{"id":156424,"date":"2024-10-03T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/?p=156424"},"modified":"2024-10-03T09:02:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T13:02:36","slug":"i-should-make-myself-clear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/2024\/10\/03\/i-should-make-myself-clear\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Should Make Myself Clear\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Up-and-coming biomed postdocs come to BU to learn how to pitch their discoveries<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Patrick L. Kennedy<\/strong><\/p>\n

A diverse array of the nation\u2019s most promising young biomedical engineers converged on Boston University this fall for the annual Rising Stars in Engineering in Health conference, where they learned soft skills they can use to land jobs and funding as they seek to turn their remarkable research into real-life solutions. The conference was hosted by BU’s Biomedical Engineering<\/a> (BME) department, in co-sponsorship with the BME departments of Columbia University, Cornell University, and Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese 20 postdocs are candidates of such promise that we want to be on their radar,\u201d says BME Professor and Chair John A. White<\/a>, speaking for himself as well as the other three sponsoring institutions\u2019 BME chairs, who were also in attendance at the two-day event, held in the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, we\u2019re trying to help them set themselves up for success,\u201d White says, by imparting lessons that the postdoctoral researchers didn\u2019t learn in their regular curricula. \u201cFor example, how to negotiate a job offer; how to give a presentation to an audience of non-specialists and get them excited about their work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Out of 200 applicants, 20 distinguished young scholars and scientists were selected for the prestigious Rising Stars program this year.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Importantly, the Rising Stars hailed from a variety of subfields within biomedical engineering as well as from a range of racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve embedded in our ethos a commitment to engineering in service to society,\u201d said Dean ad interim <\/em>Elise Morgan<\/a> (ME<\/a>, MSE<\/a>, BME) in her opening remarks. \u201cOur purpose is to create opportunities for all by enabling people to live healthier, more productive, more connected and fulfilling lives through innovation\u2014and when I say opportunities for all, I mean all, recognizing that technological progress isn\u2019t progress if it\u2019s not enabling for and welcoming to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also in a university that from its inception almost 200 years ago has been open to people of all genders, races, and religions,\u201d added Morgan, who is also the Maysarah K. Sukkar Professor of Engineering Design and Innovation. \u201cThat\u2019s a guiding principle we\u2019ve kept with us, and we\u2019re committed to hiring and supporting faculty who are not only outstanding researchers but also outstanding role models and mentors for a diverse student body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like lightning<\/strong><\/p>\n

The centerpiece of the conference was a chance for the Rising Stars to hone their five-minute \u201clightning talks,\u201d pithy presentations that convey to listeners what the researchers do and why it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re invariably excellent researchers, but they don\u2019t necessarily know how to make the pitch to someone who isn\u2019t directly in their field,\u201d says White. \u201cTheir initial presentations are technically tour-de-forces, but they\u2019re way too detailed. They need to explain the context of their work and how it could improve human health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sridevi Sarma, a BME professor and vice dean of graduate education at Johns Hopkins, gave the postdocs a crash course in presenting, using her own research pitch as an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in computational neuroscience\u2014I love the math,\u201d Sarma said. \u201cI have to suppress the math when I talk to a general audience. I try to explain the research at an intuitive level as opposed to a mathematical level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarma opens her own talk and slideshow with the story of Olympic runner Florence \u201cFloJo\u201d Joyner, who received a false negative in a test for epilepsy, never received treatment, and died. Turns out, misdiagnosis is quite prevalent. But Sarma\u2019s group, she explained, has figured out how to compute a biomarker for epilepsy from EEG data, dramatically reducing the risk of misdiagnosis.<\/p>\n

Without getting into the math or even burdening listeners with the name of the biomarker, \u201cI tried to give you the flavor of the innovation,\u201d Sarma said. \u201cThe goal is, in just a few minutes, you should be able to tell your families, even your 10-year-old niece, what you do\u2014and their reaction should be: Wow!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Why a 10-year-old? Because the same skills used in crafting a punchy \u201clightning talk\u201d apply to other communication tasks for academics, Sarma said. Even in a 45-minute \u201cjob talk,\u201d when a faculty candidate presents their research to an audience of prospective colleagues, \u201cYou still have to hit those points\u2014highlight the significance of your work, state the problem, state your solution, and show evidence your solution works. You still have to be very careful about jargon\u2014faculty meet candidates all the time that are not in their field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis transfers to grant writing,\u201d Sarma added, especially to the \u201cspecific aims\u201d page of a grant proposal. \u201cThat one-page real estate is so precious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick learners<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following Sarma\u2019s lecture, attendees broke into small groups, in which postdocs presented the five-minute audio slideshows they had prepared before the conference. Oftentimes, these were blizzards of information without a clear narrative. Faculty mentors spent the next hour picking apart the presentations, pruning details, and helping the postdocs make sure their message shined through.<\/p>\n

For example, during her pre-recorded lightning talk, Pu-Ting Dong (ENG\u201920) showed one eye-catching slide that was a riot of color, but the significance of the picture eluded everyone in the room\u2014a room full of accomplished biomedical engineers. Then, as the group parsed the presentation more carefully afterwards, someone asked a question about that slide.<\/p>\n

\"\"
From left: Rising Stars Pu-Ting Dong (ENG’20) and Jason Guo with BU BME chair John White.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI should make myself clear,\u201d Dong responded. \u201cThis is a side-by-side comparison between the traditional approach to imaging bacteria, and our approach. It\u2019s a day-and-night difference!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way you just said that was perfect,\u201d said Grace McIlvain, assistant professor at Columbia. \u201cYou had the enthusiasm in your voice that you didn\u2019t have in the recording.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next day, the postdocs presented their streamlined talks, incorporating mentors\u2019 feedback. \u201cThey give a much better talk the second time,\u201d says White. \u201cBecause they\u2019re so smart\u2014they\u2019re really quick learners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a pleasure to meet so many young people with dynamic new approaches to biomedical research,\u201d says event co-organizer Professor Catherine Klapperich<\/a> (BME, MSE, ME). \u201cIt was an energizing experience for the Stars and the faculty mentors alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dong concurs. \u201cThis conference is a great networking opportunity,\u201d she says. \u201cTo learn about the research of the other [Stars] creates further opportunities for future collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest advantages to this is meeting people at the same stage as you,\u201d says Kayla Wolf, a Rising Stars alum who is now a Cornell assistant professor. \u201cIt was invaluable getting to ask those nitty-gritty questions, and seeing that we\u2019re all in this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos by Mike Spencer<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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