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From Day 1 to your defense..and after...

Day 1

  • Getting to the university campus 

  • Getting to your rental apartment

Week 1

  • Aspects to note during faculty orientations

  • Navigating life in a new city

End of Year 1

  • How do I know I am well prepared for your qualifiers? 

  • Things I should consider as I initate my lab research with my PI:

    • Labs with focus on:

      • industry partnerships

      • basic sciences, biochem (acad)

      • clinical research (ind.)

      • public health /epidemiology

      • policy & regulatory based labs

Month 1

  • Selecting the right rotation labs.

  • How do I select the right courses based on my area of interest?

Semester 1

  • Planning for qualifying exam

  • How do I recognize a successful rotation? What do I ask a PI if I want to join their lab after rotation?

By Year 2

  • How do we resolve our PI/lab member/ research project related hurdles? 

  • How do I select my research committee members? â€‹

  • Preliminary Examination Prep

  • How do I prepare for my first annual/committee meeting? 

  • How do I define publishable units (papers, conference proposals) from my project? How do I know which coauthors to include? 

  • How should I start networking with experts external to my university?  

Year 3-5

  • What should I expect to learn when I present and/or attend a research conference? 

  • How do you start building your thesis documents early on? When is a good time to start thinking about your thesis structure? 

  • Thesis drafting tips

  • When is the right time for me to start scoping my next position post PhD? Postdoc or Industry-which is a better fit for me? (assay/method development) 

  • How do I select the right Postdoc lab for me? Career stage of PI/publications and grants/other lab members/ex lab members placements. 

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