BLOG: Course offers ‘exceptional’ opportunity to engage in scientific, career discussions

I was truly honored to be selected as a scholar for the inaugural ASTCT Laboratory Science Training Course in July.

It was a unique opportunity to engage in scientific and career development discussions with peers and world-renowned faculty in transplantation and cellular therapy who have a vested interest in mentoring the next generation of translational scientists.

Although I have participated in other workshops and courses geared toward career development and honing grant writing skills, the Laboratory Science Training Course was unique in its focus on refining scientific presentation and effective communication in the form of practicing a “chalk talk.”

As trainees preparing to imminently transition to junior faculty, it is of the utmost importance that we learn to concisely communicate our science to demonstrate our potential.

However, although much emphasis is traditionally placed on writing skills and preparing presentations, communicating science in a manner that does not overly rely on technology but still emphasizes key points and remains visually appealing is a challenging skill to develop — particularly without much exposure to other examples.

Dedicating time and focus to developing our chalk talks was key to not only honing our communication skills but also developing our science in real time. Many of the scholars —myself included — significantly modified our projects by the end of the course, incorporating feedback from faculty mentors and peers.

The retreat-style environment with limited numbers of faculty and trainees really allowed us to get to know each other as people and as scientists.

We also got to hear about the different career paths of our faculty mentors, which helped us to gain new perspectives as we navigate careers in translational science.

Additionally, several scholars — again, myself included — are physician-scientists with more particular demands on our time devoted to research.

Although many of us are planners by nature, it’s reassuring to see that just “following the science” can become a fruitful endeavor, although it certainly feels risky.

As scholars, we also received concrete advice about how to present our science, how to write grants and how to work effectively with our biostatistician colleagues. Each scholar’s research had a unique focus within hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and/or cellular therapy.

The retreat allowed us to gather unique perspectives from experts in the field, as well as to nurture future collaborations.

Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about this course.

Drs. Bollard and Kean did a great job of fostering each scholar’s research, making sure that everyone there — faculty and scholars alike — truly were invested in nurturing our careers. They also maintained a positive and energetic environment — with “pump up” music before each session!

It’s really difficult to leave our busy careers and personal lives to plan and attend retreats like this, but the genuine interest and involvement by every faculty member truly made this experience exceptional, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to my colleagues.

For more information:

Fahmin Basher, MD, PhD, can be reached at fahmin.basher@duke.edu.