Navigating Career Paths in Academia and Beyond

Описание: In this first episode of “What’s Up, Doc?”, Dr. Kaylee Steen shares her insights on career exploration and professional growth for postdocs, highlighting pivotal programs supporting the personal and professional development of Postdoctoral Fellows at U-M. She opens up about her own journey from graduate school to her current leadership role, emphasizing the importance of understanding personal strengths and the value of skill development. Tune in to discover strategies for navigating the complexities of the postdoc journey, and finding your path in academia and beyond!

“You have to commit to the process and you have to dedicate time to it.”

Dr. Kaylee Steen

Guest Kaylee Steen is the Associate Director of Professional Development and Trainee Support at the University of Michigan Medical School in the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (OGPS). Kaylee directs the Professional Growth, Inclusion & Well-Being team who offers a suite of services and programming for graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows. Kaylee also serves as the Medical School leader supporting postdoc affairs, including advocating for equitable postdoc policies and training. The collective goal of Kaylee’s team is to help trainees thrive academically, professionally and personally while at the University of Michigan and beyond.

Kaylee holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and is one of the inaugural fellows of the University of Michigan Medical School’s Research Operations, Management & Strategy (ROMS) fellowship.

Connect with Kaylee on LinkedIn

Resources Michigan Medicine Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (OGPS) University of Michigan Medical School’s Research Operations, Management & Strategy (ROMS) fellowship Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) Biointerfaces Institute Center for Research on Learning & Teaching (CRLT) Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) seminar Teaching Foundations Series Postdoctoral Short Course on College Teaching in STEM Developing Future Biologists (DFB) Macomb Correctional Facility Lecture Program (U-M Postdoctoral Association Outreach opportunities webpage) Transcript Anne-Sophie Bohrer

Hello everyone and welcome to ‘What’s Up, Doc?’, an initiative developed by the University of Michigan Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. ‘What’s Up, Doc?’ is a professional development interview series created to support the career exploration efforts and professional development needs of current U-M postdocs. You will hear from former U-M postdocs, discuss their own postdoc experience, and share advice on their experience transitioning into their career of choice. We hope you will get the answers you want and need to make an informed decision about your own career. I am Anne-Sophie Bohrer.

Maurinne Bonnet

And I am Maurinne Bonnet.

Anne-Sophie Bohrer

Today our guest is Dr. Kaylee Steen who completed her postdoc at the University of Michigan in 2021. Kaylee is now the Associate Director of Professional Development and Trainee Support in the University of Michigan Medical School Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, or OGPS for short. Welcome Kaylee and thank you for joining us.

Kaylee Steen

Hello, thank you for having me. Good morning.

Maurinne Bonnet

Hi Kaylee. So as Anne-Sophie just mentioned you work at the OGPS. So could you tell us a little bit more what is the OGPS office? What are you doing? What is their main mission there?

Kaylee Steen

Yeah, so at OGPS, we are in the medical school within the University of Michigan, and specifically we sit within the Office of Research, but our mission is really the educational arm of the medical school. And more specifically, we focus on education for biomedical researchers. So we don’t have a hand in the medical education for MDs. We really focus on PhDs in training as well as postdocs. I oversee a team that kind of broadly focuses on professional growth, inclusion, and well-being. So we do workshops, have resources, advising, counseling to help people really with all aspects of their training and their career journey outside of the lab. So focusing on things like career exploration, professional skill building and competency building, more kind of personal development and holding events and activities that focus on belonging and really kind of celebrating our community and the different places and backgrounds people are coming from. And then, of course, overall well-being. And so we have two licensed therapist clinicians on our team that do therapy as well for our trainees.

Maurinne Bonnet

Oh, okay. I didn’t know about the therapy.

Anne-Sophie Bohrer

That’s amazing. Yeah.

Maurinne Bonnet

So you...