Professional Development workshops and seminars
The Northwestern University Postdoctoral Association (NUPA) offers free workshops, seminars, and coffee chats with alumni to help postdoctoral trainees and students improve their career prospects, explore alternative career paths and develop skills for career success. Many events are open to postdocs and graduate students, i.e., you do not have to be a NU postdoc to participate.
If you are interested in learning more email nupa@northwestern.edu. Stay tuned for more exciting events by following our Eventbrite page.
Your voice matters
At NUPA, we’re curious about your thoughts and opinions on the professional development opportunities we offer and the ones you’d like us to organize.
Give us your voice here !
Upcoming events
Past events
Research Impact Workshop
From career advancement to research funding, researchers are often asked to demonstrate the biggest impact to the widest possible audiences. In this presentation we will discuss practical strategies for establishing a strong online presence about your expertise, enhancing and tracking the impact of your work, and using metrics to communicate your research impact. We will also discuss the importance of responsible metrics, which includes quantitative indicators and qualitative reviews. We will wrap up with a conversation on recent developments in scholarly communications, which may influence research dissemination and evaluation.
Karen Gutzman is Head of Research Assessment and Communications at Galter Health Sciences Library and Learning Center where she develops, supports, and implements programs that increase awareness about digital scholarship and issues in the digital environment among faculty, researchers, and students at Feinberg School of Medicine.
Chicago Campus : Tue, January 10, 1-2pm.
Location: Galter Health Sciences Library, Confrence Room 303 East Chicago Avenue #2-212 Chicago, IL 60611
Registration: Sign up for this event
Evanston Campus : Mon, January 9, 1-2pm.
Location: Galter Health Sciences Library, Confrence Room 303 East Chicago Avenue #2-212 Chicago, IL 60611
Registration: Sign up for this event
Time Management for Postdocs
Today’s researchers are starved for time. Every researcher can benefit from learning new and better ways to effectively plan, prioritize and schedule their daily activities. Because the techniques chosen to manage time must be tailored to fit each person’s individual style, the better we know ourselves, the more we will improve. In this session, Gracey Lichtenstein, Manager of Training at CuraLinc Healthcare will introduce techniques for managing time, and help you identify areas that need improvement and learn the organizational skills needed to make research efforts successful.
Chicago Campus : Wed, December 7, 4-5pm.
Location: Galter Health Sciences Library, Confrence Room 303 East Chicago Avenue #2-212 Chicago, IL 60611
Registration: Sign up for this event
Evanston Campus : Tue, December 6, 4-5pm.
Location: Galter Health Sciences Library, Confrence Room 303 East Chicago Avenue #2-212 Chicago, IL 60611
Registration: Sign up for this event
Immigration and Visa Options for Postdocs
The U.S. immigration system is complex and constantly changing. During this seminar, immigration attorney William B. Schiller, will discuss recent developments that impact international Postdocs. The seminar will also cover temporary and permanent residence immigration options, with particular emphasis on pathways to permanent residence under the employment-based first and second preferences including National Interest Waivers (NIW), Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and immigration under the labor certification process.
Following the presentation, Mr. Schiller will be available to discuss a few individual situations on a first come first served basis. If interested, please select I need a personal consultation option upon registration. NUPA professional development committee will contact you with more information.
Evanston Campus : Thu, October 20, 3-5pm.
Location: TGS Commons 2122 Sheridan Rd, RM #120 Evanston, IL 60201
Registration: Sign up for this event
Chicago Campus : Fri, October 21, 4-6pm.
Location: Galter Health Sciences Library, Confrence Room 303 East Chicago Avenue #2-212 Chicago, IL 60611
Registration: Sign up for this event
Fall Peer Writing Hour – Evanston
Tue, Sept 26th 4-6pm. In this Peer Writing Hour atendeed will be connected with other NU postdocs to exchange writing, receive feedback and improve grant application or manuscript. Furthermore, we will dive into available writing resources at NU.
Location: TGS Commons 2122 Sheridan Rd, RM #120 Evanston, IL 60201
Fall Peer Writing Hour – Chicago
Mon, Sept 27th 4-6pm. In this Peer Writing Hour attendees will be connected with other NU postdocs to exchange writing, receive feedback and improve grant application or manuscript. Furthermore, we will dive into available writing resources at NU.
Location: Galter Health Sciences Library, Confrence Room 303 East Chicago Avenue, #2-212, Chicago, IL 60611
The NIH Biosketch Workshop
Biosketch is a compact version of your curriculum vitae, in a specific format required by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH has both required and recommended elements to include in your sketch. This presentation will show you some examples of language used in biosketches – by Feinberg researchers – to summarize research and research impact.
Elevator Pitch Competition 2021
Last winter, our professional development series ended with a finale “Elevator Pitch Competition” event with Byron Stewart, Barbara Shwom, and Beth Healey as judges. We had great participation from postdocs across NU and a few enthusiastic postdocs from PSU.
Winners of Pitch Slam 2021 :
Cat Majors works in the Tyo Research Group in the Chemical & Biological Engineering Department on a protein engineering project aimed at improving antigen detection diagnostics. When she isn’t catering to the needs of her bacteria in the lab, you can find her working with fellow NUPA officers to create community among postdocs at Northwestern, spoiling her beagle Barney, playing the mandolin, and knitting tiny sweaters for her niece and nephews.
Dishary Banerjee is a postdoctoral scholar at Pennsylvania State University. Her interests broadly span across establishing cutting-edge bioprinting science and technology for engineering a wide variety of human tissues. A current focus of her research is on the fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) robust breathing lung model to facilitate the study of human immune responses to viral infections like COVID19.
Vikram is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University- Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. He is working with Dr. Bruce Tan, and his area of research is focused on decoding the mystery behind olfactory loss in patients suffering from Chronic Rhinosinusitis. He is an automobile enthusiast and an avid runner. In his spare time, he likes to go on long hikes.
Ewa is currently a postdoctoral trainee in the lab of Jeffrey Savas at the Department of Neurology at Northwestern University, where she uses advanced mass spectrometry and metabolic labeling of animals to investigate proteins with exceptionally long-lived lifespans. Born on a small farm in Poland, Ewa enjoys spending time outdoors together with her husband and two kids, roasting (and drinking) coffee, and traveling.
Betsy Schock moved to Northwestern University in 2017 and joined the LaBonne lab. Her current research using frogs focuses on understanding the stem cell properties of neural crest cells, the progenitors of the facial skeleton. During her PhD at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the lab of Samantha Brugmann, she studied craniofacial development using mouse and chick model systems.