2023 Events

Postdoc Holiday Party - OPF & HMPA
4:00pm to 6:00pm | Location: Waterhouse Room
Join us as we gather to close out the year
Enjoy light refreshments, crafts, a hot cocoa bar and a gift raffle
Sponsored by the Harvard Medical Postdoc Association (HMPA), DF/HCC PATHFINDER, and the HMS OPF

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR): Collaborative Research
Wednesday, December 13, 2023,
Register: Harvard Training Portal | Course Info
SESSION DESCRIPTION:  NIH is placing new emphasis on promoting greater collaboration across research disciplines in hopes of productively translating different kinds of scientific expertise and knowledge into socially useful end-products. This ultimate emphasis on communal utility reminds us that publicly funded research that is sponsored by taxpayer contributions is meant to lead to something much larger than our own job security.

Postdoc Coffee House
Location: OPF Office, Gordon Hall 006, 25 Shattuck Street, HMS
Please join us for our monthly Postdoc Coffee House (This is an in-person event, masks are optional.)
Enjoy fresh coffee and pastries, while they last, and meet with other postdocs.

Effective Scientific Presentations
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Workshop Description: Learn about the content and delivery of a research presentation: how to plan, organize and deliver a research talk that is both informative and interesting to the audience. The class addresses how adults learn, parts of a talk, and how speaking differs from writing, and how to use audiovisual aids to enhance your  message. Finally, we cover how to deal with nervousness and conduct an effective question and answer session.
Speaker: Dr. Donna Vogel

HBPA Third Annual Symposium
Friday, December 8, 2023, 9:00am to 5:00pm
Location: In Person - Waterhouse Room
Poster Session: 9:00 - 10:00am
Symposium Program: 10:00am - 5:00pm (lunch included for pre-registered attendees)
Link to HBPA website, symposium poster and QR code: https://www.hbpa.hms.harvard.edu/

Is it time to abolish the postdoc? Evolving researcher success based on lessons learned
Date: Thursday, December 7, 2023, 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Location: Cannon Room
Speaker: Gary McDowell, PhD, Founder Lightoller LLC
Workshop Description: There have been a number of recent conversations about the nature of the postdoc, combined with concerns about declining interest in and applications for positions. Dr. Gary McDowell will talk about his experience and research about postdocs over the last decade, and make the case for why it might be time to abandon the "postdoc experiment" and look for new ways forward to support research and scientists for a sustainable scientific enterprise.

ISSC: Harnessing the Power of Photoshop
Date: Monday, December 4, 2023
Featuring: Beth Beighlie, Digital Imaging Coordinator, HMS IT
Description: Learn to create and use actions and droplets to minimize repetitive tasks. Find out how you can easily create actions and droplets to batch process images.
This workshop is part of the Imaging Solutions for Scientific Communication (ISSC) lunchtime series, all workshops are online and run from 12-1pm

Crafting Your CV and Resume
Date: Monday, December 4, 2023, 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Facilitator: James Gould, PhD, Director, HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Workshop Description: This workshop takes a ‘flipped classroom’ approach so please view this linked video t.ly/B6m6 before attending and bring your relevant questions for an interactive discussion of CV/Resume struggles and strategies.
A CV/resume provides the first impression of a candidate to a potential employer. The content of your document should quickly grab the reader's interest, and the format must deliver information clearly and concisely. To make it even more challenging, you need to summarize the highlights of your career in just a few pages. This interactive workshop will cover the basics of crafting your CV and tips for tailoring your Resume to specific job opportunities. THIS workshop is focused on materials for the all relevant job searches.

Career Clinic: Successful Interview Prep Strategies
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023, 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Facilitator: James Gould, PhD, Director, HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Workshop Description: Please note, Career Clinics are interactive workshops and registrants are expected to prepare assignments in advance and turn cameras on during the workshop.
Every postdoc could benefit from interview prep as they move forward in their job search. A critical part of job hunting is convincing others, and sometimes yourself, that you are capable of performing successfully. By focusing on self-awareness, this workshop will cover common struggles and effective strategies for preparing to successfully interview. 

