
• 06:50And then the third is
• 06:52is,
• 06:53we're very open to new
• 06:54ideas and approaches, and so
• 06:56we think about that.
• 06:59So what is an assistant
• 07:01professor faculty position? What does
• 07:03it look like? The primary
• 07:05focus here is on research
• 07:07and training.
• 07:08So again, this is a
• 07:09medical school position.
• 07:13There is a teaching component.
• 07:16Most faculty
• 07:17are teaching a few lectures
• 07:20a year,
• 07:21primarily for PhD students, although
• 07:24many of us might teach
• 07:25one or two lectures for
• 07:26an undergrad course,
• 07:29or other classes. But, again,
• 07:31the primary focus is,
• 07:33protected and dedicated time for
• 07:35research
• 07:35and in that context,
• 07:37training, the next generation of
• 07:39scientists.
• 07:41I'm not gonna go through
• 07:42here the entire tenure track
• 07:44process,
• 07:45but,
• 07:47if you go to the
• 07:48Yale School of Medicine website
• 07:49and look up the traditional
• 07:51track, that's what this position
• 07:52is, and that has a
• 07:54lot of information about the
• 07:55various phases
• 07:57of, the tenure process,
• 08:00at at, Yale School of
• 08:02Medicine.
• 08:06And this actually is my
• 08:07last slide, so just an
• 08:09overview of the timeline. This
• 08:11information is also available on
• 08:12the department website,
• 08:14but, any application should, go
• 08:17through Interfolio,
• 08:19and the link is provided,
• 08:21on the website and also
• 08:22in our advertisements.
• 08:24And,
• 08:25the deadline for those applications
• 08:27is October first.
• 08:29What will be happening during
• 08:31a long period of silence
• 08:32is we'll be,
• 08:33reviewing and discussing applications in
• 08:36multiple rounds.
• 08:38And,
• 08:39that'll occur through the fall
• 08:41and the winter.
• 08:43And then
• 08:44we'll reach out to selected
• 08:45candidates,
• 08:46to invite them to an
• 08:47in person symposium,
• 08:50at the dates, listed here.
• 08:51So please mark these dates
• 08:53on your calendars.
• 08:55And, typically, those symposia are
• 08:58three or four candidates
• 08:59who visit at the same
• 09:00time,
• 09:02and,
• 09:04each give research seminars and
• 09:06then have one on one
• 09:07visits with faculty, meetings with
• 09:09students,
• 09:09a chalk talk, and things
• 09:11like that.
• 09:12So I know that the
• 09:13symposium format is adopted by
• 09:16some
• 09:17institutions and not others. We've
• 09:18been running symposia
• 09:20for many years, and what
• 09:22we, like about that is
• 09:23we get,
• 09:25very high faculty participation
• 09:27because we all reserve these
• 09:28dates.
• 09:29And also we don't,
• 09:31disadvantage candidates who come very
• 09:34early in a, you know,
• 09:36two month long,
• 09:37search process.
• 09:39So it's it's been a
• 09:41way where we can,
• 09:44you know, evaluate everyone in
• 09:46in kind of in parallel
• 09:47and turn around our,
• 09:50next steps,
• 09:51sooner.
• 09:53So the target start date
• 09:54for the position,
• 09:56is is July first.
• 09:58So that's my quick little
• 10:00overview. Hopefully, that gives us
• 10:01a starting point. I can
• 10:03see that,
• 10:04questions are starting to pop
• 10:05up in the chat.
• 10:07And, again, if you can't
• 10:09get the chat to work,
• 10:11just, use or sorry. I
• 10:13can't get the q and
• 10:13a to work. Just use
• 10:14the chat.
• 10:16So I'm gonna stop sharing
• 10:17now
• 10:18and,
• 10:19grab this chat here. And
• 10:21so what I'll do is
• 10:22I'll read the questions out
• 10:24loud,
• 10:25and then
• 10:26I will give answers or
• 10:28I'll ask one of our
• 10:30panelists to give answers. And,
• 10:32others of you, please feel
• 10:34free to add on,
• 10:37if I've missed something or
• 10:38there's another another perspective.
• 10:41So great. So the first,
• 10:44the first question,
• 10:46here is is whether
• 10:48a research project could be
• 10:49a combination of wet and
• 10:51dry lab, And maybe I'll
• 10:52take that on. The answer
• 10:54is absolutely.
• 10:56So many labs in the
• 10:57department are currently,
• 10:59a combination of wet and
• 11:00dry experiments or wet and
• 11:02dry approaches.
• 11:04And and so we're very
• 11:05much,
• 11:07open to to that combination.
• 11:10I think, again, the guideline
• 11:12that we'll be using is
• 11:14is,
• 11:15again, somebody interested at the
• 11:17intersection of
• 11:19microbes and and their hosts.
• 11:22So a dry lab or
• 11:23wet lab project that was,
• 11:25you know, didn't have a
• 11:26microbiology
• 11:27focus would probably be less
• 11:29appropriate for this search,
• 11:31but
• 11:32why we're open to a
• 11:33wide range of of of
• 11:34approaches.
• 11:40Let's see.
• 11:42The next question is is
• 11:44whether there's a particular area
• 11:46in this cycle,
• 11:48such as host immunology versus
• 11:50pathogen biology or is the
• 11:51search open.
• 11:52And, again, it's an open
• 11:54search. So so,
• 11:57the
• 11:58I would say that a
• 12:00a candidate who is,
• 12:01focused entirely on host immunology
• 12:04with no microbiology
• 12:06component would probably be less
• 12:08aligned
• 12:09with this search.
• 12:11But I think one that
• 12:12might be useful is to
• 12:13look at the research interests
• 12:14of our current faculty, and
• 12:16you can see that we
• 12:17span a range of people
• 12:19who are entirely microbe focused,
• 12:22to other faculty who,
• 12:24really study a lot of
• 12:26questions in in host biology
• 12:28and host microbe interaction from
• 12:30the host perspective.
• 12:31The
• 12:39next question is whether the
• 12:40search is exclusive for new
• 12:42assistant professors,
• 12:43or is it open to
• 12:44current assistant professors?
• 12:48And
• 12:49and then
• 12:50for current assistant professors, will
• 12:52there be a different timeline
• 12:53for promotion?
• 12:54That's gonna be a pretty
• 12:56individual.
• 12:57It's hard for me to
• 12:58answer that generally,
• 13:01but
• 13:03it is open to current
• 13:05assistant professors as well as
• 13:06new, but,
• 13:08most likely the recruitment will
• 13:10be at the assistant professor
• 13:11level. So,
• 13:14to explore recruiting someone
• 13:17at the associate or seeing
• 13:19more senior level
• 13:20would be a basically turn
• 13:22it into a different a
• 13:23different search at this phase.
