MIT Department of Biology: Biology IAP Events



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	Biology IAP Seminars

More Biology IAP classes will be added as they are scheduled. Please check MIT's main IAP page for more information.

IAP 2010

A Sampling of Careers in Biology

A Sampling of Careers in Biology
Biology Department & Biology Graduate Students

MIT Biology is proud to present the IAP Program "Sampling of Careers in Biology". This program will cover non-traditional paths for Biology PhD's. Please join us at six exciting seminars featuring speakers who are at the top of these respective fields.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/biology/iap.html
Contact: Thomas Schwartz, 68-480, x2-3851, tus [at] mit.edu

Biotechnology
Nazneen Aziz, PhD, Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer, Vitrimark, Inc.
Tarik Soliman, PhD, Lab Head Process Sciences & Production, Novartis Biologics
Curtis Lockshin, PhD, Private Consultant, Member of the Board of Directors of
Winston Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sorrento, Therapeutics, Inc.
Rachel Meyers, PhD, Senior Director, RNAi Lead Development, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Peter Weigele, PhD, Staff Scientist, New England Biolabs

Join us for short talks and a question and answer session with scientists who have made the jump into industry at companies such as Novartis, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, New England Biolabs, and Vitrimark, Inc. What is it like? What’s the best place for you? Startups, medium biotech, or big pharma?

Thursday, January 7th, 2–3:30pm, 68-181

Careers in Law
Megan Gustafson, PhD, Science Advisor at Goodwin Proctor LLP
John Li, PhD, MBA, JD, Head of IP at Novartis Biologics
Gayathri Srinivasan, PhD, Licensing Officer at UMass Medical

What kinds of opportunities exist for PhDs in lawrelated professions? What are these careers like and are they right for you? Come hear from three PhD scientists who are bridging science and law through careers in a law firm, a biotechnology company, or an academic research center.

Friday, January 8th, 1–2:00pm, 68-181

Careers Outside the Box
Rocco Casagrande, PhD, Managing Director, Gryphon Scientific
Nina Dudnik, PhD, Founder and Executive Director, Seeding Labs
Connie Chow, PhD, First Executive Director, Science Club for Girls
Melina Fan, PhD, Executive Director of Addgene, Chief Scientific Officer of LabLife

Leverage your PhD to tackle exciting challenges that require thinking outside the box. Learn how a Biology Department graduate used his degree as a biological weapons inspector for the United Nations. Be inspired by a former biologist who started her own nonprofit to forward important advances in science development worldwide. Open your mind to creative career options that build on your experiences in the lab.

Friday, January 15th, 1–2:30pm, 68-181

Science Communication & Publishing
Brian Plosky, PhD, Editor, Molecular Cell
Angela Egglestron, PhD, Senior Editor, Nature
Lissa Harris, SM, Freelance Science Journalist
Emily Singer, MS, Biomedical Editor, MIT Technology Review

The future of science depends on dissemination of scientific knowledge, both within the scientific community and beyond it to larger society. Learn about publishing jobs at scientific journals and at publications for a broader audience. Learn what it’s like to be a science journalist. Come find out what skills you need for a career in science communications.

Thursday, January 21st, 2–3:30pm, 68-181

Science Education & Outreach
Susan Heilman, PhD, Museum of Science
Alice Rushforth, PhD, MIT Instructor for 7.02
Catherine Wolf, SM, High school teacher
Megan Rokop, PhD, Director of Broad Institute Education Outreach

Interested in teaching science without the bench work and grant writing that comes with a
professorship? Come learn about science education from teachers in the classroom and the community. Hear about teaching high school versus college.
Learn about doing educational outreach at a museum or an institute.

Tuesday, January 26th, 3:30–5:00pm, 68-181

Science Policy
Michal Ilana Freedhoff, PhD, Policy Director,
Office of Representative Edward Markey (D-MA)
Peter Frumhoff, PhD, Director of Science and Policy,
Chief Scientist, Climate Campaign, Union of Concerned Scientists
Daniel Gallahan, PhD, Deputy Director, Division of Cancer Biology,
National Cancer Institute, NIH
Kimberly Myers, PhD, Technology Program Manager,
National Cancer Institute, NIH

Major decisions are made in Washington, D.C. that affect our research budgets, health care, and the environment. As scientists we can get involved in the federal policymaking process and provide valuable scientific expertise and analysis to some of the biggest questions of our day. Come meet PhDs who make science and innovation policy on Capital Hill, implement policy at the National Institutes of Health, and advocate for science-based, responsible
policy at a nonprofit think tank.

