this WEEK in HST

BIOTECH DOCUMENTARY SCREENING EVENT

“From Controversy to Cure: Inside the Cambridge Biotech Boom”

• Tuesday, November 19, 2019
• 4 pm (reception to follow)
• 10-250

Free, open to all members of the MIT community

Watch the trailer
Register to attend on Eventbrite

Description: In the summer of 1977, a contentious debate about genetic engineering erupted in the city of Cambridge, pitting scientist against scientist and citizen against citizen. Join us for the story of how the unlikely mix of science and engineering, politics, the space race, and urban renewal transformed Kendall Square into the Biotechnology Capital of the World.

The event might be of interest to faculty, students, and staff in IMES, not only because of the topic, but because Bob Langer, Phillip Sharp, and Sangeeta Bhatia all appear in the documentary (Prof. Sharp will also be participating in a discussion with documentary producer Joe McMaster, immediately after the screening).

MIT IMES PROFESSOR, SANGEETA BHATIA, ELECTED TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE FOR 2019

Sangeeta Bhatia and Richard Young recognized for their contributions to “advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.”

Sangeeta Bhatia, an MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science and of health sciences and technology, and Richard Young, an MIT professor of biology, are among the 100 new members elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

More information from MIT News can be found here.

Congratulations, Sangeeta!

ARIAS LIVER SYMPOSIUM AT THE BROAD INSTITUTE

The 29th Annual Irwin M. Arias Symposium is happening next month at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA. 

• ​Wednesday, November 13, 2019
• 8:30am—5pm
• Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA

This all-day event is held annually to honor Irwin (Win) Arias. Our primary focus is to strengthen existing ties between the liver research community across the Boston/Cambridge ‘hub’, and also reach further to forge new ones, all within and across the academic-industrial-clinical research axis. 

This year’s program is free for all trainees, and will include a poster session, and a post-program reception. All poster submissions from grad students and postdoctoral trainees will be considered for a poster prize, and a select few will be chosen to give a ‘Poster Teaser’ - a 1 minute / 1 slide oral pitch to the entire audience before the lunchtime poster session.

Find more information here. Full program here.

Co-Hosted by: Sangeeta Bhatia, MD, PhD, MIT and Wolfram Goessling, MD, PhD, MGH

HST FALL DINNER - RSVP NOW OPEN

• Thursday, November 21, 2019
• 6:30-9:30pm
• Hyatt Regency Cambridge (575 Memorial Drive, Cambridge)

Our featured speaker is Paula A. Johnson, MD, President, Wellesley College

RSVP for the Fall HST Dinner! Our reception is from 6:30-7:30 in the Paul Revere room on the ground floor of the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, with dinner and talk by Dr. Johnson to follow in the Charles View Ballroom on the top floor of the Regency.

To secure a seat for dinner, please mail/bring a deposit of $20 (cash or check made out to MIT) to Patty Cunningham in TMEC 213 or to Laurie Ward at MIT E25-518 by Tuesday, November 12. Your deposit will be returned to you at the dinner.  

When you sign up, let us know your preference for your main course meal: porcini-dusted all-natural chicken OR a vegetarian/vegan/gluten-friendly wild mushroom risotto with asparagus, maple-roasted carrots and cauliflower fritters.

Thank you!  We look forward to seeing you on the 21st!  Please let us know if you have any questions in advance of the event.

HST FRONTIERS SERIES - "PIZZA & PIZZAZZ"

The HST Fall Research Frontiers Lecture of 2019, part of the "Pizza and Pizzazz” series, will take place throughout the semester.

HST developed the lunchtime Frontiers seminar series to introduce first- and second-year MD and MEMP students to the breadth of HMS and MIT research faculty within our community; the series is open to all however.  The talks are expected to cover new and interesting developments from the speakers' labs, as well as 10 minutes of background to put the work into the bigger context of the field.

Pizza and salad are served at 11:30 in advance of the talk at 11:45am at HMS in TMEC 209.

The full schedule for the fall follows; please mark your calendars!

• November 14, Dr. Rakesh Jain
• November 21, Dr. Katherine Andriole
• December 5, Dr. Mehmet Toner
• December 12, Dr. Jay Bradner

Hope to see you there!

HELP SPREAD THE WORD – HST!

Are you traveling for any of the following reasons?

• Conference/workshop
• Giving a talk
• Visiting your alma mater

Can you help promote HST by talking to prospective students?

Contact Laurie Ward (laurie [at] mit.edu (l)aurie [at] mit.edu (aurie[at]mit[dot]edu)) for talking points and promotional materials to distribute.

INNOVATING IN HEALTHCARE FOR MISSION IMPACT

MIT Catalyst Spring 2020 is an opportunity for Fellows to join multidisciplinary teams that collaborate to deeply understand real unmet needs and develop solutions in healthcare that lead to viable action plans for innovations with high potential for impact. Fellows learn about the Catalyst Methodology process while addressing high priority challenges.

The focus for the Spring 2020 cohort is on: access to healthcare, patient and caregiver safety, and prevention, detection, and treatment of mental health conditions.

The program is open to ALL in the Greater Boston area--early stage professionals, postdocs, fellows, graduate students, clinical, and other professional degree candidates, advanced undergraduates, engineers, scientists, designers, entrepreneurs, MBAs--anyone with interest and willingness to spend time in research, innovation, and health. No need to know anything about the focus areas.

Sessions will be held on Mondays, 9am-12pm, January 6, to June 29, 2020. The overall time commitment is about 10 hours per week.

Read more in the Catalyst Spring 2020 Overview.

Please feel free to forward this to friends or colleagues who might be interested in the program.

Do not hesitate to contact Melissa Parrillo (MIT Catalyst Program Manager, parrillo [at] mit.edu (parrillo[at]mit[dot]edu), 617-715-2562)  if you would like to learn more about the program, have questions, or would consider being part of the Independent Advisory Panel.

Thank you for your interest in MIT Catalyst!

UPCOMING EVENTS FROM THE TEACHING + LEARNING LAB (TLL)

Information about upcoming workshops for graduate students and postdocs can be found here.

If you have any questions about programs and resources available to graduate students through the TLL, contact Ben Hansberry, Asst. Director for Graduate Student Teaching, bhansber [at] mit.edu (bhansber[at]mit[dot]edu)

Subscribe here to the TLL Newsletter.

HST.590 - FALL 2019

HST.590 topic for the fall semester is “Global Health” 

Remaining lectures for the term will be held: 

• 11/07 - Aaron Oppenheimer – Daktari; Jonathan Spector – Novartis
• 11/21 - Bruce Walker – Director, Ragon Institute; Howard Heller – Infectious Disease Specialist MIT Medical
• 12/05 - Final Lecture

HARVARD INNOVATION LABS CALENDAR OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Information about the Harvard i-lab and it's upcoming events and activities can be found here.

COMMUNITY WELLNESS AT MIT OFFERINGS

Community Wellness at MIT Medical works with the entire MIT community to provide the resources and programs that can help you make healthy choices.

Offerings include: Koru Mindfulness, Creating the Healthy Life You Want, and many other wellness classes.

Visit the Community Wellness website for more information and sign up for their newsletter.

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - DAYCON

SITN is excited to begin planning DayCon 2020, a day-long science conference geared towards the general public and covering a wide variety of scientific disciplines. The event will be held on May 30th 2020, and we are currently recruiting volunteers interested in organizing and planning the event. A description of available committee chair positions can be found here. If you are interested in working with us to coordinate this event, fill out this survey by November 11th. We will also send out a call for day-of volunteers in Spring 2020, so keep an eye out for that! Please feel free to reach out to sitn.daycon [at] g.harvard.edu (sitn[dot]daycon[at]g[dot]harvard[dot]edu) with any questions.