• 13:25Not to say that that's
• 13:26impossible, but it's not the
• 13:28primary path of of this
• 13:29search.
• 13:31Whether the timeline for promotion
• 13:32would be different would, again,
• 13:34probably depend on the individual,
• 13:38and, you know, how far
• 13:39along they are in their
• 13:40current,
• 13:42position and and, you know,
• 13:43where they are in terms
• 13:44of of,
• 13:46making that step for promotion
• 13:48review.
• 13:54I
• 13:55was asked to share the
• 13:57first slide again, which is
• 13:58testing my technical
• 14:00abilities, but let's see.
• 14:03I can do that real
• 14:05quick.
• 14:11Okay.
• 14:11I think,
• 14:12here's the first slide, so
• 14:14I'll leave this up for
• 14:15a minute,
• 14:18for your,
• 14:20information.
• 14:35So there are other questions
• 14:36about, again, about specific research
• 14:39topics. I think I can
• 14:40kinda answer them collectively that,
• 14:42again, we do not have
• 14:43a specific
• 14:44pathogen or
• 14:48experimental
• 14:49strategy,
• 14:50predefined in this search.
• 14:53We are interested in
• 14:57what you think the most
• 14:58exciting research question is and
• 15:00what are the most
• 15:02promising
• 15:03approaches to answer that that
• 15:05question.
• 15:06So I think that's how
• 15:07we we think about it.
• 15:10I will stop this share.
• 15:15Katie and Walter, do you
• 15:16wanna add anything about,
• 15:18you know, how we've
• 15:20thought about
• 15:22diversity of research topics?
• 15:29I think from my perspective,
• 15:30I've been here for
• 15:32some while
• 15:34sometime, and in general, we
• 15:36believe
• 15:40in in
• 15:41in excellence of science and
• 15:43so and not
• 15:45focusing on topics. So we
• 15:47our experience is if
• 15:49if we recruit
• 15:53good scientists that
• 15:56rather than, let's say, I
• 15:57work on HIV and I
• 15:58wanna have four more people
• 16:00working in HIV. It's the
• 16:01opposite. Right? We so we
• 16:03the
• 16:04different approaches, different perspectives,
• 16:07different techniques, this is what
• 16:09what creates a good environment
• 16:12rather than having,
• 16:16several
• 16:17people working on the same
• 16:18pathogen.
• 16:19So this kind of the
• 16:20philosophy
• 16:21in our experience.
• 16:23And I I can speak
• 16:25from my perspective as I'd
• 16:26say,
• 16:28I have been more on
• 16:29the chemical biology side than
• 16:31the microbiology side of my
• 16:32training even though I've been
• 16:33at both
• 16:35in both areas. And,
• 16:37I would say that it's,
• 16:40in general, like, the the
• 16:42department's very communicative.
• 16:43We know what we're working
• 16:45on even though they're very
• 16:46different
• 16:47topics and approaches.
• 16:49And having that kind of
• 16:51interdisciplinary
• 16:52environment in which people
• 16:54bring forward expertise in really
• 16:56technical areas
• 16:57is hugely helpful in terms
• 16:59of
• 17:00idea generating, but also, like,
• 17:03you know, furthering your research
• 17:04in areas that you're not
• 17:05necessarily comfortable with.
• 17:11I apologize,
• 17:13Katie and Walter, if I
• 17:14answered too many of the
• 17:15initial questions first, but I
• 17:16will be sure. And you
• 17:17should interrupt when I get
• 17:18something
• 17:19wrong.
• 17:21The the next question is
• 17:22whether there's a requirement for
• 17:24US citizenship or permanent residency.
• 17:26I I'm not aware of
• 17:27any such requirement for this
• 17:29position. Not. I was not
• 17:32a green card holder, not
• 17:33a citizen, and I joined
• 17:35this department.
• 17:36No.
• 17:40And somebody asked whether only
• 17:42one or more than one
• 17:43position is available.
• 17:48Potentially, multiple positions are available.
• 17:50These are always,
• 17:52ongoing discussions with the dean's
• 17:53office, but,
• 17:55one of the main constraints
• 17:57that that many
• 17:58medical schools have is space,
• 18:01and we're in the middle
• 18:02of, I think, what's been
• 18:03the biggest expansion of our
• 18:05department,
• 18:06at least in twenty years,
• 18:08where the department has been
• 18:12largely contained on one floor
• 18:13and the entire floor above
• 18:15is now being
• 18:17colonized
• 18:21for, you know, for microbial
• 18:22pathogenesis.
• 18:23So,
• 18:24I would certainly pursue that,
• 18:26with the dean's office if
• 18:28we find,
• 18:30very exciting candidates.
• 18:34The next question is about,
• 18:36mechanisms for mentorship of junior
• 18:38faculty,
• 18:40particularly around establishing an independent
• 18:42research direction and navigating the
• 18:44first major grant applications. This
• 18:46is a great question.
• 18:50And I don't know if
• 18:51I should start or, Katie,
• 18:51you wanna start, with Yeah.
• 18:53I can just start and
• 18:55then I'll I'll kind of
• 18:56add on. So so there
• 18:57there are many mechanisms.
• 18:59I can start with the
• 19:00formal ones. There's,
• 19:02like a
• 19:03society of junior faculty called
• 19:05the Genaway Society that you
• 19:06can easily be a member
• 19:08of, and you attend
• 19:09seminars, and you can participate
• 19:11in writing workshops
• 19:12and get feedback on, like,
• 19:14the grant applications that you're
• 19:15working on in real time.
• 19:18I also have a mentoring
• 19:19committee of other faculty members
• 19:22that I'll meet with on
• 19:22a yearly basis
• 19:24in a way to, like,
• 19:25also idea generate, but check-in
• 19:27and make sure if I'm
• 19:28meeting, like, the milestones, I
• 19:30I I expect myself to
• 19:31be meeting.
• 19:33Of course, like,
• 19:34in our department, as I
• 19:36mentioned, we we talk to
• 19:37each other about our research,
• 19:38and so we have these
• 19:41regular faculty research and progress
• 19:43meetings that Walter
• 19:45actually organizes, and he can
• 19:46talk about, his
• 19:48take on that.
• 19:49And this is another opportunity
• 19:51for you to,
• 19:53pitch ideas and work on
• 19:54your your grant writing.
• 19:57We also share grants with
• 19:58each other.
