Health Data Analysis https://grad.rutgers.edu/ en iJOBS Virtual Site Visit: Siemens Healthineers https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/ijobs-virtual-site-visit-siemens-healthineers <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>iJOBS Virtual Site Visit: Siemens Healthineers</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>By Rebecca Manubag</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>On Friday April 8<sup>th</sup>, iJOBS hosted its first ever event with the renowned technology company, </span></span><a href="https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/company"><span><span>Siemens Healthineers</span></span></a><span><span>, the brand name for Siemens’ healthcare business and formerly Siemens Healthcare. Siemens Healthineers is the medical device company connected to the larger corporation, </span></span><a href="https://www.siemens.com/global/en.html"><span><span>Siemens AG</span></span></a><span><span>, a German-based engineering company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. They’re most recognized for their production of medical diagnostics equipment and aim to focus on patient-centered innovation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>At this event geared toward PhD students and postdocs, we heard from four panelists and a recruiter for Siemens Healthineers, </span></span><a href="mailto:christine.carfagno@siemens-healthineers.com"><span><span>Christine Carfagno</span></span></a><span><span>. Christine began the event describing the mission and culture of Siemens Healthineers. The company is of one of world’s largest suppliers of healthcare technology for healthcare industry and a leader in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, clinical IT solutions, and services. They also aspire to become the trusted partner of healthcare providers worldwide. Christine emphasized that the culture of the company is centered around diversity (she later highlighted the many available </span></span><a href="https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-us/about-us/diversity-inclusion"><span><span>employee resource groups</span></span></a><span><span>), and importantly, that they value incoming interns to add to the company’s diversity. This was a particularly attractive comment given the audience. Siemens Healthineers currently has over 18,000 patents globally and are present in over 70 countries. They’ve also recently acquired Varian, an American radiation oncology company. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Regarding hiring, Christine touched on some relevant information for the audience. First, it was emphasized that the company hires all levels of education, with some positions not requiring a PhD or postdoc. She also encouraged applicants to reach out to the recruiter listed on the job posting after applying for any clarifications. In terms of international hires, Christine mentioned that the company sees many students with F1 and J1 visas, and that they do provide sponsorships. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Following the company summary and hiring tips from Christine, the event moved to the panelists </span></span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-lloyd-okeke-171056a3/"><span><span>Dr. Nicole Okeke</span></span></a><span><span>, </span></span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-cheek-06b12a50/"><span><span>Dr. Jennifer Cheek</span></span></a><span><span>, </span></span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-sinegra-635460a7/"><span><span>Dr. Andrew Sinegra</span></span></a><span><span>, and </span></span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-snyder-6abb3893/"><span><span>Dr. Jason Snyder</span></span></a><span><span>, all of whom work in Research and Development. Each guest gave an overview of their education and career journeys, and what led to their current roles as Siemens Healthineers.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Nicole, a Rutgers alumnus who has been with Siemens for just over two years, began the panel portion. She was hired as a Technical Team Lead and has since been promoted to a Research and Technology Manager. During her PhD in Microbiology, she studied the antibiotic resistance of bacteria in the environment, then went to do a postdoc at the National Institutes of Health in a more clinical-based lab, but still focused on antibiotic resistance. This is where she became more interested in clinical work. About a year and a half into the postdoc, Nicole applied to Siemens and was able to land the position as Technical Team Lead within six months. Importantly, Nicole mentioned that she did not have any contacts with Siemens when she applied, demonstrating the positive outlook of a “cold” hire.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Jennifer Cheek was the next panelist, and she is now a Senior Director in assay development and has been with Siemens for over 16 years. Jennifer received her PhD from the University of South Carolina in Bioinorganic Chemistry. She expressed that her graduate school skillset was rather niche, as she studied iron heme enzymes. She went on to do a postdoc at Michigan State where she expanded her skillset to make her a more marketable as a scientist. After working with two other companies, Jennifer was headhunted by Siemens for a Staff Scientist position. She started in 2007 and worked her way up through various positions: Director, Senior Key Expert, and now Senior Director. She found that the transitions to each position were fluid, only presenting rapid learning curves as she learned how to manage more people on her team.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Andrew Sinegra was the next guest panelist, and he was a great representation of a fresh hire at Siemens. Andrew graduated with his PhD in 2021 from Northwestern University with his degree in Biomedical Engineering. Andrew is currently a Technical Team Lead, the same role that Nicole had landed when she first arrived. Andrew emphasized the importance of using your contacts at larger companies, as he had a connection at Siemens during his application process.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Jason Snyder was the fourth panelist, and a senior employee like Jennifer. Jason has been with Siemens for 17 years and currently has the role of Senior Key Expert. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics from UNC Chapel Hill. Like many graduate students he planned to pursue the traditional academic route. He pursued a postdoc while his wife did a two-year fellowship. This also highlighted the relatability of having to consider personal circumstances when choosing a job. After her fellowship, Jason’s wife received an offer from Siemens which opened the door to Jason. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>The event also included dialogue of some useful topics: the application process and requirements, transferrable skills from graduate school, pharma vs academia, and the day-to-day roles of the panelists. As part of R&amp;D, the panelists’ current roles involve little to no benchwork. Rather, Nicole and Andrew work to design the assays and oversee assay development and validation, while Jennifer’s and Jason’s roles have more emphasis on direct communication with clients. The clientele for these types of tests and products includes mostly hospitals and testing facilities, and Jennifer mentioned that they also partner with pharma to develop certain assays. Jason also expressed the notable influence scientists offer with shaping development and advancement, which is not always common for healthcare companies. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>As far as job requirements, inevitably, all the panelists agreed that having a strong foundation in the math and sciences helps when applying to their types of roles. Specifically, much of the assay development itself involves engineer-type thinking, rather than working at the bench performing the assays. However, it seemed that willingness to learn and being a well-rounded candidate is prioritized when being considered. Like many pharma or biotech positions, having the conventional accomplishments such as dozens of first-author publications aren’t weighed as heavily. However, it is important to remember that it reflects one’s ability to write and produce deliverables as a scientist. Jason also emphasized the importance of being able to present yourself and your data (referring to the interview presentation). He stated that “the decision makers aren’t interested in the material, but more that you present [data] in a clear way.” This further stressed the significance of being a well-rounded candidate.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Overall, the general impression from this event was that the panelists were very happy with their positions at Siemens Healthineers, and that a candidate doesn’t need extraordinary credentials to be considered for a role. The culture of the company, work-life synergy, and ability to move up quickly and recognizably were all appealing factors. Rather than being an ivy league PhD with two postdocs and 30 first-author publications, it is more critical that you have the basic background, are a balanced candidate, and of course, always have the desire to learn.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><em><span>This article was edited by Junior Editor Natatlie Losada and Senior Editor Samantha Avina.</span></em></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/user/377" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">sa1357</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 04/25/2022 - 14:09</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/211" hreflang="en">Featured</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/251" hreflang="en">Biomedical Sciences</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/282" hreflang="en">career development</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2022</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 25 Apr 2022 14:09:25 +0000 sa1357 2350 at https://grad.rutgers.edu Computer Tools for Researchers: Software Carpentry (Shell, GitHub, R) Workshop https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/computer-tools-researchers-software-carpentry-shell-github-r-workshop <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Computer Tools for Researchers: Software Carpentry (Shell, GitHub, R) Workshop</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>By Natalie Losada</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>The COVID-19 pandemic began a wave of virtual workshops that will ripple into the future because of their convenience and global attendance.  However, some things are still better taught in person, like iJOBS Software Carpentry workshop to learn about <a>Shell (short computer instructions), GitHub (file version tracking and storage), and R</a> (language for long computer instructions).  Shell should be learned for any computational study, while Git can be used for any file system you need to be tracked and shared.  And R, as explained below, is niche to biostatistics.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>This two-day workshop was possible because of the amazing instructors from both the east and the west coast. We had <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherciallella/">Heather Ciallella (she/her)</a> from Rutgers University-Camden and Luna L. Sanchez Reyes <a>(she/her)</a>from University of California, Merced, who joined us over Zoom.  