Blog

Mentoring Graduate Students During & Beyond COVID-19

Wed 6 May, 2020 Written by ASM

We are seeing a disruption in scientific research as we continue to social distance and follow stay-at-home orders in many countries because of COVID-19. Research labs are considered non-essential work and have been forced to shut down. Many universities are not allowing students to be on campus. With graduate students not in the lab, many are left to figure out what to do. So how can mentors help graduate students during this time? How will the temporary pause affect graduate students in the long term? We interviewed 3 professors:

Dr. Victor DiRita, Professor & Chair in the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University.
Dr. Aleksandra Sikora, Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University.
Dr. Mike Ibba, Professor and Chair in the Department of Microbiology at Ohio State University.

They shared insights on what challenges graduate students are facing and activities they might participate in while labs are closed. They also shared what the long-term effects on graduate education may be.

Alternative Summer Experiences for Undergraduate Students During COVID-19

Wed 29 Apr, 2020 Written by ASM

Register for the May 19, 2020 session titled “Getting Meaningful Research Experience in the Time of COVID-19” on ABRCMS Online COVID-19 Web Events to learn about gaining research experience outside of a lab environment. In this live Q&A session, you will get more in-depth information on citizen science, literature review activities and a repository of open data-sets that you can share with undergraduate students for analysis and presentations.

As a result of COVID-19, many colleges and universities are cancelling summer research programs for undergraduate students. The effects of this will extend beyond the summer. Undergraduate students may miss an opportunity to learn how to think critically in science. They also might be impacted in terms of selection of abstracts for undergraduate conferences or graduate school admission decisions.

While all students will be “in the same boat,” faculty and undergraduate students can start thinking of some ways to incorporate activities that will advance the scientific learning process.

So the Pandemic Has Upended Your Education. What’s Next?

Thu 23 Apr, 2020 Written by ASM

Although I received my Ph.D. in the last century, I have been mentoring undergraduates, graduate students, medical residents and infectious disease, clinical microbiology and pathology fellows for close to 40 years. I think that gives me a pretty good window into how undergraduates and graduate students in the microbial sciences are feeling right now. Two words come to mind: disappointment and anxiety.

During a recent phone conversation, an undergraduate student shared her disappointment at not being able to give a poster at our university’s year-end undergrad research symposium. Around the country, both undergraduates and graduate students are experiencing major disappointments. Undergrads are missing much sought-after summer research or clinical experiences. Graduate students’ research seminars and final defenses will be on virtual platforms rather than in familiar rooms filled with fellow labmates, students, postdocs and faculty. Final defenses will be missing family members and their hugs and well wishes after a major career milestone. Disappointment that the presentation planned for a special conference like ASM’s Microbe or Clinical Virology Symposium (CVS) and the interviews for the next career step have been cancelled or put on hold. Finally, the important celebration of graduation with family and friends will not happen.

Perhaps even more concerning is the tremendous anxiety that so many of us are experiencing. For undergrad and graduate students, what will this mean for your future? How does the widespread pause in undergraduate and graduate student research impact the next stages in your career? Will long-term experiments that need constant care have to be started again? How long will this pause be? So many questions.

Right now, so many doors are closed, but I want to assure you other doors in the microbial sciences will be opening in this decade because the world now has a stark reminder of how important the microbial world is in our lives.

Biology Teaching in the Time of COVID-19: How to Transfer to Online Learning

Sat 14 Mar, 2020 Written by ASM

As microbiologists, we teach our students to always expect the unexpected from microbes. COVID-19 is currently putting the global education system to the test by forcing face-to-face learning environments to quickly move online. As educators, we need to ensure a seamless transition for our students.

As professors with more than 30 years of teaching experience combined, here are our best recommendations around distance learning education to help make the transition from face-to-face learning to online modalities efficient and effective.

Mastering a Mentoring Relationship as the Mentee

Tue 14 Jan, 2020 Written by ASM

Mentoring offers a myriad of benefits for both mentor and mentee. It is a two-way street and should be navigated thoughtfully. As a mentee, here are some tips to maximize your mentoring time and ensure that you have a healthy relationship with your mentor.

A Beginner’s Guide to Minority Professor Hires

Wed 11 Dec, 2019 Written by ASM

What makes a good principal investigator? What makes a great one? Often, there is a certain mold that hiring committees look for in applicants. By and large, the first 2 cutoffs are funding and great papers. However, most of us in the professoriate do more than acquire grants and submit papers. We advise students, sit on committees and teach–all things that are essential to being a successful professor because they show that you can juggle more than just science. Many underrepresented minorities (URMs) take on a lot of those intangible items, not only because people ask us to serve in a multitude of areas for the sake of having representation, but because we also want to be that representation. As a postdoctoral fellow looking to be hired as an Assistant Professor, I performed service, mentoring, teaching and more. Doing some of these intangible activities can make it hard to measure current and future success as a principal investigator, and thus, may be a major problem facing URMs looking to join a research-intensive professoriate.

