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Dear Postdoctoral Community,
Thank you to everyone for making the annual spring postdoctoral awards ceremony a success. It was exciting to see so many attend and to celebrate the accomplishments of our postdoctoral community. Finally, congratulations to our award recipients!
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if I can be of assistance.
Best,
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C. André Christie-Mizell
Vice Provost for Graduate Education
Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Dean of the Graduate School
Centennial Professor of Sociology
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| | 2024 Postdoctoral Award Winners
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Congratulations to all of our 2024 Postdoctoral Award Recipients!
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| | Save the Date!2024 National Postdoc Appreciation Week
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| | More details on events for the week to come.
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The VPA is looking for current Vanderbilt Postdocs to serve as mentors for their new Postdoc BuddyProgram!
The goal of this program is to systematically match new, incoming postdocs with current Vandy postdocs based on multiple factors that the buddies deem fruitful for a match to help build a supportive, welcoming community! As a current postdoc, your insight about Nashville and Vanderbilt will serve as a key resource to those who are transitioning into new positions. Remember that one hour of support/advice from a peer is worth more than 100s of pages of Word documents with lists of resources!
This is an excellent way to gain mentorship and academic leadership experience. We encourage our buddies to meet at least once during the new postdoc’s transition to Vanderbilt (virtually or in-person at one of the VPA sponsored events!). Otherwise, the mentor buddy will serve as a point of contact for incoming postdocs for any informal questions, advice, and support! The VPA will check in with mentor buddies each quarter to give volunteers the opportunity to recommit to an additional semester.
To get started, please complete this quick survey located here.
The VPA team will notify you as soon as possible, when you have been matched with an incoming postdoc!
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| Last Chance!Fill out the 2024 VPA Postdoc Experience Survey!
The Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association is collecting data on the postdoc experience (including personal and professional demographics, and event and communications preferences) to help improve advocacy, resource availability, and programming for our community.
We are so grateful to everyone who has already filled out this year’s survey. We are hovering at around 15% response rate for our community and we would like to give everyone one last opportunity to respond. Please fill out this 5-10 minute survey to share your experience. You only need to fill out this survey once, so please ignore this request if you have already filled it out (thank you again for your help!).
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Graduate and Postdoc Academic SuccessThe Graduate & Postdoc Academic Success (GPAS) are here to support graduate students and postdocs with anything that keeps them from doing their best academic work. They provide strategies to address concerns around progress and productivity, as well as, navigating academic relationships. They address your needs through 1-on-1 consultations and success planning sessions. Additionally, both of their staff members are Gallup-Certified Strength Coaches and able to give you access to the CliftonStrengths Assessment to help you accomplish your best work utilizing an authentic approach to who you are and how you show up. If you are interested in meeting with one of the staff members, you can schedule an appointment here. If you ever feel like you are “stuck” in your writing and/or research, we hope that you will reach out and connect with them.
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| | Effective Mentoring Strategies for Postdocs
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Career CenterThe Career Center supports VU postdocs with the non-academic career exploration and planning of postdoctoral fellows in STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences disciplines. At the Career Center, students and postdoctoral fellows learn and explore professional opportunities through internships, career coaching, workshops, career panels, on-campus recruiting, job fairs, and industry-based treks. Currently, Jessica Abner, PhD and Whitney Taylor, PhD serve as the Senior Career Coaches for the postdoctoral population. If you're interested in taking advantage of any of their services, please check out their website for more information and to make an appointment. Additionally, you can attend some of their upcoming events listed on Handshake.
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BRET Office of Career Development ASPIRE Program The BRET Office Career Development ASPIRE Program provides career and professional development services and enrichment activities for PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in the biomedical sciences at VU and VUMC.
Upcoming Events Hosted by the BRET Office of Career Development:
CV/Resumé Drop-In Clinics
Tuesday, June 11 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Light Hall 340
Tuesday, June 18 | 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Light Hall 340
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| The Margaret Cuninggim Women's Center is an on-campus office and resource to help celebrate and empower women in both their professional and personal aspirations, helping to boast their overall lives as they navigate through their time at Vanderbilt University. You can read more about the Women's Center on their website and by attending some of their upcoming events posted on their website and in their monthly newsletters.