Our helpers for the sessions were Kate Douthat (she/her), Jiayi Liu (she/her), and Kellen Xu (pronouns not shared) from Rutgers.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><em>History</em></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><a href="https://software-carpentry.org/scf/">Software Carpentry</a> is part of a non-profit organization that has existed since 1998.  After merging with <a href="http://datacarpentry.org/">Data Carpentry</a>, they became a single, non-profit incorporated called <a href="https://carpentries.org/">The Carpentries</a>. They aim to teach researchers the computing skills necessary for working more efficiently with their files or raw data.  They have <a href="https://carpentries.org/instructors/">volunteer instructors</a> that have, since 2012, run <a href="https://software-carpentry.org/workshops/past/">hundreds of events</a> for researchers all around the globe using their freely available <a href="https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/">lesson materials</a>.  </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Last year The Carpentries workshop offered in partnership with iJOBS was a <a href="https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/get-organized-data-carpentry-workshop-genomics-analysis">Genomics Data Carpentry workshop</a> in a completely virtual format.  So, keep an eye out for other Carpentry workshop themes in the years to come. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><em>Lessons from the Workshop</em></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Our instructor’s goal on the first day was to help us become comfortable with <strong>navigating our computers using a <a>terminal emulator, which is a simple interface to talk to the computer one command at a time.</a></strong><span><span> </span></span>If you’re imagining a computer hacker typing into a black screen with white text rapidly flying by as they typed, then you’re imagining the correct thing.  The only difference is we were moving <em>much </em>slower.  Mac users had Terminal already on their computer that could understand Shell commands we were learning.  Windows users had to install the <a href="https://git-scm.com/">Git software</a><span><span> </span></span>that comes with the terminal emulator Git Bash.  We needed these emulators because <strong>they use Shell to translate our commands to the brain of the computer</strong>.  This is something we needed to know existed, but we didn’t need to know the inner workings of Shell or the terminal.  The main reason for learning how to speak to the computer is to be able to <strong>automate tasks in high throughput</strong>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><a>For example, if you study structural biology like me, you might be trying to compare structures of different enzymatic proteins, <em>i.e.</em> tiny cellular machines.</a><span><span> </span></span>You might be working with dozens of files containing 3D protein coordinates, each containing many thousands of atoms.  Additionally, each protein is surrounded by hundreds of water molecules.  So, the volume of data is quite large.  Finding anything in all the files would require a couple commands, or even a script, that checks each file and makes a nice list.  Point being, <strong>once you know how to talk to the computer, you can let it do all the hard work for you</strong>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Because this workshop was geared towards researchers, and researchers generate and analyze a lot of data, the second day of the workshop focused on file “version control” using <a href="https://git-scm.com/">Git</a> locally (on your computer) and <a href="https://github.com/">GitHub</a> in the browser.  GitHub might sound more familiar if you’ve needed to reference or share code publicly when publishing a paper.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Git is a system – free and open source – that keeps track of all versions of files and folders, even when multiple people are applying changes.  For example, consider the editorial process between a lab member and a principal investigator (PI).  Keeping track of newer and newer versions of the document can become wearying and overwhelming.  Ideally the “track changes” setting in Microsoft Word is turned ‘on’ so tracking edits is facilitated.  If you’re writing code, however, you’re not using Microsoft Word to track the changes, which is why many coders use Git to keep track of their updated files. Git is a great way to keep track of any file type, especially if multiple people are editing them (see image below), which is why it is called a “version control system”.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'filter_caption' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/filter/templates/filter-caption.html.twig' --> <figure role="group" class="align-center"> <img alt="N_losada graphic" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b446d088-9f69-41af-8b29-bbf9117ee37b" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Picture2_1.png" /> <figcaption>Schematic of edits applied to your document and how the Git software “sees” them.  In the top row, you are making changes to the document, and in the bottom row, your PI is making simultaneous changes.  Git keeps track on all changes and versions and saved them to the repository, marked with the black rounded rectangle.</figcaption> </figure> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/filter/templates/filter-caption.html.twig' --> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>As shown in the above image, <strong>different file versions, as well as the specific changes to the file, are kept in the same repository</strong>.  All you need to do is setup your Git account and tell it which folder to track, and it will follow all changes to the subfolders as well.  The actual list of commands to set up Git is more involved, so <strong>check out the links at the <a href="https://software-carpentry.org/scf/">carpentry website</a></strong> to set it up for yourself.  </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Once Git was ready for us to use, we had to understand one basic, but crucial concept of saving files to the Git repository.  <strong>This can best be explained using the image below</strong>.  As you change the files in your working directory (the specific location on your computer that Git is tracking) you are creating unsaved changes.  When you have made enough progress, instead of hitting a save button, you go to the terminal and use the command “add” to send the unsaved changes to the staging area.  This is followed by using the “commit” command to save the unsaved changes from the staging area to the Git repository.  If you’re like me, this seems like a waste of time to use two commands to save a file.  However, the “commit” command can work on multiple files at one time.  At the end of the day, once your 22 (or however many) files have been updated with edits, you can “commit” them all at once to your repository and shut off your computer in peace knowing that your work is safe and sound.  And because Git is linked to your account, you can login to GitHub anytime to view your work and share it with the public, coworkers, or keep it private.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'filter_caption' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/filter/templates/filter-caption.html.twig' --> <figure role="group" class="align-center"> <img alt="N_losada_graphic2" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74afe0a7-b5f7-4d2a-9307-75b966bff5a3" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Picture1_5.png" /> <figcaption>Schematic describing the process of saving files with Git. From your current folder location (working directory) you can use the “add” command to move individual files to the staging area. This location is within the Git software and not an actual folder on your desktop.  From there you can use the “commit” command to move all your files at once in the Git repository where they are saved and surprisingly hard to delete.</figcaption> </figure> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/filter/templates/filter-caption.html.twig' --> </p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>During the afternoon sessions of both days, we focused on learning a computer language called R. Most of us had never used R before, so learning this language seemed like a daunting task.  However, our virtual teacher, Luna, had entirely taught herself to write in R and was now passing on the knowledge.  </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>For context, Shell is used to translate our commands to the computer via the terminal, but computer languages translate via their application environment or script files that can be referenced in Shell.  If you have not heard of the language R, you may have heard of Python.  Python is a relatively easy-to-learn language for programming and has <em>a lot</em> of versatility in what it can be used for.  It is closer to human-readable English than some other languages designed and released in previous decades.  R is also easy-to-learn and, arguably, similar to Python.  However, compared to Python, R isn’t versatile in function.  On the other hand, R <em>does</em> perform its main objective very well, which is statistical computing and making graphical data representations.  </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Luna led us through the basics of the language to get us comfortable with the syntax and the RStudio software that facilitates writing scripts in R.  We learned commands to manipulate files, create variables, and use functions.  Now, what on earth does that mean?  When using R, you need to separately tell it to open files to be able to look at the contents.  Additionally, when asking the computer for information from the file, you need to be precise.  You cannot ask the computer to look at <em>file.txt</em> because it won’t know where to look.  You need to say where the file is saved as well. <em> </em>Computers are smart, but they can’t infer what you were <em>trying </em>to say.  After that we learned how to take those files and pieces of files and turn them into variables for functions.  If you recall your algebra knowledge, you can remember that a variable, like <em>x</em>, holds the place of some information in an equation, or the function.  When coding, the variable acts the same way, but you get to <em>choose</em> what <em>x</em> is!  You can also customize functions or reference a function the computer already knows exists in RStudio.  Functions can be tricky because of their versatility, but just think of them as instructions.  If I told you to drink some water, you would know to find a glass of water, or if necessary, put water in a glass to drink the water.  That whole flow of conditional actions could be written as a function while coding.  And I can easily tell you to perform the function again with a different drink like soda.  Computers work the same way.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>The last thing we learned in RStudio was how to make graphs and plots.  Explaining it in words is quite boring but making them is fun!  So, I highly recommend taking a look at The Carpentries materials so you can explore and make your own figures.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Learning about Shell, GitHub, and R might have seemed like a lot of material for one workshop.  But they are all essential in working with large amounts of data quickly and efficiently, as us researchers need to do sometimes.  