Working Collaboratively at ABRCMS 2019 to Build Personal Statements

Wed 27 Nov, 2019 Written by ABRCMS

Check out the recording of the December 2019 ABRCMS Online webinar that provides peer feedback on personal statement drafts.

At the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) on November 13-16, 2019, many of the professional development sessions targeted towards community college, undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students focused on necessary skills to maximize their research experience, build their professional network and aid their transition to graduate and professional school. A core topic of focus for these students is the personal statement—a document that introduces the applicant to the admissions committee. To support students formulating and refining their personal statements, ABRCMS hosted two sessions entitled, “Building Your Personal Statement” presented by Dr. Victoria Freedman, Assistant Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Dr. Nancy Schwartz, Professor at University of Chicago. Each session engaged approximately 350 students in an interactive exercise to formulate an effective personal statement.

Engaging Diverse Trainees in Undergraduate Research

Wed 2 Oct, 2019 Written by ABRCMS

The Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) is one of the largest expositions of URM student research. ABRCMS Online offers webinars on working with URM research students for faculty and career scientists. Dr. Amanda Marie James is a featured speaker in a webinar entitled, “Engaging Diverse Student Populations in Undergraduate Research”. The next webinar will be “Evidence-Based Strategies to Improve Nontraditional Student Performance in STEM” on December 3, 2019.

There are many benefits to mentored research experiences for students, like enhanced science identity, sense of belonging and self-eﬃcacy, research productivity and higher career satisfaction. It is important to ensure that these benefits extend equally to everyone. With an emphasis on diversifying the scientific workforce, it is imperative to define and implement effective methods to engage diverse trainees in research careers.

Dr. Amanda Marie James is the Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies at Emory University. Dr. James is charged with creating and strengthening an inclusive, respectful and intellectually challenging environment for all research trainees. Dr. James explains her approach to working with diverse trainees and her advice for faculty engaged with diverse trainees in research programs.

ABRCMS: A Research Conference for STEM Students & Faculty

Wed 25 Sep, 2019 Written by ABRCMS

The Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) is one of the largest communities of underrepresented minorities in STEM. Students attend this conference to present their research, enhance professional development skills, explore graduate schools and network. Research faculty and program directors play an essential role in mentoring students and learning strategies for facilitating student success.

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Ways to Make Your CV Stand Out

Wed 4 Sep, 2019 Written by ABRCMS

View the recording of the March 26, 2019 ABRCMS Online session titled “Tidy Up Your Science Resume/CV” to learn about helpful tips for developing and refining your scientific resume or CV. In this live webinar, participants explored techniques for representing gaps in a resume or CV, discussed how potential resume/CV reviewers will analyze the document, and reviewed best practices for formulating and updating a resume/CV.

CVs are the bread and butter of research positions for academia, government, and some industry companies. While it may be pretty straightforward on what to include in a CV, some sections need a little more work to stand out in the eyes of a recruiter. Here are some helpful tips to make your CV stand out:

Include Your Mentors’ Names

Usually in your education section, you include the universities’ names, the years of attendance, and degrees. But make sure you include your mentors’ names and the titles of your research/dissertation projects. Connections go a long way, and if the selection committee knows your mentor, that can lead to an automatic interview. Likewise, including your research/dissertation title orients the reader to your research interests and skills. It’s a quick glimpse of who you are.

Tips for Writing Your First Conference Abstract

Mon 22 Jul, 2019 Written by ABRCMS

Communicating your research is an important part of being a scientist. While submitting an abstract to a national conference can seem overwhelming, it is one of the best ways to communicate your science and get your research in front of a large audience.

ASM education specialist, Dr. Christopher Skipwith, will provide students with tips on writing an abstract during the “Writing a Competitive Abstract” webinar. Here are a few of his best practices to prepare your first abstract for a scientific conference.

Read the Instructions

Although this may be obvious, many times, abstracts are rejected because they are missing key components. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the submission requirements before starting your abstract.

Understand the Target Audience

Who will be reading your abstract? Whether you are submitting to a field-specific or general conference, make sure the language you use can be easily understood by your target audience. Field-specific language may be appropriate for specialized conferences, however plain language must be used for conferences that cover a wide range of fields.

When using acronyms, remember to always provide the full phrase on the first mention accompanied by the acronym in parenthesis.