• 20:00I've shared
• 20:01grants with,
• 20:03colleagues from other departments who
• 20:05have secondary appointments who or
• 20:07I've just gotten to know,
• 20:09in chemistry
• 20:10and
• 20:11other,
• 20:13you know, related but different
• 20:15departments.
• 20:16And,
• 20:17yeah, I'm trying to think,
• 20:19Annie, am I leaving anything
• 20:20out in terms of
• 20:22there there's a lot. There
• 20:23are a lot of grant
• 20:25writing workshop type resources,
• 20:29and that's on, like, a
• 20:30formal and informal level.
• 20:32Yeah.
• 20:35Yeah. I think that's a
• 20:36great answer. Walter, do you
• 20:37wanna add?
• 20:39Yeah. We have these
• 20:41faculty
• 20:43lunch presentations,
• 20:44but just among faculty
• 20:47where we share
• 20:51challenges and, like, includes grants
• 20:53or new directions.
• 20:57So different from from
• 21:00polished
• 21:01presentations.
• 21:02And they're they're very
• 21:05they're very good for senior
• 21:06as well as for junior.
• 21:09Great.
• 21:10Yeah. Yeah. I think the
• 21:11way I think about mentoring
• 21:12is that,
• 21:14two two things. One is
• 21:16that it's not a one
• 21:17size fits all process. You
• 21:19know, the the format of
• 21:21mentoring that's most effective for
• 21:22one person isn't necessarily
• 21:24the most effective for another.
• 21:27And so what we try
• 21:28to establish in the department
• 21:30is
• 21:31multiple tiered stages of mentorship.
• 21:34So
• 21:34at the way I think
• 21:35about it is it goes
• 21:36from, you know, the most
• 21:38small scale, which is, you
• 21:39know, me meeting with individual
• 21:41faculty one on one just
• 21:43to check-in and see how
• 21:44things are going or talk
• 21:45about, you know, whatever challenges
• 21:47are going on.
• 21:49Then so that's a a
• 21:51scale of one person as
• 21:53a mentor.
• 21:54Then the next step up
• 21:55is this mentoring committee that
• 21:56Katie identified or talked about.
• 21:58That's usually,
• 22:00two or three faculty.
• 22:03And junior faculty meet with
• 22:04their mentoring committee,
• 22:06typically once a year as
• 22:08a background so that then
• 22:10when specific issues come up,
• 22:12they kind of know the
• 22:13backstory
• 22:14and and,
• 22:16can hit the ground running
• 22:17in terms of problem solving.
• 22:19So that's mentorship at the
• 22:21scale of maybe
• 22:22three faculty members.
• 22:24Then the next stage is
• 22:25what Walter talked about, which
• 22:26is our our internal research
• 22:29in progress series, where, again,
• 22:30it's only faculty there and
• 22:32you have,
• 22:33you know, the
• 22:34the,
• 22:35collective experience of the all
• 22:38of the department's faculty
• 22:40in thinking about
• 22:42your
• 22:43challenges.
• 22:44And that could be
• 22:45preparing a grant or responding
• 22:47to reviews on a paper.
• 22:50And I think I tried
• 22:51to count once how many
• 22:52years of collective
• 22:53study section experience was represented
• 22:55in these lunches, and it's,
• 22:57you know, it's it's certainly
• 22:58like triple digit.
• 23:00So it just gives you
• 23:02a lot of perspective at
• 23:03the scale of,
• 23:05you know,
• 23:07a dozen or so faculty.
• 23:09And and then the next
• 23:11scale is this Janeway Society
• 23:13that Katie mentioned where,
• 23:15all,
• 23:16junior faculty are invited,
• 23:18both who are,
• 23:21sort of more in the
• 23:22kind of clinician scientists as
• 23:24well as basic scientists paths.
• 23:27And that's another way to,
• 23:29connect with colleagues who are
• 23:31more or less on the
• 23:32same time frame as you,
• 23:34and probably started their years
• 23:36within a their labs within
• 23:37a year or two of
• 23:38of yours.
• 23:40And although the science may
• 23:41be different, a lot of
• 23:42the questions and challenges are
• 23:44shared across,
• 23:47different departments and different fields
• 23:49of,
• 23:50biomedical research, and so that's
• 23:52also a great opportunity.
• 23:54So as a junior faculty
• 23:55member here,
• 23:57you're not required to do
• 23:58all of those stages, and
• 24:00you're not required to mostly
• 24:02do any one of them.
• 24:03The idea is to provide,
• 24:04again, this tiered,
• 24:07range of opportunities where you
• 24:09can find out, you know,
• 24:10what aligns best,
• 24:12best for you.
• 24:15And there's been a few
• 24:16questions about mentorship. I think
• 24:18that answer applies to many
• 24:19of these questions that came
• 24:21up that are really good
• 24:22questions
• 24:23about,
• 24:25deciding about your research direction,
• 24:27deciding when to pivot,
• 24:30if needed,
• 24:31navigating grant applications,
• 24:33response to reviews.
• 24:36And the other part, which
• 24:37is about,
• 24:38being a manager of a
• 24:40of a small shop.
• 24:42And, you know, many of
• 24:44the skills that are part
• 24:45of running a lab are
• 24:47not
• 24:48the same part the same
• 24:49skills that are part of
• 24:50being a successful postdoc. And
• 24:52so
• 24:53deciding,
• 24:54you know, how to pace
• 24:56your scale of hiring,
• 24:58who to hire,
• 25:00how to mentor grad students
• 25:01and postdoc, all of those
• 25:02things are part of these
• 25:05different stages of mentoring, and
• 25:06we talk about them a
• 25:07lot.
• 25:10These are really good questions.
• 25:11Keep them coming, and I
• 25:12hope I'm catching
• 25:14all of them at least,
• 25:17in some way.
• 25:19A question about, again, about
• 25:21computational
• 25:22biology.
• 25:23So people who are focused
• 25:24on computational biology are welcome
• 25:26to apply.
• 25:28But, again,
• 25:30like I mentioned in the
• 25:32slides,
• 25:33we look for people that
• 25:35we think we can help,
• 25:37and we can mentor. And
• 25:38so I think we'll be
• 25:39looking for links between,
• 25:43the computational biology questions
• 25:45that are being explored
• 25:47and how we as a
• 25:49department can help someone,
• 25:52reach even further, be even
• 25:54more creative.
• 25:55So,
• 25:57while we don't have anyone
• 25:58who's strictly computational right now,
• 26:00we are open to it.
• 26:02And, again, we'd be looking
• 26:03at it from the point
• 26:04of view of how we
• 26:05can be good mentors.
• 26:07I should say that,
• 26:09your mentors are not restricted
• 26:11to the department.
