Activities 2024

In its November 2024 installment, the IOCB Postdoc Club hosted former IOCB postdoc and PhD graduate Anežka Ruschková, who spoke on transitioning from an academic career to the pharmaceutical industry.

This was clearly a topic of interest, as a large audience of postdocs, PhD students, and technicians attended.

A workshop led by AI expert Michaela Liegertová was held on how researchers can use generative AI and large language models to improve research efficiency throughout the research life cycle. Primarily aimed at PhD students, it also attracted postdocs, technicians, and group leaders, filling the lecture hall.

The Women in Science at IOCB group welcomed economist Prof. Štěpán Jurajda of CERGE-EI as part of the Week of the Czech Academy of Sciences. During the workshop, he discussed findings from studies on the situation of women in science, exploring perspectives on the labor market, social norms, historical changes, the parenthood penalty, and nature versus nurture. A key takeaway was that role models are essential, with female teachers, professors, and supervisors providing substantial benefits to junior female researchers.

The annual team-building and orientation bootcamp for new PhD students took place in the Bohemian Forest mountains. Senior PhD representatives and members of the admin team joined to explain IOCB processes and welcome the new students. Activities included guitar playing, board games, and a walk along the mountain ridge, attended by 23 Czech and international students.

Equal Opportunities Officer Blanka Collis participated in a panel at the National Contact Point Gender and Science annual conference, themed “Social Safety: From Measures to Action.” She shared insights on IOCB’s successful initiatives within the HR Award and Equal Opportunities Plan, including ethical proxies, wellbeing consultant services, and subsidized psychological support.

The IOCB hosted and financially subsidized two well-attended workshops run by Empowerment Self Defense Czechia. These courses aim to manage various types of dangerous situations in everyday life with an approach based on prevention, awareness of one's needs, assertiveness, communication, and setting boundaries.

The Biochemical Pharmacology Service Group organized an ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) mini-workshop for IOCB researchers to introduce the assay services available to them through the group. The workshop focused on the types of services offered, case studies on when they are likely to be most useful, and on available help with results interpretation.

The Women in Science initiative hosted a networking session and an inspiring career seminar by Dr. Darlene Solomon, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Agilent Technologies. She gave a tour of her career in industry, as well as discussing developments in industry during what she called the “century of biology”.

Deciding whether to move from academia to industry, after a bachelor’s at Stanford University and a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she asked herself, “Is there cool stuff to do in industry?” and her answer was yes. This led her to an industrial research position at Hewlett Packard, the company from which Agilent was eventually spun off.

Later, she moved into a management role, reasoning that she could always return to science if it did not suit her. As her managerial responsibilities broadened, she faced the decision of whether to stay on the technology side or move into the business side of Agilent. She realized that technology development was where she wanted to be, and this led her to become and remain the CTO of Agilent for many years until her retirement in 2023.

What advice would she give to junior researchers?

First, it is important to discover your strengths: don’t underestimate them and be confident without losing authenticity. Grow from these strengths and appreciate everyone around you. 

Researchers at the IOCB had the opportunity to learn about the dissemination of scientific results during two insightful talks held in one afternoon.

The first talk, organized by Dr. Zuzana Kečkéšová, featured Dr. Bernd Pulverer, Head of EMBO Press and Chief Editor of EMBO Reports. Dr. Pulverer discussed Transparent Publishing and Open Science, offering a perspective straight from the publisher's viewpoint.

The second talk, hosted by the IOCB Postdoc Club, was given by Dr. Tomáš Slanina. He provided valuable tips on how to avoid "death by PowerPoint" in presentations, ensuring that research is communicated effectively and engagingly.

As part of the IOCB Postdoc Club, about 20 postdocs came to hear Blanka Collis talk about the fellowships that they can apply for, either to gain short-term experience from other laboratories or to plan their next career steps with long-term fellowships.

Following on, Petra Ben-Ari described the current state of the HR Award process at IOCB. She explained how it aims to create a supportive and positive working environment for all employees at IOCB and went on to discuss how postdocs can also contribute towards shaping the priorities of the HR Award agenda at the institute.

The Women in Science group hosted the first speaker of 2024 at the Dana Hocková series. Not only were we able to hear an exciting research talk about the development of a portable device used to detect pathogens in the environment, but we also learned about the practical aspects of being a blind scientist and a group leader.

In her morning talk, titled “From antifouling (nano-)coatings to smart biosensing in complex media”, Dr. Hana Lísalová from the Institute of Physics of the CAS described her work on chemical surface modification that is required to increase the sensitivity of sensors. In the afternoon, Hana led an informal and open discussion about the twists and turns of her scientific career, which involved a postdoctoral research stay in the US, becoming a mother of three, and having to combine this with a continued science career, but also having to deal with a disease leading to progressive loss of sight. Despite all these barriers, she remains thoroughly positive and mentioned the need to support those who are more junior to you in the career stage. "Stand up loudly against inappropriate and stereotypical remarks and value your achievements and what you have managed to do," Hana stressed.

Read more here.