Title: Taking the Next Step: Career Options and Opportunities

The next Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS) on “Taking the Next Step: Career Options and Opportunities” will be held July 28-30, 2006 in Chantilly, Virginia.

Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Lana Skirboll
Associate Director
Office of Science Policy
National Institutes of Health

Program:
For the 2006 Program Sketch, click here.

View the Summer Symposium Photo Gallery:
What Happened | Who Was There

The theme of this year’s Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS) was “Taking the Next Step: Career Options and Opportunities.” This conference, the third in the series of “Taking the Next Step,” provided graduate and undergraduate students with information, insight and advice into the various pathways available to them upon obtaining a PhD. Participants took full advantage of numerous workshops, lectures, and presentations offered at the symposium, which was held July 28 to July 30, 2006 in Chantilly, Virginia.

The weekend opened with remarks from John Fitzgerald Gates, Associate Dean of Administration and Finance at Harvard University and Valerie Wilson, Executive Director of The Leadership Alliance. Mr. Gates welcomed students with his annual “roll call” of institutions represented through attending students. Dr. Wilson’s remarks urged students to make the most of the symposium and offered advice on how to meet new people and build a personal network.

The conference was the culmination of the summer research experience for 145 undergraduates participating in eight- to ten-week Summer Research-Early Identification Programs (SR-EIP) and 174 other undergraduates from similar programs based at 22 of the 31 Leadership Alliance member institutions. A full day was dedicated to oral presentations, as 204 students presented preliminary results of their research to peers, faculty, and representatives from the public and private sectors. The sessions were moderated by graduate students with similar areas of expertise. On the following day, 87 students participated in poster sessions.

The conference also hosted 48 graduate students, many of whom have advanced to candidacy and are preparing to make a transition into further academic training or careers. This symposium marked the third year that a comprehensive approach to the issues facing underrepresented emerging PhDs was incorporated as a key component in the program. The graduate student cohort was recruited from two groups of scholars: past participants of the SR-EIP and those completing their degree at a Leadership Alliance member institution.

Keynote speaker Lana Skirboll, Director of the Office of Science Policy at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), addressed the conferees on "Science Policy:  A Great Career Option!" Dr. Skirboll defined the role of a science policy analyst and the skills and characteristics of a successful analyst. She also described the mission and typical activities of an analyst in the NIH Office of Science Policy, and offered an overview of some of the "hot issues" her office is currently facing: biosecurity, stem cell research, human subjects protections and nanotechnology. Dr. Skirboll's presentation of the many career options available to PhDs in the policy arena was received with enthusiasm and many follow-up questions.

Reflecting the symposium’s aim to inform students about the myriads of options and opportunities available to them, the symposium offered a wide variety of workshops and discussions for both undergraduates and graduates. Throughout the weekend, panel discussions for undergraduates included comprehensive sessions about the application process, experiences and expectations of graduate school. Students could attend one of three information sessions on "The Graduate School Application Process" tailored to applying to either BioSciences and MD/PhD, Engineering and Physical Sciences, or Humanities and Social Sciences graduate programs. Undergraduates also had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion, “The Graduate School Experience,” which featured five current graduate students who spoke candidly about their academic experiences.

Dr. Gayle Slaughter, Assistant Dean of Graduate Education, Baylor College of Medicine, offered invaluable advice on “Preparing for the GRE” and distributed copies of the National Science Foundation publication she authored, "Beyond the Beakers: SMART Advice for Entering Graduate Programs in the Sciences and Engineering."

Graduate students benefited from highly informative and engaging sessions geared toward their specific areas of interest. Workshops included “Negotiation Skills” and “Completing Your Dissertation.” The panel discussion, “Life After Graduate School,” included four compelling postdoctoral speakers: Letise Houser, an NOAA Marine Policy Legislative Fellow; Sophia Suarez of the Naval Research Lab; Peter Velazquez of the Skirball Institute of BioMolecular Medicine; and Jude Onyi of Eli Lilly and Company.

In addition to these events, both undergraduate and graduate students had the opportunity to attend an information session on “Funding Your Education” and the alumni career panel on “What You Can Be With a PhD.” This latter discussion featured  Medeva Ghee, the newly appointed Assistant Director of The Leadership Alliance; Stephen Garcia of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan; UnJa Hayes, Associate Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Marquea King, Toxicologist at the Environmental Protection Agency; and Derek Musgrove, Policy Affairs Manager at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. The personal stories and lessons shared by the members of this alumni career panel engaged undergraduates, graduates, and other attendees alike.

On Sunday, the graduate school recruiting fair hosted representatives from 29 academic institutions, governmental agencies and private funders. These representatives provided information and networking opportunities for students interested in programs offered by those institutions.

For the community of young Alliance scholars, faculty, administrators, selected private sector representatives, federal officials and private individuals who were gathered together, LANS 2006 was a successful venue for sharing vast experiences and perspectives. The symposium accomplished its goal of providing insight into career options and opportunities for all who attended.

The Leadership Alliance National Symposium is generously supported by NIH grant T36 GM063480 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Minority Opportunities for Research Enhancement (MORE) Division.