• 26:13Many people
• 26:14have formal or informal mentors
• 26:15who are, outside the department
• 26:17as well.
• 26:20On topic of, computing,
• 26:22Yale has a a high
• 26:24computing cluster service that everyone
• 26:26has, like, baseline GPU availability
• 26:28in, and you can buy
• 26:30additional GPU avail
• 26:32availability.
• 26:34And so people
• 26:36routinely, like, analyze their cryo
• 26:38EM data or do, like,
• 26:39batch modeling experiments using the
• 26:42computing services here.
• 26:46Yes. That's that's a good
• 26:47a good point, and it's
• 26:48something that's obviously
• 26:50changing very rapidly here and
• 26:52and elsewhere.
• 26:57So here's a question.
• 26:59How does the committee
• 27:01evaluate research independence
• 27:02for candidates whose future program
• 27:05builds on areas they've already
• 27:07developed?
• 27:10So I I I think
• 27:13maybe
• 27:14that means
• 27:15how do we think about
• 27:17whether you'll be competing with
• 27:19your former mentor or whether
• 27:20you'll be distinct from your
• 27:21former mentor.
• 27:23If I didn't
• 27:25summarize that question correctly, just
• 27:26post it again at the
• 27:28bottom of the chat, and
• 27:29I'll come back.
• 27:31But,
• 27:33yeah,
• 27:35I could start or maybe,
• 27:36Walter, I don't know if
• 27:37you wanna say something about
• 27:38as we're reviewing applications, how
• 27:40do we think about independence
• 27:42from the former mentor?
• 27:50I think this this
• 27:52will always
• 27:54become apparent
• 27:56during during the interview. And
• 27:58then also
• 28:01science has changed. There's a
• 28:02lot of team science, so
• 28:04I think this is also
• 28:05a changing world.
• 28:07And
• 28:08we
• 28:09we we don't have one
• 28:11rule that fits all. I
• 28:12think this is every every
• 28:15person is
• 28:18looked at
• 28:19individually.
• 28:20So we,
• 28:23also then to start the
• 28:25promotion there.
• 28:27Some
• 28:28we know some move faster
• 28:30and others move more slowly,
• 28:32and and this is,
• 28:35also,
• 28:36this is not one
• 28:38I think this is a
• 28:39big advantage of these institutions
• 28:41that a tenure can take
• 28:43ten years.
• 28:44And some move faster, others
• 28:46move more slowly.
• 28:50Yep. I would add I
• 28:51agree. I would add to
• 28:52that,
• 28:56a faculty a research application
• 28:59that you would submit to
• 29:00a search like this, at
• 29:01least here,
• 29:02is not a
• 29:04binding research
• 29:05contract.
• 29:07So
• 29:07for many faculty, within their
• 29:09first few years of starting
• 29:11their own lab,
• 29:12they identify a new research
• 29:14direction
• 29:14that they maybe weren't aware
• 29:16of during their postdoc.
• 29:17They got new results that
• 29:19suggest a pivot,
• 29:20and they uniquely have that
• 29:22feel for their field
• 29:24where they know that now's
• 29:25the time to make a
• 29:26pivot and to move into
• 29:28a new approach that maybe
• 29:29they had no idea of
• 29:30when they were applying.
• 29:33And
• 29:35we encourage that
• 29:37to follow your scientific taste,
• 29:39to recognize new opportunities, and
• 29:41have the freedom to, pursue
• 29:43them even if they weren't
• 29:45in your initial faculty position
• 29:47application.
• 29:48So we're not we're not
• 29:50recruiting
• 29:52to
• 29:53cover specific
• 29:56scientific questions.
• 29:58We're recruiting
• 29:59to invest in people
• 30:01who
• 30:02are
• 30:04creative,
• 30:06excited about their field, and,
• 30:08again,
• 30:09have that
• 30:11close touch to their field
• 30:12to know
• 30:13when is the time to
• 30:14stay the course and when
• 30:15is the time to pivot.
• 30:17And I think that happens
• 30:18for a lot of us,
• 30:18and that can also lead
• 30:20to more separation
• 30:22from prior prior work. So,
• 30:24again, if I didn't answer
• 30:25your question correctly, just post
• 30:27it again and tell me
• 30:28I got it wrong, and
• 30:29I'll I'll try again.
• 30:33Let's see.
• 30:34So here's a question about
• 30:36PhD students.
• 30:39It it's framed in the
• 30:40question of how many PhD
• 30:42students can a new PI
• 30:43have,
• 30:44which we don't have a
• 30:45specific number, but I think
• 30:46it gives us an opportunity
• 30:47to talk a little bit
• 30:49more about the PhD program.
• 30:51And they have a great
• 30:53panel for that. So Walter
• 30:54served for many years as
• 30:56director of graduate studies, which
• 30:58is the faculty member who's
• 30:59the primary,
• 31:01point of contact for graduate
• 31:03students after they're admitted.
• 31:05And Katie,
• 31:07was enormously popular with graduate
• 31:09students this last year
• 31:11and had recently,
• 31:13had many students in rotations
• 31:16and,
• 31:17joining her lab. So, again,
• 31:19a very good panel about
• 31:20that. So so I'll answer
• 31:22quickly, but then I want
• 31:23you two both to to
• 31:24add on. So there's not
• 31:25a specific number of PhD
• 31:27students that are allocated to
• 31:28each lab.
• 31:30The students do rotations, and
• 31:32then they select,
• 31:33their lab after spending,
• 31:35I think it's approximately six
• 31:37to eight weeks in about
• 31:38three different labs after that.
• 31:41So that's the direct answer
• 31:43to the question, but maybe
• 31:44it's a chance to say
• 31:45more about,
• 31:47the microbiology
• 31:49PhD program.
• 31:50I don't know, Katie or
• 31:51Walter, if you wanna
• 31:53talk about your experience and
• 31:54and how it's set up
• 31:55and how it's
• 31:57related and how also it's
• 31:59separate from,
• 32:00the department.
• 32:03Yeah. I Katie, I think
• 32:05you you have really a
• 32:06great year, first year
• 32:09to see it in action
• 32:10with many students rotating with
• 32:12you.
• 32:16I did. Yes. And,
• 32:17you know, the BBS program,
• 32:19that's the umbrella program, is
• 32:21quite huge.
• 32:23And
• 32:23my experience is that students
• 32:26get to know each other
• 32:27in this umbrella program, and
• 32:29they'll talk about you as
• 32:31a PI. And if they're
• 32:32you know, word gets around.