Postdoc Coffee House
Location: OPF Office, Gordon Hall 006, 25 Shattuck Street, HMS
Please join us for our monthly Postdoc Coffee House (This is an in-person event, masks are optional.)
Enjoy fresh coffee and pastries, while they last, and meet with other postdocs.
Feel free to just stop by and say hi, or take the opportunity to learn more about the office and opportunities available for postdocs.

Highlights of Writing for Publication
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Workshop Description: You’re expected to publish - but have you learned how? This class focuses on planning a paper, presenting your data, and principles of effective scientific writing. We will learn about the “anatomy and physiology” of a research paper: the content and purpose of each section - the Abstract, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results and Discussion, with common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Donna Vogel

Drawing Tools and Illustration Features of PowerPoint
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Description: Uncover the secrets of PowerPoint’s sophisticated drawing tools. Discover how to draw complex shapes, edit Bezier curves, output high-resolution images, create pdf files & prepare complex images for journals.
Download seminar handouts at: http://goo.gl/YP8J3c
This workshop is part of the Imaging Solutions for Scientific Communication (ISSC) lunchtime series, all workshops are online and run from 12-1pm

Writing for Publication Bootcamp
Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Countway Library, 5th Fl., Lahey Room, 10 Shattuck Street OR 695 Huntington Ave., Boston
Facilitator: Kathy Brenner, Writing Consultant, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Description: Writing a manuscript for journal publication is a daunting task. Because language matters, using correct grammar, appropriate vocabulary, and complex sentence structures can be mystifying. Many postdoctoral fellows recognize that this writing genre can be an isolating event and that lack of motivation and/or procrastination can affect outcomes. To counteract these hurdles, the HMS Office of Postdoctoral Fellows is offering a half-day writing boot camp to help you make progress on your research manuscript while sharing a safe and quiet space with the support of your peers and a professional writing consultant.
Our writing consultant, Kathy Brenner, will be on site and available to work individually with participants by answering questions and assisting you with writing conventions, strategies, and techniques that will support the linguistic and structural underpinnings of the manuscript content.

Crafting Your CV and Resume
Date: Monday, November 6, 2023, 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Facilitator: James Gould, PhD, Director, HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Workshop Description: This workshop takes a ‘flipped classroom’ approach so please view this linked video t.ly/B6m6 before attending and bring your relevant questions for an interactive discussion of CV/Resume struggles and strategies.
A CV/resume provides the first impression of a candidate to a potential employer. The content of your document should quickly grab the reader's interest, and the format must deliver information clearly and concisely. To make it even more challenging, you need to summarize the highlights of your career in just a few pages. This interactive workshop will cover the basics of crafting your CV and tips for tailoring your Resume to specific job opportunities. THIS workshop is focused on materials for the all relevant job searches.

ISSC: Poster Making for Large Format Printers
Date: Tuesday, October 31, 2023, 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Featuring: Beth Beighlie, Digital Imaging Coordinator, HMS IT
Description: Develop proper techniques for an efficient & pain-free way to construct posters. Maximize your message with images, illustrations & text by using PowerPoint & Photoshop to create large format documents that print properly.
Download seminar handouts at: http://goo.gl/YP8J3c
This workshop is part of the Imaging Solutions for Scientific Communication (ISSC) lunchtime series, all workshops are online and run from 12-1pm
Addtional ISSC workshops:

Academic Job Search Series: Faculty Perspective Panel
Date: Friday, October 27, 2023, 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Location: TMEC Amphitheater OR via Zoom
Description: Being a successful job candidate requires not only skills and knowledge, but also careful preparation. Faculty panelists will give a brief overview of their own professional job search, and will lead an open question and answer session.
Come hear from our faculty panelists as they discuss:
- How and where to learn about open positions
- Interviewing for a position and job talk essentials
- What to include in the cover letter, CV, and teaching and research statements
- Managing the job search, application, and interview process
- Negotiating offers and starting up a lab
Refreshments will be provided to in-person attendees
Faculty Panelists:
Johannes Walter, PhD, Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
Carlos Ponce, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Josefina del Mármol, PhD, Assistant Professor, Freeman Hrabowski Scholar, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
Silvi Rouskin, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School