JOIN US FOR BROAD@15 - FROM GENES TO MECHANISMS TO MEDICINES

From Genes to Mechanisms to Medicines: Reflections on the past, present, and future of drug discovery

Anna Greka, Institute Member, Director of the Kidney Disease Initiative

Florence Wagner, Institute Scientist, Director of Medicinal Chemistry

• Thursday, November 14, 2019
• 6-7pm, Reception to follow
• Broad Institute Auditorium, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142

Since the Human Genome Project, our understanding of the genetic basis of human diseases has grown by leaps and bounds. But how close are we to translating these genetic insights into much-needed therapies? Physician-scientist Anna Greka and chemist Florence Wagner will reflect on how new tools and approaches in biology and chemistry have helped unlock new paradigms for the development of medicines in the genomic era, and look ahead to what the future might hold.

Register here.

COMPUTATIONAL MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE READING GROUP

Upcoming Seminars:

Learning microbial dynamics for therapeutic applications: Scalable inference and robustness

• Tuesday, November 12, 2019
• 1pm
• E25-101

Dr. Travis Gibson, Assistant Professor at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and at Harvard Medical School

Visit our website at https://mit-ccrg.github.io/

Join out mailing list at https://groups.mit.edu/webmoira/list/comp_med

Interested in presenting at our seminar? Contact dschles AT mit DOT edu

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: YALE SUMMER BIOETHICS PROGRAM

The 4-day “Foundations in Bioethics” will run from June 9-12. There is also a 7-week Summer Institute in Bioethics (June 8-July 25) that provides up to 200 contact hours.

The Summer Institute is known for its engaging and approachable faculty, an enthusiastic alumni network, and opportunities to network with faculty and participants from all over the globe (over 25 countries were represented last year-from all continents).

Students have a wide range of choices for seminar topics, which include Medical Ethics, Ethics of Climate Change, Policy Analysis for Bioethicists, Medical Humanities (in both Spanish and English), Bioethics and the Law, Public Health Ethics, Military Ethics, Animal Ethics, Moral Reasoning, Ethics of Information, Tech-Ethics, and so much more.  A link to our 2019 seminars is here.

All students present a poster at Yale School of Medicine at the end of the program, and some students work 1:1 with faculty to write an academic publication during the program.

Several students from recent classes recently presented their work at Oxford, UNESCO, and other renowned bioethics conferences.

Pricing is very affordable, and admissions are rolling. Please feel free to contact us at bioethics [at] Yale.edu (bioethics[at]Yale[dot]edu) to discuss the program, and you may learn more here: http://bioethics.yale.edu/summer

Finally, we have a number of engaging Youtube videos with our enthusiastic faculty. We encourage you to view them here.

MEDTECH BOSTON INFORMATION SOURCE & CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Boston has long been known as a medical mecca of scientific discovery. Boston’s healthcare professionals and administrators are adopting practices from other high-risk and service industries. The ‘big data’ movement is thriving, fundamentally changing our healthcare delivery systems. Digital health investments are higher than ever before. Medical hackathons and un-conferences are now an every-weekend occurrence. And both redesign and innovation promise to change medicine as we know it. It’s all happening right here, right now. But the problem is that many of us don’t know it. Despite Boston’s innovative energy and a solid medical infrastructure, many medical providers and health care entrepreneurs remain in the dark about the opportunities, events and work happening in and around the city of Boston – and across the country. That’s where we come in.

At Medtech Boston, we highlight exciting medical innovation work in and around the city of Boston. We aim to start a discussion about the most exciting and controversial new healthcare offerings, igniting a new reputation for Boston as a city with first-class medical research and patient care, but also as a city full of passionate people who use new technology to think big thoughts about medicine’s most pressing problems.

More organizational information and event postings from Medtech Boston is available here.

MIT GLOBAL HEALTH AND MEDICAL HUMANITIES INITIATIVE (GHMHI) UPCOMING EVENTS

The goal of the Global Health and Medical Humanities Initiative (GHMHI) is to provide MIT students the training to analyze critically the determinants of health and roles of medicine in society from historical and cross-cultural perspectives.

Global Health programs in medical schools, schools of public health, and universities and colleges across the U.S. emphasize how biomedical training, research, and practice, as well as interdisciplinary collaborations beyond the health sciences, are necessary to improve the determinants of health—whether social, political, economic, or biological.

Medical Humanities is a subfield of medicine that draws on the humanities, arts, and social sciences to analyze medical education and clinical practice.

Find more information and a calendar of upcoming events at http://ghmhi.mit.edu/.

BRAINMAP SEMINARS

Future topics will be similar to the previous Brainmap season, with some talks on Optogenetics, MR-PET, BOLD physiology, ultra-high field MRI, multimodal integration, contrast agents, and many more exciting topics! Unless otherwise noted, seminars are held on Wednesdays at noon in seminar room CNY2204, MGH/Charlestown, Building 149.

Brainmap website: http://www.martinos.org/training/brainmap

A schedule of upcoming Brainmap Seminars can be found at: https://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/calendar

To sign up for the mailing list, please go to: https://mail.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/brainmap

ACTIVATE IS BACK!

Interested in building a life sciences startup?

Apply to the Activate Life Sciences Entrepreneurship program!

Activate is a life sciences entrepreneurship program that enable the next generation of bio-entrepreneurs to launch successful life sciences companies. The program fosters collaboration among students of complimentary skillsets and provides teams with hands-on mentorship from world-class life sciences VCs and operators in Boston. 

Check out our website for more info about the program, our advisors, timeline, application, and past cohorts!

Applications are now open on a rolling cycle through November 27, 2019.

FAQs
Who is the program for?

• PhDs, post-docs, MDs, PIs or researchers who have developed a novel technology that has commercial potential
• MBAs with prior biotech-relevant experience
• Students/trainees who have a specific plan to source and develop scientific solutions for a high unmet need biomedical problem

What are the program benefits?

• Hands-on weekly mentorship from successful biotech founders and operators
• One-on-one workshops with world-class industry experts
• Feedback from top-tier life sciences investors and R&D leads
• Networking events with biotech executives, VCs, and entrepreneurial faculty
• $5000 cash prize for winning pitch
• Ride-sharing travel credit
• STAT+ account
• Tickets to 2019 MassBio annual meeting
• Free food and more!

Questions?

Activate bio (activate.bio [at] gmail.com (activate[dot]bio[at]gmail[dot]com))

GRADRAT NOVEMBER SALES

Our sales during November include:

• Sunday, 11/10:  Ashdown brunch, noon to 1:30pm
• Monday, 11/18:  Taste of Turkey, 6 to 7:30pm, Morss Hall

Note: you are allowed one NO-COST change to your ring for any change in​ your graduation year, department, degree or finger size, so feel free to buy your ring today and wear it with pride even if you are unsure about your graduation year!!

Visit our website at http://gradrat.mit.edu to check out our design, ring styles and metals/finishes and more. The ring is offered in yellow and white gold, and our fancy rose gold option, celestrium steel, argentium silver, fusion (a diamond-black finish); and natural, antique and RAW (matte) finish! 

You can also place your order online on our website if you know your finger size and bezel size preference. If you don't, drop by any of the events above to get sized or get in touch with us at gsc-ring [at] mit.edu (gsc-ring[at]mit[dot]edu) and we can have you sized right-away. 

Feel free to contact us at gsc-ring [at] mit.edu (gsc-ring[at]mit[dot]edu) if you have any questions or check out our website: http://gradrat.mit.edu

TA POSITION FOR HST.500: FRONTIERS IN (BIO)MEDICAL ENGINEERING AND PHYSICS

Teaching assistantship available for HST.500 in spring 2020. Primary responsibilities include course administration, review and editing of students’ grant proposals, and interactions with faculty. Experience in scientific proposal writing required; HST.500 experience preferred. Background in computational biology is a plus. 

This is a full-time TA that provides 100% stipend and tuition for the spring term. The expected workload is 20 hours/week. If you'd like to be considered for this position, please email Daniel Anderson (dgander [at] mit.edu (dgander[at]mit[dot]edu)) with cc to Sangeeta Bhatia (sbhatia [at] mit.edu (sbhatia[at]mit[dot]edu)).