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| Now Leasing: The Broadview at Vanderbilt
The Broadview at Vanderbilt's ideal location on Broadway and 20th Avenue in midtown Nashville puts you just 2 blocks from the Vanderbilt campus and half a mile from VUMC, making your commute a breeze!
The Broadview offers brand-new studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment. Each home is outfitted with upscale features and finishes including a fully equipped kitchen, stainless steel appliances, wood-style flooring, in-unit washer/dryer, and private bedrooms and bathrooms.
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| Connect with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA)
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| Connect with the Vanderbilt Postdoc Association (VPA)
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| Postdoc Spotlight: Daniel Chavarria, Ph.D.
Daniel Chavarria is a postdoc in the Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering department within the School of Engineering. In his postdoctoral role, Daniel works to create high-fidelity neurovascular in vitro models of the neurovasculature to study the effects of type 2 diabetes on Alzheimer’s disease development. Daniel's work stems from his experiences in his childhood and wanting to better understand how these diseases are formed in the first place to help better understand treatment options, preventative care, and so forth. Read more about his work and his service in the community in our June postdoc feature here.
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SAVE THE DATE!
VPA 2024 Symposium
Mark it in your calendars! This year, the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association's Symposium will be held in the Student Life Center on Monday, October 14.
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proteintech Best Mentor Award 2024
What is a better way to show your appreciation for a great mentor in your life than to nominate them to win the title of the Best Postdoc Mentor Award 2024?
Submit a 200 (max) word nomination today sharing with us why your mentor stands out of the crowd, has been meaningful in your life, or has made a difference in your lab/situation.
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The Career Center is proud to present their free, self-service photo booth. Just step inside, pose, and share!
Located in the Student Life Center, this resource is free and available to the entire Vanderbilt community. The photo booth is available for use anytime the Student Life Center is open. Check out this flyer for more details!
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National Postdoc Association
NPA SmartSkills: Managing Yourself and Others - A Leadership Crash Course
In this session, James Gould, Ph.D., will discuss how postdocs thrive in a highly diverse and competitive research landscape. To successfully navigate their career paths, trainees must be agile communicators, time/resource managers, and interpersonal relationship gurus. This workshop will provide insights on productively dealing with workplace challenges as well as learning how to manage themselves and others. Register here for the June 25 virtual course.
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| Join VPA Slack Channel!
The VPA is revamping the VandyPostdocs Slack channel to foster a vibrant postdoctoral community, with dedicated channels for all general announcements, calendar events for all postdoc-related activities, job postings, social events (both formal and informal), and discussion about anything and everything!
*Must re-signup even if you have previously signed into the former Slack because this is a brand new channel!
How to sign into VandyPostdocs Slack:
- Visit the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Associatiion website.
- Click the link at the bottom (vandypostdocs.slack.com).
- Sign up with your VU or VUMC email.
- Launch Slack in your browser or download the app.
Then you should be all set! Feel free to post a message in any of the channels or request to start a new channel based on an interest you may have.
Important Note:
Must be signed in with VU/VUMC email to access VandyPostdocs Slack workspace.
Explore the VandyPostdocs Slack Channel today and connect with your fellow postdocs. For any assistance, contact the OPA (opa@vanderbilt.edu) or the VPA Community Building Co-Chairs (jayden.lee@vumc.org or yasmina.mekki@vumc.org). Let's build a stronger, more connected postdoc community together!
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| Employee Affinity Groups
Employee Affinity Groups (EAGs) are open to all Vanderbilt employees, regardless of identity. Staff, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars who identify as part of or have a close affinity to these groups are encouraged to attend. You can learn more about which group you identify most with from our options below:
Association of Vanderbilt Black Faculty and Staff (AVBFS)
Women & Working Moms
To learn more about Employee Affinity Groups or to join, visit the EAG website.
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| Nature Masterclass
Nature Masterclasses are developed by Nature Research and provide professional development training for researchers by drawing on the expertise of Nature Research journal editors and experts. Faculty, staff, postdocs, and students of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are free to sign up at https://masterclasses.nature.com/.
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