Science Stories

STEM Peers 2017

July 27, 2017

STEM Peers 2017- Connecting Scientists

1st Annual Symposium on PhD Career Advancements

Organized by Career Support Group for STEM PhDs (PhD CSG)

•September 23, 2017 • Boston, MA •

Venue: Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA 02143 (Driving Directions)

We're chuffed to be featured on @nbcboston's Guide to #NewEngland breweries-what an awesome community! https://t.co/DrE9pCZCor @NBCBostonRob

— Aeronaut Brewing Co. (@AeronautBrewing) June 25, 2017

Symposium Co-chairs
Syam Anand (Founder Mainline IP and Secretary, PhDCSG)
Ranjith Anand (Gingko Bioworks, Boston)

Symposium Organizers
Ananda Ghosh (Founder, PhDCSG)
Abhinav Dey (Co-founder, PhDCSG)

LIST of Participants

Participant Name	Institution
Abhi Dey	EmoryUniversity
Abhishek Das	Palleon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Adwait Godbole	The Scripps Research Institute, Florida
Aishwarya Swaminathan	University of Massachusetts Medical School
Ajit Kamath	Boston University
Ambily Abraham	UMass medical school
Ambrish Roy	Vertex Pharma
Amritraj Patra	Vanderbilt University
Ana Batista	CellPress
Ananda Ghosh	New York University
Anandaroop Dasgupta	SmartAnalyst Inc.
Anisha Zaveri	Weill Cornell Medicine
Anita Chavan	Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Anshu Malhotra	Emory University
Arun K Rooj	Brigham and Women’s Hospital, HMS
Arvind Panday	Harvard Medical School
Aswin Garimalla	Research Foundation City University of New York
Ayyappan Subbiah	Sevengenes Inc.
Banishree Saha	UMASS Amherst
Benjamin Gabriel	University of Rhode Island
Bhanvi Mishra	New York Medical College
Chakravarthi Venkata Srinivasa	University of Alabama at Birmingham
Chang Liu	Brandeis University
Christopher Link	Eton Bioscience
Colleen Brady	CellPress
Cong Huang	Massachusetts General Hispital-Harvard Medical School
Danika Khong	Scismic LLC
David Waterman	Brandeis University
Deepti Gadi	Massachusetts General Hispital-Harvard Medical School
Devasena Ponnalagu	Drexel University
Dolonchapa Chakraborty	BenchSci
Elizabeth Wu	Scismic LLC
Eugenia Rojas
Ganapathy Subramanian Sankaran	UMass medical school
Gargi Chaudhuri	Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Gaurav Jain	New York University
Giang Nguyen	Tufts University School of Medicine
Gyanendra Kumar	St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Harish Ramamurthi	Oracle
Harpreet Singh	Drexel University
Hema Chug	Boston Children’s Hospital
Ilan Shanmugam	Boston University
Ishita Banerjee	UConn Health
Jagan Srinivasan	Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Jayeeta Sen	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
K Kannan	Takeda
Kiran Gireesan	Yale University
Kirk Haltaufderhyde	University of Rhode Island
Krutika Bavishi	Weill Cornell Medical College
Kumaraguru Raja	Research Analyst
Kushagra Bansal	Harvard Medical School
Manju Mummadisetti	Rutgers University
Mishtu Dey	University of Iowa
Muthu Dhandapani	Mitra Biotech
Nandhu Mohan Sobhana	SUNY Upstate Medical University
Nandini Mani	Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Nazish Abdullah	Weill Cornell Medical College
Neha Deshpande	Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Schepens Eye Research Inst/Dept. of Opthalmology HMS
Neha Diwanji	University of Massachusetts Medical School
Nick Deal	Stratacuity
Nikhil Gupta	New York University
Ola Soderquist	Sevengenes, Inc
Onkar Bhardwaj	Akamai Technologies
Pallab Ghosh	Harvard Medical School
Pooja Gudibanda	Cornell University
Prabuddha Dey	Rutgers University
Prajna Behera	Rutgers University
Prasad Subramaniam	Rutgers University
Praveen Anand	Harvard University
Priya	Free university and MPIKG Berlin, Germany
Radha Mukherjee	Weill Cornell Medicine
Radhika Raheja	Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Rahul Chib	Rutgers University
Rajat Kumar Pal	CUNY
Rajeshkumar Prakash	Biogen
Ranjith Anand	Gingko Bioworks
Rati Sharma	Harvard Medical School
Richa Jaiswal	Lake Pharma
Rohit Arora	Harvard University
Ruby	Tufts University
Sahana Bhattacharya	CUNY
Samik Chakraborty	Boston Children’s Hospital
Sanjay K Bharti	University of Virginia
Sankalp Gupta	New York University
Sarojini Adusumilli	Arizona Technology Enterprises
Saurabh Khasnavis	Harvard Medical School
Sayantan Chakraborty	NIH
Scott Eastman	Eli Lilly
Shiteshu Shrimal	UMass Medical School
Shreyas Gokhale	MIT
Shreyas Jadhav	Research Scientist
Shruti Gupta	New York University
Shyamtanu Datta	UT Southwestern Medical Center
Siddheshwari Advani	UMass Amherst
Simon Mongtrison	Berklee College of Music, NY
Smita Salian-Mehta	Abbvie
Srinivasan Parthiban	Vingyani
Subhalaxmi (Subbu) Nambi	University of Massachusetts Medical School
Sujatha Koduvayur
Sujay Ramanathan	Drexel University
Sumit Rai	MGH
Susannah	Brandeis University
Susi Macdonald	Stratacuity
Sutirtha Datta	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Syam Prasad Anand	Mainline IP
Thirupathi Barla	Harvard University
Tribhuwan yadav	Harvard Medical School – Massachusetts General Hospital
Tuhin Das	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Vidhi Deepak Thakkar	Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University
Vinay Eapen	Harvard Medical School
Vladimir Botchkarev	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Xiangmin Lv	Harvard Medical School – Massachusetts General Hospital
Zachary Knecht	Brandeis University