MISTI - ISRAEL

Start it up in the Start-Up Nation! 

Spend your summer in Israel athrough MISTI!

Fully funded internships for UG, G and Recent Alumni

No language requirement
Opportunities in all courses
100% placement rate
Placements in industry, research & start-ups

Apply by December 2, 2019 at applymisti.mit.edu

MIT SCIENCE POLICY REVIEW SEEKING WRITERS

Are you interested in publishing essays on science policy topics? 

A number of MIT students are interested in starting a platform that publishes essays by the MIT community that take complicated scientific/technological concepts and convey them in a jargon-free and accessible way. These essays would be targeted towards different stakeholders, such as the general public, elected officials, members of the executive branch, etc. This “MIT Science Policy Review” is envisioned to look something like the Harvard Law Review for science policy.

We’re looking to find MIT students interested in writing essays on the following topics: 

1.    Energy Policy and Transforming the Energy Economy

2.    Gene Editing

3.    Gender Discrimination and the “Pipeline” Problem in Science and Business

4.    A Carbon Tax and the Carbon Marketplace 

5.    International Scientific Collaborations

6.    Nuclear Weapons Policy

7.    Drug Pricing 

8.    Federal Funding of Scientific Research

9.    Digital Currency and Cryptocurrency 

10.  Machine Learning 

We are also accepting pitches on topics outside of those listed above. The topics for each semesterly edition of the MIT Science Policy Review will change, so if you are interested in a topic not listed above, it may be possible to publish it in a future edition. Additionally, we are looking for people interested in providing design, communications, and technology support.

If you are interested in getting involved, please reach out to me directly at jharrod@mit edu for information on our first meeting.

OFFICE OF GRADUATE EDUCATION - FELLOWSHIP WORKSHOPS & FINANCIAL LITERACY RESOURCES

Upcoming OGE Financial Literacy Workshops

Investing Part II- April 3rd, 11:30 to 12:30 in 68-181. Adam Grenier CFP, Fidelity Investments.

Topics covered: Asset allocation, asset location, understanding market and economic business cycles.

Interactive Workshop on Credit- December 4th, 11:30-12:30 in 68-181. Dan Rosengard, OGE Graduate Community Fellow.
Learn the basics of credit building: Why is credit important? How is your credit score calculated? How can you start to build credit?

Visit the OGE website (https://oge.mit.edu/finances/financial-literacy/workshops/) to find out about financial literacy workshops.

iGrad
OGE also offers the free iGrad Financial Literacy platform (offered in collaboration with the MIT Federal Credit Union). Customized for MIT with videos, articles, games,  job board, searchable scholarship database, and interactive modules on a wide range of topics, including emergency-funding, credit card management, identity protection, spending-smarts, etc. it is a great financial literacy tool for students and the MIT community in general. More information can be found at https://iGrad.com/schools/MIT.

OGE’s Website Financial Literacy and Fellowship section updates
A new Financial Literacy section has been added to the website - https://oge.mit.edu/finances/financial-literacy/

Check out the updated fellowships section at https://oge.mit.edu/finances/fellowships/ especially the Fellowships Tips content at https://oge.mit.edu/finances/fellowships/fellowship-tips/

MIT Credit Union Events

https://www.mitfcu.org/Financial-Retirement/Event-Calendar

MIT GRADUATE STUDENT ROADMAP

The nearly 7,000 graduate students at MIT are one of the most talented scholarly cohorts in the world. Their educational experiences on campus go beyond just research.

In April 2017, when Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart brought together the offices of graduate and undergraduate education into the new OVC, the goal was to enhance existing services and identify new ways to provide every student, from orientation through commencement, with an exceptional student life and learning experience.

To help us meet our charge, we have been listening and responding to the ideas and concerns of MIT’s graduate students, and we have started to build stronger connections between members of the OVC team and the Division of Student Life (DSL).

Based upon meetings with graduate students in small and large groups, we have identified shared goals:

• strengthening the support network for graduate students and their families;
• addressing pain points associated with the cost and supply of housing; and
• enhancing diversity and inclusion, advising, and professional development programs and services.

The Road Ahead

To achieve our goals, we have launched a series of initiatives, known collectively as the Graduate Student Roadmap, as part of a strategic effort to improve the graduate student experience at MIT.

Find more information about the Graduate Student Roadmap here.

GRADUATE COMMUNITY FELLOWS POSITIONS

Graduate Community Fellows are a cadre of graduate students who work on projects and assignments that enhance graduate community in unique ways. Each Fellow reports to a staff member in the OGE or in a partner organization, and focuses on a specific project. 

Graduate Community Fellows will receive a stipend of $675 per month for the duration of the appointment period as compensation for an average of 10 hours a week.

Applications for open positions should be submitted to program administrator jlandry [at] mit.edu (Jessica Landry).  They will be reviewed as they are submitted; positions will be filled ASAP.

For program details and a list of current positions visit: https://oge.mit.edu/community/gcf/

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OFFICE NEWSLETTER

Read current and past issues of the ISO Newsletter here. For non-students, you can also subscribe to receive published copies by email.

OGE - DIVERSITY INITIATIVES NEWSLETTER

The Office for Graduate Education (OGE) Diversity Initiatives hopes your semester is off to a good start! The intent of our newsletter is to serve you so that you feel that the graduate community at MIT is a place where you feel at home; you are welcomed, you belong and you matter. 

Read current and past issues of the MIT OGE Diversity Initiatives Newsletter here.

MIT GRADUATE ASSISTANCE INFORMATION NETWORK (GAIN)

MIT Graduate Assistance Information Network (GAIN) is a free 24/7 network of professionals who provide life management resources and referrals to help make life easier for MIT Graduate Students and families.

MIT GAIN services, which are available at no cost to you and your family, include:

• Legal consultation
• Financial consultation
• Child care resources and personalized research and referrals
• Elder care resources and personalized research and referrals
• Relocation guidance
• School/summer camp selection for children in grades K–12
• Nutrition counseling
• Career assessment
• Resources for other life concerns, such as moving services, home repair and cleaning services, pet care, fitness programs & trainers, and more.

Take advantage of these additional MIT Work-Life programs and resources:

• Backup Child Care ($5 per hour)
• MIT Work-Life Seminar Series and Support Groups
• MIT Technology Childcare Centers

Find more information here.

MIT CONNECT

MIT CONNECT: Free one-on-one Lunches

Are you interested in having lunch with fellow MIT students, faculty, staff and alumni this semester? MIT Connect is designed to create a more connected campus by arranging for friendly, informal, platonic lunches between individuals from all over campus, and all walks of life. We are providing $10 in Tech Cash towards selected lunches for participating students!

Sign-up here: http://connected.mit.edu/

Feel free to contact us with question, comments, or concerns at questions [at] connected.mit.edu (questions[at]connected[dot]mit[dot]edu)

PEER 2 PEER STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICE

Need Someone To Listen?

Whether you’re having a bad day or just want someone to talk to, Peer2Peer’s community of MIT students is here for you.

Log in and chat anonymously about whatever’s on your mind with someone who really understands.

peer2peer.mit.edu

LET'S CHAT PROGRAM

A new program has started that is designed to help students who may be in need of support and direction, but who are reluctant to visit MIT Medical, or engage with S^3 or OGE.  

Called “Let’s Chat,” this outreach, which was originally announced by Cindy Barnhart in her recent message about various student support initiatives, offers a drop-in counseling office two hours daily from Tuesday through Thursday each week, in 8-316. Students who want a low-energy-barrier way to talk to someone can sign up for one of several 20-minute sessions available from 1-3 pm Tuesdays through Fridays. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for students to reach out for help they might need, so no advance appointment is necessary; students sign up for a 20-minute time slot by simply marking an “X” on one of the designated times on the daily schedule, which will be posted outside the door to 8-316.  