• 32:34And,
• 32:36I think, you know, being
• 32:38open to
• 32:40communicating with the students, getting
• 32:42to know them as as,
• 32:44you know, people is
• 32:47a really good benefit in
• 32:48terms of
• 32:50finding people that fit your
• 32:51lab, but also just getting
• 32:52people familiar with their name.
• 32:56And, yes, it was a
• 32:57it was a
• 32:59a larger class of microbiology
• 33:01graduate students this year, which
• 33:02I was lucky to experience.
• 33:04And,
• 33:06I don't
• 33:07think,
• 33:08at least from what I
• 33:09saw, like, I think everyone
• 33:12landed where they wanted to.
• 33:14Like, everyone got sort of
• 33:16their first pick
• 33:17on both the faculty end
• 33:19and the graduate student end.
• 33:22Great.
• 33:24Yeah. So the the
• 33:26microbiology
• 33:28graduate program,
• 33:31it's not just does not
• 33:32just include our department.
• 33:35It it
• 33:36covers, of course,
• 33:38really across the three campuses
• 33:40and many departments.
• 33:44What is unusual, I think,
• 33:46in the national perspective is
• 33:48how year how many train
• 33:50traditionally, how many training grants
• 33:53they've been the university
• 33:55had
• 33:56and that in previous
• 33:59years,
• 34:00their students were covered for
• 34:02three years. I think this
• 34:03is very rare at the
• 34:05national level.
• 34:07And now there's a I
• 34:08think there's a reduction of
• 34:10training grants you see.
• 34:12The students will be covered
• 34:14for two years.
• 34:17And
• 34:18the question, how many can
• 34:19you take, is
• 34:21is also dependent on your
• 34:23long term grant money. Right?
• 34:25You you need you need
• 34:27to also make
• 34:28fiscally,
• 34:30wise decisions
• 34:32because in the
• 34:34in the fourth
• 34:35currently, in the fourth year,
• 34:38that you you pick so
• 34:40if if you take three
• 34:41students in the same year,
• 34:42then at the moment in
• 34:43the fourth year, you have
• 34:45to pick them all up,
• 34:46and you also pay half
• 34:47of the tuition. So they
• 34:49they're near nearly at the
• 34:50postdoc level. So you you
• 34:52have this recruitment
• 34:55is also your
• 34:58to look at this from
• 34:59an fiscal
• 35:00perspective
• 35:01that you
• 35:02you do.
• 35:06Yeah. And I I would
• 35:07add Sorry. Go ahead.
• 35:09Sorry. I just wanted to
• 35:10add. I think in addition
• 35:11to the fiscal aspect, there's
• 35:13also, like,
• 35:14you know, knowing yourself as
• 35:15a mentor and how you
• 35:17can mentor people,
• 35:19like, how many people you
• 35:20feel comfortable with.
• 35:22And,
• 35:23when I thought, you know,
• 35:25seriously about how many people
• 35:26I wanted to initially join
• 35:27my lab and considering that
• 35:29they would qualify
• 35:31for their PhDs together and
• 35:32we'd be writing papers around
• 35:33the same timelines, like, that
• 35:35was an important consideration.
• 35:38And I think, like, these
• 35:40factors and the financial aspect
• 35:41mattered more than how many
• 35:43people were like, raw number
• 35:45of people who were interested
• 35:46in.
• 35:48Great.
• 35:49The only last thing I'd
• 35:49add to that is that,
• 35:50you know, with the financial
• 35:51questions that Walter brought up,
• 35:53you're not alone
• 35:54in figuring this stuff out.
• 35:56We have a a large
• 35:57business office that will help
• 35:59you determine
• 36:00what,
• 36:02the alignment is between people
• 36:04you're bringing to the lab
• 36:05and funding you have. So
• 36:06you don't have to,
• 36:08do that all by yourself.
• 36:12Let's see. The the next
• 36:14question is, how do candidates
• 36:16express to the search committee
• 36:18what their needs are for
• 36:19success,
• 36:20outside of concrete lab equipment
• 36:22and funding? I think that's
• 36:23a great a great question,
• 36:26and,
• 36:28the symposia,
• 36:30which is that first visit,
• 36:32gives a lot of time
• 36:33for that. So although the
• 36:35candidates
• 36:36will attend each other's research
• 36:37seminars, that's really the only
• 36:39time that they're together.
• 36:40The rest is all one
• 36:41on one meetings between the
• 36:43candidate and members of the
• 36:44search committee and and and
• 36:45others.
• 36:47So there's a lot of
• 36:47time to have those discussions.
• 36:50There's also subsequent visits,
• 36:52after the first visit,
• 36:54as well where these conversations
• 36:56happen. So I think it's
• 36:57an important,
• 36:59thing that we pay attention
• 37:00to,
• 37:01you know, throughout the process.
• 37:07The question about interdepartment
• 37:08interactions,
• 37:10for potential collaboration, so so
• 37:12may I answer that briefly
• 37:14that,
• 37:15these departments are not silos.
• 37:17They're physically near each other.
• 37:19There's quite a bit of
• 37:20interaction.
• 37:22There are faculty who have
• 37:24secondary appointments
• 37:25in some of, these departments,
• 37:27including immunobiology
• 37:30and and others,
• 37:32and that provides a more
• 37:33formal,
• 37:34link,
• 37:36between the departments.
• 37:38But what I've learned about
• 37:39about Yale that that has,
• 37:41you know, been part of
• 37:43why, I've been so happy
• 37:45here is that
• 37:46it's a big enough place
• 37:48that,
• 37:50you can find an expert
• 37:52in anything that you're interested
• 37:53in, but it's also a
• 37:54small enough place that,
• 37:56people know they're gonna see
• 37:57you again.
• 37:59It's common to get just
• 38:00a cold email saying, I'm
• 38:02also at Yale.
• 38:03I saw you did this
• 38:04thing in your paper. Could
• 38:05I come talk about it?
• 38:07And that that kind of
• 38:09thing happens a lot just
• 38:10because, again, we're we're in
• 38:11this middle size,
• 38:14which I've I very much
• 38:15liked.
• 38:19Yes. I see. Yes. Yeah.
• 38:21That's a large BSL three
• 38:22facility.
• 38:24Yes. There's a question about
• 38:26BSL three. The answer is
• 38:27yes. We have a a
• 38:28BSL three facility
• 38:30and,
• 38:31active members of the department
• 38:32using the BSL three facility,
• 38:35and the search is open,
• 38:36for for others.
• 38:43A question about requirement for
• 38:45ongoing funding. Is it okay
• 38:47to not have it yet?
