22 Professional Development
22.1 Mentoring Philosophy
We believe in individualized mentoring that supports each person’s unique career goals. Effective mentoring requires:
- Regular, open communication between mentees and mentors
- Mutual respect and trust
- Clear expectations and goals
- Constructive feedback
- Support for both research and career development
22.2 Individual Development Plans
All graduate students and postdocs should maintain an Individual Development Plan (IDP) that outlines:
- Short-term and long-term career goals
- Skills to develop
- Training needs and opportunities
- Timeline and milestones
- Progress toward goals
Update your IDP at least annually and discuss it with your PI. Useful resources:
22.4 Presentations and Conferences
We encourage lab members to present their work at conferences and seminars:
- Discuss conference opportunities with PIs early
- Submit abstracts with PI approval
- Practice presentations in lab meeting before the conference
- Prioritize clear visuals over text-dense slides following our Show, Don’t Tell principle
- Funding for conferences depends on availability and should be discussed in advance
22.4.1 Guidelines for Slide Decks
When preparing slide presentations for lab meetings, conferences, qualifying exams, or thesis defenses, follow these practical guidelines:
- Always include slide numbers: Slide numbers are essential for receiving constructive feedback. During question-and-answer periods or practice feedback sessions, collaborators and audience members need to refer back to specific slides quickly (e.g., “On slide 14, how was that variable defined?”) without fumbling through visual descriptions or guessing where a topic occurred.
- Complete, record, and review practice runs: Before any significant presentation, rehearse the complete talk out loud, record the practice run (using screen recording software, a webcam, or your phone), and review the recording. Watching your own practice run provides invaluable, objective feedback on pacing, timing, verbal filler habits, transition clarity, and whether slide text and figures remain legible when viewed on screen. Both students and faculty benefit substantially from this practice.
- One primary takeaway per slide: Limit the cognitive load of each slide. If a slide presents multiple distinct findings or complex arguments, split them across sequential slides so the audience can focus on each point.
- Prioritize visual evidence: Audiences cannot read dense paragraphs while simultaneously listening to a speaker. Favor clean charts, diagrams, and annotated figures over text-heavy bulleted lists.
- Ensure high contrast and readability: Use large, legible fonts and high-contrast color palettes. Verify that axis labels, legends, and annotations remain easily readable from the back of a large room or on low-resolution projector displays.
22.4.2 Presentation and Poster Resources
22.5 Scientific Figures
Creating clear, effective figures is essential for communicating research findings:
- Label x-axis and y-axis clearly
- Use panel labels when including multiple subplots
- Include sufficient tick marks and labels
- Use appropriate font sizes (readable but not distracting)
- Use colorblind-friendly palettes (see ColorBrewer or iwanthue)
- Define colors, shapes, and line types in legends
- Minimize abbreviations in labels and legends
- Use transparency to show overlapping data
- Show measures of precision (e.g., 95% confidence intervals)
Resources:
22.6 Grant Writing
- Graduate students and postdocs are encouraged to apply for fellowships (e.g., NIH F31, NSF GRFP, K awards)
- PIs will support fellowship applications with feedback, letters of support, and mentoring
- Start planning fellowship applications well in advance of deadlines (typically 3-6 months)
- Attend grant writing workshops and seek feedback from multiple sources
Resources:
22.7 PhD Dissertation Requirements
Understanding what constitutes a sufficient PhD dissertation is crucial for setting realistic expectations and timelines. The dissertation represents an important milestone, but it doesn’t need to be your magnum opus.
22.7.1 Review Previous Dissertations
Before setting your dissertation goals, read previous dissertations from students in your program. This helps you:
- Understand the typical scope and depth expected
- See different approaches to structure and presentation
- Calibrate your expectations based on successful examples
- Identify common patterns and standards in your field
Most universities maintain electronic dissertation repositories, making it easy to access recent examples from your program.
22.7.2 Publication Requirements
Three first-author papers typically suffice for a dissertation in public health and biomedical sciences. If academic peers in reputable journals have approved your work through peer review, this demonstrates that your research meets professional standards. Your dissertation committee should recognize this external validation.
The specific publication requirements may vary by program and institution, so consult your program’s guidelines and discuss expectations with your committee early. However, three substantial first-author publications generally demonstrate:
- Independent research capability
- Ability to communicate findings effectively
- Contribution to the scientific literature
- Readiness for an academic or research career
22.7.3 External Validation and Fast-Tracking
If you have a job offer waiting, you can usually get fast-tracked through the dissertation process. The reasoning is straightforward: your work has been externally validated as worthwhile by prospective employers.
Since most post-PhD positions offer better compensation than graduate stipends, it’s difficult to justify prolonging your graduation when you’ve already demonstrated professional competence. This applies whether the job offer is in academia, industry, government, or nonprofit sectors.
22.7.4 Historical Context: The Masterpiece Tradition
The dissertation (or thesis), a requirement for earning a PhD, is a spiritual successor to an apprentice’s masterpiece in craft guilds. Historically, a masterpiece was the piece of work that demonstrated an apprentice had achieved sufficient skill to join the guild as a master craftsperson. It was not meant to be the best work they would ever produce—it was meant to prove they were ready to work independently.
Similarly, your dissertation should demonstrate that you’re ready to conduct independent research. It’s your first professional-level work, not your career highlight. This perspective helps set appropriate expectations:
- The dissertation proves you can conduct rigorous research
- It doesn’t need to solve every problem in your field
- It doesn’t need to be flawless
- It doesn’t need to be all-encompassing
- It just needs to constitute incremental progress in your field
22.7.5 Setting Realistic Expectations
Many PhD students struggle with perfectionism or “scope creep” in their dissertations. Remember:
- Done is better than perfect when it comes to dissertations
- You’ll have your entire career to refine and expand on these ideas
- The goal is to finish and move forward, not to write the definitive work on your topic
- Your committee wants to see you succeed and graduate
Focus on making a solid, incremental contribution to knowledge in your field. That’s what a dissertation is meant to be—no more, no less.
22.7.6 Resources
Dissertation writing tools:
- quarto-thesis - Quarto extension for creating masters or PhD theses with professional LaTeX formatting
22.8 Teaching and Outreach
Teaching and outreach are valuable professional development opportunities:
- Graduate students are encouraged to gain teaching experience
- We support science communication and outreach activities
- Discuss opportunities with PIs
The UC Davis DataLab offers various workshops and learning materials that can support your teaching and professional development. Their workshop index provides a comprehensive catalog of available resources.
22.9 Networking
Building a professional network is important for your career:
- Attend seminars and departmental events
- Connect with researchers in your field
- Join professional societies
- Use professional social media platforms to share research and engage with the scientific community