Friday, January 29th, 1– 2:30pm, Whitehead Auditorium

Self-Assembling Biological Systems

Seminar Series on Self-Assembling Biological Systems
Prof. Thomas Schwartz

Self-Assembly of macromolecules, notably proteins, is of central importance for any living cell. These self-organized systems come in an astonishing number of flavors and many we are just beginning to appreciate. Technically often challenging to study, this series highlights some of the most recent findings from a broad spectrum of these systems.
Contact: Prof. Thomas Schwartz, 68-480, x2-3851, tus@mit.edu

Yeast Prions: Unexpected Biology and Surprising Structures
Susan Lindquist, Professor of Biology, HHMI Investigator, Whitehead Institute
Tuesday, January 19th, 11:00am–12:00pm, Broad Auditorium

The Structure of a Novel COPII Tubule
Scott Stagg, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida State University
Monday, January 25th, 11:00am–12:00pm, Broad Auditorium

Hexagonal Assemblies of the HIV-1 Capsid and its Restriction Factor, TRIM5alpha
Wes Sundquist, Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah
Tuesday, January 26th, 11:00am–12:00pm, Broad Auditorium

Follow Nature’s Lead: Designer Self-assembling Peptides
Shuguang Zhang, Associate Director, Center for Biomedical Engineering, MIT
Thursday, January 28th, 11:00am–12:00pm, Whitehead Auditorium

From Nuclear Pores to Biofilms–a Study of Biological Filters
Katharina Ribbeck, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Engineering, MIT
Friday, January 29th, 11:00am–12:00pm, Whitehead Auditorium

Taking the Next Step in Academic Science

Taking the Next Step in Academic Science
Biology Department & Biology Graduate Students

MIT Biology is also offering a selection of talks on the practice of science, navigating academia, and balancing it all with a life outside the lab.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/biology/iap.html

Finding a Postdoc
Angelika Amon, Professor of Biology, Investigator, HHMI
Dennis Kim, Assistant Professor of Biology
Christine Phillips, Graduate Student Drennan Lab

Are you interested in doing a postdoc? Want to learn about an industry postdoc? Come hear about the details of interview/application from professors and someone who just secured a post-doc position. Find out what makes a good postdoc candidate from a faculty perspective.

Mon Jan 11, 1:00 pm-2:30pm, Whitehead Auditorium

Family and Science
Mike Laub, MIT, Assistant Professor
Daniel Jarosz, Whitehead Institute, Post Doc
Nora Zizlsperger, MIT, Graduate Student
Cathy Drennan, MIT, Professor
Jana Koubova, Whitehead Institute, Post Doc

Join us for a discussion of the challenges of raising a family while pursuing a career in science.

Tue Jan 19, 02-03:30pm, 68-181

Finding a Faculty Position
David Page, Whitehead Institute, Professor
Iain Cheeseman, Whitehead Institute, Assistant Professor
Lars Dietrich, MIT, Post Doc with Faculty Position 6/2010

What do search committees look for? Where do you find information? What should you do at an interview? What are the pitfalls? Come find out from faculty at different career stages who have experienced all aspects of the process.

Wed Jan 20, 01-02:30pm, 68-181

Postdoc Bootcamp
Robin Baughman, On-campus Housing
Mandy Chan, HR Benefits
Linda Patton, Off-campus Housing
Debra Martin, Provost Office
Representative, Medical Department
Representative, Office of Sponsored Programs

Are you wondering what it means to be a postdoc at MIT? What benefits are you eligible for? What is your exact status and how does that impact your time here? These questions and more will be addressed by a panel of speakers focusing on issues for postdocs. If you've just come to MIT, be sure to come and get some facts.