This service will be staffed by clinicians from Mental Health, and is open to ALL students — graduate, undergraduate, any department. Urgent situations should continue to be routed to MH walk-in or urgent care; “Let’s Chat” will focus on listening to students taking the first step to request support, and on providing referrals when necessary.

COMMUNITY SERVICE WEEKLY BULLETIN

At the heart of the MIT mission statement is a call to serve the nation and the world—and this charge is embodied by the MIT Public Service Center. Every year, we send thousands of students into communities locally, across the nation, and around the globe to apply their skills and knowledge for the betterment of humankind. In the Institute's best traditions of hands-on experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and creative problem solving, these students donate their time, create new technologies, form communities and companies—and ultimately change lives everywhere they go.

As part of MIT's Division of Student Life, we provide a central point of communication and support for the outreach and humanitarian efforts of the MIT community. We engage students, alumni, staff, faculty, and others in life-changing initiatives and social entrepreneurship ventures that provide needed resources to individuals and communities.

Sign up for the weekly Community Service Bulletin of Events and Programs here.

News and upcoming events are posted on the homepage.

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN THE PAGANETTI LAB - MGH

Open Position for a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Paganetti Lab at MGH

We seek a postdoctoral fellow with a strong background in physics or computer science for an innovative research project at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology (Physics Division). Experience in coding (e.g., CUDA, C++, python) is expected.

The successful candidate will work on the development of on-line adaptive proton therapy. We plan to achieve this goal by simultaneously developing fast hardware and GPU based software tools that take advantage of in-room prompt gamma and cone-beam CT imaging in combination with fast Monte Carlo dose calculation. We will combine this technology with a novel framework for treatment optimization in intensity-modulated proton therapy.

MGH is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity highly and encourage international and minority candidates to apply.

To apply, please email your CV and arrange for 3 letters of recommendations to be sent.

Harald Paganetti, PhD FAAPM
Professor and Director of Physics Research
Department of Radiation Oncology
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
100 Blossom St
Boston, MA 02114
hpaganetti [at] mgh.harvard.edu (hpaganetti[at]mgh[dot]harvard[dot]edu)

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS IN SOCIETY AND NEUROSCIENCE

The Center for Science and Society at Columbia University invites applications for postdoctoral research scholar/scientist or associate research scholar/scientist positions to begin July 2020. Interdisciplinary postdoctoral positions are available in the Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience program for researchers who have earned the doctorate, or its equivalent, in either (1) a humanities, arts, or social science discipline – such as psychology, psychiatry, public health, law, history, economics, literature, political science, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, journalism, music and the arts ― and who have extensive acquaintance with, and critical understanding of, neuroscience research; OR (2) neuroscience or a related discipline in the natural sciences and who have extensive acquaintance with, and critical understanding of, another discipline in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. These Scholars will join an innovative program, Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience, which includes up to nine postdoctoral positions and a large group of mentors and affiliated faculty from the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Review of applications will begin on December 2, 2019, and will continue until the positions are filled.

Candidates must hold a doctoral-level degree (PhD, DPhil, EdD, Jd, MD, etc.) by July 1, 2020, and must have received this degree after July 1, 2015.

Please visit our online application site at bit.ly/RAPS-pssn2020 for further information about this posting and to submit your application. For more information about the Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience program at Columbia University, please visit bit.ly/pssn2020.

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

PROJECT OPENING: GEORGE CHURCH LAB

George Church Lab (http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/) - Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School, affiliated with Harvard-MIT HST, Broad Institute, MIT Media Lab

Project: Haplotype-aware de novo assembly of related individuals

Scientific question. Humans are diploid, and hence there exist two versions of each chromosome, one inherited from the mother and the other from the father. Determining the DNA sequences of these two chromosomal copies---called haplotypes ---is important for many applications ranging from population history to clinical questions. Existing sequencing technologies cannot read a chromosome from start to end, but instead deliver small pieces of sequence (called reads ). Like in a jigsaw puzzle, the underlying genome sequences are reconstructed from the reads by finding the overlaps between them. However, current standard approaches cannot produce the sequences of both haplotypes but “collapse” them to obtain one consensus sequence. We develop algorithms to solve the genome assembly for diploids, that is, “to simultaneously solve two jigsaw puzzles with very similar yet different images”. Furthermore, we want to incorporate the pedigree information in the underlying model to generate diploid assemblies for related individuals. At the application side, the main question is how much read data is required for related individuals as opposed to single individual.

Approach. Due to the sequencing errors in the reads, heterozygous and repetitive genomic regions, the assembly problem is challenging. Over the past few decades, researchers solved it by casting it as an overlap graph problem, where nodes are the reads and edges represent the overlap between reads. To detect regions where the two haplotypes differ (called heterozygosity), we look for simple local structures called bubbles. A bubble is a type of directed acyclic subgraph with single distinct source and sink vertices that consists of multiple edges (with the same direction) between these pair of vertices. Once bubbles have been identified, they are simplified by removing structures most likely resulting from sequencing errors. The resulting bubbles can then be used to solve the “phasing problem”: find two paths that correspond to the sought haplotypes for every individual in a pedigree.

Tasks.

1. Investigate local structures (bubbles) in assembly graphs.

2. Formalize the problem of removing erroneous structures due to sequencing errors.

3. An efficient algorithm to detect bubbles that represent regions of heterozygosity.

4. Develop an efficient approach for phasing bubble chains in a joint framework for pedigrees

Relevant papers.

1. A graph-based approach to diploid genome assembly, ISMB 2018/Bioinformatics

(https://academic.oup.com/bioinformatics/article/34/13/i105/5045759)

2. Read-based phasing of related individuals, ISMB 2016/ Bioinformatics

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4908360/)

Requirements.

1. Programming: C++, python, shell scripting

2. Basic knowledge of bioinformatic tools

3. Enthusiasm to solve the problem - Possible to work remotely, with regular meetings on the MIT/Harvard campus.

What you will get:

- Extensive mentorship in computational methods

- Knowledge of how, conceptually, we can solve biological problems using computational methods.

- The opportunity to work in a diverse environment that includes people with vastly different, but complementary skill sets.

- Responsibility and satisfaction of owning your own project.

You will be directly working with postdoc:

Shilpa Garg, Algorithms in Computational Genomics, HMS

Candidates will be called for a short discussion (interview) to access your creativity, reasoning, and problem solving skills.

Please contact Shilpa Garg (shilpa_garg [at] hms.harvard.edu (shilpa_garg[at]hms[dot]harvard[dot]edu), shilpa.garg2k7 [at] gmail.com (shilpa[dot]garg2k7[at]gmail[dot]com)) and include your CV if you’re interested in inventing the future of biology using computational techniques.

POSTDOCTORAL OPENING IN LU LAB - MGH/HMS

A postdoctoral position is immediately available in the laboratory of Dr. Hua Jenny Lu at the Renal Division, Department of Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Funding is available for two years, with extended funding possible.  This position will focus on one of these three projects: 1) study beta1 integrin-extracellular matrix signaling in kidney collecting duct epithelial cells that mediates interstitial fibrosis of the kidney; 2) characterize the function of a novel gene in regulating kidney inflammation and podocyte metabolism that contributes to the development of proteinuria kidney diseases. 3) Characterize micro-environmental alteration in calcific vasculopathy in mice and patients of chronic kidney diseases. We are applying in vitro, exo vivo and various animal models using comprehensive and state of the art technologies to interrogate mechanism of kidney injury and repair. 

The candidates should hold a PhD or/and MD degree within biology, cellular, molecular biology and biochemistry, or physiology. Experience with cell culture, basic biochemical techniques, immunocytochemistry, western blotting and qRT-PCR is essential. Experience with animal study is an advantage. Candidate of either US citizen or a green card holder are particularly encouraged to apply. If interested, please submit your CV and contact information for three references to Dr. Jenny Lu at lu.hua [at] mgh.harvard.edu (lu[dot]hua[at]mgh[dot]harvard[dot]edu).