Shell allows you use simple commands for file management that is then saved securely with GitHub, and R allows you to group longer, complicated commands into scripts than can be run and customized later.  Together they are a powerful triad!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><em>This article was edited by Junior Editor Shawn Rumrill and Samantha Avina.</em></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/user/377" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">sa1357</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Mon, 04/18/2022 - 13:15</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/211" hreflang="en">Featured</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/251" hreflang="en">Biomedical Sciences</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/282" hreflang="en">career development</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2022</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:15:15 +0000 sa1357 2345 at https://grad.rutgers.edu Takeaways from Greg Erman’s “How Real-World Evidence is Transforming the Healthcare Industry,” an iJOBS webinar https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/takeaways-greg-ermans-how-real-world-evidence-transforming-healthcare-industry-ijobs-webinar <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Takeaways from Greg Erman’s “How Real-World Evidence is Transforming the Healthcare Industry,” an iJOBS webinar</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>by Helena Mello</p> <p>On December 3<sup>rd</sup>, 2020, the iJOBS program held its annual symposium, and hosted Mr. Greg Erman, a Rutgers alumnus, founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.empiramed.com/">EmpiraMed</a>. EmpiraMed is a company providing a “novel decentralized (or virtual) clinical study software platform to generate Real World Evidence for the Life Science Industry.” Mr. Erman’s talk “How Real-World Evidence is Transforming the Healthcare Industry” was an interesting introduction to a new era of clinical trials design, data collection, and post-market surveillance. This article highlights some of the concepts and ideas Mr. Erman shared with us.</p> <p>Traditionally, clinical studies are conducted in specialized environments with groups of people who often do not resemble the general population. In other words, these studies are highly controlled and the data generated may not allow for generalizations. To ensure precise data collection, compliance, safety, and accountability, clinical trials must adhere to numerous protocols that are not often seen in clinical practice. Moreover, medical personnel must be trained on these protocols, subjects (patients) need to adhere to rigorous guidelines to comply with the study, and sites have to provide a similar infrastructure across locations to ensure unbiased collection of data. Despite these challenges, clinical studies are the gold standard for developing scientific evidence, especially on safety and efficacy of new drugs or medical devices. But the strict controls come at the expense of important factors: generalization and cost-effectiveness.</p> <p>Real-World Data (RWD) may be used to address some of these problems that traditional clinical trials face. According to the FDA, “[R]eal-world data are the data relating to patient health status and/or the delivery of health care routinely collected from a variety of sources”<sup>1</sup>. Examples of these sources are electronic health records (EHRs); claims and billing activities; patient-generated data (including in home-use settings); and data gathered from other sources that can inform on health status, such as mobile devices. These are examples of data which is not collected in a typical clinical trial setting, but is generated as patients go about their own lives, and can certainly bridge the generalization gap described above. However, the collection of this data must be compliant with local regulations to ensure that data privacy and protection laws are not violated.</p> <blockquote><p>“[R]eal-world data are the data relating to patient health status and/or the delivery of health care routinely collected from a variety of sources”</p> </blockquote> <p>In a typical setting, sponsors (the companies behind the drug or device being tested) face tremendous difficulties with subjects’ recruitment and retention in clinical trials. Mr. Erman pointed out that RWD collection can effectively address this issue by employing novel, innovative channels of patient recruitment and can thrive in patient retention, as it can support complete site-less study projects. Many subjects may fail to complete the study when there are multiple site visits required. This is a great barrier to data capture and outcomes evaluation, which directly affects the quality of the study. If the protocol can adapt to the subject’s life style (use of cell phone, wearable devices, etc), data collection can be done with minimal disruption and less bias. Another great benefit of RWD described by Mr. Erman is post-marketing surveillance efforts: data gathered outside of clinical settings can immensely improve the tracking of a newly approved drug.</p> <p>The information derived from RWD is termed Real-World Evidence (RWE). The FDA defines RWE as “the clinical evidence regarding the usage and potential benefits or risks of a medical product derived from analysis of RWD.” Real-World Evidence is then used to inform patient care, healthcare system improvement, and to continuously evaluate safety of drugs and devices<sup>2</sup>. It can also provide researchers with relevant information in less time and in a more cost-effective manner. More importantly, the findings may be applicable to the general population rather than to small, select groups, as is the case in traditional clinical studies.</p> <p>Real-World Data and Real-World Evidence have great potential to change the healthcare industry, as Mr. Erman’s talk nicely highlighted. The current pandemic has disrupted many traditional clinical trials. In this scenario, RWE has become an attractive alternative to not only continue existing trials, but also to gather valuable information that can direct therapies for COVID-19 patients<sup>3</sup>. Professionals that are tech savvy, have a background in science or healthcare, and an excitement for innovation will thrive in the RWE field. Several companies<sup>4</sup> work on gathering, analyzing, evaluating, and providing competitive insight for their clients with RWD and RWE, while others specialize in certain parts of this chain. In summary, the rise of RWD and RWE provides great opportunities for STEM graduates who are interested in technology and the healthcare industry.</p> <p>References:</p> <ol type="1"> <li><a href="https://www.fda.gov/science-research/science-and-research-special-topics/real-world-evidence">https://www.fda.gov/science-research/science-and-research-special-topics/real-world-evidence</a></li> <li>Sherman R, et al. Real-World Evidence — What Is It and What Can It Tell Us? N Engl J Med 2016; 375:2293-2297 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsb1609216</li> <li><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-medical-products/our-insights/creating-value-from-next-generation-real-world-evidence">https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-medical-products/our-insights/creating-value-from-next-generation-real-world-evidence</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/5-top-real-world-evidence-startups-impacting-the-pharma-industry/">https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/5-top-real-world-evidence-startups-impacting-the-pharma-industry/</a></li> </ol> <p>This article was edited by Monal Mehta and Brianna Alexander</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Thu, 12/17/2020 - 10:00</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/253" hreflang="en">Business Management</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/257" hreflang="en">Clinical and Regulatory Testing Support</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/268" hreflang="en">Industry Perspective</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2020</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Thu, 17 Dec 2020 10:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 2106 at https://grad.rutgers.edu Life After STEM: Career Landscapes and Opportunities Following your PhD https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/life-after-stem-career-landscapes-and-opportunities-following-your-phd <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Life After STEM: Career Landscapes and Opportunities Following your PhD</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>By: Shawn Rumrill</p> <p>So you’re a STEM graduate student now, congratulations! But what does that mean for your future? On September 15<sup>th</sup>, the Rutgers iJOBS program hosted a special seminar – RU Life Sciences Leadership Paths to the Future – focused on answering that very question. Academia is often thought to be the default career for a PhD student, but according to <a href="https://smartsciencecareer.com/become-a-professor/">SmartScienceCareer</a> it turns out that only 10% of PhD graduates stay in academia and about 3% become professors. For many PhD students, the stress of applying and being accepted into a graduate program is only the beginning. The first few years are dominated by juggling coursework, choosing a lab, preparing for qualifiers, and laying out dissertation plans. Afterward, the anxiety only temporarily subsides before roaring back with increasing ferocity, and many start to wonder: “How will I leave my mark as a graduate student and define my path for the future?” To provide some insight into this, students heard from a man who has been there and done it all, Dr. James Cappola. </p> <p>Just as many of you reading this blog, Dr. Cappola began his illustrious career with a foundation built at Rutgers University. His journey started at the Waksman Institute in 1967 where he studied the interdisciplinary subjects of Immunochemistry and Microbiology. For his dissertation, Dr. Cappola sought to uncover the cellular basis for acquired immunological tolerance (i.e AIDS). Remarkably, he published this work 10 years before the discovery of AIDS during the early years of the emerging HIV pandemic, essentially predicting what was to come. During his hiatus from academia, Dr. Cappola earned his MD, propelling himself into the field of drug development through pre-clinical and non-clinical pharmacology. </p> <p>After discussing his academic and early professional experience, Dr. Cappola continued his presentation by introducing his experience in supervising clinical trials and explaining their general process. He related this work to the COVID-19 pandemic and explained that while the COVID-19 pandemic and government-funded “project warp-speed” may make vaccine and drug development seem quick and easy, this isn’t typically the case. Traditionally, Dr. Cappola said it can take upwards of 10 years for a drug product to pass through phase I – IV clinical trials with thoroughly designed studies having been carried out to determine the safety and efficacy of drug candidates. Fast forward to today, with the immense government funding provided and the health as well as normalcy of everyday life at stake across the world, COVID-19 vaccine development has passed through these various sequential phases without following the tradition drug product approval paradigm. Though not compromising the overall safety of drug candidates, this upends the typical clinical trial process.