Sept. 27, 2010

By Ron Hartung

You’re an earnest postdoctoral fellow, making bold scientific discoveries but worried about your career prospects. You’re in an elevator. Someone you recognize as a potential employer has just entered and asked, “So what are you working on?”

Opportunity has never knocked so loudly. This is your moment. But tongue-tied seconds whiz past, and all you can manage is a mumbled reference to “biomarkers.” The elevator doors open, and the opportunity is gone.

But that needn’t be the case for the 200-plus science postdocs at Florida State University. The new Postdoctoral Career Development Program can help them prepare for these and other opportunities. It’s directed by Tim Megraw, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Medicine.

“This program, created by Biomedical Sciences Chair Richard Nowakowski, will support postdocs with a variety of resources, mostly in the form of presentations, workshops and other activities to guide and recognize our many postdocs who, very often, are the driving force behind research efforts at FSU,” Megraw wrote in an invitation to the inaugural event. “This program will benefit all departments on campus when their programs are reviewed, and such a program is becoming an essential element at funding agencies (now required at the National Science Foundation) for there to be an established postdoc training framework.”

On Sept. 24, about 50 people from a variety of disciplines across campus attended the kickoff event, a workshop focusing on very brief pitches called elevator talks. Lisa Blakley, of the FSU Office of Intellectual Property Development and Commercialization, first showed several scenes from “The Pursuit of Happyness” in which a struggling man played by Will Smith takes advantage of opportunities to advance his career.

Then the postdocs split into small groups and, bashfully at first, began honing their pitches. Faculty members circulated among them to offer pointers. A pitch will vary slightly depending on whether you’re trying to get a job, a grant or a date, but Blakley and others said everyone ought to have a concise self-description – and ought to rehearse it frequently.

Megraw, Nowakowski and the other mentors kept urging these postdocs to avoid scientific jargon and to use language and ideas that would resonate with anyone. Among the mentors’ comments:

• “Instead of saying ‘I will try,’ say ‘I will figure out.’”
• “Maybe you could say ‘I’m working on,’ not ‘I’m interested in.’”
• “Are you going to cure any diseases?”
• “What do you say to the guy on the airplane who asks you, ‘What’s a cell?’”
• “How big is a nanobot, really? What are you going to use it for? You mean you can do what they do on ‘Star Trek’ – inject me with it and clean out my arteries?”

Among the pitches that earned praise were those that began “I study exploding stars” and “I’m working to find a cure for obesity.”

“The enthusiasm of the presenters was inspiring, and I was delighted by how many kept jumping up to make their pitch,” Megraw said afterward. “There has been a lot of activity since then, too. At least three people have approached Lisa since the event to get more information on opportunities to learn more about entrepreneurial ventures. Lisa is moving forward to bring together interested parties. Sometimes just bringing people together creates new opportunities.”Raed Rizkallah, a postdoc in the College of Medicine, said he loved the visuals in Blakley’s demonstration, such as the movie scene in which Will Smith’s character grabs a Rubik’s Cube from a CEO’s hand, solves the puzzle and makes an indelible impression that pays off.

Rizkallah didn’t claim to have his elevator talk fully polished yet, but he said of the session, “It’s a starting point for me.” It gave him much to think about, and renewed hope. He has been at Florida State in various capacities since back when the College of Medicine was in the old Florida High buildings, and he’s impressed by the changes Nowakowski has made since he arrived early this year.

“He’s really dedicated to helping postdocs,” Rizkallah said.

Also at the PCDP session was Phil Halstead, CEO of Florida LambdaRail, a consortium of 12 universities using a high-speed fiber optic network for research, education and economic development. Learning that a job fair is in the works, Halstead referred to the Florida companies that will be there and told the postdocs, “They need what you’ve got.”

MORE ABOUT PCDP

A website will go up soon. In the meantime, for more information write to Tim Megraw at timothy.megraw@med.fsu.edu.

AN EXAMPLE OF A THREE-SENTENCE PITCH

"Hi, I'm Lisa Blakley, Stanford MBA, veteran of two Silicon Valley start-ups and now at your service in my role as FSU commercialization director to help you turn your research dreams into products that will make a difference in the world. I can help your team get intellectual property protection, licenses and maybe even help you start a company. If you’d like to learn more, please pick up my business card before you leave today!”