This weekly seminar is organized by the UC San Diego Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program. Students in the program enroll in it as BNFO 283 in the fall, winter, and spring quarters their first two years. It consists of weekly presentations by Bioinformatics and Systems Biology students about Research Projects that are proposed or completed. This includes Oral Rotation Project Presentations and practice talks for the Second-Year Qualifying Examination. Faculty mentors are present to contribute critiques and suggestions.
The purpose of the talks is several fold:
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Practice giving talks. Learn to be succinct, to give a proper introduction, and to place your vignette in the context of the big picture. Some rotations have data and allow for conclusions; others may be more about background and articulating the question (which may have remained unanswered). Your job is always to be well informed, and express both enthusiasm and critical thinking. Giving talks / communicating ideas is a key skill in your scientific career.
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Learn to actively listen, understand, critically evaluate and formulate questions or suggestions related to other people's research.
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Learn from each other's successes and mistakes in pursuing research. This is the key way to avoid making all possible mistakes yourself.
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Learn about each other's research interests so you can form collaborative connections that will benefit you not only during graduate school, but often well beyond.
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Learn about the diverse research going on at UCSD and rotation opportunities.