</p> <p><img alt="A screenshot of a cell phone&#10;&#10;Description automatically generated" src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2020/10/Phases_of_Clinical_Trials-1024x482.jpg" /></p> <p>Credit CERN Foundation clinical trial phases https://www.cern-foundation.org/education/clinical-trials/clinical-trial-phases</p> <p>Dr. Cappola has had a diverse career journey and spent much of his life working on a complicated pipeline of clinical trial studies. Continuing his journey, he worked as a Safety Officer and Medical Director at The Harvard Clinical Research Institute, where he was responsible for the cardiology clinical safety monitoring of a dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) study intended to limit the major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events from drug-eluting coronary stents. Drawing on his immunological foundation, Dr. Cappola’s task was daunting: to determine the myriad of causalities for hospital readmissions in this trial. This resulted in the development of a Risk Calculator App that clinicians could use to determine the risk/benefit ratio of DAPT. In addition to cardiology, he also studied neurology and helped bring Methylphenidate (Ritalin) to market in 2001 with FDA approval to treat ADHD in children. But his work didn’t stop there.</p> <p>Finally, Dr. Cappola spent a great deal of time investigating Parkinson’s disease and it’s predictability through the gut microbiome. As Medical Director at Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in 2008, he ran a Phase IIIB study comparing GI and CNS symptoms with neurological imaging to measure the progression of Parkinson’s disease in the presence of a dopamine agonist, Mirapex. He also studied Alpha-synuclein, a protein abundant in the brain and known to form Lewy bodies, which are insoluble fibril aggregates known to contribute to pathologies such as Parkinson’s disease or dementia. Dr. Coppola also found that enteric, or gastrointestinal alpha-synuclein pathology resulting from decreased GI motility may be a predictor of Parkinson’s disease. Beyond this work, he has also contributed to Hepatitis B vaccine development, and device/biologic product studies for orthopedics.  </p> <blockquote><p>"...graduating with a PhD in a specific field does not relegate one to that field and, in fact, actually allows for many different ways to pivot one’s professional direction."</p> </blockquote> <p>Dr. Cappola has demonstrated several things through his long list of accomplishments. The first is that, through his many experiences and the foundation he built at Rutgers, hard work opens the door to a plethora of opportunities. Secondly, graduating with a PhD in a specific field does not relegate one to that field and, in fact, actually allows for many different ways to pivot one’s professional direction. With that in mind, this begs the question, <em>what career opportunities are available to Rutgers students now?</em> Dr. Cappola mentioned the following:</p> <ul> <li>PharmD: Clinical trial management</li> <li>PhD: Clinical research, drug development, FDA careers</li> <li>Biomedical Engineering (BME): medical devices, prosthetics</li> <li>Medicine (MD): MD/PhD researcher</li> <li>Public Health (MPH): Government jobs in the FDA or homeland security, academia</li> <li>Law Degree (JD): Patent law, big pharma</li> </ul> <p>With so many opportunities available after graduate school, it seems that we can rest assured in our potential for success as graduate students. But how is it that we can stay competitive as grad students, both before and after earning our degrees? Moreover, how can we forge pathways to successful careers, especially if that involves changing fields?</p> <p>Dr. Cappola ended his presentation helping students to answer the aforementioned questions with some words of wisdom:</p> <p><strong>Firstly,</strong> he stated that we must be flexible. A big help in this regard is to always go back to our core training. In his case, this was Immunology and through examples of his work, we can see how this has proven a pervasive theme throughout his career. Dr. Janet Alder, iJOBS co-director, provided her opinion in this regard as well, reminding students that a PhD or professional degree gives us the tools to approach problems logically, and therein lies its true value. As Dr. Cappola mentioned, science changes daily and we must change with it as well. </p> <p><strong>Secondly</strong>, he stated that we must have an open mind. In many cases, PhD students are already doing work in fields in which they never thought they would work (i.e inorganic chemists becoming champion cancer fighters, and biochemists becoming warriors for renewable energy).</p> <p>Moreover, The <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/25038/chapter/4#30">National Academic Press</a> reports that STEM graduate students, more than ever, hold jobs in a variety of different fields and furthermore, these students are increasingly sought after to pursue careers in government, law, and policy. This is exemplified in Dr. Cappola’s work as he shifted from immunology in his PhD, to neurology, cardiology, the microbiome and drug development in his career. While these fields are superficially very different, they are all rooted in understanding the biological response of the human body (immunology) when homeostatic mechanisms are perturbed and the resulting pathological consequences. </p> <p>To these points Kathy Scotto, Rutgers Vice Chancellor for Research at RBHS, followed up by asking how students could make these career changes and stand out from other applicants during the transition. Dr. Cappola’s advice: do an externship, learn new skills, be open to new opportunities, put yourself out there, and network! These are valuable pieces of advice that  have been demonstrated through Dr. Capolla’s work. </p> <blockquote><p>“You are at the best place you could possibly be right now-- Rutgers getting your PhD!”</p> <p><cite>Dr. Jim Cappola</cite></p></blockquote> <p>As the panel came to a close, I had one final question for Dr. Cappola: “It seems like there are so many options in front of graduate students and a real fear is choosing the ‘right’ path or finding one’s passion, what advice do you have?” To this he replied that “as we mature our passions may change or our environment may pressure this change as a sort of natural selection. We can’t be afraid to adapt and follow where those changes lead us. There is no perfect path or guarantee and our decisions now don’t necessarily determine our futures. There will be technologies that we haven’t even conceived in just a few years, so be adaptable – the scientific method doesn’t change, it’s how you apply it.” Left with one parting word, Dr. Cappola reminded us all “You are at the best place you could possibly be right now-- Rutgers getting your PhD!” Take it from the man who has been there and done it all. </p> <p>This Article was edited by Keyaara Robinson and Brianna Alexander</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Fri, 10/02/2020 - 09:00</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/256" hreflang="en">Happenings in Science Careers</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2020</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Fri, 02 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 2090 at https://grad.rutgers.edu iJOBS Career Panel: GlaxoSmithKline https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/ijobs-career-panel-glaxosmithkline <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>iJOBS Career Panel: GlaxoSmithKline</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><em>By Janaina Pereira</em> On November 11<sup>th</sup>, the iJOBS program hosted an event focused on the global company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). With this panel, we had the opportunity to hear from panelists holding different positions in the Human Genetics and Functional Genomics Departments about their projects and career paths in computational biology, genomic statistics, and genetics at GSK. <a href="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/11/gsk_logo1.jpg"><img alt="gsk_logo" src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/11/gsk_logo1-1024x505.jpg" /></a> GSK is one of the world’s leading healthcare companies with the vision of helping people to “do more, feel better, and live longer.” The company has over 95,000 employees across the globe, <a href="https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/investors/corporate-reporting/annual-report-2018/">and last year delivered around 3.8 billion consumer healthcare products, 2.3 billion medicines, and 770 million vaccine doses</a>. The company is well known for its vaccines, consumer healthcare and pharmaceutical products, which include the first vaccine for meningitis B called <em>Bexsero</em>, and expert recommended brands such as <em>Sensodyne, Parodontax, Poligrip, Voltaren, Panadol, Otrivin </em>and<em> Theraflu</em>. The event started with Dr. Alison Acevedo discussing her career path as a Computational Biologist at GSK. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonacevedo/">Dr. Acevedo</a> is a Rutgers alumna; she finished her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, within Androulakis Lab in June 2019, and started working at GSK in July 2019. Her Ph.D. work focused on computational and statistical methods to analyze high-throughput genetics data, and she has used these techniques to analyze cis-regulatory data for targets across therapy areas and identification/characterization of cell lines at GSK. Dr. Acevedo also discussed her hiring experience in the company. She was first contacted by a GSK recruiter through LinkedIn to apply for the company <a href="https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/careers/apprentices-students-and-graduates/future-leaders-graduate-programme/">Future Leaders</a> program. The Future Leaders consists of a trainee program in which you can rotate within three departments to increase experience and gain first-hand knowledge in the field. The program is offered in different countries and covers diverse areas such as business operations, sales and marketing, manufacturing and supply, and research and development. Unfortunately, Dr. Acevedo was not selected to participate in the program. However, she had cultivated a relationship with the GSK recruiter that led to the opportunity to apply for the Computational Biologist position in the department of Human Genetics. Important advice alert “be[ing] kind to your recruiter” as they can contact you about different job opportunities. She also mentioned that the hiring process consists of three phases: a phone interview with Human Resources, a technical phone interview with your potential manager, and an onsite interview (consisting of a presentation and a series of meetings throughout the day). Dr. Acevedo precisely explained how the company is encouraging the employee’s career growth by offering in-house training, the opportunity to participate in a variety of related-field conferences, and by offering a “10% Program” in which the employees can spend 10% of their time in a project of their interest. Next, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-waterworth-8349634/">Dr. Dawn Waterworth</a>, Senior Director of Human Genetics Department at GSK discussed her career path. Dr. Waterworth did her Ph.D. in Human Genetics from the Imperial College of London, held a Postdoctoral position in the same area at