THREE WEISSLEDER LAB POSITIONS AVAILABLE - MGH CENTER FOR SYSTEMS BIOLOGY

• Position One: Postdoctoral Research Fellow 
  Research Area: Molecular profiling of cancer cells and microscopy 
  Full/Part Time: Full Time 
  Investigator: Weissleder, Ralph 

Description: The lab of Ralph Weissleder (https://csb.mgh.harvard.edu/weissleder) in the Center for Systems Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School invite applications for Postdoctoral Research Fellow positions. One or two positions are available in molecular profiling of cancer cells (see Sci Transl Med. 2014;6(219):219ra9). The ideal candidate should have a background in microfluidics, optics (microscopy), protein/DNA diagnostics, and cell biology, with expertise in system implementation and benchwork. The Center (csb.mgh.harvard.edu) has a diverse faculty with backgrounds in engineering, chemistry, biology, physics, and medicine, and offers a lively and supportive environment in which to perform interdisciplinary science. 

Responsibilities: We seek creative thinkers who take risks in defining and addressing important problems, and who use quantitative experimental, computational and/or theoretical approaches in their work. Research fellows are encouraged to write their own grants, following the training period, to launch their independent research. 

Requirements: A PhD, MD/PhD or MD and permanent residency is required. To apply, please send your CV, a summary of your most significant research accomplishments (300 words) and the email addresses of three references to: Serena Sullivan (Sullivan.Serena [at] mgh.harvard.edu), CSB, Simches Research Center, 185 Cambridge Street, Suite 5.210, Boston, MA 02114.

• Position Two: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  Research Area: Synthetic chemistry
  Full/Part Time: Full Time 
  Investigator: Weissleder, Ralph 

Description: The lab of Ralph Weissleder (https://csb.mgh.harvard.edu/weissleder) in the Center for Systems Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School invites applications for Postdoctoral Research Fellow positions. One position is available in chemical synthesis of small molecules and bioconjugation. The Center has a diverse faculty with backgrounds in chemistry, biology, physics, engineering and medicine, and offers a lively and supportive environment in which to perform interdisciplinary science. 

Responsibilities: We seek creative thinkers who take risks in defining and addressing important problems, and who use quantitative experimental, computational and/or theoretical approaches in their work. 

Requirements: A PhD, MD/PhD or MD and permanent residency is required. The ideal candidate has an extensive synthetic background and track record in chemical syntheses and analyses. To apply, please send your CV, a summary of your most significant research accomplishments (300 words) and the email addresses of three references to: Serena Sullivan (Sullivan.Serena [at] mgh.harvard.edu), CSB, Simches Research Center, 185 Cambridge Street, Suite 5.210, Boston, MA 02114.

• Position Three: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  Research Area: Biomedical engineering 
  Full/Part Time: Full Time 
  Investigator: Weissleder, Ralph

Description: The lab of Ralph Weissleder (https://csb.mgh.harvard.edu/weissleder) in the Center for Systems Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School invites applications for Postdoctoral Research Fellow positions. Several positions are available in bioengineering, chemistry, imaging and/or cancer biology. Ideal candidates should have a strong academic background, US training and prior publications. The Center has a diverse faculty and offers a lively and supportive environment in which to perform interdisciplinary science. 

Responsibilities: We seek creative thinkers who take risks in defining and addressing important problems, and who use quantitative experimental, computational and/or theoretical approaches in their work. Research fellows are encouraged to write their own grants, following the training period, to launch their independent research. 

Requirements: A PhD, or MD/PhD and permanent residency is required. To apply, please send your CV, a summary of your most significant research accomplishments (300 words) and the email addresses of three references to: Serena Sullivan (Sullivan.Serena [at] mgh.harvard.edu), CSB, Simches Research Center, 185 Cambridge Street, Suite 5.210, Boston, MA 02114.

FACULTY POSITIONS AVAILABLE AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY'S WELDON SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

There are currently two open faculty positions at the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

Please find details through the following links:

College of Engineering Faculty Position Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering

College of Engineering Faculty Position in the School of Biomedical Engineering / Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering

TWO RESEARCH POSITIONS IN THE MGH CARDIOVASCULAR IMAGING RESEARCH CENTER

• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in cardiovascular systems

Wanted: Outstanding and motivated undergraduate, graduate students and postdocs (MD or PhD) for computational modeling of blood flow in cardiovascular systems based on medical imaging at the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center (CIRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Our goal is to study the effect blood flow environment in cardiovascular systems such as coronary arteries in formation and progression of disease, develop new computational tools (including CFD and machine learning) to better and faster provide diagnosis and treatment solutions to patients. We work with high quality datasets ranging from MGH’s patient dataset and REPRIEVE to animal dataset.

See our recent publication using CFD to compare effect of coronary artery wall movement on the fluid dynamics in JBME: https://biomechanical.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/article.aspx?articleid=2733769

Prerequisites:

• Enthusiasm for applying computational modeling to study coronary artery disease
• Knowledge about concepts of fluid dynamics (Minimum of ENG-SCI 123, 2.06 Fluid Dynamics or higher)
• Experience with using CFD solvers
• Coding experience in python and/or MATLAB
• Able to work in a collaborative team environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

We are located near the Charles/MGH Red Line station at 165 Cambridge St, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114 (https://goo.gl/maps/FKbGFWrb8wUi1pp6A)

Students will be co-mentored by Dr. Udo Hoffmann , Professor of Radiology and Director of CIRC, and Dr. Parastou Eslami, Instructor of Radiology at  MGH Cardiovascular Imaging. Please send CVs to Dr. Eslami at peslami1 [at] mgh.harvard.edu (peslami1[at]mgh[dot]harvard[dot]edu)

• Deep learning to assess health from medical imaging 

Wanted: outstanding undergraduate, graduate (MD or PhD), and post-docs for medical imaging-based deep learning research at the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center (CIRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Our goal is to apply deep learning to assess health and longevity from routine medical imaging (e.g. CT scan and x-ray). We work with high quality trial datasets of tens of thousands of patients with imaging and adjudicated outcomes (ROMICAT II Hoffmann U et al. NEJM 2012; PROMISE Douglas PS et al. NEJM 2015; Framingham Heart Study Hoffmann U et al. JAMA Cardiology 2017; REPRIEVE Hoffmann U, Lu MT et al Am Heart J 2019; NLST Berg CD et al NEJM 2011; UK Biobank Bycroft C et al. Nature 2018).

See our recent JAMA Open publication using deep learning to predict mortality from chest x-rays: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2738349.

Prerequisites:

• Enthusiasm for applying deep learning to improve health
• Coding experience (minimum Harvard CS50/MIT 6.00.1 or equivalent)
• Experience with or commitment to learn Pytorch 
• Able to work in a collaborative team environment of MDs and PhDs
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

We are located near the Charles/MGH Red Line station at 165 Cambridge St, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114 (https://goo.gl/maps/FKbGFWrb8wUi1pp6A)

Students will be mentored by Michael Lu, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Radiology and Director of Research, MGH Cardiovascular Imaging. Please send CVs to Dr. Lu at mlu [at] mgh.harvard.edu (mlu[at]mgh[dot]harvard[dot]edu)

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY POSTDOCTORAL OPPORTUNITIES - OPTICS

Postdoctoral Opportunities - Optics - Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering

The Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering is a pioneer in the development of novel super-resolution imaging and nano-sensing technologies, and currently has two optics-related openings for postdoctoral fellows. For either role, candidates must have a PhD in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, medical physics, or a related field. The successful candidates are expected to possess excellent written and oral communication skills in English, a good publication record in peer-reviewed journals, and be highly motivated with demonstrable experience in modern optics.