Postdoc Movie Night: Hocus Pocus 2
Date: Thursday, October 26 | 6:00pm to 8:30pm
Location: Cannon Room, Building C, 240 Longwood Ave.
This event is co-sponsered by the Harvard Medical Postdoc Association (HMPA) and the OPF
Postdoc Movie Night is a fun social event, movie snacks will be provided.
Please bring your Harvard ID (HUID) or Hospital ID to gain admittance to HMS buildings.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR): Resilience and Inclusion in Academic Research
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 2:00pm to 3:30pm
SESSION DESCRIPTION: In the wake of a social and cultural reckoning, science and scientists are not only changing, they must be agents of change. The responsible conduct of research as well as its namesake course must account for the diversity, and the historic lack thereof, within the research community by addressing a culture of inclusivity, justice, and equity through resilience. Resilience is among the greatest superpowers we can possess. It is versatile and can be used in various capacities, it can even act as an amplifier and elevate our other strengths. One of the beauties of resiliency is that it can also be loaned out, deposited into others, or it can be pooled together as a collective resource.

The Individual Development Plan
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 12:00pm to 1:30pm
Featuring: James Gould, PhD, Director, HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Description: The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a mentoring tool that links research goals with career development and progress towards independence. It is meant to foster an ongoing and recurring discussion that involves evaluation, goal setting and feedback with input from both postdoc and faculty mentor. The NIH encourages trainees to make Individualized Development Plans to help them prepare for academic and nonacademic careers. This interactive workshop unpacks the IDP framework while helping postdocs to prepare a working draft of the IDP that addresses research, professional progress, and implementation.

Career Clinic: Statements of Teaching Philosophy
Date: Thursday, October 19, 2023, 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Facilitator: James Gould, PhD, Director, HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Workshop Description: Career Clinics are interactive workshops and registrants are expected to prepare assignments in advance and turn cameras on during the workshop.
Writing the teaching statement can be one of the most esoteric exercises in putting together the academic job package. While less philosophical and more practical, the challenge is to communicate a tangible evidence-based teaching approach in just a single page. This interactive workshop will use peer review and critique to hone your teaching statement for submission. This workshop is focused on statements of teaching philosophy for the academic job search.

Social Intelligence for Scientists
Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Location: Countway Library, 5th Fl.,
Featuring: Sabrina Woods, Holistic Career Coach & LinkedIn Trainer
Workshop Description: Refreshments will be provided
Through this session you will use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to enhance your internal and external communication and workplace effectiveness. The MBTI is a powerful personality assessment tool to help individuals enhance social intelligence in work and in life. Through this tool you can gain self-awareness including a better understanding of your unique strengths and potential areas of growth, as well as how personality differences can impact the way you work. In this highly engaging and eye-opening workshop you will:
Learn what your Myers-Briggs type is and what that means for you especially related to your work
•    Gain heightened awareness of your own work style and preferred ways of working with others
•    Increase understanding about how you prefer to receive information and make decisions
•    Recognize normal personality differences and develop flexibility during workplace interactions to work more effectively with coworkers and supervisors
•    Understand how personality type impacts communication, collaboration and conflict
•    Learn how to get your own work-related needs met by adapting your style to different situations and circumstances
During the session you will confirm your preferences to determine your 4-letter MBTI type and learn more about the tool through exercises and case studies.

Postdoc Coffee House
Date: Wednesday, October 18 | 9:30am to 10:30am
Location: OPF Office, Gordon Hall 006
Please join us for our monthly Postdoc Coffee House (This is an in-person event, masks are optional.)
Enjoy fresh coffee and pastries, while they last, and meet with other postdocs.
Feel free to just stop by and say hi, or take the opportunity to learn more about the office and opportunities available for postdocs.