At the registration desk

(Connecting the DOTS) to help all those who fear networking and break the ice during their initial interactions. At the registration desk you will get a registration pack that will have your 1. Name Tag, 2. Lunch Ticket, 3. Breakfast ticket, and 4. Networking Stickers (Color coded). Choose the sticker/stickers which can provide maximum benefit to you and others at the meeting, and place it on your name tag. You can seek help and be a mentor in several other ways so wear the color with pride and humility.

Program Schedule

8am-9am Arrival and Registration

Welcome Note: Abhinav Dey
Introductory Note: Ananda Ghosh
Keynote Introduction: Ranjith Anand

9:30am-10am Keynote Lecture
Melina Fan (Co-founder/CSO Addgene)

Addgene is a nonprofit helping scientists share more materials, data, info. Here's us! Learn more https://t.co/VAVfUe67Ze and pass it on! pic.twitter.com/9YBhWjqcX7

— Addgene (@Addgene) July 21, 2017

10am-10:30am Panel Discussion on Industry Research Careers
Session Chair: Ranjith Anand (Gingko Bioworks)
Panelists: Smita Salian-Mehta (Abbvie), Ambrish Roy (Vertex),
Richa Jaiswal (LakePharma)

10:30am-10:40am Grant Writing as a Postdoc: Vinay Eapen (Jane Coffin Childs Fellow, HMS)

10:40am-11:10am Panel Discussion on Academic Career Development
Session Chair: Nikhil Gupta (NYU)
Panelists: Mishtu Dey (University of Iowa), Jagan Srinivasan (WPI), Harpreet Singh (Drexel)

11:10am-11:30am Recruiter’s Perspective
Nick Deal (Stratacuity)

11:30am-12pm Panel Discussion on Careers in the Business of Science
Session Chair: Syam Anand (Founder Mainline IP)
Panelists: Ragoo Raghunathan (Metabolon), Subhalaxmi Nambi (UMass),
Rajnish Kaushik (UMass), Ananda Ghosh (NYU)

12pm-1pm Lunch Break with Musical Performance by IMON

1pm-1:45pm Panel Discussion on Science Communication and Management Careers
Session Chair: Abhi Dey (Co-Founder, ClubSciWri)
Panelists: Colleen Brady (CellPress), Ana Batista (CellPress), Sutirtha Datta (Clinical Trials Office, MSKCC), Muthu Dhandapani (Mitra Biotech)

2pm-4pm Networking Session- Chair: Smita Salian-Mehta
4pm-4:30pm Awards Ceremony
4:30pm-5pm Closing Remarks and Future Directions (Syam Anand, Conference Co-Chair)

