Perspectives from North of the 49th
July 2006

“The ‘Future Search Process’ as our strategic planning was called, consisted of various stages ”
By Jeffrey Farber, IAFP President        

This month’s column has a little something for everyone – conference attendees, students and job seekers. As I am sure you are all getting geared-up and excited for our Annual Meeting in Calgary, I thought I would first share with you some tips for “getting the most from your next conference,” some of which was recently published in The Scientist.

1. You should try and sit at the front during talks – no, this is not so you can increase your chances of getting your picture taken or to avoid falling asleep, but will definitely help you feel more involved in the talk.
2. Break away – As is human nature, people tend to always hang around with people they know and feel comfort-able with; try either at lunch or during the coffee breaks, etc., to talk and sit with people you don’t know. This can help you learn new things, find out how other organi-zations operate, discuss common problems, etc.
3. Rate the speakers for content and presentation style – this will help to keep you alert, as well as possibly give you ideas about various presentations that you can use to integrate into your next talk.
4. Take notes – even if you really do not need them, taking notes during presentations really does help focus those neurons!
5. Size matters – attending smaller-size meetings means you are likely to actually meet and talk to the speakers you want to instead of standing in a long line or never running into them in the hallways. This is still the beauty of IAFP; I like to think of it as a small and a big meeting – small in numbers, big in heart and scientific content.
6. Be excited about your work and your presentation! If people see that you are excited about your work, they will feed off of this, and you are much more likely to attract people’s attention. Remember that you are in essence, always selling your-self and your science!

I have often been asked what makes a good M.Sc. or Ph.D. student. An article, which recently appeared in Nature outlines some of the advice professors should be giving prospective graduate students. Some of the highlights include:

1. Choose a supervisor whose work you know and admire, who is well supported by grants and who has good support and infrastructure. In addition, speak to students in the professor’s lab and ask them questions such as; is the professor around enough, are there regular lab meetings, etc.
2. Working hard – graduate students need to work long days and part of most weekends – if research is a passion for you, this will be easy; if the hours are a drag for you, you are likely in the wrong field;
3. Plan your days and weeks carefully to overlap experiments so that you have a small amount of downtime;
4. Keep a good lab book and be sure to write your results in a systematic manner at least 2 or 3 times a week, and every day if possible;
5. Develop good writing and oral presentation skills; this will stand you in good stead throughout your whole career;
6. Read the literature in your immediate and surrounding area, both past and present. For you to make a contribution to your field, you need to know what has already been done;
7. Learn to take mini-breaks so that you do not burn out; long weekends or a nice holiday will do the trick;
8. Be creative. Always think about what you are doing and look for better ways to do it;
9. Try to get along with every-one and develop good interpersonal and networking skills; and
10. In the end, to be successful, you must think and be smart, be highly motivated, creative, energetic and hard working, skillful and lucky. Yes, a little serendipity goes a long way in research!

A recent article for job hunters appearing in local newspapers, talks about what job hunters want now. Although the thinking relates mainly to people who have switched jobs or have been laid off, I feel it is equally as pertinent for anyone looking for a job:

1. Work-life balance is extremely important for people; Will my work schedule allow me time for outside interests is a frequently asked question.
2. Reporting relationships were also seen as important; who will be my boss?
3. Alignment with personal values was also found to be important; what is the workplace culture?
4. In addition, career development was important; what are going to be my opportunities in the future for growth and advancement?
5. The right fit was also deemed to be very important; will I be able to make a meaningful contribution to the organization?

A big thanks to Ben Chapman for setting up an “Ask the Pres” discussion forum for students during the latter part of May. Although not too many students asked questions, those who did were very insightful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue. I think we can build on this next year to get more participation from students.

Things are looking for very good for our Annual Meeting in terms of number of attendees, exhibitors, facilities, poster and oral sessions, etc. So please make sure you get your registration in, make your hotel reservation, convince at least one of your colleagues to attend, and enjoy!

Dr. J’s Science Corner:

As reported in Nature, a new antibiotic, platensimycin, which has potent activity against Gram-positive pathogens, including those nasty resistant staph and enterococci, has been discovered. This antibiotic is a significant new antibacterial compound, which represents a novel class of antibiotic, in that it inhibits bacterial fatty-acid biosynthesis.

Platensimycin has shown promising results in a mouse model of infection, but extensive clinical
trials for safety and efficacy in humans has not been done. Thus, although it may be a while before we see this drug being used to treat bacterial infections in humans, its discovery is very exciting.

As always, I can be reached by E-mail at: jeff_farber@hc-sc.gc.ca and would love to hear from you!

Have a great month!