UCL, and worked as an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University. In 2002, Dr. Waterworth transitioned from academia to industry through a position as a director at GSK, leading the genetics projects for cardiovascular, metabolic and dermatological diseases in the drug discovery and development department. Dr. Waterworth holds an outstanding curriculum, which includes being recognizing as the top 5% of scientists in GSK and author of over 150 publications. She focused her presentation on the projects being developed within different teams in her department, which include genomics analytics and computational biology, applied genetics, genomic data strategy and pharmacogenomics team focusing on target identification and validation. She also mentioned that the group is interconnected and the members can experience working in a variety of fields from immune system diseases to infectious diseases. She finished her presentation discussing a case study of GLP1R (a target of albiglutide), which gave us an idea of the importance of working as a group to answer real questions. We next heard from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/diptee-kulkarni-10ab719/">Dr. Diptee Kulkarni</a>, the Genetics Therapy Area Head at GSK. Dr. Kulkarni is a licensed physician with a Ph.D. in cancer molecular biology and genetics from Rutgers University. Before joining GSK, Dr. Kulkarni was a Postdoc, as well as a Research Teaching Specialist, both of which were at Rutgers University. Dr. Kulkarni started her presentation talking about her group, which is focused on genetics in oncology. She briefly presented some examples of how genetics is applied to cancer drug discovery and development such as identification of oncogenic somatic <em>BRAF </em>mutations to medicine and identification of drug safety and efficacy by using genetics approaches. The last panelist was <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannesfreudenberg/">Dr. Johannes Freudenberg</a>, Director of Computational Biology Department at GSK. Dr. Freudenberg started his career as a computational scientist and later on did a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics at the University of Cincinnati. After he fished his Ph.D., Dr. Freudenberg worked as Research Associate at the University of Cincinnati and later as a Research Fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Eight years ago, Dr. Freudenberg joined GSK as a Scientific Investigator and now he holds the position of Scientific Director of the Computational Biology department and is a GSK Fellow. Dr. Freudenberg started his presentation talking about the Computational Biology group, which is responsible for supporting the company’s drug discovery pipeline. Dr. Freudenberg walked us through the pipeline steps from target identification to the clinical trials and mentioned the contributions made by the Computational Biology group to the pipeline, which includes the use of machine learning and AI (deep learning) technologies. He finished his presentation with examples of recent projects in computational biology, such as meta-analysis of the human gene expression in response to <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em> infection and lung microbiome studies. After the panelist presentations, we had the opportunity to ask them questions about the company and industry, in general. I was impressed by how the audience had come prepared for this panel. Some of the audience members had already applied for a job position at GSK and others came with their printed resume on hand.   [caption id="attachment_3064" align="aligncenter" width="800"]<a href="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/11/resume.jpg"><img alt="Image source: https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/31-things-you-should-remove-from-your-resume-immediately" src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/11/resume.jpg" /></a> Image source: https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/31-things-you-should-remove-from-your-resume-immediately[/caption]   I have selected some discussed questions to share with you that I believe are important for a career at GSK and industry as a whole. <em>Audience: What is the difference between Future Leaders and the Fellow program?</em> Dr. Waterworth: Future Leaders is a smaller program than the Fellow program. The idea behind the Fellow program is to include 5% of the GSK R&amp;D scientists and you have to be a GSK employee before applying to the program. <em>Audience: Which skills should I improve during my Ph.D. that can be important to apply for a position as computational biologists, statistical geneticists or geneticists at GSK?</em> Dr. Acevedo: Most of the skills I used during my Ph.D. were carried on to my job position. However, you can improve some of your skills in R and Python, get familiar with available databases, and have a good knowledge of high throughput screen approaches as well as pathway analysis approaches. The computational tools and databases that you used during your Ph.D. can be skills that you can carry on to your future job position. <em>Audience: Are you looking for people that work with plants, for example?</em> Dr. Kulkarni: The things that we are looking for are the tools that you are using to answer your question in the plant field, for example. The questions are not that important but the skills that you have developed to answer those questions are really important and are the things that we look for on a candidate profile. <em>Audience: Is it important to have a Postdoc experience before applying for a job at GSK?</em> Dr. Waterworth and Dr. Freudenberg: It is not extremely necessary. We, for example, came with different experiences: some of us worked as post-docs but others didn’t. GSK is hiring people for different position levels. <em>Audience: Is it difficult to transition between careers or departments in the company?</em> Dr. Freudenberg: It is not difficult to transition between careers or departments in the company as GSK offers plenty of opportunities to work in collaboration with other departments. <em>Audience: Which skills can be learned in academia that could help with the transition to industry?</em> Dr. Waterworth: Communication skills are key skills in industry. You have to be able to talk about your idea and project to a diverse audience.   Overall, I really enjoyed participating in this panel. I not only learned about the GSK global company but about the industry field in general. I enjoyed listening to the panelists and I absorbed their advice coming from experiences in different career stages, from the directors to the recently hired employee, everyone had contributed with extremely important information. I will certainly take their advice on my path on transitioning from academia to industry. I confess that after this panel, GSK is on my list of the top dream companies to work for. If you want to have the whole experience, please check out the <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/podcasts/iJOBS%20111119.mp4">podcast of the event</a>.  </p> <p><em>This article was edited by <em>Huri Mücahit and Helena Mello.</em></em></p> <p> </p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Tue, 11/26/2019 - 10:36</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/268" hreflang="en">Industry Perspective</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/261" hreflang="en">Uncategorized</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2019</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Tue, 26 Nov 2019 10:36:26 +0000 Anonymous 2071 at https://grad.rutgers.edu iJOBS Career Panel: Data Science https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/ijobs-career-panel-data-science <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>iJOBS Career Panel: Data Science</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><em><strong>By Janaina Pereira and <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2017/03/21/meet-the-blogger-tomas-kasza/#sthash.CONlnBLf.dpbs">Tomas Kasza</a></strong></em></p> <blockquote><p>“There is a sea of data and it might be useful to learn how to sail on it.”</p></blockquote> <p>In the past few years, we have generated a gigantic amount of data. Technologies such as next-generation sequencing, digitalization, cloud computing, and even smartphones have provided a massive amount of data. This data has become more and more accessible. If you stop and think about what you did today, you may find that you have contributed many drops into this sea of data. The picture you have posted on social media about your lunch, the review that you have written about a new favorite restaurant, your opinion about that new trending cosmetic on a survey or even the digital form that you filled out in a doctor’s appointment. All of these data points can be very useful to answer different questions, you just have to learn how to use them. For instance, the picture you posted on your social media account can be used to help identify faces or food. <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/big.2013.1508">Data science</a> is a field that uses specific strategies to find meaningful information in big data.  As data generation has increased over the years, the need for a professional to extract meaning from data has arisen in companies across diverse industries. Therefore, data scientists have become experts with in-demand skills. To learn more about this growing field, iJOBS recently promoted a panel about this subject, where data scientists with different backgrounds discussed their career paths. [caption id="attachment_2994" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/09/big-data-sea.jpg"><img alt="big-data-sea" src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/09/big-data-sea.jpg" /></a> Image source: https://resources.whitesourcesoftware.com/blog-whitesource/bigger-data-bigger-problems-three-major-challenges-in-big-data-security[/caption] The event started with a quick talk from each one of the speakers about their respective career paths and backgrounds. The first speaker was <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariella-sasson-81981a21/">Dr. Ariella Sasson</a>, a Senior Research Investigator at <a href="https://www.bms.com/">Bristol-Myers Squibb</a> (BMS). She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computational biology from Rutgers University. Her Ph.D. work was focused on the technical and analytical aspects of Next Generation Sequencing. At <a href="https://www.bms.com/">BMS</a>, Dr. Sasson often develops <a href="https://techterms.com/definition/pipeline">pipelines</a> and <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/everything-a-data-scientist-should-know-about-data-management-6877788c6a42">storage solutions</a> for genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics from preclinical and clinical datasets, work that allowed her to develop expertise in how to extract information from big data. Next was Dr. Yodit Seifu, a Senior Principal Scientist at <a href="https://www.merck.com/index.html">Merck</a>, who holds a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Toronto. She started working on oncology in the pharmaceutical industry and over the following 19 years has built up an impressive background in data analysis for Phase I-IV clinical trials and registries. Currently, in her role at Merck, she is responsible for providing statistical support to the Safety and Risk Management group. [caption id="attachment_2996" align="alignnone" width="700"]<a href="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/09/big-data-700x325.png"><img alt="big-data-700x325" src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/09/big-data-700x325.png" /></a> Image source: https://bvijtech.com/big-data-future-of-big-data/[/caption] Then we heard from Dr. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-koh/">Matthew Koh</a> who works at <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/company/?utm_source=bloomberg-menu&amp;utm_medium=bcom">Bloomberg</a> as a Machine Learning Engineer.  He holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Before changing careers, Dr. Koh participated in the <a href="https://www.insightdatascience.com/faq">Insight Data Science Program </a>in 2017, which helped him to achieve his position at Bloomberg. Finally, we heard from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-izaguirre-phd-mba-39b2291/">Dr. Alexander Izaguirre</a>, a Chief Data Officer and Sr. Assistant Vice President at <a href="https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/">New York City Health and Hospital</a>. Dr. Izaguirre holds a Ph.D. in viral immunology from Rutgers University and started his career in academia as an assistant professor at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Later on, he transitioned to an IT leadership position at New Jersey Medical School and Executive Director of the Office of Information Technology at Rutgers University. In 2013, Dr. Izaguirre founded his own start-up called “<a href="https://www.aprendasystems.com/">Aprenda Systems</a>,” which is focused on solving data challenges between payers, providers, and hospitals through the use of big data. Throughout his career, Dr. Izaguirre has received many awards on technology and innovation. <strong>Data, the next Frontier</strong> In the second part of the event, we listened to how a diverse set of panelists had found themselves at the forefront of the data frontier. Several of the panelists had obtained their Ph.D. before the data revolution had been kicked off. Now they find themselves leading teams to try and extract meaning from the seemingly endless and vast data sets that are being generated. Most of the panelists had graduated a decade or more before this panel occurred, so they described their current management and hiring problems. Shockingly, the panelists reiterated how coding experience, while appreciated, was not required on an application. Employers are in search of passionate employees who have a desire to seek out training themselves. There was a noticeable sigh of relief from the audience when the panelists said how programming experience was not required. Many of the audience members were afraid that coding would be a prerequisite to applying for a job as a data scientist. The panelists explained that while employees could be taught the necessary programming skills, those same employees could not be taught how to be passionate about data and data analysis. The panelists did mention, however, that there is a coding interview for some jobs, but the test can easily be passed with basic programming training. The panelists also mentioned a website called <a href="https://www.hackerrank.com">HackerRank</a>, which posts several common coding interview questions to help interviewees get practice for the coding interview. <strong>Potential Training resources</strong> I have found, as the panelists described, that there are many online resources available to help train and familiarize anyone who would like to learn to code. For those that would like to get started in data science before applying, the panelists suggested visiting several different online teaching websites including <a href="https://www.coursera.org/">coursera</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=edx&amp;oq=EdX&amp;aqs=chrome.0.0l5j69i60.885j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">EdX</a>, and <a href="https://www.datacamp.com/?utm_source=adwords_ppc&amp;utm_campaignid=1565610606&amp;utm_adgroupid=64773273332&amp;utm_device=c&amp;utm_keyword=%2Bdatacamp&amp;utm_matchtype=b&amp;utm_network=g&amp;utm_adpostion=1t1&amp;utm_creative=340731369826&amp;utm_targetid=aud-334851567295:kwd-361360284674&amp;utm_loc_interest_ms=&amp;utm_loc_physical_ms=1022300&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0_Sj1P_f5AIVgsDICh2AHQLOEAAYASAAEgInj_D_BwE">datacamp</a>. In addition, they also suggested completing projects, basically taking a data set and extracting meaning from it. The panelists said that completing practice projects works best when you experiment around and challenge the practice data set with insightful questions. The main two programming languages discussed were<em> python</em> and <em>R</em>. Dr. Matthew Koh described how he uses python almost exclusively at Bloomberg, whereas the other panelists used <em>R</em>. The software environment R has useful libraries with complex built-in functions, so you do not have to be an expert code writer to solve data science tasks! <strong>Specific questions:</strong> After the panel discussion, we broke into small groups where we had the opportunity to ask questions to each of the panelists individually. These are questions that were asked to Dr. Koh and Dr. Izaguirre. Q (Audience): Is there any computational model-building in industry data science jobs? A (Dr. Matthew Koh): There is very little in biomedical sciences, but there is some in the finance industry. Computational models are less common within biomedical sciences because they are not applicable yet to any model systems whereas building computational models is applicable to financial markets. Q (Audience): What are the hours of a typical data scientist? A (Dr. Alexander Izaguirre): That depends on the boss or who you work for. For some bosses as long as you get the work done on time you can show up whenever. For others, it seemed like 9-5 was mandatory. There also seemed to be a lot of meetings to go to but that’s typical for any job. <strong>Are you a potential data scientist?</strong> From the panelist's comments, data science careers are plentiful, and employers are hiring inquisitive minds to work on extracting meaning from large data sets. The panelists were handing out business cards and clearly looking for potential employees. There is no denying that a fresh <a href="https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)/Salary">Ph.D. who enters data science</a> will make much more than other potential industry jobs. Our panelists came from a diverse set of backgrounds that did not necessarily include computational training; this suggests that there are diverse paths leading to a career in data science. Read some of our other blog posts <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2018/04/24/data-scientist-to-the-rescue/#sthash.U3eB7oxG.dpbs">about </a><a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2016/01/14/making-data-science-more-efficient-workshop-recap/#sthash.zxX8qAEZ.dpbs">data science</a> to find out if it is the right field for you! Junior Editor: Brianna Alexander Senior Editor: <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2019/06/13/meet-the-blogger-monal-mehta/#sthash.ZHkMPcZz.dpbs">Monal Mehta</a> and <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2017/03/21/meet-the-blogger-tomas-kasza/#sthash.CONlnBLf.dpbs">Tomas Kasza</a>  </p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Thu, 09/26/2019 - 10:42</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/268" hreflang="en">Industry Perspective</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/259" hreflang="en">Informational Interviews</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/261" hreflang="en">Uncategorized</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2019</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Thu, 26 Sep 2019 10:42:48 +0000 Anonymous 2060 at https://grad.rutgers.edu Introduction to Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/introduction-pharmacokinetics-and-pharmacodynamics <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Introduction to Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>By Huri Mücahit <em>The following blog post was written after attending the iJOBS workshop: Primer in PK/PD held on February 20<sup>th</sup>, 2019</em></p> <p class="Body">How exactly do pharmaceutical companies choose which medication to pursue for the treatment or prevention of an illness? The answer is through the study of pharmacology (the analysis of interactions between drugs and the human body),  pharmacokinetics (the study of drug movement throughout the body (PK)), and pharmacodynamics (the body’s biological response to the drug (PD)). <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anson-abraham-97384b14">During the iJOBS PK/PD workshop, Dr. Anson Abraham</a>, Principal Scientist at Merck and Co., provided a deeper look at the science behind these interactions.</p> <p class="Body">Understanding the relationship between medications and the body is fundamental for any treatment, thus, the bulk of the data collected during clinical trials is related to PK/PD analysis. In fact, roughly half of a drug label is informed by these analyses, including the sections covering dosage and administration, dosage forms and strengths, drug interactions, and clinical pharmacology.</p> <p>[caption id="attachment_2751" align="aligncenter" width="2154"]<a href="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/03/Screen-Shot-2019-03-05-at-3.44.47-PM.png"><img alt="Dr. Anson Abraham, Merck and Co., 2019" src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/03/Screen-Shot-2019-03-05-at-3.44.47-PM.png" /></a> Dr. Anson Abraham, Merck and Co., 2019[/caption]</p> <p class="Body">In order to collect PK information, researchers look at the processes after drug administration, which are collectively called “ADME” - absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination of the drug. To start off, a drug can only have an effect if it has been absorbed within the body; therefore, factors such as molecule size and structure, permeability across the gastrointestinal membrane, and the extent and rate of absorption are carefully considered. Following this,  it must be determined if the drug reaches its intended site.  It is important to identify known binding targets of the drug, or if it is absorbed within specific tissues, as this will impact drug dosage and forms. Researchers then analyze the metabolism of the drug, although this is a greater consideration for small molecules rather than large molecules. The four common types of reactions are: oxidation, hydrolysis, reduction, and conjugation; drug-drug interactions are predicted based on this metabolic profile. Finally, whether the drug can be eliminated must be taken into account, as accumulation within the blood stream can lead to toxicity. Due to the in-depth analyses required, as the image below outlines, this entire process is completed within 10-12 years. As such, PK/PD analysts must not only be patient, but efficient, with extracting the relevant information from large amounts of data.