Juliette Wipf
This year’s Rockefeller Postdoctoral Association (PDA) Retreat was held from September 21 to 22 at the Interlaken Inn in Lakeville, CT. The Interlaken Inn is a charming country resort with great facilities and over 130 Rockefeller postdocs came to enjoy this getaway. Many supported the event with presentations, ranging in scope from social evolution in ants, aphids and their interacting microbiomes, through to visual signaling in Drosophila.
The PDA further organized a panel discussion focusing on non-academic careers, which was one of the highlights of the retreat. Candid responses to heartfelt questions were given by George Yancopoulos, the President and CSO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., who also gave the retreat’s keynote address, Nadim Shohdy (Director, Office of Therapeutics Alliances NYU Langone), David Pompliano (co-founder & CSO, Lodo Therapeutics), Imran Babar (Private Equity / Venture Capital, OrbiMed Advisors & VP of Scientific Affairs, Rare Genomics Institute), Yaihara Fortis-Santiago (Director of Science Alliance, the New York Academy of Sciences), as well as two Rockefeller insiders, namely our new President Richard Lifton and our Career and Professional Development Director, Andrea Morris. The speakers depicted the advantages of dropping into a non-academic field and attempted to boost our self-confidence for trying out such alternative career routes. In some cases maybe even out of a personal recruitment interest?
A bonfire by the scenic Lake Wononskopomuc brought the first day come to an unforgettable end. S’more roasting gave the postdocs energy after burning themselves out on the dance floor. After another round of talks in the morning, playing tennis, sunbathing by the heated pool, kayaking and swimming in the lake in the afternoon, everybody reluctantly made their way back to New York City on Thursday night.
Thank you PDA for organizing this event!
