The Annual Developmental and Regenerative Biology Symposium has been a tradition since the conception of the program. Every year, current students organize an event in which selected faculty and students present talks on their ongoing work. All students, postdocs, and faculty are invited and encouraged to participate in this community building session. Currently, the DRB annual retreat is held in the Rotunda of the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at the New Research Building in the Longwood Medical Area; past events have occurred at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, near the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (SCRB) Department.
Featured external faculty have been a highlight of the annual DRB event. Past invited speakers have included Ken Poss, Elaine Fuchs, Mary C. Mullins, Valentina Greco, Ray Keller, Peter Reddien, Ruth Lehmann, Nathan Lawson, and Roel Nusse. The inclusion of external faculty in our annual retreat provides students with the opportunity to learn from top developmental biologists at other institutions. Furthermore, it creates a platform on which to integrate other development and stem cell biologists into our program. In addition to expanding students' scientific network, these relationships have resulted in suggestions for novel curriculum development and postdoctoral fellowship opportunities for students upon graduating from the DRB program.
The symposium begins with a student/postdoc mentoring lunch. Registrants are seated in groups with faculty members of their choosing and discuss career and project development. There are two speaker sessions with a mix of faculty and trainee talks, separated by an interactive poster session. During the poster session, attendees view posters from students, postdocs, and faculty over coffee, tea, and desserts. Trainees can receive feedback on their projects or initiate collaborations. Similarly, principal investigators can use the poster session as an opportunity to recruit prospective students for rotations.
Goals of the Symposium
1. Foster a strong sense of community amongst developmental and regenerative biologists at Harvard Medical School.
2. Discuss emerging research in the DRB-related fields and provide feedback on ongoing work.
3. Practice oral and/or poster presentation and networking skills.
4. Update the community on upcoming events and initiatives within DRB.
5. Recruit new trainees and faculty to the DRB Program
