Susan Ackerman
HHMI, Professor at jackson (Research not academic)
Sattely at Stanford
Michael McManus UCSF non coding RNA in mammals
Cory McLean 23andme
Georgia Hatazivassiliou (Genetech)
Michael McManus looking for new members (facult) general excitement in science, brave creativity.
Susan Ackerman
- for group hiring: excitement and having goals, drive to accomplish.
- different for faculty (Salks/Scribbs et cetra) 75% soft money. Sense of ‘will be successful’. Not correlated with past CV success (good for getting the interview though).
- Chalk talk presentation. theme: what’s your first RO1 going to be.
- what have you worked out with your mentor about what you can take with you.
- Creativity — fall back have something to work on.
- UCSF chalk talk on chalk talk (practice session with faculty).
- helps if you have (a lot) of preliminary data to show feasibility. Needs to be interesting (stuff that is readily done no risk is no go).
- Exciting problem digested into small steps.
- Apply for grants (can include R01).
K99s
- ‘Very confusing program’
- apply multiple times.
- Talk to someones who has gotten one.
- S.A. — universities lke K99, but not necessarily confident that it’s indicative of money down the line. K99 ‘in the evening’ and the ‘next research pub’ in the day.
- K99 vs go on market? can do only 1 year (ES did 8 mo) rather than the 2 years of more post-doc.
To be on top of
- why this institution. emphasize fit. interactions
- don’t drag the audience through the details. show unpublished things. Want to see significance.
- Listen to audience, explore issues.
- selection may be on unlisted specifications. Try to find these out.
Interactions
- Propose team science to individuals behind closed doors. These can be your advocates.
- Don’t propose team science / interdependent projects as your on paper proposal.
Negotiations
- contrast offers.
- delayed starts
- negotiate when you think you’ve chosen (before you sign). Both parties are most committed. Better than requesting resources post signature.
- practice conversation about ‘things needed but not in offer letter’ (equipment / facilities e.g. private mass spec).
- Ask about bridge support. (if things go south… tiding you over through periods of short funding).
- Plan time for planning time
- SA the most successful young PIs do stay at the bench — train students, walk through techniques. Pick up the things that are harder.
Hiring decisions
- personality. good individual connection
- recruiting and making the most of recruitment.
- MM: energetic folk, willing to learn.
- always have a phone call with a letter writer/ reference.
- somebody is not always better than nobody. firing is hard / colateral damage.
- Be “Nicely blunt” about expectations. Save headaches before employing.
- If you have doubts it probably won’t work out.
- Get techs first. lab setup, unpacking, better role for techs than postdoc/student/PI. Can’t necessarily tell a PI to do it.
Conferences?
- Good idea — get to know people in field, shake hands
- to present? discuss with PI first.
Write grants early, get inside peer review. (Internal early deadlines).
Use your support structures (PI, mentor, former PIs).