</p> <p>[caption id="attachment_2750" align="aligncenter" width="660"]<a href="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/03/cptclpt201354-fig-0001-m.jpg"><img alt="Clinical Pharmacology &amp; Therapeutics Volume 93, Issue 6, pages 502-514, 14 MAR 2013 DOI: 10.1038/clpt.2013.54 " src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2019/03/cptclpt201354-fig-0001-m-1024x489.jpg" /></a> Clinical Pharmacology &amp; Therapeutics<br /> Volume 93, Issue 6, pages 502-514, 14 MAR 2013 DOI: 10.1038/clpt.2013.54[/caption]</p> <p class="Body">If this career sounds appealing to you, Dr. Abraham has several tips. First, as this profession requires an understanding of both the biology and the math behind the analyses, a PhD student in the biological sciences should consider strengthening their mathematical skills. Courses offered at Rutgers, such as <a href="https://mbs.rutgers.edu/catalog/statistics-clinical-and-translational-research">Statistics in Clinical Research</a> and <a href="https://mbs.rutgers.edu/catalog/fundamentals-analytics-and-discovery-informatics">Fundamentals in Analysis</a>, and through other specialized programs can help with this endeavor. Additionally, pharmaceutical companies such as Merck often provide internships that include PK/PD work experience.  If you cannot commit to a full summer internship during your PhD studies, the iJOBS program aids Phase 2 students in finding externships, which are less time-consuming, but still provide experience within the field. Additionally, these externships provide an opportunity for students to determine whether they would like to work in the lab to <em>collect </em>the relevant data or <em>analyze </em>the data once it has been generated.</p> <p class="Body">If you’re looking for further information on the PK/PD workshop, feel free to visit the iJOBS page for the <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/other/Introduction%20To%20PK%20Rutgers%20iJOBS%20Seminar%20AAbraham.pdf"><span class="Hyperlink0">complete slide deck</span></a>.</p> <p class="Body">Edited by: Emily Kelly Castro, Monal Mehta, and Paulina Krzyszczyk</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Thu, 03/07/2019 - 09:00</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/257" hreflang="en">Clinical and Regulatory Testing Support</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2019</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Thu, 07 Mar 2019 09:00:57 +0000 Anonymous 2032 at https://grad.rutgers.edu iJOBS Event Review: Medical Liaison Activity https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/ijobs-event-review-medical-liaison-activity <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>iJOBS Event Review: Medical Liaison Activity</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>When I imagine myself in industry I often see myself wearing a suit performing a task, but the details of those tasks are unclear. After speaking to other trainees about what tasks they envision performing in industry, they describe job definitions, but not specific tasks. This becomes problematic because while you may think that you are a good fit for a profession, performing those unknown duties might make you feel differently. I am surely not the first PhD student to ask the question: what job duties would I do in industry, more specifically Medical Affairs? The Medical Affairs field came about as a reaction to government regulators’ desires to separate commercial and medical functions from industry. As the scientific knowledge required to run the commercial pharma business has increased, so has the demand for professionals who can communicate that science to consumers and medical leaders. A Medical Affairs professional’s job is mainly at the commercial end of pharma from which they utilize their research knowledge to successfully communicate the company’s product. They manage crucial relationships between their companies’ products and the individuals who advise their use, such as doctors and those who are called “key thought-leaders” --individuals who control whether your product is introduced into a market. In order to accomplish this, Medical Affairs professionals also publish data from corporate-sponsored trials in order to support their product. Preparation and presentation of this information is also a key skill set within the Medical Affairs field. Because they are qualified and knowledgeable, Medical Affairs professionals also respond to questions from healthcare professionals about information that is not included on the product insert or label. In late November, iJOBS hosted an interactive event that involved exploring careers related to Medical Affairs. iJOBS had the privilege to host Dr. Paul Weber, MD who discussed his extensive and accomplished career in Medical Affairs, spanning both industry and academia. His current position, Associate Dean for the Continuing Medical Education at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson, is intimately linked to introducing Rutgers students to professionalism in healthcare and bringing Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences to the forefront of healthcare innovation. <a href="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2017/11/Medical-Affairs-pic.png"><img alt="Medical Affairs pic" src="/sites/default/files/ijobs-wp-import-images/2017/11/Medical-Affairs-pic.png" /></a> In contrast to other iJOBS seminars, this seminar was especially interactive. Dr. Weber first spoke about Medical Affairs and briefly discussed his experiences in the field. Then he talked about internal communication between the Medical Affairs team and other departments, as well as external communication with key thought leaders, customers, and doctors. After his talk, Dr. Weber introduced an activity where attendees, divided into small groups, could participate in launching a newly-developed, commercialized product. Each person within the group was given a specific job title within the Medical Affairs field and tasked with understanding what their job expectations were as well as their role within the group. Each group member was given some time to organize and discover these roles before the team leader gave a presentation to the whole group. Listed below are the 6 roles and their job descriptions: <strong>Medical Director</strong>: Medical Directors tend to be the most senior members of the Medical Affairs team and lead teams of Medical Affairs professionals during new product launches. They approve the distribution of new product medical information to other members of the Medical Affairs team. They ensure that each person in the team is accomplishing their respective tasks. Medical Directors also review critiques of their own company products’ medical claims as well as challenge those of the competitors. <strong>Medical/Drug Information</strong>: The role of Medical Information is to provide expert technical and scientific information to the Medical Affairs team. They make sure that the other members of the Medical Affairs team are well-equipped with the information that they need. <strong>Scientific Liaison</strong>: Some positions in the Medical Affairs field will act as liaisons between internal company stakeholders and external regulatory and medical point-of-care professionals. In previous blog posts, Dharm Patel, a Rutgers and iJOBS alumnus, has written about <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/06/16/career-spotlight-medical-science-liaison/#sthash.eA0T6fQr.dpbs">Medical Science Liaisons</a>, a career that falls within Medical Affairs. He also interviewed the founder of the <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2016/04/28/interview-with-dr-samuel-dyer-founder-and-ceo-medical-science-liaison-society/#sthash.RJLcFdIl.dpbs">Medical Liaisons Society</a>. <strong>Scientific Communications</strong>: The Scientific Communications role plans and submits all drug-related publications such as abstracts, posters, and manuscripts to scientific conferences. Such communications are essential for product commercialization. This position is also responsible for developing a strategic plan that aligns the timing of clinical trial data with the release of key product information, such as efficacy results, drug toxicity, and patient population studies at scientific meetings. <strong>Scientific Education</strong>: This role makes sure that the proper certifications are in place for each member of the team and is responsible for overseeing the training of internal teams. A person in this position also ensures that the planning and grant support for medical education is available to healthcare providers. <strong>Digital Health/Innovation</strong>: Customers are constantly asking new questions and doctors are developing new ways to use existing medications. Medical Affairs professionals in digital health respond to the new questions customers ask and must expand ways of spreading accurate information about their products. This may include health databases, answering patient questions online, or designing health apps for smart phones. Overall, I found the Medical Affairs Simulation very helpful and informative, because in our small groups we were able to engage and discuss the roles we were performing, by putting ourselves within the Medical Affairs field. We all helped our Medical Director present each of our group member’s job-specific tasks. Although the activity was challenging, it was almost like an immediate quiz following the seminar, as it “tested” me and solidified what I had just learned via a hands-on experience. Following this seminar, I had a much better idea of what the Medical Affairs field is and how I could leverage my skills and talents within the field. For example, through the activity, I realized that I have a talent for coordinating many different professionals and identifying people who have the skills to perform a particular task. The Medical Affairs field is an area where I could use this talent to have a significant impact. After the seminar, I researched Medical Affairs further, and it seems to be an up-and-coming field with many new positions and challenges! If you have previously overlooked Medical Affairs, I highly encourage you to perform your own research about this <a href="http://www.medicalaffairs.org/">exciting and rewarding field</a>.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Thu, 11/30/2017 - 09:00</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/256" hreflang="en">Happenings in Science Careers</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/268" hreflang="en">Industry Perspective</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/260" hreflang="en">Science and Health Policy</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-academic-cluster--news.html.twig * field--node--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-academic-cluster.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-academic-cluster field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Academic Cluster</div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/226" hreflang="en">Biological, Biomedical, and Health Sciences</a></div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2017</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Thu, 30 Nov 2017 09:00:56 +0000 Anonymous 1953 at https://grad.rutgers.edu Making Data Science More Efficient: Workshop Recap https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/making-data-science-more-efficient-workshop-recap <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Making Data Science More Efficient: Workshop Recap</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>By: Maria Qadri</p> <p>[caption id="" align="alignright" width="310"]<img src="http://media2.govtech.com/images/770*1000/shutterstock_computer_programming.jpg" alt="Hands Typing on a Keyboard" /> How to Program as a Biomedical Scientist 101[/caption]</p> <p>A major component of our doctoral training is learning how to think critically and use data effectively. To work towards this goal, iJOBS partnered with <a href="http://www.datacarpentry.org/">Data Carpentry</a> to run a two-day workshop that taught basic programming skills and introduced commonly used computational tools to the biomedical scientists at Rutgers. Even though the target audience was those with little to no prior knowledge of programming and I typically have taught introductory programming courses for undergraduates, I decided to attend in order to gain experience with some new tools, explore a different perspective on how to approach data science, and perhaps pick up a few teaching tips.