Elizabeth Ponder’s Post

🎉"FASEB Receives NSF Grant for Program to Change Negative Culture in Biological Sciences - FASEB received a two-year grant for nearly $500,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to pilot a program to change the current culture within biological societies that negatively affects early-career researchers in historically excluded populations." In the spirit of Friday being the day of good news, I'm extremely excited to continue working with Louis Justement, Yvette R. Seger, PhD, Sally Schwettmann, CAE, and Maribet Rivera-Brute to promote equity & inclusion and develop change agents within the biomedical research community! Click the link to read more about our plans to DRIVE change ----> https://lnkd.in/eARhyxkU

April 1999-April 2024: Exactly 25 years ago, as a PhD student, I attended my very first #AACR meeting in Philadelphia - to give an oral communication on my thesis project on suicide-gene approaches in oncology - because my boss at the time had convinced me that, as a young researcher, it's absolutely essential to systematically go to #scientific #meetings to compare your work with the rest of the community and to network with your peers. It was advice that changed my career, and I haven't missed a major meeting in the field since, and attended dozen of conferences all over the world. Now that I'm head of the lab, it's my turn to persuade my PhD students, once they have some experience and convincing data, to take their work to the four corners of the world. You don't do research in a vacuum - you don't do research within the 4 walls of a lab. Going and/or sending your students to international conferences requires a budget, organisation, time and fatigue (yesterday it took me more than 24 hours to get back from San Diego, including transit, but well, I had to be at the University Hospital this morning to run DPD testing and make some adaptive dosing with high dose Busulfan first thing in the morning), but the effort is worth it. Advice to those who want to do a #PhD: When choosing a lab, ask what the policy is on young researchers presenting at conferences. If they tell you that only the big boss is allowed to present, run away!  #science #research #oncology

In popular culture, scientific discovery is often portrayed in “Eureka!” moments of sudden realization: a lightbulb moment, coming sometimes by accident. But in real life—and in Penn Medicine’s rich history as a scientific innovator for more than 250 years—scientific breakthroughs can never truly be distilled down to a single, “ah-ha” moment. They’re the result of years of hard work, perseverance, and determination to keep going, despite repeated, often discouraging, barriers and setbacks. #pennmedicine #penninnovation Read More: https://lnkd.in/gTgGY4kK

As we welcome 2024 and look forward to the positive Life Science innovations it will bring, let's take a moment to reflect on the significant milestones of the last 20+ years. Which milestone do you believe has made the biggest impact? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Check out this article for insights: https://lnkd.in/eV_TyBBd  #LifeScience #Innovation #Milestones #FutureOfScience

🇪🇺 📢 We are pleased to announce that Mercurna is taking part in the EU consortium ORGESTRA. This EU-funded MSCA Joint Doctoral network will train 13 doctoral candidates in developing personalized disease models using stem cell-derived organoids for rare diseases, including the lung and kidney diseases cystic fibrosis and cystinosis. More information is available on our consortium's webpage: www.orgestra.eu At Mercurna, we are excited to join this interdisciplinary network and collaborate on the analysis of targeted mRNA-based therapeutics in these advanced model systems. 👩🔬🔬Are you looking for a PhD position in the field of nanomedicine and organoid technologies for disease modelling, drug discovery and development for rare diseases, please check out https://lnkd.in/eGFDd_ts #Biotech #PrecisionMedicine #HealthcareInnovation #EUConsortium #ORGESTRA

As we welcome 2024 and look forward to the positive Life Science innovations it will bring, let's take a moment to reflect on the significant milestones of the last 20+ years. Which milestone do you believe has made the biggest impact? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Check out this article for insights: https://lnkd.in/eVD7BTKY  #LifeScience #Innovation #Milestones #FutureOfScience

📚 Exciting News! 🚀 We just published a thought-provoking article 'A workshop at UniSR to promote collaborations between funding bodies, patients and researchers', that we believe will resonate with many of you. 🌐 In this piece, we explore institutional changes, grounding actions and long term vision for the TIME4CS project. 💡 Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting in Citizen Science there's something valuable for everyone. This article was written by Maya Fedeli, PhD (Libera Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) To read: https://lnkd.in/dWDVin6u

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Brian Coblitz, Executive Director of the Technology Commercialization Office at The George Washington University, will be a distinguished panelist on May 19, 2024, at the upcoming American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics - ASPET 2024 conference.   Title: Moving Your Discovery From Bench to Bedside: IP Considerations for Scientists   This essential session will delve into the successful translation of biomedical discoveries, focusing on commercial products, and highlighting the critical role of intellectual property (IP) protection. It is designed for both early-career and established scientists interested in novel therapeutic targets and commercialization.   Dr. Coblitz will assemble with an in-depth panel discussion alongside other esteemed experts from government, industry, and academia. The panel, co-chaired by Diane E. Peters of John Hopkins Medicine and Tara Kirby of the NIH Office of Technology Transfer, will explore key IP concepts and discuss the nuanced challenges of IP protection in translational drug discovery.   Join us to gain invaluable insights into navigating the complexities of technology transfer and IP strategy in the biomedical field.   For more information: https://lnkd.in/emK9drHc   #ASPET2024 #BiomedicalResearch #IntellectualProperty #TechnologyTransfer #Innovation #GWU    

In the world of scientific research, the process of developing groundbreaking discoveries and turning them into practical solutions that benefit society can often be a lengthy and challenging journey. Learn more about how translational research bridges the gap between scientific findings and real-world applications: https://lnkd.in/e9sZZEz6 #translationalresearch #CRO

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐏𝐡𝐃, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬! A PhD program is a marathon not a sprint. I tried long distance races in high school and one thing I can tell you is that they require stamina. So does getting a PhD. This time around, you have to climb many hurdles along the way too. Many students start their programs very energetic and expect quick fixes or instant results. While that may work for other pursuits, getting a PhD requires one to think long-term. I remember being so worried as a first year student each time an experiment failed, but with many experimental repeats, I realised that that’s the expectation not the exception. 📌The mantra for PhD students should be “what’s next?” 📌Oops, my cells got contaminated, Oh no!what’s next? 📌Wow! The reaction finally worked, cool! what’s next? I believe it’s the series of nexts that gradually turn into publishable research and eventually form your thesis. But that can only happen if you remain in the game and keep inching gradually towards the finish line. Research goes slowly. Don’t give up! I’m rooting for you! Have a fantastic week! #ChinasaUfondu #PhD #Research #Academia #Inspire #GraduateSchool #SlowlyButSurely _______________________ 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐚 𝐔𝐟𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮, 𝐏𝐡𝐃 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫. 𝐈 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥.