2003 Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee Report
At the recent Experi-mental Biology meeting in San
Diego, the Career Opportunities in Physiol-ogy Committee sponsored a Careers
Symposium entitled “The Drug Discovery Process: Opportunities for
Industry—Academia Collaboration.” Four scientists from academia, the
pharmaceutical industry, and the US Food & Drug Administration spoke to an
audience of about 100 undergraduates, pre-doctoral students and postdoctoral
fellows. They spoke about their experience in industry or in government or
academia with regard to their interactions with the pharmaceutical industry.
The session included an overview of the various steps in the drug
development process. The speakers gave an overview of their jobs and
responsibilities and also spoke about the personal factors that led them
towards these positions. The program was well-received. The PowerPoints from
the session are available on the Careers Web site (http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/GradProf/symp2003.htm).
The APS Undergraduate Summer Research Fellow program is
entering its fourth year. Last year’s awardees attended the Experimental
Biology meeting in San Diego, with several presenting posters or talks on
their research from last summer. This year, we received another large number
of excellent applications, and a new class of 12 awardees was granted
research opportunities for this summer. Many of the fellows are leaning
towards a career in research, and it is our hope that the research
experience afforded them by this program will stimulate their interest and
commitment to this path.
Our new APS Careers Brochure entered production during
this past year. It is a handsome pamphlet that is informative for students
between middle school and college, and for the general public. Copies of the
brochure are available from the APS Education Office. A new Careers Poster,
based on the brochure design, was also produced this year and will be
distributed to undergraduate campuses this summer to encourage students to
consider a career in physiology. The poster emphasizes the new Careers
website as a valuable source of information.
This year, the Committee is focusing on developing an
outreach presentation package that APS members can use to speak to school
groups and the general public about physiology. The package will consist of
one or more PowerPoint presentation files that would incorporate a variety
of illustrations and informational slides about career opportunities in
physiology and the importance of physiological research. The concept is that
these files would contain slides appropriate for different age groups, so
that individual APS members could select the items relevant for the specific
topic and audience they were addressing. The package will also contain slide
templates so that each member can add his or her own illustrations and text
to fit the specific group that will be addressed. It is hoped that these
will be made available to APS members via the APS Web site.
The Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee and
the Education Office launched a major revision of the APS Careers Web site
early this year as a resource for students (from middle school through
graduate school) and recent graduates from physiology programs who are
seeking to learn more about educational programs and career opportunities in
the physiological sciences. APS members are encouraged to explore this site
and to recommend it to their students, as well as use it for themselves. You
can access the site from the APS home page (keep choosing the “Careers”
option in the menus presented) or access the site directly at
http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/index.html.
Francis L. Belloni, Chair
Council Actions
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Council accepted the
report of the Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee.
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Council approved the
Careers in Physiology symposium at EB 2004.
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Council approved the
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program for 2004 and agreed to fund
up to 12 fellowships in 2004.
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Council approved the
funding for a fall Committee meeting in Bethesda, MD.
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