• 38:49Maybe this gives a chance
• 38:50to talk a little about
• 38:51about how
• 38:52junior faculty write their first
• 38:53grants. So for just answering
• 38:55the question directly, there is
• 38:57excuse me, is not a
• 38:59requirement for ongoing funding,
• 39:01and we don't expect
• 39:03that
• 39:05faculty will have faculty candidates
• 39:07will have funding,
• 39:09before they,
• 39:10before they arrive.
• 39:13It is certainly on people's
• 39:15mind when they get here
• 39:16to start thinking about
• 39:18different sources for funding. And
• 39:19I don't know if, Katie,
• 39:20you wanna say a little
• 39:21bit about
• 39:22that
• 39:23process.
• 39:25Yeah. There you know, the
• 39:27the the great thing about
• 39:28starting your lab is that
• 39:29you get a pool of,
• 39:31like, ESI type
• 39:33grants to apply to
• 39:34that will keep you busy
• 39:36for the first couple of
• 39:37years.
• 39:39Yale has, like, an internal
• 39:40grant application process. So for
• 39:42a lot of these smaller
• 39:43foundational grants,
• 39:45the school is only allowed
• 39:46to provide one or two
• 39:47applicants.
• 39:49And so there's,
• 39:51often, like,
• 39:53I'd say a truncated version
• 39:54of your application that you
• 39:55submit internally,
• 39:56and
• 39:57then you, you hopefully get
• 39:59to move on to the
• 40:00the full application.
• 40:01And
• 40:02and that's something I just
• 40:03wanted to mention because I
• 40:04wasn't aware of that, before
• 40:06coming here.
• 40:07But,
• 40:08all to say, like, there
• 40:10there are many opportunities, and
• 40:11I think,
• 40:13my timeline was,
• 40:15to start,
• 40:16I would say around December.
• 40:17So four months after arriving,
• 40:20I I got into writing
• 40:22grants. And it's definitely a
• 40:23a,
• 40:24you know, momentum process where
• 40:26once you get used to
• 40:28writing, it becomes easier. But,
• 40:31yeah, I I think that
• 40:32there are plenty of, like,
• 40:34NIH level, but also, like,
• 40:36smaller foundational grants
• 40:37that you can
• 40:39shoot for in the first
• 40:39couple years.
• 40:42Andy, do you do you
• 40:42have any other comments on
• 40:44that? No. I think that's
• 40:45a that's a great,
• 40:47a great answer.
• 40:51Yeah.
• 40:52And and and, again, the
• 40:54grant writing process
• 40:56and
• 40:57thinking through how to craft
• 40:58your aims and things like
• 41:00that is things that people
• 41:01do with feedback from all
• 41:03of the different,
• 41:05levels of of mentors that
• 41:06we we,
• 41:08talked about before.
• 41:12Let's see.
• 41:15We
• 41:16a question about fully joint
• 41:18faculty appointments
• 41:22within the department,
• 41:24especially not within
• 41:26YSM, and when would be
• 41:27the right time to indicate
• 41:28this.
• 41:30I I think it
• 41:32there are such appointments.
• 41:34They're not
• 41:35incredibly common,
• 41:38and but that's not to
• 41:40say that it it couldn't
• 41:41happen.
• 41:42Typically,
• 41:44there'll be a conversation about
• 41:45what the goals are of
• 41:47the joint appointment.
• 41:48Is it to have access
• 41:49to certain,
• 41:51to certain students? Is it
• 41:53to interact with,
• 41:55other colleagues? And then we
• 41:57kind of determine based on
• 41:58the goals what's the best
• 41:59way to achieve,
• 42:01achieve those goals. I think,
• 42:04the right time to indicate
• 42:06that would probably be in
• 42:07your application,
• 42:10and so that we can,
• 42:12kind of
• 42:14have that in mind as
• 42:15we're reviewing,
• 42:18the the research direction and
• 42:19approaches.
• 42:24A question about whether preprints
• 42:25are considered during the selection
• 42:27process.
• 42:28The answer is yes.
• 42:29So if you think the
• 42:31most important work to,
• 42:33support your research proposal is
• 42:34at a preprint stage,
• 42:36please send that.
• 42:49And let's see. I'm skipping
• 42:51through a few just because
• 42:52I'm keeping an eye on
• 42:52the time.
• 42:55A question
• 42:56about where salary comes from.
• 42:58So that's always an important
• 42:59one.
• 43:01So,
• 43:03the question is given the
• 43:05Medical School Association of the
• 43:06posting, does salary
• 43:09come from faculty funding?
• 43:11And so
• 43:14the salary source changes over
• 43:15time as you establish your
• 43:17lab.
• 43:19So typically,
• 43:20as part of the startup
• 43:23package, the first three years
• 43:24of salary is
• 43:26fully
• 43:27supported by the university.
• 43:30After that,
• 43:32it goes to fifty percent
• 43:34support by
• 43:35the university,
• 43:37with the other fifty percent,
• 43:39coming from from grants.
• 43:41And then there's kind of
• 43:42a staged
• 43:44progression,
• 43:45after tenure,
• 43:48from from there. So there's
• 43:49not not one answer,
• 43:53but it's, again, a combination
• 43:55with varying,
• 43:57sources as you get, your
• 43:59lab more established. But
• 44:01at the point of starting
• 44:02your lab, salary is fully
• 44:04supported,
• 44:06by the School of Medicine.
• 44:13Okay. Here's a question.
• 44:17I won't answer it, but
• 44:18maybe these two can.
• 44:21What qualities have you found
• 44:23distinguished
• 44:24junior faculty who thrive
• 44:26in the microbial pathogenesis
• 44:28community at Yale?
• 44:36I I don't know how
• 44:37much I can give expert
• 44:38advice on this, but from
• 44:40what I've seen of people
• 44:41being successful early on in
• 44:43your career,
• 44:44I think having a strong
• 44:46sense of identity in your
• 44:47research program
• 44:49is really important. Like,
• 44:51you know, going after projects
• 44:53in a way
• 44:55that pays off
• 44:57tied to your identity
• 44:59of, like, you know, that
• 45:00will shape your lab in
• 45:02five years from now, like,
• 45:03matters a lot.
• 45:05And,
• 45:07I'd also say, like, the
• 45:08ability to pivot. Right? Because
• 45:10we know that research
• 45:12often
• 45:13involves failure and your ability
• 45:16to recognize
• 45:17if you're on the right
• 45:18path
• 45:19or if you need to,
• 45:20you know, change your approach
• 45:22or maybe a different project
• 45:23is, of course, really critical.
• 45:28Yeah. Maybe Walter can give
• 45:29his expert opinion.