Writing Clearly and Effectively for Publication
Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Location: In Person - Waterhouse Room, Gordon Hall 106
Description: Come join our writing consultant, Kathy Brenner, for a deep dive into the specific writing components (grammar, vocabulary, structures, accuracy) of the Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Abstract (IMRaD) sections for journal publication. We will also discuss the responsibilities of the first author along with journal selection and submission. Additionally, we will review the western writing process, brainstorming techniques, and organization of materials. For this writing genre, relevant writing conventions and strategies will be covered. Handouts and website links will be shared with participants.
Featured Speaker: Kathy L. Brenner, Writing Consultant, Harvard Chan School of Public Health

ISSC: Figures for Journals
Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Featuring: Beth Beighlie, Digital Imaging Coordinator, HMS IT
Description: Efficiency & reliability: easily prepare figures for scientific journals with familiar tools & a foolproof workflow that eliminates any chance of rejection for guideline violations.
Download seminar handouts at: http://goo.gl/YP8J3c
This workshop is part of the Imaging Solutions for Scientific Communication (ISSC) lunchtime series, all workshops are online and run from 12-1pm

Responsible Conduct of Research: Mentorship
Date: Wednesday, October 4, 2023, 12:00pm to 1:30pm
SESSION DESCRIPTION:  What qualities make for a “good” mentor? What qualities make for a “good” trainee? What are the appropriate expectations we should place on each participant to the relationship? All of us involved in the academic life sciences community ought to reflect seriously on these questions.
Facilitators: Willy Lensch, PhD, Associate Provost for Research, Harvard University

Crafting Your CV and Resume
Date: Monday, October 2, 2023, 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Facilitator: James Gould, PhD, Director, HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Workshop Description: This workshop takes a ‘flipped classroom’ approach so please view this linked video t.ly/B6m6 before attending and bring your relevant questions for an interactive discussion of CV/Resume struggles and strategies.
A CV/resume provides the first impression of a candidate to a potential employer. The content of your document should quickly grab the reader's interest, and the format must deliver information clearly and concisely. To make it even more challenging, you need to summarize the highlights of your career in just a few pages. This interactive workshop will cover the basics of crafting your CV and tips for tailoring your Resume to specific job opportunities. THIS workshop is focused on materials for the all relevant job searches.

Book Launch Party: "Making the Most of the Postdoc"
Date: Thursday, September 28, 2023, 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: In Person - Countway Library, Minot Roomn
Join us to celebrate the release of the OPF Director's book Making the Most of the Postdoc: Strategically Advancing Your Early Career
Author Jim Gould, PhD will be on hand to offer some remarks, raffle off copies of the book, and sign copies.
Introduction by: Rafael E. Luna, Head of Biomedical Education & Innovation, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR)

Scientific Communication: IMRaD for Publication
Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023, 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Location: Cannon Room, Building C
Workshop Description: Good writing is the most difficult skill to master. Moreover, the specific genre of writing for journal publication can be a daunting task for both native and non-native speakers of English. This workshop will venture inside the IMRaD+Abstract template for a more thorough understanding of its section components and the responsibilities of the writer. Pre-writing issues of authorship and journal selection will be briefly discussed as well as some specific writing conventions particular to journal publication. Please join us as we make this writing task a little less daunting.
Workshop Facilitator: Kathy L. Brenner, Writing Consultant, Harvard Chan School of Public Health

Career Clinic: Research Statements for the Academic Job Search
Date: Thursday, September 21, 2023, 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Facilitator: James Gould, PhD, Director, HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows
Research Proposals & Statements Description: Career Clinics are interactive workshops and registrants are expected to prepare assignments in advance and turn cameras on during the workshop.
Writing the research proposal is one of the most in depth exercises in putting together the academic job package. While constructing the intellectual framework of your lab for the next several years, you have to convey a feasible, fundable, and future-focused research program in just a few pages. This interactive workshop will use peer review and critique to hone your research proposals for submission. Participants are expected to have a working draft.

ISSC: Imaging Essentials
Date: Thursday, September 21, 2023, 12:40pm to 1:00pm
Featuring: Beth Beighlie, Digital Imaging Coordinator, HMS IT
Description: Master the basics of identifying & editing raster, bitmap, pixel-based photos & vector objects. Determine correct file compression, color mode & bit depth options. Learn important fundamentals of image preparation. Understand how to prep images in one application for use in other applications. Become skilled at determining correct resolution & output strategies.
Download seminar handouts at: http://goo.gl/YP8J3c
This workshop is part of the Imaging Solutions for Scientific Communication (ISSC) lunchtime series, all workshops are online and run from 12-1pm