Welcome, Prospective Postdoctoral Trainees!
Thank you for your interest in UCLA Bio-Launch, a UCLA Bioscience recruitment initiative!
The virtual 2-day event for prospective postdocs hosted by UCLA Biosciences will take place March 14-15, 2024.
About the UCLA Bio-Launch
UCLA’s Bioscience Postdoc Affairs are hosting UCLA Bio-Launch, a virtual postdoctoral recruitment initiative. Selected candidates will be invited to participate in a 2-day virtual information and professional development event (March 14-15, 2024). Included in Bio-Launch, are two professional development workshops to help early-stage researchers find a good mentor and prepare for informational interviews. As part of the virtual event, prospective postdocs will also have the opportunity to talk to current UCLA postdocs about their experiences and network with UCLA faculty. UCLA Bio-Launch also includes a matching service with Bio-Launch Mentors (faculty/PIs from the Division of Life Sciences and David Geffen School of Medicine) that have committed to meeting for informational interviews with participants. Virtual informational interviews are expected to occur during the post-event recruitment period (March 15-29). Prospective postdoc participants will be responsible for scheduling virtual informational interviews with their faculty partners once they receive their match information.
Important Dates:
- DEADLINE: Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 11:59PM PST – Application Deadline for Prospective Postdocs
- March 14-15, 2024 – Virtual Zoom Events
- March 15-29, 2024 – Recruitment Period (Zoom-based Informational Interviews)
Tentative Agenda for March 14-15 Virtual Events*:
*All times listed below are in Pacific Standard Time and all events are hosted on Zoom.
Thursday, March 14, 2024
- 9:00-9:45 am – Welcome & Overview of UCLA Postdoc Experience
- 10:00-11:30 am – Workshop: Defining Your Success & Thinking Big Picture
- 1:00-2:00 pm – Panel: “Ask a UCLA Faculty Member”
Friday. March 15, 2024
- 9:00-10:00 am – Panel: “Ask a UCLA Postdoc”
- 10:15-11:30 am – Workshop: Effective Informational Interviewing & Networking
- 1:00-2:30 pm – Networking: Speed Friending w/ Faculty
How it works: Speed Friending is a guided networking activity. Prospective postdocs will be placed in breakout rooms with faculty and the groups will be switched every 8-10 minutes. We will be providing ice breaker questions per round to guide the conversation in the breakout rooms. Questions will involve faculty sharing their career journeys and reflecting on their best practices as scientists.
Eligibility
- You must fall into one of these three categories:
- Advanced PhD student (1-2 years away from graduation)
- Recent PhD graduate (graduated in the last 2-3 years)
- Early-career postdoc scholar (have no more than 2 years of postdoctoral experience in a Bioscience field)
- Prospective postdocs from groups traditionally marginalized in the biosciences and/or from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
- There is no citizenship requirement to apply.
Accessibility
We will have closed captioning during the 2-day virtual event. The application provides a space for you to list any accommodations you may need; we may contact you for further information in order to meet your needs. If you have any questions or would like to speak to us directly, please email Letty Treviño (ltrevino@mednet.ucla.edu) with “UCLA Bio-Launch” in the subject line.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the Chicagoland team for sharing this recruitment model with us.