• 45:34Yeah. Again, there are many
• 45:36different
• 45:38careers, and
• 45:39and
• 45:40we like to have an
• 45:41open mind that every person
• 45:44may develop differently.
• 45:47I think when you look
• 45:49at current
• 45:50members of the department, they
• 45:54have,
• 45:56committed
• 45:58to answering
• 45:59a certain discipline and not
• 46:01hop not not hopping around
• 46:03permanently, but
• 46:05commit to
• 46:06one or two questions and
• 46:09and
• 46:10and breakthrough
• 46:12difficult
• 46:14impasses
• 46:14and and succeed
• 46:16over the over the long
• 46:18time.
• 46:19I think this is
• 46:22I think it it is
• 46:23characteristic for us
• 46:25that we
• 46:27we
• 46:28because we are interested in
• 46:29a in a couple of
• 46:30questions, we
• 46:31develop a certain identity. So
• 46:33we're not we're not jumping
• 46:35around with techniques all the
• 46:37time, but we
• 46:38we are
• 46:39question
• 46:41oriented. I think is that
• 46:42fair to say?
• 46:44Right.
• 46:46I'm skipping around a bit
• 46:47more. One question is what's
• 46:49a particular strength of the
• 46:52department that makes it a
• 46:53distinctive place to do research?
• 46:55Maybe I'll start with
• 46:57with that.
• 46:58I think that
• 47:01the department has
• 47:04historically had
• 47:05a real strength
• 47:07in the cell biology
• 47:09of host microbe
• 47:11interaction. And in the last
• 47:13ten years, that's now expanded
• 47:17at multiple scales both to
• 47:19more broad
• 47:21interactions
• 47:21of,
• 47:22intermicrobial
• 47:23interactions
• 47:24and then also more focused,
• 47:26with with, real leaders in
• 47:29structural biology.
• 47:31The department is relatively
• 47:33small, and I think that's
• 47:34a strength as well.
• 47:37We tend to not have
• 47:38subcommittees
• 47:39within our department. We just
• 47:41everybody is on the committee.
• 47:43That's true for this search,
• 47:44As a matter of fact,
• 47:45that all faculty members
• 47:47all primary faculty in the
• 47:49department are members of our
• 47:50search committee. We don't subdivide
• 47:52that way.
• 47:54So I think that makes
• 47:55it,
• 47:57you know, very easy to
• 47:58get to know the faculty
• 48:00that are here, to interact
• 48:01with them,
• 48:03and is a spirit that
• 48:05will
• 48:06be very important to us
• 48:08as we as the department
• 48:09does start to grow, in
• 48:11in coming years.
• 48:18These are all very good
• 48:19questions. I feel like I've
• 48:20touched on many of them.
• 48:24There's a question about service.
• 48:26So that that's, you know,
• 48:27in what capacity would junior
• 48:28faculty be involved in in
• 48:30it says departmental service, but
• 48:32that could also extend,
• 48:33beyond.
• 48:35So I would say,
• 48:36faculty are are,
• 48:39junior faculty are are
• 48:41not typically involved in the
• 48:42larger
• 48:44service,
• 48:46parts of having a successful
• 48:48department.
• 48:49So for example, there are
• 48:51senior faculty who are part
• 48:52of biosafety committee or director
• 48:55of graduate studies,
• 48:58things like that,
• 48:59that would not be part
• 49:01of a junior faculty role.
• 49:03At the same time, I
• 49:04think junior faculty stage is
• 49:06a way to kind of
• 49:07tiptoe in to contributing to
• 49:10the department.
• 49:11So junior faculty, for example,
• 49:13serve on our seminar committee
• 49:15to help identify seminar speakers,
• 49:18organize
• 49:19our yearly retreat,
• 49:21for example.
• 49:24Katie's actually doing that this
• 49:25year.
• 49:26So,
• 49:29the
• 49:30the service,
• 49:31and there's also opportunities for,
• 49:33you know, broader service at
• 49:35the school of medicine
• 49:38in various ways, whether it's
• 49:40being part of a working
• 49:41group to explore a new
• 49:43topic area or a new
• 49:44potential
• 49:45center,
• 49:47at the university. There's faculty
• 49:48involved in that.
• 49:50But it's a it's a
• 49:52gradual thing. And, again, the
• 49:53primary focus of your first
• 49:55years as junior faculty,
• 49:58is the process of,
• 50:00establishing a research program
• 50:02and,
• 50:03growing your abilities as a
• 50:04trainer.
• 50:13Let's see.
• 50:17A question about how to
• 50:18meet new graduate students
• 50:21and whether graduate student rotations
• 50:24are assigned. So they're not
• 50:25assigned. The students,
• 50:27select rotations.
• 50:30Do either of you,
• 50:31Walter or Katie, wanna talk
• 50:32about how you actually would
• 50:34meet a potential graduate student
• 50:36who might be interested in
• 50:38during the lab or how
• 50:39they would find out about
• 50:40you?
• 50:44So I can tell you
• 50:45what I did last year,
• 50:46which is that I reached
• 50:47out to every graduate student
• 50:49who was a first year,
• 50:50and I said I'd be
• 50:51happy to meet with you
• 50:52about research and,
• 50:56talk about science. And,
• 50:59the feedback was good, and,
• 51:02it also let me know,
• 51:04like, the entire class, including
• 51:05people who were not interested
• 51:07in,
• 51:08bacteria or more virology people,
• 51:10which I thought was quite
• 51:11nice.
• 51:15I
• 51:16always involve
• 51:17people in the lab in
• 51:20in the recruitment in general,
• 51:21whether that is a postdoc.
• 51:24So the lab is involved,
• 51:25and
• 51:27very often, graduate students
• 51:30contact current graduate students in
• 51:32my lab first
• 51:33and talk to them.
• 51:36And then we
• 51:37we're working on many different
• 51:39things here. We're trying to
• 51:40find a match, the best
• 51:42match,
• 51:43in terms of projects
• 51:46and in terms of personalities
• 51:49or what
• 51:50so the graduate students,
• 51:53after meeting these people in
• 51:54the lab, also can
• 51:57just
• 51:58have have a say and
• 52:00assume they would like to
• 52:01work.
• 52:04Yes.
• 52:07Great.
• 52:10So, again, I'm trying to
• 52:12capture,
• 52:13in our last couple of
• 52:14minutes, sort of summarize
• 52:16questions a bit collectively.
• 52:19There's a question about the
• 52:20startup package,
• 52:22and whether there is one.
• 52:23And so the answer is
• 52:25is yes. That,
• 52:27the,
• 52:29offer will include,
• 52:31like I mentioned,
• 52:33the first,
• 52:35three years of salary in
• 52:37full.