One position is focused on developing endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) technologies to  quantitatively study changes to microvascular function and tissue nanoscale organization in response to disease progression. Candidates must have experience in optical imaging device development, fiber optics, spectroscopy, and Matlab or Python. Strong preference will be given to candidates with postdoctoral training and/or experience with optical coherence tomography, endoscopic imaging, broadband light sources, fiber optic splicing, machine learning techniques, and modeling of optical systems (Zemax). Demonstrated creativity through patents and novel high impact publications is a plus.

The second position is focused on super-resolution microscopy and single molecule localization techniques. Candidates must have experience in optical microscopy development, design and use; strong preference will be given to candidates with postdoctoral training and/or experience in the fields of super-resolution microscopy (especially single molecule localization techniques), spectral microscopy and/or other nanoscale imaging techniques. Experience with immuno-fluorescence and cell preparation is desired.

Successful candidates will work under the direction of Dr. Vadim Backman, Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and Molecular Genetics, and Director of the Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering at Northwestern University.

Outstanding candidates interested in this opportunity are encouraged to send a CV to Benjamin Keane at:
b-keane [at] northwestern.edu (b-keane[at]northwestern[dot]edu)

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY - GROUP LEADER IN CANCER BIOLOGY

Group Leader in Cancer Biology

Note: Applicants for this position must have a PhD and direct experience in cancer biology and/or chromatin research.

The Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering at Northwestern University, directed by Prof. Vadim Backman, is seeking a postdoctoral fellow or research faculty to lead a multidisciplinary team of scientists conducting cutting-edge research at the crossroads of biology, genomics, physics, engineering and medicine. Our main goal is to investigate fundamental biological questions and develop novel approaches relevant to the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other currently intractable diseases at early, treatable stages. We have developed a platform of pioneering super-resolution and nano-sensing optical microscopy technologies which, combined with genome mapping and other functional genomic approaches, allow us to study the causal relationship between the nanoscale structure of chromatin, global patterns of gene expression, and their alterationin disease.

As evidenced by recent publications in Nature Biomedical Engineering, PNAS, Cancer Research, and Scientific Reports, the Center undertakes systematic approaches to understanding cancer development by integrating molecular dynamics simulations, live cell super-resolution nano-imaging, computational genomics, and genome mapping technologies.

The Center has received substantial sponsored and philanthropic support and provides a highly collaborative, transdisciplinary environment consisting of researchers with diverse backgrounds: biomedical engineering, molecular biology, computer science, physics, chemical engineering, etc. Additionally, the Center has collaborative projects with over 20 physicians, biomedical, and physical sciences investigators both internationally and domestically. Research projects reside within one or more priority areas: cancer biology, biophysics of the genome, or cancer therapeutics.

We are seeking a highly motivated, enthusiastic, and creative candidate with excellent interpersonal skills and a strong publication record. The successful candidate(s) will have the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge research integrating molecular biology, epigenetics, and computational genomics. It is anticipated that he/she will engage in preparation of original manuscripts for conferences and peerreviewed journals as well as participate in writing grant proposals.

Specifically you will:

• Supervise and coordinate teams of graduate students and technicians working in the different areas of the research project.
• Analyze and integrate large datasets, including genomics and transcriptomics.
• Integrate molecular and physical aspects of genome function.
• Perform ex vivo and in vitro cell culture and in vivo animal studies.

Qualifications

The Center seeks applicants with a strong background in cancer biology. Successful candidates will have a mixture of the following skills:

1. Degree:
   PhD or MD/PhD required, with proven experience in cancer biology research.
2. Prior Experience:
   a) 3 years’ experience in cancer biology or chromatin research.
   b) Proficiency using standard biochemical, molecular, cellular, and functional genomic techniques is     required.
   c) Prior experience with optical imaging techniques is desired.
   d) Prior experience with whole cell imaging and computational skills are preferred but not required.
   e) Experience in single cell data analyses and integrative multi-omics approaches is highly desired.
   f) Demonstrated technical capability in analyzing complex omics data, including transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics; including differential analysis of multivariate datasets using common software tools.
   g) Previous experience with systems biology approaches to integrating omics datasets into biological pathways/networks, i.e. biological network modelling preferred but not required.
   h) Programming experience (preferably in Matlab and/or Mathematica) is preferred but not necessary.
   i) Experience working with mouse models is a plus.
   j) High level of numeracy, and knowledge of statistical analysis is highly desired.
3. Proven track record working independently and demonstrating critical thinking, problem solving, attention to detail and creativity are essential.
4. Excellent prioritization and project management skills.
5. Strong communication and interpersonal skills and fluency in both spoken and written English.
6. A solid record of quality publications in peer-reviewed journals showing an output commensurate with opportunity.

Qualified candidates should send a CV and cover letter to Benjamin Keane at: b-keane [at] northwestern.edu (b-keane[at]northwestern[dot]edu).

INSIGHT FELLOWS PROGRAMS

Apply to the Insight Fellows Program by February 10: https://apply.insightdatascience.com

The Insight Fellows Programs are tuition-free fellowships for graduating students looking to transition to thriving careers as data scientists, engineers, and other cutting-edge professionals.

Insight Fellows:

- Pay no tuition; the program is fully funded by top companies
- Meet, interview, and join top companies
- Launch a cutting-edge career where the average starting salary is $125K
- Join a network of over 2000 industry leaders

Insight alumni are now working at Facebook, LinkedIn, The New York Times, Apple, Airbnb, Netflix, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Github, Slack, 23andMe, Twitter, Bloomberg, NBC, Pinterest, Microsoft, Wayfair and 700+ other top companies.

Programs:
          - Artificial Intelligence
          - Data Engineering
          - DevOps Engineering
          - Decentralized Consensus
          - Security
          - Data Science*
          - Health Data Science*

*Please note that our programs are open to all degree levels, except our Data Science and Health programs, which have a PhD requirement

Locations:
          -Silicon Valley
          -New York
          -Boston
          -Seattle
          -Toronto
          -Los Angeles
          -Remote Program

Upcoming Deadline & Start Date:

- Application deadline: February 10, 2020 

- Session begins: May 26, 2020

Learn more & apply: https://apply.insightdatascience.com

Not ready to apply? Sign up for our notification list: https://notify.insightdatascience.com/notify

Questions? Email us at info [at] insightdatascience.com (info[at]insightdatascience[dot]com)

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW OPPORTUNITIES - DUBACH GROUP 

Two positions are open for the Dubach Group, one in Biochemistry and one in Imaging and Analysis.

• Biochemistry

Description: The Dubach lab has an opening for a highly qualified postdoctoral fellow with a strong background in chemistry and biochemistry. Our group is housed within the Center for Systems Biology and the newly formed Institute for Innovation in Imaging with goals of developing new imaging and analysis approaches that make the unmeasurable in biology measurable. Our research leverages novel fluorescence sensor design and optical microscopy to develop new quantitative imaging tools that enable measurements not otherwise possible. Our group strives to perform highly innovative research that will also improve patient outcomes in the clinic. We value publications, but also individual learning, growth and an exciting work environment. Our NIH-funded projects seek to develop more methods to study cellular activity to better understand fundamentals of molecular and cellular biology, find more effective therapies and build better sensors. We are seeking a fellow to join our efforts in developing fluorescence sensors using the combination of noncanonical amino acids, turn-on bioorthogonal click chemistry and polarization microscopy to measure intracellular protein activity across a range of medically important proteins.

Responsibilities: We seek a postdoctoral research fellow with a background in synthetic chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology. This fellow will work with the PI, lab members and collaborators to develop fluorescent sensing tools that utilize innovate chemistry, imaging and analysis approaches. The successful applicant should have a strong work ethic, openness to thinking outside the box and interest in collaborative research. Prior experience with techniques such as fluorophore synthesis, protein engineering, cell culture, fluorescence microscopy and molecular biology are preferred. Our focus on translational, cutting-edge research provides opportunities to pursue careers in academia or industry. We encourage fellows to seek funding through grants and/or collaborate with industry partners.

Requirements: The minimum requirement is a PhD or MD. Candidates should demonstrate a proven track record of achievement, ability to publish, interest in performing impactful research and proficiency in written/spoken English.

