Biophysical Society Newsletter - October 2016

10

BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

2016

OCTOBER

Molly Cule What skills are needed to do research and manage a lab? Building and managing a lab typically involves re-

Volunteering to help organize a workshop on your campus will provide management and organiza- tional skills, and will allow you to expand your professional network. Many universities offer pro- fessional development seminars and the Biophysi- cal Society offers training both online and at the Annual Meeting through its Career Development Center.

cruiting and building a strong team of researchers, obtaining funding (and balancing bud- gets once you do!), guiding multiple research projects, marketing group success, and disseminating results through publications and presenta- tions. You will be managing many administrative details, including regulatory compli-

Student Center

ance, lab safety, as well as intellectual property and data management. Experimentalists will be pur- chasing and maintaining equipment and invento- ries. Of course, deep technical and analytical skills remain very important to advancing your research, but typically you won't be performing a majority of the hands-on work, so communication skills and an ability to understand and motivate your staff are also extremely important. Much of your time will be spent writing, whether it be grant applications, project reports, editorial reviews, or original manuscripts, so an ability to write quickly and clearly is essential. Rarely will you have long, uninterrupted periods to work alone, so an ability to work efficiently in short bursts is key. Although graduate students should prioritize building technical skills and a strong research portfolio, there are often opportunities to develop management skills even during your early training. Hopefully you are meeting regularly with your faculty advisor to discuss your progress. Make sure that you address professional skill develop- ment in addition to technical training in your annual review. There are often opportunities to lead small projects within your group — oversee- ing compliance with lab safety rules or maintain- ing a critical piece of equipment, for example.

Jasmine Nirody Center for Computational Biology University of California, Berkeley

Jasmine Nirody

Q: What made you decide to study biophysics?

Ever since I was really young, I've been interested in how things move. In college, my research focused on animal locomotion (specifically, on snakes, which are far less scary and way cooler than everyone thinks!). My research interests have fluctuated widely since then, but generally tend to equilibrate around some form of biomechan- ics. Currently, I'm interested in how molecular motors convert chemical energy into mechanical work. It's completely fascinating how drastically mechanics differs across scales: Very small things, which primarily deal with viscous rather than inertial forces, have to use totally different loco- motive strategies than the creatures we observe in our daily lives.

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