Registration and abstract submissions to present a poster at the 26th Center for Cancer Research Fellows and Young Investigators Colloquium, NCI’s headline conference for early-career scientists, close April 1.
Registration to attend closes May 1. Presenters and attendees can register on the event website.
The CCR-FYI Colloquium, planned and coordinated almost entirely by fellows, is a two-day scientific meeting devoted to giving early-career scientists a chance to share their work and learn new skills. This year’s theme is The NIH Advantage: Where High Risk Meets High Reward.
The colloquium will be held May 14–15 at NCI Shady Grove. Despite what its name suggests, participation isn’t limited to Center for Cancer Research (CCR) trainees but rather is open to all fellows and trainee scientists at NCI. Any NCI employee can attend.
A distinct and unparalleled opportunity within NCI, the colloquium is one of the largest intramural events in CCR each year. It’s also a geographical unifier: scientists from both Frederick and Bethesda attend, enabling face-to-face interactions that otherwise couldn’t occur.
“The colloquium brings together fellows by bridging the physical gap between the two campuses, showcasing their innovative basic and clinical research, and hosting workshops and panels that’ll enrich their professional and career development,” said Christine Brugger-Muli, Ph.D., colloquium co-chair and a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Structural Biology.
Growth Opportunities
Past years’ colloquia have seen between 150 and 200 scientific posters on display; no fewer than two dozen scientific lectures from fellows; and multiple keynote addresses from esteemed scientists at NCI, scientific industries, and academic institutions.
The colloquium also awards one Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow, features a lecture given by a cancer survivor, and—to help fellows grow professionally—hosts several panels and workshops on career paths and soft skills.
“We highly recommend attending [the cancer survivor] session, as it gives you a reminder of why we do the work we do and the impact it has on patients,” Brugger-Muli said.
Members of various core services available to CCR staff will be present to discuss their capabilities and potential partnerships this year. Staff from the CCR Office of Cancer Research Capacity Building and the NCI Center for Cancer Training, two entities committed to staff education and growth, will also attend.
This year comes with changes, too: a special Career Information Session is scheduled for Thursday, May 14. Instead of a traditional career advice panel, this year’s more tailored workshop will give fellows a chance to speak one-on-one with professionals working in research, policy, communication, and regulation.
“Aside from improving presentation skills, our hope is that fellows will leverage the workshops we offer to tune their scientific communication and networking skills or perhaps learn a new technique or platform to incorporate into their own work,” said Olga Drozdovitch, colloquium vice-chair and a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Molecular Targets Program.
How to Get Involved and Connect
The colloquium is sponsored, planned, and coordinated by the CCR Fellows and Young Investigators (CCR-FYI) Association, an organization founded by fellows to advance the careers of and professional opportunities for fellows and trainees at NCI. The CCR Office of the Director and the Center for Cancer Training provide additional support to the event.
Fellows interested in attending or presenting a poster should register on the event website. Those who aren’t able to present but still want to be involved can sign up to judge lectures and moderate panel sessions. “That’s its own form of growth and practice,” Drozdovitch said.
“These experiences not only looked great in my CV, but I highlighted them during graduate school interviews this past cycle,” she said, referring to her experience judging last year.
Carpools from Frederick to Shady Grove will be arranged as the date of the event nears.
Fellows with an interest in joining CCR-FYI should contact the association’s current steering committee co-chairs. Membership is open to fellows outside of CCR under certain circumstances.
Staff with questions about the event can contact Christine Brugger-Muli and Olga Drozdovitch.
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