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Training Program and Resources

Our Training Program

The Meakins-Christie Laboratories serve as an important training ground for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and undergraduate/summer students.  

RI-MUHC RESP Shadowing Program

RESP program trainees (including Meakins and RECRU!) can choose to shadow physicians at the MUHC to gain experience in how respiratory diseases are treated. Trainees will be matched with a physician from the RESP Program based on their area of research. Trainees will be able to shadow physicians in a clinic at the Montreal Chest Institute, Montreal Children’s Hospital, or at the Centre for Innovative Medicine. This program is an excellent opportunity for  trainees to learn more about respiratory diseases and how their research can be applied to clinical care. Please see Inga Murawski for more details and the appropriate forms. 

Desjardins Centre for Advanced Training

The RI-MUHC offers activities through the Desjardins Centre for Advanced Training to enhance the professional skills and career development of its research trainees through the creation of in-house workshops and seminars, and by encouraging trainees to develop skills by participating in existing programs.

1. Link to website and all events organized and hosted by D-CAT, including the popular Career Half Day
2. Link to the D-CATLinkedIn Group for Job postings, skills training information, and career development information
3. Monthly newsletters available on the RI-MUHC website
4. Links to resources at the RI-MUHC, McGill, Networking Organizations, etc…

McGill Resources

1. Skillsets – promote interdisciplinary professional development offerings to all Graduate Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows
2. CaPS – McGill career planning service
3. Graphos – teaches graduate students and postdocs how to become accomplished scholarly communicators
4. Grad Supervision Website – comprehensive  information about supervision best practices, policies, roles and responsibilities, and resources for both students and supervisors

Meakins-Christie Laboratories Poster Templates

We have developed a number of Scientific Poster Powerpoint templates. There are 5 poster template formats. Detailed instructions on how to use these templates can be found here.

Postdoctoral Training Program

Objectives: To provide a concrete structure for PDF training that will include the necessary scientific training as well as the appropriate resources for professional development to ensure success in future career goals.

Structure: The committee is to be selected by the supervisor(s) and the PDF and must be comprised of the supervisor(s) and at least two additional faculty members (Meakins or McGill). The committee will meet twice in the first year. The first meeting will occur 2-3 months after initial recruitment to map out the central hypotheses of the project and the experimental approaches.  Subsequent meetings will take place following the annual Work-in-Progress presentations.

Guide: The below guide was developed for Meakins PDFs to accompany the Meakins PDF Training Program Annual Progress Report and Professional Development Plan

Documentation: The below form must be completed at every meeting. Once completed, return a copy to your supervisor and to Inga Murawski.

Resources for Scientific Writing and Communication Skills Development

  1. ATS Webinars – Preparing Effective Poster and Slide Presentations for National Meetings
  2. Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
  3. Writing Science in Plain English by Anne E Greene
  4. How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper by Robert A. Day
  5. Professors as Writers: a Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing by Robert Boice
  6. Lay Abstracts and Summaries: Writing Advice for Scientists by Catherine E. Dubé and Kate L. Lapane
  7. The Science of Scientific Writing by George Gopen and Judith Swan
  8. Communicating Science: Giving Talks – Burroughs Wellcome Fund – Investing in the Careers of Young Scientists

General Resources for Senior Trainees & New (and Established) PIs

  1. The Life Scientists’ Guide for New PhD Students by Sam Roome
  2. Training Scientists to Make the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Developing Programs in Scientific Management – Burroughs Wellcome Fund – Howard Huges Medical Institute
  3. Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty – Burroughs Wellcome Fund – Howard Huges Medical Institute
  4. Guidebook for New Principal Investigators by Roderick McInnes, Brenda Andrews, and Richard Rachubinski
  5. Get a Life, PhD: Success in Academia and Have a Life Too – Blog by Tanya Maria Golash-Boza
  6. Staffing the Lab: Perspectives from Both Sides of the Bench – Burroughs Wellcome Fund – Investing in the Careers of Young Scientists
  7. Moving On: Managing Career Transitions – Burroughs Wellcome Fund – Investing in the Careers of Young Scientists
  8. Thriving in an Era of Team Science – Burroughs Wellcome Fund – Investing in the Careers of Young Scientists
  9. Advancing Careers: Articles from the Focus Newsletter – Burroughs Wellcome Fund- Investing in the Careers of Young Scientists
  10. Experimental Quality – Burroughs Wellcome Fund- Investing in the Careers of Young Scientists
  11. Why Pursue the Postdoc Path? Complex, Diverse Rationales Require Nuanced Policies by Henry Sauermann and Michael Roach
  12. Career Certainty – and the Uncertainty of It All by Joseph Barber
  13. Making the scientific literature fail-safe by Arturo Casadevall and Ferric Fang
  14. How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Q&A Sessions by Viki Male