1. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development Robert W. Doms, M.D., Ph.D. Chair, Department of Microbiology Associate Professor, Pathology and Lab Medicine School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Surviving and Thriving at Penn

2. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development Surviving and Thriving at Penn “Hands” -Students -Technicians -Postdocs Money - Start-up - Grants The Science - Focus; getting papers out - Resources at Penn - Collaborations, affinity groups

3. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development Hands - Attracting Graduate Students Attracting students is an important part of building a lab Your disadvantages: you are new and relatively unknown; you may not have students in your lab yet; high faculty to student ratio Your advantages: students frequently attracted to the labs of young faculty, who are viewed as dynamic, more hands on, more accessible, the student sees the PI more Teaching gives you an opportunity to meet students - seminar courses are more effective than lecture courses

4. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development Consider team-teaching a seminar course with one or more faculty members; it spreads the work around; and it also makes for a more dynamic and interesting class Be sure to give chalk talks When you get rotation students, work with them - go over papers with them, talk to them frequently Get involved in recruiting; see if there are T32 grants you can join Hands - Attracting Graduate Students

5. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development TechniciansTechnicians There is a great pool of technicians in the Philadelphia area - lots of excellent colleges and universities Many students want to work for 1-3 years before going to grad school or med school, and so have a reason to do well Get to know your personnel person; know the rules; give your technician feedback, both positive and negative If someone is not working out, you have to cut them lose; pay attention to the probationary period

6. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development Expanding your funding base Funding diversity when starting your lab –Get your first R01, but plan for your second –Have someone else read your grants –Joint R01 grants, with you as Co-PI. Generally, you can’t get your second R01 until you demonstrate productivity on your first. Joining with someone on an R01 is a way to get around this, to bring in an additional source of funding before you obtain your second grant. It also makes it much easier to write! –Program projects –Private awards and career development awards

7. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development Diversification through collaborations You need senior author papers - little else matters. Joint publications are OK, and are helpful, but only if you have a sufficient number of senior author papers Avoid publishing with your previous mentors Too many joint publications with a well known, senior scientist, is a problem, unless you have a sufficient number of papers that do not involve that individual. However, an effective collaboration can greatly accelerate your research, and make it easier for you to move into new areas, giving you both scientific and funding diversity.

8. Faculty Affairs & Professional Development Other points in getting science done Educate yourself about the resources available at Penn; core facilities; other faculty You have to write quickly - don’t let things drag on, don’t wait for the perfect paper Go to meetings - outside letters will be important for tenure; stay in touch with people Find an affinity group - joint lab meetings