You are invited to “eLife and the future of scientific publishing,” a panel discussion with Aviv Regev, Todd Golub, David Sabatini, Mike Laub, Dawn Thompson, Alon Goren, and Mark Patterson (executive director of eLife). Vivian Siegel, director of education and outreach, will moderate.
The panel discussion will be held from 12:30 to 2:30 October 11 in the Broad Auditorium. Lunch will be provided.
The discussion will include a brief introduction to eLife, the journal co-published by HHMI, Wellcome, and Max Planck. Most of the discussion will be about what Broad scientists want to see change in scientific publishing to reflect the way we do science and the kinds of papers we publish.
My name is Thomas Abeel and I have been at Broad since 2009, first as a visiting graduate student, later as a postdoctoral fellow. Currently, I work as a postdoc in the Bacterial Comparative Genomics group with Ashlee Earl in the Genome Sequences and Analysis Program.
I’m, as many of you, a Broad-affiliated postdoc. I work in MacArthur’s lab on projects of exome sequencing data. I have experience organizing events for other type of groups such as scientific consortia. One key of success in science is collaboration. The Broad is a unique place in the world where multiple institutions gather one or more days a week to share their knowledge, we need to make better use of that. We also need to remember that publishing papers is important for us, but the general public and policy makers will most likely rarely read those papers, we have to be more proactive in the way we engage with society to let them know why it is important our research. Finally, many of us have someone special living with us, knowing each other’s partners and children would strengthen our connections. Therefore, my goals by serving the NextGen association are three-fold: 1) Increase collaboration among academic trainees of Broad-affiliated institutes 2) engage postdocs in outreach activities and 3) organize outdoor get-together activities for Broad-affiliated trainees including partners and families. To know more about me and my research projects, please visit 
My name is Georgia Lagoudas, and I’m a second year Ph.D. student at MIT working in Paul Blainey’s lab here at the Broad Institute. I’m interested in serving on the NextGen Association because I think it’s a crucial component in helping to connect post-docs and graduate students at the Broad. During my past 6 months working at the Broad, I’ve found it hard to meet other students and post-docs outside my lab space, and I think the NextGen Association can help foster these interactions. I’d like to be a part of the association so that I can contribute to event planning, help brainstorm new ways to provide resources to trainees, and provide a diverse perspective on goals for the NextGen Association.
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in Nir Hacohen’s Laboratory here, at the Broad Institute, and I have been your NextGen Co-Chair for this last year. It has been a real honor and pleasure being your advocate and voice, as well as working with the Academic Affairs Office on your behalf.
I am a postdoc in the Chemical Biology Program and joined the Broad about two years ago. I have been working with the NextGen Association from the beginning of my time here and served as one of two vice-chairs for the past year.
I am a third-year PhD student in the laboratory of Levi Garraway in the Cancer Program. As a member of the Broad community for the past 4 years, I have come to realize the vast opportunity and potential for the Broad Institute to benefit the training and professional development of its post-doctoral fellows and graduate students. By attending nearly all of the NextGen Planning Meetings in the past year and serving as the de facto Graduate Student Representative to the NextGen Association, I have been exposed to and participated in the planning of a number of NextGen events, including the “Post-Docs in Industry” panel discussion. If I am elected to co-chair the NextGen Association, I will be a voice for all Broad trainees, especially graduate students, with the goal of providing them with the resources and skills to propel their careers in science. In addition to the NextGen events currently planned for the next year, I will propose additional activities that will address issues especially relevant to the growth of more junior trainees, including how to navigate in a new laboratory, how to develop an optimal relationship with your PI, how to choose high-impact and feasible projects, how to form and negotiate collaborations, and how to identify your ideal scientific career. I strongly believe that these types of events will ultimately benefit the scientific and professional growth of all Broad trainees.
NextGen Association 