• Imaging and Analysis

Description: The Dubach lab has an opening for a highly qualified postdoctoral fellow with a strong background in microscopy and image analysis. Our group is housed within the Center for Systems Biology and the newly formed Institute for Innovation in Imaging with goals of developing new quantitative imaging and analysis approaches that make the unmeasurable in biology measurable. Our research leverages optical microscopy, intravital imaging, and cellular biology to make illuminating measurements of cellular and cancer biology using imaging techniques such as polarized fluorescence microscopy. Uniquely, we study single cell and dynamic phenomena that provide more discrete information that can be captured with standard approaches. We have a strong background in evaluating cancer pharmacology at the single cell level using new imaging tools and analysis. Our group strives to perform highly innovative research that will also improve patient outcomes in the clinic. We value publications, but also individual learning, growth and an exciting work environment. Our NIH-funded projects seek to develop more methods to study cellular response to cancer therapy and increase the impact promising drugs have on patient outcomes. The goals of the current project are more focused on computational evaluation of single cell response using tools such as Matlab, Python or TensorFlow.

Responsibilities: We seek a research fellow with a background in optical imaging, computational analysis, cellular biology and molecular biology. This fellow will work with the PI, lab members and collaborators to develop new analysis tools to better study cellular and molecular signaling and optimize therapeutic intervention. The successful applicant should have a strong work ethic, openness to thinking outside the box and interest in collaborative research. Prior experience with techniques such as cell culture, molecular biology, and programming are preferred. Our focus on translational, cutting-edge research provides opportunities to pursue careers in academia or industry. We encourage fellows to seek funding through grants and/or collaborate with industry partners.

Requirements: The minimum requirement is a PhD or MD. Candidates should demonstrate a proven track record of achievement, ability to publish, interest in performing impactful research and proficiency in written/spoken English.

For information on how to apply for these positions, contact Serena Sullivan (Sullivan.Serena [at] mgh.harvard.edu), CSB, Simches Research Center, 185 Cambridge Street, Suite 5.210, Boston, MA 02114.

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION - KWON LAB - RAGON INSTITUTE

Job Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard Studying HIV, the Microbiome and Mucosal Immunology

Direct Supervisor:  Doug S. Kwon, MD PhD, Associate Professor in Medicine

Email: dkwon [at] mgh.harvard.edu (dkwon[at]mgh[dot]harvard[dot]edu)

Phone: (857) 268-7009

Website: www.kwonlab.org

Employing Hospital and Department: Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard

Minimum degree and field of knowledge: PhD and/or MD with experience in immunology, microbiology and/or computational approaches

Years experience required: At least 3 years of doctoral research experience

Summary:
The Kwon Laboratory (www.kwonlab.org) at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston has an opening for a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to study mechanistic links between the vaginal microbiome and adverse reproductive outcomes, following up on recent studies published by our group in Immunity, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, and Cell Host and Microbe (see further details here).  This includes examination of the role of the vaginal microbiome that impact host mucosal immunity and HIV acquisition risk. The person hired will work under the supervision of Dr. Kwon conducting patient-oriented translational research using samples from well characterized cohorts in the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa involving transcriptional and immunologic profiling of mucosal immune populations and the microbiome using novel technologies, with the aim of generating new approaches to treat and prevent HIV infections. This includes the use of novel murine models to perform mechanistic studies of the role of mucosal immunity in the female genital tract on HIV susceptibility.

Candidates will have ample opportunities to acquire and develop new skills, work closely with the PI and collaborators, and communicate results to the scientific community through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications while working in a supportive, highly collaborative, and energetic environment.  State-of-the-art facilities are available within an exceptional research setting.

Job Duties:
Under the direction of the principal investigator, the applicant will independently carry out activities performing laboratory research. Duties include:

• Guide research projects through experimental design, conduct of experiments, and analysis of data
• Maintain detailed documentation of the experimental work
• Present data within and outside of the laboratory group at meetings and symposia
• Work closely within the group and with outside collaborators
• Mentor students and technicians
• Maintain close communications with the PI regarding progress
• Write, edit, and submit manuscripts/abstracts detailing the results of the project
• Demonstrate integrity, excellence, accountability and teamwork in all interactions

Ideal Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. and/or M.D. with relevant experience in immunology and mouse work preferred
• Experience with flow cytometry, cell culture
• Highly motivated and independent, with the ability to work in a dynamic team environment
• Exceptional organizational skills and excellent attention to detail
• Strong oral and written communications skills
• Must have good interpersonal skills

Application information: The position is open immediately although the start date is flexible. Please submit a cover letter, CV, and references to Dr. Doug Kwon at dkwon [at] mgh.harvard.edu (dkwon[at]mgh[dot]harvard[dot]edu). Unfortunately, due to the number of applications we receive, we may not be able to reply individually to all inquiries. All applicants, including those from abroad, must be able to come to Cambridge, MA USA for an in-person interview.

POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS IN PATHOLOGY IMAGE ANALYSIS - MAHMOOD LAB

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Position
We seek applications for exceptional postdoctoral research fellows with an interest in developing deep learning and machine learning methods for pathology image analysis. Postdoctoral applicants should have a Ph.D. in computer science, statistics, computational biology, or other highly quantitative field, a solid publication record and strong professional references. The ideal candidate should have a significant mathematical background, to learn and develop new AI methods. Demonstrated experience in computer vision or analysis of pathology or other biomedical imaging data types is desirable. However, applicants with strong machine learning or related backgrounds interested in transitioning into biomedical data science are highly encouraged to apply. Applicants with prior post-doctoral experience are not eligible for the position. The initial appointment will be for one year with annual renewals based on performance.

Environment and Opportunities
The newly established Mahmood Lab (www.mahmoodlab.org) aims to utilize machine learning, data fusion, and medical image analysis to develop streamlined workflows for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and biomarker discovery. We are interested in developing automated and objective mechanisms for reducing interobserver and intraobserver variability in cancer diagnosis using artificial intelligence as an assistive tool for pathologists. The lab also focuses on the development of new algorithms and methods to identify clinically relevant morphologic phenotypes and biomarkers associated with response to specific therapeutic agents. We develop multimodal fusion algorithms for combining information from multiple imaging modalities, familial and patient histories and multi-omics data to make more precise diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic determinations.

The Mahmood Lab is located in the Division of Computational Pathology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, which is the second largest non-university recipient of NIH research funding. The broad mandate of the Division of Computational Pathology is to develop and apply advanced computational methods for furthering the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. The Division is situated within the BWH Department of Pathology, which houses over 40+ established investigators, 50+ postdoctoral research fellows, and 100+ research support staff. In addition, BWH is part of the greater Longwood Medical Area in Boston, a rich, stimulating environment conducive to intellectual development and research collaborations, which includes Harvard School of Public Health, Boston Children’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Application Process
Qualified applicants should submit: (1) research statement (not to exceed 2 pages); (2) curriculum vitae; (3) two most relevant publications; (4) names and contact information of three individuals who can serve as references to: Faisal Mahmood, faisalmahmood [at] bwh.harvard.edu (faisalmahmood[at]bwh[dot]harvard[dot]edu)

LABSHARES NEWTON

We are excited to announce the launch of LabShares Newton, the first collaborative laboratory and biotech incubator in Newton, Massachusetts. LabShares provides a fully equipped laboratory, office space, and shared services to entrepreneurial biotechs without the hassle, lag time, and high upfront costs associated with building and managing their own labs. 

Through participation in the LabShares community, members receive a wide range of benefits and services. LabShares is conveniently located in a light-filled, modern office park near the Charles River -- just 15 minutes from Kendall Square with free parking, a gym, and a Fooda cafeteria.

LabShares is near capacity for its current space and has begun an expansion to double in size. We expect to open our newly renovated second floor in early 2019 and are accepting reservations now.

