Our students and postdoctoral researchers are a vital part of CIMR, and our goal is provide a supportive environment for all, both in and out of the lab. Both our student and postdoc representatives — Guy Pearson, Paolo Gallipoli and Claudia Puri — are members of the CIMR General Purposes Committee, and ensure that views about the institute are heard. Another key part of their role in promoting a strong social network at CIMR.
Student life
Our student group, whose activities are chaired by Guy Pearson, provides a voice for all CIMR students - both those in basic research and clinicians doing their PhD research here. While MPhil and PhD students also have a social home and career development opportunities through their College in the University, the CIMR student group drives local events to bring CIMR students together. The student group coordinate all social events together with the postdoctoral committee and our neighbours at the Mitochondrial Biology Unit, including the new monthly happy hour, and Guy is keen to hear other ideas for activities throughout the year.
CIMR postdoctoral committee
The postdoctoral committee aims to support the professional development and social interaction of all postdoctoral researchers at CIMR. Through our monthly meetings, we provide a venue for postdocs to meet and gain advice from their peers. Our goal is to provide a social hub for researchers, especially the new members of the institute. We organize events throughout the year, including autumn drinks for new starters, pub crawls around Cambridge, wine tasting, the Christmas party and a summer BBQ. Our career events with invited speakers inform CIMR postdocs about relevant aspects of the life sciences, including science communication, funding and industry, and highlight the different career paths available to researchers. Our list of invited academic speakers includes Ada Yonath and Peter Lawrence.
We are now expanding our outreach, by joining forces with the MBU committees, as well as the postdoctoral coordinators for Cambridge University, in the hope of growing a wider support network for researchers in the city. If you have ideas for new events, we would love to hear from you. Our meetings are open to all postdoctoral researchers and wide participation is encouraged!