Fri Jan 22, 01-02:30pm, 68-181

Repair of Basic Laboratory Equipment

Repair of Basic Laboratory Equipment
Charles Moses

Sponsored by Graduate Women in Science.--Engineer Charles Moses will conduct a course on repair of laboratory equipment, geared toward but not limited to beginners. Equipment will include: electrophoresis units, spectrophotometers, motors on shakers and centrifuges, etc. General topics will also include: assessing the tools required to disassemeble, fix and reassemble a piece of equipment; tool quality; and rational disassembly of equipment when the function of some component is not known. Bring broken equipment on which to practice. Session starts at 7:00 p.m. in Project Lab, Bldg 68.
Contact: Brenda Minesinger, 68-641, x3-4721, bminesin@mit.edu

Tue Jan 12, Thu Jan 14, 05-07:00pm, 68-077 (attend one session)

Writing and formatting your thesis: don't let WORD get you down

Writing and formatting your thesis: don't let WORD get you down
Lourdes Aleman

Enrollment limited: first come, first served
Single session event

Are you writing your thesis this year? This one-hour interactive tutorial led by a recent PhD graduate will illustrate some simple shortcuts you can take in Microsoft Word to make thesis formatting a breeze (automatically generating/updating table of contents, applying consistent formatting throughout the document, etc.), saving you many precious hours. Room where the workshop will be held has 20 PC's available on a first-come first-serve basis or you can bring your own laptop.
Contact: Lourdes Aleman, NE48-308, 715-5348, laleman@mit.edu
Cosponsor: Libraries

Wed Jan 13, 04-05:00pm, 14N-132 (DIRC)

Introduction to Quantitative Biology

Introduction to Quantitative Biology
Taught by Biology and Computational & Systems Biology Depts
Enrollment limited: advance sign up required (see contact below)
Limited to 30 participants.
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)

This class will introduce the use of mathematics, statistics and quantitative methods for data analysis in biological research.

No knowledge of programming required
Contact: Dr. Mandana Sassanfar, 68-270, x2-4371, mandana@mit.edu

Day 1: Biochemistry
Taught by Biology and Computational & Systems Biology Depts
Mon Jan 4, 09am-05:00pm, 46-3310

Day 2: Genetics
Taught by Biology and Computational & Systems Biology Depts
Tue Jan 5, 09am-05:00pm, 46-3310

Day 3: Computational Biology
Taught by Biology and Computational & Systems Biology Depts
Wed Jan 6, 09am-05:00pm, 46-3310

Day 4: Statistics
Taught by Biology and Computational & Systems Biology Depts
Thu Jan 7, 09am-05:00pm, 46-3310

Day 5: Protein Folding
Taught by Biology and Computational & Systems Biology Depts
Fri Jan 8, 09am-05:00pm, 46-3310

For Credit

7.391: Introduction to Molecular Biology Techniques

Dr. Mandana Sassanfar

Topics of current or special interest. This intensive "boot-camp" style course will provide hands-on instruction in basic molecular biological techniques including isoloation and quantification of nucleic acid and protein, agarose and SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis, PCR, microbiology, and bioinformatics. In addition students will learn more elaborate techniques such as ultracentrifugation and electron microscopy to purify and view virus particles. Emphasis will be on real-world application and experimentation in preparation for a more successful UROP experience.

Priority will be given to freshmen with no prior research experience. Interested students must fill out an application form (linked file) and email to Dr. Sassanfar. Deadline 12/11. You will be notified by 12/18 whether you are enrolled in the class.

Comments on the 2009 (anonymous) course evaluations :

" 7.391 is a crash course in what it means to be in a biology lab-the multi-tasking, the late nights, the repeated experiments, the inside jokes, the fellow lab-rats, and of course, the beauty of the results."

"7.391, while rigorous and challenging, rewarded me with a sense of security in the lab, and helped me better understand the mechanisms behind the theories we learn about in biology lectures."

"7.391 is a great interactive class that will challenge you and prepare you with lots of knowledge and experience in biolabs! You will enjoy the teamwork, the lab procedures, and most of all, seeing your experiments go successfully.


Contact: Dr. Mandana Sassanfar, 68-270A, x2-4371,
mandana [at] mit.edu
For credit: Level: 6 units Sponsor: Biology

Biology IAP activity

"For me, the course was integral in finding a UROP. Before the course, I interviewed with many labs who were discouraged by my lack of experience. However, after the course, researchers that I met were impressed by many of the techniques I had learned (for example, CsCl ultracentrifugation) and confident that I could work independently in their labs. When I started UROPing, I felt comfortable with a wide base of skills to use and improve. After the course I started working in Alexander Rich Lab. I currently study the effect of genotoxins on Z-DNA-forming promoter regions within the human genome. I am planning on majoring in 10B." — Zachary Waxman '11

A sampling of IAP 2009.

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