• 52:38If you have other sources
• 52:39of salary,
• 52:41the offer doesn't decrease, so
• 52:43you can reallocate,
• 52:45what would have been,
• 52:47salary support to your research.
• 52:50And the general
• 52:52way we think about, startup
• 52:54packages is that it's,
• 52:57the funds to run your
• 52:58lab for three years. So,
• 53:01that typically includes, you know,
• 53:03thinking about,
• 53:04a progression of hiring postdocs
• 53:07and graduate students through those
• 53:08first three years,
• 53:11the, you know, equipment and
• 53:13supplies that are needed at
• 53:14that stage.
• 53:16And so
• 53:17that is something that's, again,
• 53:19a discussion that happens once
• 53:21we get further along.
• 53:23But there there is a
• 53:25start up package.
• 53:27This also brings me to
• 53:28questions about whether external funding,
• 53:31especially external salary support is
• 53:34required, and the answer is
• 53:35no.
• 53:37And
• 53:38it,
• 53:40to be frank, is is
• 53:41not a main factor when
• 53:42we evaluate,
• 53:44candidates.
• 53:46That said, if you are
• 53:47bringing external salary support,
• 53:50you can reallocate
• 53:53the funds that would have
• 53:54been salary support back into
• 53:56your research,
• 53:57research programs.
• 54:05So
• 54:10There's this question about ratio
• 54:12of students and postdocs. I
• 54:13think Yale is generally an
• 54:15institution that is postdoc heavy.
• 54:19But assistant
• 54:21professor,
• 54:22the the junior labs are
• 54:24very, very popular with students.
• 54:27So they they always like,
• 54:29Katie, you've just shown this.
• 54:33Very attract many students.
• 54:38A question about the symposium.
• 54:40I know that's a weird
• 54:41thing, so people certainly have
• 54:43questions. And and before we
• 54:44invite people or when we
• 54:45invite people to symposium, I
• 54:47provide a whole long email
• 54:49walking through what the day
• 54:50will be like so people
• 54:52know what to expect. But
• 54:53just, as an overview here,
• 54:56again, it's typically three or
• 54:58four candidates visiting at the
• 54:59same time, but the only
• 55:01part they're together is during
• 55:02their research talks.
• 55:04I typically ask candidates
• 55:06to save their questions for
• 55:08later in the day if
• 55:09they have questions about each
• 55:10other's research so that there's
• 55:11opportunities,
• 55:12for the search committee and
• 55:13students to ask questions.
• 55:16And then after that talk,
• 55:19after the the research,
• 55:21seminars,
• 55:22then again, there's one on
• 55:23one meetings
• 55:25with,
• 55:27students, with postdocs,
• 55:29with other Yale faculty whose
• 55:30research might be related to
• 55:33your research.
• 55:34Then the second day, we
• 55:36do individual
• 55:37chalk talks where, again, you
• 55:39meet individually with the search
• 55:41committee,
• 55:43to, in a more informal
• 55:44way, talk about,
• 55:45future research plans,
• 55:48both in the short and
• 55:49long term.
• 55:50So the whole thing is
• 55:51is is a a two
• 55:53day,
• 55:53event.
• 55:55And,
• 55:58again, we do have the
• 55:59opportunity to potentially hire multiple
• 56:01positions.
• 56:02So you aren't
• 56:03directly,
• 56:05necessarily competing for the same
• 56:07position with the other people
• 56:08who are at the same
• 56:10symposium.
• 56:15I don't think that I'm
• 56:16Go ahead. Oh, sorry. Just
• 56:17on the the no. No.
• 56:18No. On the symposium,
• 56:21I interviewed
• 56:22in many formats. I felt
• 56:24most comfortable in the symposium
• 56:26format.
• 56:27It allowed you to, like,
• 56:28have more downtime,
• 56:32over two days that you
• 56:33could, like, reenergize
• 56:34a little bit compared to,
• 56:36like, you know, something like
• 56:37an eight AM to, like,
• 56:38eight PM all day singular
• 56:40interview schedule.
• 56:43And
• 56:44I also thought it was
• 56:45really nice to meet other
• 56:46people who are on the
• 56:47job market and hear,
• 56:49you know, what they were
• 56:50talking about. So
• 56:52yes, it does feel competitive,
• 56:55but
• 56:56there's also just like an
• 56:58element of community to it
• 56:59that was nice.
• 57:05A question about grants administration.
• 57:07So
• 57:08the department has a dedicated
• 57:10business office,
• 57:12that includes people who are
• 57:14focused on
• 57:15we call pre award. So
• 57:17that's preparing and submitting the
• 57:18grants as well as post
• 57:19award, which is kind of
• 57:21managing the budget and and,
• 57:23sending in reports.
• 57:25So you would be assigned
• 57:26to both a pre award
• 57:27and a post award person
• 57:29who helps you
• 57:31with
• 57:32the proposal,
• 57:34identifying the components and submitting.
• 57:37So as a faculty member,
• 57:38we don't submit grants directly
• 57:40anywhere. We send them to
• 57:41our grants office, and then
• 57:43they're the ones who submit
• 57:44them.
• 57:45The business office doesn't focus
• 57:47on the science part of
• 57:49it. So that part of
• 57:51of, thinking through strategies of
• 57:53what to include in the
• 57:54various documents in a grant
• 57:55application,
• 57:58people within the department help
• 57:59each other.
• 58:00And for non NIH grants,
• 58:02there's also,
• 58:04a whole team at Yale
• 58:06that,
• 58:07helps with,
• 58:08scientific writing as well,
• 58:11that can be very, very
• 58:12useful.
• 58:16So we are running out
• 58:18of time. I know that
• 58:20I haven't answered everybody's questions,
• 58:22and I apologize for that.
• 58:24If you have a question
• 58:26that
• 58:27was not even partially covered,
• 58:29as I answered other questions,
• 58:31please send me an email.
• 58:33So my email is, andrew
• 58:35dot goodman at yale dot
• 58:36e d u,
• 58:38and I can help, answer
• 58:40that.
• 58:41And,
• 58:44Walter and Katie, any last
• 58:45words before we sign off?
• 58:50Happy to
• 58:52to respond to emails. Yeah.
• 58:54So
• 58:55Yes. Same, and good luck.
• 58:58Okay.
• 58:59Great. Well, with that, we'll
• 59:01sign off. Thank you again
• 59:02all for joining,
• 59:05and
• 59:06and,
• 59:07I hope that,
• 59:09the end of summer and
• 59:10fall,
• 59:11goes well for everybody. Take
• 59:12care.
• 59:13Bye. Bye. Bye bye.