Check out the links below for more information. If you would like to schedule a tour contact Jenna Stein (jenna [at] labshares.com (jenna[at]labshares[dot]com), 857-222-5817).

LabShares Website

LabShares Press Release

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)

The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education offers an extensive range of clinical research training opportunities to prepare the next generation of clinician-scientists. Brief descriptions of the programs are provided below. As world’s largest biomedical research agency, the NIH encourages future clinician-scientists and medical researchers to consider adding an NIH experience to their portfolio.

Graduate Medical Education
NIH currently sponsor 17 medical specialty or subspecialty programs which have been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). We also jointly sponsor clinical training programs with extramural training partners, to include Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, and the National Capital Consortium. In addition, we sponsor numerous "one of kind" translational medicine fellowship training programs. https://cc.nih.gov/training/gme/programs1.html

Clinical Elective Programs
Short term—4 to 12 week—clinically oriented elective rotations for senior medical and dental students; unique mentored specialty/subspecialty clinical research rotations are also available for combined program students (i.e., MD/PhD, DO/PhD). https://cc.nih.gov/training/students/clinical_electives.html

Resident Elective Programs
Provides an experience with direct care of patients enrolled in investigational protocols at the NIH.  In addition to patient care responsibilities, resident physicians will have exposure to the design, conduct, and management of investigational protocols, including clinical trials. https://cc.nih.gov/training/physicians/info.html

Clinical and Translational Research Course for Ph.D. Students
Two-week intensive introductory course to demonstrate the role of PhD scientists in clinical and translational research, provide an overview and examples of how basic science and clinical observations lead to translational research, and increase awareness and access to Ph.D. role models, research resources, and potential career opportunities at the NIH. https://cc.nih.gov/training/phdcourse/index.html

Postdoctoral Research Training AwardsProvides the opportunity for recent doctoral degree recipients to enhance their research skills in the resource-rich National Institutes of Health (NIH) environment, which consists of more than 1200 laboratories/research projects. https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/postdoc_irp

Graduate Partnerships Program
This program is designed to bring PhD graduate students to the NIH Intramural Research Program for dissertation research. https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/gpp

Core Curriculum in Clinical Research
Free courses offered include: Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research (IPPCR); Principles of Clinical Pharmacology (PCP); and Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research. These courses are offered as distance learning courses. https://cc.nih.gov/training/training1.html

IIE EU - U.S.  EDUCATION COOPERATION FOR RESEARCHERS

For information on EU – U.S. cooperation in doctoral and postdoctoral education opportunities for U.S. researchers and organizations. Visit IIE online at www.iie.org. Please contact the programs directly for additional information or with any questions you may have.

A quote from a recent Fulbright U.S. student, "My advice to Fulbrighters of the future is that which was given to me. Go at it with an open mind; your experience will not be anything like you predicted and will mark you indelibly, but it will be great."

TRINITY INFO SESSION

Elevating life sciences. Evidence to Action.

• Tuesday, November 12, 2019
• 6-8pm
• TMEC 250, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston

Trinity is a trusted strategic partner, providing evidence-based solutions for the life sciences . With over twenty years of experience, they are committed to solving their clients' most challenging problems through their scientific expertise, exceptional service, unique insight, and powerful tools.

Introduction of company followed by case study.

For more information and to RSVP contact: harvardgsasbusinessclub [at] gmail.com (harvardgsasbusinessclub[at]gmail[dot]com)

MCKINSEY & COMPANY: 2020 POSITIONS

Learn
Please visit our Advanced Professional Degree Showcase site for more information about offices & practices, diversity & inclusion, and recruiting timelines geared toward Advanced Professional Degree candidates.

You may also be interested in exploring our Careers quiz to learn more about roles available that match your skill set and interests.

Apply
Please apply on McKinsey's career website for the following opportunities:

• 2020 full time Associate role: PhDs, postdocs, MDs, JDs, and master's degree* candidates who plan to complete their program between December 2019 and December 2020 (or 2021 for MDs only)
• 2020 Summer Associate intern role: JDs only who are graduating in 2021
• 2020 MD Fellow role: Medical students who are entering their third year of school (2021 graduates)

If you have a passion for digital and technology topics, consider joining Digital McKinsey by selecting Digital McKinsey (and an office) in the office preference section of the Associate application.

*If you are pursuing a masters degree and have earned an undergraduate degree fewer than four years ago, you will join as a business analyst. If you hold a bachelors degree and have at least four years of work experience, or completed or expect to complete your master's degree within four years of receiving your bachelor's degree, you will join as an associate.

Prepare
We want you to succeed in the interview process and believe you have the skills to do so. We provide support to all candidates who interview with us. You can find more information about our interview process, including practice cases on our careers website.

MIT ALUMNI ADVISORS HUB - ADVISING OPPORTUNITY FOR MIT STUDENTS

The MIT Alumni Advisors Hub is an online platform that students can use to ask for advice when they need it—from MIT alumni around the world. Students can get advice on their job and internship search, conduct a mock interview or informational interview, explore career paths and future entrepreneurial pursuits, and navigating life at MIT.

Sign up to gain access to a community of alumni who are eager to share their advice at https://alumniadvisors.mit.edu/.

Find an advisor today!

UPCOMING MIT CAREER FAIRS

Find out more information about career fairs here at MIT.

​GENIUSMESH JOB SEARCH PLATFORM

We all know that 75-80% of the jobs are not posted anywhere and most of these jobs are filled through referrals and networking. It takes months to network and find the right opportunities. Neerja Bharti, Sloan EMBA 15 has launched GeniusMesh to solve that particular problem within the MIT ecosystem.

GeniusMesh is a trusted job search platform that connects MIT AlumCos (companies founded or with current alumni) with MIT candidates looking for Sr. Manager to Executive roles. Being a trusted site for both parties, finding the right candidate for an existing job search or future potential opportunity becomes easy. You would be able to find a contract, contract to hire or full-time opportunities faster. Both local, as well as international candidates, would be able to take advantage of our platform.

“Our ultimate goal is to create an intimate and trusted hiring environment by making it easier for any MIT-affiliated graduate to connect with the right companies, and alums to find top talent faster”

Please sign up and let us know what you are looking for and we will bring the right opportunities to you. You would also be able to search part-time and full-time jobs in stealth mode. We don’t share your profile without your permission.

Joining the platform today will just take a couple of minutes! www.geniusmesh.com

Please contact Neerja directly at Neerja [at] geniusmesh.com (Neerja[at]geniusmesh[dot]com) if you have any questions.

MIT'S IGRAD FINANCIAL LITERACY & CAREER RESOURCES PORTAL

The OGE sponsors MIT's iGrad financial literacy portal, with resources to help with financial support.

The iGrad Financial Literacy platform (offered for free to the entire MIT community in collaboration with the MIT Federal Credit Union) is customized for MIT with videos, articles, games,  job board, searchable scholarship database, and interactive modules on a wide range of topics, including emergency-funding, credit card management, identity protection, spending smarts, etc. it is a great financial literacy tool for students and the MIT community in general.

More information can be found at oge.mit.edu/finances.      

GRADUATE STUDENT CAREER EVENTS - WEBSITE & CALENDAR

For those who are looking for other resources, recordings of career related workshops and sessions for grad students available here: http://capd.mit.edu

The CAPD Event calendar can be found here. 

Sign up for the Graduate Student Career Advising mailing list here.

CAPD OFFERS THE VERSATILE PHD RESOURCE TOOL

MIT Career Advising & Professional Development (CAPD) is pleased to announce MIT’s subscription to The Versatile PhD, a web-based resource for PhDs considering careers beyond academia. Our subscription, generously supported by OGE, can be accessed by students and alumni via CAPD’s webpage and student CareerBridge accounts. Once students register, they can simply log in to the site directly (www.versatilephd.com) 

MIT CAREERBRIDGE

There are hundreds of jobs and internships now posted on CareerBridge, under both the Job Search and the On-Campus Interviews tabs. Check both tabs and apply as soon as possible.

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