Clearly State the Hypothesis/Statement of Purpose

Not every project has a hypothesis, but all projects have a purpose. Figure out the research questions you are trying to answer and include the hypothesis or purpose of your research in the abstract. It is imperative to communicate your hypothesis/statement of purpose clearly so the reader can get a better context of your research goals and understand the importance of your research.

Tie Results and Conclusions Back to the Hypothesis/Statement of Purpose

After you have written your results and conclusions, go back to your hypothesis/statement of purpose. Do the results and conclusions clearly support your research purpose? What did the results say about your hypothesis? Make sure the links between these components are obvious to the reader.

Review, Then Review Again

Reread your abstract against a print out of the abstract guidelines. As you go through, check off each guideline to ensure your abstract is complete. Remember that even if it has all the requirements, a poorly written abstract will not be accepted. Then have multiple people, including your Principal Investigator, read it over. Incorporate their feedback to ensure a strong submission.

How a Postdoctoral Fellow Gives Back to ABRCMS

Mon 1 Jul, 2019 Written by ABRCMS

In 2008 as an undergraduate senior, Dr. Victor Ocasio Ramirez, won a presentation award at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). Ten years later he attended ABRCMS again to provide valuable mentorship to students through the Judge Travel Award. Dr. Ocasio Ramirez explains how he became interested in science as an undergraduate, his current research as a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University, and why attending ABRCMS was a gratifying experience.

Tell me about your background.
I am originally from a small town in Puerto Rico, where I studied Industrial Biotechnology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. I developed an interest in basic science, specifically microbiology. In 2014, I obtained my Ph.D. in molecular microbiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Currently, I am a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University working in host pathogen interactions.

What first made you interested in science?
As a second-year undergraduate student, I had the rare opportunity to conduct research with Dr. Joseph Bonaventura from Duke University studying the antimicrobial properties of the plantain plant. I got to travel to different parts of Puerto Rico to collect diverse plantain samples for my experiments. A year later, I joined a plant biotechnology laboratory where I studied gene expression profiles in transgenic Cassava plants using emerging qRT-PCR technology. Both of these experiences were fundamental in cementing my passion for science.

What is your current research about?
My research involves the study of host microbe interactions. More specifically, how pathogenic bacteria have evolved to evade the immune response and grow in what it seems to be a hostile environment. Chlamydia trachomatis is a sexually transmitted pathogen that contains more than a hundred proteins predicted to be secreted to the host. These effector proteins help Chlamydia establish its intracellular lifestyle, elude the immune response and take control of many host cellular processes. I employ a combination of genetics, biochemistry and cell biology methods to characterize the function of these secreted effectors.

How were your experiences with ABRCMS both as a student and judge?
Both of these experiences were different for me because I had very different perspectives each time I went. As an attendee in 2008, I was an eager senior undergraduate student looking for the next step in my academic career, graduate school. I remember walking up and down tirelessly through the aisles looking at the booths of different universities. At this point, I was trying to decide which institution would make me feel welcomed as an underrepresented minority, but also be a great fit for me academically. In 2018 as a judge, I was able to share the experiences of what it is like to earn a Ph.D. I walked tirelessly up and down the aisles of posters talking to students, giving advice and encouraging them to do the same thing I did ten years ago.

Why should someone consider being a judge at ABRCMS?
Being a judge at ABRCMS is much more than scoring presentations. You get to meet a myriad of students from different backgrounds that are excited and passionate about science. But some of them lack the experience or don’t know what to do next. As a judge, you have the opportunity to interact with all of these students and to learn about their background and give them advice based on your personal experiences. This was one of the most gratifying experiences I had in 2018.

What advice do you have for students considering submitting an abstract to the conference?
Have a clear hypothesis of your project or model and share the abstract with your peers and mentor. If they can understand your research project from the abstract alone, then you’ve written an abstract where the points come across clearly.

How has your ASM membership impacted your career?
As an ASM member, I’ve attended various conferences like ABRCMS and ASM Microbe where I presented my research and networked with colleagues. Also, in 2018 I participated in the Best Practices in Curriculum Design, Teaching and Assessment webinar, which showed me a different aspect of academia and made me an attractive candidate for the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program at Duke in 2018-2019. I taught as an adjunct professor at Elon University for one semester and put into practice many of the concepts I learned in the ASM webinar. Overall, since becoming an ASM member, I’ve had many opportunities to improve my career, get access to a wide network of scientists and see the impact of the work I am doing.

ABRCMS 2019 will be held November 13-16 in Anaheim, California. Apply for funds to attend the conference as a judge.