By: Shabana Amanda Ali, UHN Trainee and ORT Times Writer
For students everywhere, September brings all the potential associated with the beginning of a new academic year. For Postdocs everywhere, September is just another month following all of the previous months in the trenches of academia. But wait. With every September comes Postdoc Appreciation Week, a chance for institutions to recognize the significant contributions that Postdocs make to research and discovery. So what is a Postdoc and how are they being appreciated at University Health Network?
According to the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars, “a Postdoc is defined as an individual holding a recently completed research doctoral degree (or medical professional equivalent) in a temporary period of mentored research and advanced training, linked to a university or an affiliated institution, to acquire competencies for undertaking intensive independent research.” Trainees typically spend 3 to 5 years as Postdocs pursuing additional research after obtaining their PhD or equivalent. UHN supports the training of hundreds of Postdocs, providing collaborative research environments, funding competitions, and career development opportunities.
To celebrate Postdoc Appreciation Week 2018 at UHN, an organizing committee was formed by two Postdocs from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Drs. Samah El Ghamrasni and Tracy Lackraj. Together with Nisha Ganeswaren (ORT Coordinator) and Drs. Amanda Ali, Alisa Grigorovich, Aditi Qamra and Poulami Datta, they organized two events under the theme of career development: An Academia Networking Event featuring early career investigators was held on September 19 and an Industry Networking Event featuring industry experts was held on September 20. Each event included several esteemed speakers and panelists who shared their experiences with Postdocs who are considering the next steps in their career.
The events were a great success with over 70 attendees at each, reflecting the growing interest in events organized by Postdocs for Postdocs. With dedicated efforts, future Postdoc Appreciation Weeks at UHN have the potential to expand to explore more themes. Events at institutions across Canada and the United States are compiled by the National Postdoctoral Association (see schedule here). If you are a Postdoc at UHN who is interested in getting involved and making Postdoc Appreciation Week 2019 even better, please contact Nisha Ganeswaren in the Office of Research Trainees (nisha.ganeswaren@uhnresearch.ca).
To all our current Postdocs – we appreciate you!
Dr.Shane Harding, Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the panelists at the Academic Networking Event.
Dr. Phedias Diamandis, Affiliate Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the panelists at the Academic Networking Event.
Dr. Daniel Grace, Assistant Professor at University of Toronto, one of the panelists at the Academic Networking Event.
Dr. Mathieu Lupien, Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, one of the panelists at the Academic Networking Event.
UHN postdoctoral fellows at the Academia Networking Event.
Dr. Nick Timmins presenting at the Industry Networking Event.
Attendees at the Industry Networking Event.
Panelists at the Industy Networking Event. (L to R) Dr. Natalie Venier (Medial Science Liason, Merck), Dr. Bharti Ranavaya (Principal, Business Development and Commercialization, University Health Network), Dr. Nick Timmins (VP Process Sciences, BlueRock Therapeutics) and Stephanie Holbik (Manager of Operations, Ontario Brain Institute).