</p> <p><span>On the first day, the room was laden with laptops and coffee cups. The most valuable thing you could have brought to the seminar was an extra power strip or extension cord. We were equipped with two post-its and a bundle of software – OpenRefine (aka GoogleRefine if you’re old school), Anaconda Python 3, and SQLite.</span></p> <p>The overall approach was to provide the students with datasets and well-written and informative instructions to complete problems embedded within the documents and answer questions as they arose. We used our post-its to request additional help and indicate if we were done with the task at hand. With the whole group, the instructors reviewed the more complex sections and answers to the problems. The model worked well with the large group of attendees with varying skill levels.</p> <p>The first day covered how to use OpenRefine on “messy” datasets (ones that may include extraneous information, need reformatting, etc) to clean, cluster, and identify desirable sections of data in the morning. A web based program, OpenRefine has a straightforward graphical user interface and the ability to save the steps into a script to reuse for the future.</p> <p>While the Python introduction was largely a review for me, the instructors walked us through the basics of different data types, assigning variables, slicing, and indexing, performing mathematical operations, and manipulating data. Python and Matlab are very similar languages with some notable differences, particularly apparent when indexing or slicing variables. One new product that I discovered via this session was iPython notebooks that emulate lab notebooks for code – you can include code, annotate sections with notes, retain plotted figures with the scripts used to create them, and easily share them with your advisor. The most powerful section covered several matplotlib techniques to demonstrate the power of plotting in Python.</p> <p>The second day ended with us delving into database exploration and manipulation with SQL. Since SQL depends largely on order of operations, the problem sets for this section echoed the word problems we would tackle in basic math classes. While I was most excited to experience this material, I was a little underwhelmed and may have opted for an online tutorial instead since I have an existing foundation of programming experience. My takeaway was that SQL retains data integrity better than other data tools like Excel or Matlab.</p> <p>By the end of the workshop, we had received insight into the software but also the personal styles used by the two instructors. One of my favorite parts was the extra discussion where they demonstrated how they use Python in their own research and day-to-day lives. While knowledge is freely available on the internet and there are many programming tutorials, the ability to ask questions to real people, stay motivated though a tutorial, and engage with our peers that are attacking different problems with similar tools provided by this seminar was invaluable. The students that started with minimal or no prior experience with programming gained the most, but even those with existing experience picked up a few tips and tricks to improve our data science practices.</p> <p>If you’re interested in exploring the program and delving into our discussions from class, check out <a href="http://chris.friedline.net/2015-12-15-rutgers" target="_blank">http://chris.friedline.net/2015-12-15-rutgers</a>/</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Thu, 01/14/2016 - 08:00</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2016</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Thu, 14 Jan 2016 08:00:28 +0000 Anonymous 1809 at https://grad.rutgers.edu 5 types of iJOBS events to try out https://grad.rutgers.edu/news/5-types-ijobs-events-try-out <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--news.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>5 types of iJOBS events to try out</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--news.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49787000/jpg/_49787438_newspaper203_getty.jpg" alt="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49787000/jpg/_49787438_newspaper203_getty.jpg" />We are a few short weeks away from the start of the academic year. For those of you who are new to the iJOBS program, here is a brief summary of the types of events offered that you should test the waters with. I’ve added links to related posts in each category in case you want to learn more about a specific talk. Don't hesitate to contact Dr. Janet Alder or the iJOBS bloggers via comments or e-mail if you have any questions - we are always glad to answer them! With that, here are my 5 top categories of events to attend:</p> <p><strong>I. Career Panels</strong></p> <p>Career panels focus on specific positions or sectors, are usually 90 minutes, and include 2-3 panelists representing a variety of career paths leading to the same place. These panelists are always ready to share and answer your questions. A career panel is a great place to get your own specific questions answered. I recommend you attend these by the masses, as they are short, easy to fit into your schedule and can be extremely informative. For example, I had no idea <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/06/18/the-secret-life-of-a-phd-working-for-a-non-profit/#sthash.EkWN9pED.dpbs" target="_blank">Not For Profit Organization hired PhDs</a>. Others had never heard of a position called <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/06/16/career-spotlight-medical-science-liaison/#sthash.iLaMBH3j.dpbs" target="_blank">Medical Science Liaison</a> or the opportunities offered by <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/07/07/what-phds-have-that-the-us-government-wants/#sthash.Pe0pL9EO.dpbs" target="_blank">the NIH and other government organizations</a>. Attending in person is great, but if you cannot make it to an interesting panel, check to see if it was <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/events.php#past-events" target="_blank">podcasted</a> and/or summarized in this blog.</p> <p><strong>II. Seminars</strong></p> <p>These are a little more unique than career panels and address a large variety of topics. Seminars essentially cover what doesn’t fit into the rest of the iJOBS categories. So far, an amazing example is the Scientific Storytelling seminar, by Rafael E. Luna from Harvard Medical School and Luna Scientific Storytelling, LLC, covered <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/06/30/science-is-a-story-and-scientists-are-its-storytellers/#sthash.yHHQjOi8.dpbs" target="_blank">here</a>. The next seminar, scheduled for October 7, 2015, is specifically geared towards international students. This upcoming seminar will hopefully be able to address many of the concerns raised by the international contingent of iJOBS participants during Career Panels.</p> <p><strong>III. Site visits</strong></p> <p>Site visits are lengthy, but will give you an inside look into whatever destination you have selected to visit. While you do not need to attend every single one, you definitely should not miss visits to sites you are specifically interested in or that represent a group of industries you want to learn more about. Such visits tend to include a solid variety of panelists from all corners of the organization. For an insider look into the Merck site visit, take a look at Chris Lowe’s <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/06/11/a-look-inside-ijobs-visits-merck/#sthash.V8EPTdqu.dpbs" target="_blank">blog post</a> that can be found here.</p> <p><strong>IV. Workshops</strong></p> <p>Workshops are exactly what you would expect them to be – opportunities to learn more and improve upon skills such as resume writing, interviewing, and networking. Some are done in conjunction with Rutgers Career Services. I’m going to go ahead and include <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/06/02/sciphd-what-and-why/#sthash.5scKDYHG.dpbs" target="_blank">SciPhD</a> in this category. While it is in a class of its own in terms of duration and exercises, the program places a lot of emphasis on mock interviews, project management, answering job ads, salary negotiations,etc. The resume writing and interview workshops fill up fast, so when you get that e-mail that registration is open, sign up!</p> <p><strong>V. Networking Opportunities</strong></p> <p>iJOBS offers several events a year that allow for networking on a grander scale. Yes, career panels are a good time to speak to a representative or two from a field you’re interested in, but career fairs and symposia are a much more intense type of event. As Itzamarie <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/wordpress/2015/06/02/science-career-job-fair-a-networking-affair/#sthash.pQtHgqTp.dpbs" target="_blank">explains</a>, a career fair requires some serious preparation, including business attire, background research on the companies present, and a stack of resumes printed and ready to go. Last March we also had the opportunity to attend a talk by BioNJ representative and director at Life Sciences Talent Network Matthew Alcade on how exactly to network at such a career fair – make sure you keep an eye out for that one if it gets scheduled again!</p> <p>So what are you waiting for? Click <a href="http://ijobs.rutgers.edu/events.php#upcoming-events" target="_blank">here</a> and start marking up your calendar!</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--news.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--news.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span>Tue, 08/11/2015 - 08:00</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-tags--news.html.twig * field--node--field-tags.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-tags.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Topic Areas</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/253" hreflang="en">Business Management</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/257" hreflang="en">Clinical and Regulatory Testing Support</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/263" hreflang="en">Health Data Analysis</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">iJOBS Event Summary</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/258" hreflang="en">Intellectual Property Management</a></div> <div class="field--item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/260" hreflang="en">Science and Health Policy</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-authored-on-year--news.html.twig * field--node--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--node--news.html.twig * field--field-authored-on-year.html.twig * field--computed-integer.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-authored-on-year field--type-computed-integer field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Authored On Year</div> <div class="field--item">2015</div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> Tue, 11 Aug 2015 08:00:52 +0000 Anonymous 1768 at https://grad.rutgers.edu