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This is the second year for the forum — which starts at noon in the Eppley Science Hall Amphitheater.
The forum will feature an open discussion with one of the world’s leading stem-cell researchers and a seminar by an expert in translating academic work into industry success.
“To say postdoctoral scientists provide integral support to our research enterprise at UNMC is an understatement,” said Iqbal Ahmad, Ph.D., associate dean and director of postdoctoral education at UNMC. “We want to make sure we help them stay aware of the opportunities available to them because of their valuable work.”
An open forum will allow UNMC postdoctoral researchers to discuss life in academia, government and industry with Mahendra Rao, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of regenerative medicine at Invitrogen and one of the world’s leading stem-cell researchers.
Dr. Rao was professor at the University of Utah Medical School before leading stem cell research at the National Institute of Aging — a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He also is co-director of the Stem Cell Consortium in Singapore.
UNMC postdocs also will have the opportunity to listen to a seminar by David Jensen, founder and managing director of CareerTrax Inc., an executive search firm working in the life sciences. Jensen’s seminar will be titled “Insiders’ Secrets to the Academia-to-Industry Transition.”
“I’m sure our postdoc researchers will find the comments from Dr. Rao and Mr. Jensen to be insightful and applicable to their own experiences as researchers here at UNMC,” said David Crouse, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and associate dean for graduate students.
One of the reasons for having such a seminar is to let UNMC postdoctoral researchers know UNMC as a whole is appreciative of their work and aware of their value to the institution, said Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate students.
To further emphasize this point, the inaugural Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year Award will be presented to Cheng Wang, Ph.D., a researcher in the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The award may be the first of its kind at any research institution, Dr. Ahmad said.
“Postdocs are responsible for a major portion of the research done on campus,” Dr. Ahmad said. “I’m happy that we are taking the time to recognize them and let them know that we appreciate the work they do.”
The awards and seminars sprung from a series of meetings between Drs. Pamies, Crouse and Ahmad that were focused on drawing more attention to the value of UNMC’s postdocs.
“Our postdocs carry a lot of the load when it comes to research and we want them to know their efforts aren’t going unnoticed,” Dr. Pamies said. “Postdoc researchers are essential to UNMC’s push toward becoming a world-class academic health sciences center.”