“Keeping an academic job, the view from the Assistant Professor” - Doug Houston (U. Iowa)

1. Saturday afternoon Workshop: 2.00 - 4.30pm “Keeping an academic job, the view from the Assistant Professor” - Doug Houston (U. Iowa) • Get the “right” job in first place • Plan the move and establish the lab • Get a major grant and last author publication • Become productive (more papers, grants, talks) • Navigate tenure review Basically, do what you already know you need to do; be a “professional” scientist

2. what is the right job ? • different for different people • simply put, one where you and your particular research has best chance to fit in and succeed. • colleagues that will enhance your research (and vice versa) • faculty and chair that have a stake in your success and actually want you to succeed

3. Moving and lab set-up • finish up, solidify with PI what projects can be taken (actually, best done well ahead of time) • plan renovation of lab space, set up timetable • make a “Noah’s Ark” of reagents, databases etc to rebuild lab rapidly -- I copied ordering database and organized by company to submit mass orders. No need to reinvent the wheel • begin finishing papers, start 1st grant ahead of time. Make sure office space is ready, minimally. • Do as much to get going right away, the tenure clock starts the minute you arrive.

4. Getting the first grant and paper • take a grant workshop -- I took a rather intensive one where someone actually read and critiqued the grant (www.grantcentral.com). The company sells a book so you don’t have to pay for the whole course (you will get the theory but no “expert” feedback • did it work ? The approach was sound and I got an R01, but other approaches will undoubtedly work too. • have your chair and others read the grant, give them plenty of time to read it before the deadline ! You will need to have time to make the needed changes. • write at home or early morning; be your own postdoc until first last author paper is out (at least)

5. Becoming productive • transition from getting preliminary types of data (good for grants) to generating hard data needed to publish mechanistic papers. not that easy -- grant writing and doing quick-and-dirty experiments can be addictive • set up your projects so they will lead to papers, which will be needed for your renewal or new grants • give talks, posters and get feedback • keep working in the lab, you will be your own best postdoc for a while • attempt to manage your personnel effectively, this is not easy and you are not trained for it.

6. tenure • comes up faster than you think (end of 5th year or so), know what is expected of you well ahead of time and prepare • you will need a major grant of some type, one that can be reapplied for or is renewable • a surprise to me is that outside reviewers will be asked to evaluate your dossier • give potential names to your P&T committee, these will be full profs who are not collaborators • keep a list of potential people; editors, people who make favorable comments on your work at meetings, people who may have been on your study section • prepare and practice your tenure talk, fill it with new work since you joined your department • prepare adequately early on and tenure should be a foregone conclusion!