Registration Fee 25$

Instructions to Register and Pay the Registration Fee

Click Here to Register Or Scan this QR Code

Please complete required information in STEM Peers 2017 registration form.
Email: your email address
Name: Please provide your full name
Organization: Please provide your current associated Organization/ University.
Designation: Please provide your current designation.
Participation: Please select appropriate participation group (Postdoc/PhD etc).
Contact: Please provide your contact number.
Food: Please provide information if you have any dietary restriction.
Arrival time: Please provide details of your arrival time at event.
Please select I am not a robot.
Once you complete adding information, please click submit.
Once you submit your registration, a new window will pop-up confirming the receipt of your registration along with a highlighted link. (This is the link for registration fee payment)
Please click on link to pay and finalize registration.
Payment can be made via using a PayPal account only.
You can also use the “Buy Now” option (shown below) to pay your registration fee of 25$

(Please leave your name and email address as a note when paying using Paypal)

Click “Donate” to help PhDCSG (Please include your name, email address and phone number as an additional note while making the donation)

PhD Career Support Group (PhD CSG) for STEM PhDs is a US Non-Profit 501(c)3 organization and all donations to PhDCSG are tax deductible

We thank our sponsors

Co-Chair’s Note:-

Why STEM Peers 2017 could be important for your career advancement?

If you don’t know what it takes to advance to the next level. If you think your publications make your career, attend and learn more.
If you don’t know what it takes to get hired- the key skills, how to market them, how to to get them noticed by people who matter, and how to make your CV/resume stand out. If you think having a great CV will get anyone’s attention, attend and learn more.
If you don’t know what it takes to stay in a job- getting hired could be the easy part. Staying in a job needs to understand the key job requirements that employers are seeking. If you think your bench work and associated skills is all it takes, attend and learn more.
If you don’t know what it takes to advance your career after staying for a while in a new job (industry/pharma/IP/academia). Advancing your career depends on skills you develop while on the job. This needs preparation and updating of skills, sensing changing needs etc. If you think what got your hired will also advance your career further, attend and learn more.

I cannot emphasize this more- many bench scientists don’t understand these before their funding runs out or visa restrictions start dawning upon them.

Here is your chance to interact with folks who have successfully transitioned and advanced their careers further. Awareness, networking and DETAILS matter.

Finally, would you rather spend hours weeding through the internet to get the info you want or a day with successful people who are keeping their time aside for you?

STEM Peers is a bargain in that respect. We are able to bring all this to you in an affordable manner ONLY because we are a non-profit. Make use of STEM Peers 2017.

Best wishes!

Syam Anand

FAQs about STEM Peers

What is the registration fee? Ans: $25 for Postdoctoral Fellows/Graduate Students; 50$ Faculty members/Industry members/Others; Late-registration fee/On-site registration Fee: 30$
What is included in the registration fee? Ans: The registration fee includes access to all conference sessions and exhibits. When you check-in at the registration desk, you will receive a delegate package, which includes copies of the conference program, your name tag, and other relevant information. The registration fee also covers access to a morning coffee break, and an afternoon coffee break on the entire day of the conference.
Do I have to be a CSG member to attend the conference? Ans: No
Do you have discounted rates for graduate students/postdocs? Ans: Student/Postdoc registrations are heavily subsidized, and therefore the Early Registration Discount for these already discounted registrations is smaller
Do you have early registration discounts? Ans: To have a better idea of how many participants will attend and to promote timely registration for the conference, CSG may offer an early registration discount. A discount applies to regular registrations received before the early registration deadline, as specified on the registration page.
How do I confirm that I am registered? Ans: Once your registration is finalized, you will receive a confirmation email indicating that you are officially registered. You will receive an Official Receipt from PayPal, via email again, as proof of payment. In addition, your name will appear in the list of registered attendees on sciwri.club
Can I get a certificate of attendance? Ans: A certificate of attendance can be printed for you on request and e-mailed to you after the conference. Please visit the registration desk and request a certificate to be mailed. We would appreciate it, if you wait for a time when the registration desk is less crowded to request a certificate.
Is there a discounted rate of registration? Ans: Mail us stempeers@gmail.com
What if I have a question that is not answered here? Ans: This FAQ only covers answers to questions that we receive frequently. If you have a question that still has not been answered, please email us stempeers@gmail.com and one of us will be happy to assist you.
What is your cancellation policy? Ans: We understand that members who have registered for the conference may have to cancel their registrations due to unforeseen circumstances. While we try to accommodate cancellations to the best of our ability, any cancellation, especially late ones, put CSG at a difficult situation. Due to the size of our conference, we make many of our arrangements well in advance and therefore cancellations come with a cost to CSG. Therefore, the CSG Board has developed a cancellation policy to balance the needs of our members with the costs of cancellation to CSG. As such, please note that cancellation requests for an already confirmed registration will be processed according to the following schedule: