• Oct 30: Introduction to narrative structure. Learn the aspects of crafting a compelling scientific article.
• Nov 6: Storyboarding the results section and presenting your data. Identify how to clearly describe the results. Learn how to make effective figures and graphs to present your data. Homework includes writing the results section.
• Nov 20: Framing the problem and discussing the results. Identify the parts of a discussion and necessary content. Homework includes writing the discussion section.
• Dec 4: Publication ethics and going beyond grammar. Learn the ethics of scientific communication and how to avoid any issues. Learn aspects of good writing that focuses on how to best convey your ideas—not just mechanics.
• Dec 11: Introducing your story. Identify your audience and learn how that influences the content of your introduction. Homework includes writing the introduction section.
• Dec 18: Titles, abstracts, and revisions. Learn how to effectively bring readers to your article and help them find out information they need. Also, learn how to respond to reviewer comments.
• Biweekly office hours, between training weeks, for drop-in questions, writing time, and accountability

Application period now closed.

Introduction to Project Management for Scientists
Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Recording and Resources

This two hour virtual training session will provide an overview of the concepts and approaches scientists can use in managing their collaborative projects. In addition to presentation and discussion, we’ll work through a series of case studies specific to a range of STEM contexts.

CZI Project Management for Scientists Seminar
December 3 - 4, 2024
8am-2pm PT, Daily

Application Period Closed

The two-day CZI Project Management for Scientists Seminar will give you the strategies and skills you need to deliver on collaborative projects. While you may not be a formal or full-time project manager, we’ll discuss how you can still infuse project management concepts into your work for smoother and more enjoyable project work. You’ll gain new language and concepts to describe managing your projects, tools and approaches to support your work, and connection with others who are also coordinating collaborative work.

The virtual course will be hosted December 3 through December 4, 2024, from 8am-2pm PT in English on Zoom. Topics will include how to plan for the successful delivery of your project, assigning and setting expectations about project roles, coordinating  communications about the flow of work on a project, and common challenges encountered in managing projects.  

Admitted applicants will be notified no later than Nov 13, 2024.

Eligibility & Expectations

• Full two-day course attendance and interaction is expected from all participants; including any pre work and homework around your project plans
• The course will require your full focus and it will not be possible to pay attention to your other responsibilities and duties during the course hours on the two days of training
• Participants will need a web camera, microphone, ability to use Google Workspace, and a quiet place with reliable internet from which to attend the course
• The seminar is free of charge
• The course is designed for senior postdocs, staff scientists, and early career PIs (within 6 years of your first independent position)
• Eligibility is limited to those who can come with a project for planning and assessment (projects at the early stages will be most useful in this exercise)
• Participants must be a CZI Science grantee, either funded directly or on a team and/or group member of a grantee, or a collaborator of CZI Science
• The course is capped at 30 people

SciComms 101: Anatomy of a Scientific Talk
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
9-11am PT

Recording and Resources

Research presentations have become an essential tool to share your research with the scientific community. Your audience may be scientists, the general public, and funders. To ensure you are effectively communicating, your audience must comprehend how your research fits into a larger context and its potential impact. This workshop will guide you through the essential components of a scientific talk, pulling strategies from neuroscience, psychology, and improv theater. By the end of the session, you'll be equipped to structure your talk to be compelling, present your research with confidence, and be memorable.

Level Up Your Slide Design: Techniques for Engaging and Effective Scientific Presentations
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
9-11am PT

Recording and Resources

This comprehensive training webinar is designed to elevate the visualizations for your scientific presentations, making your data more compelling and your message clear.

The CZI Faculty Application Bootcamp will give a systematic overview of all aspects of the faculty job search in the United States. Topics will cover CVs and cover letters, research, teaching and diversity statements, job and chalk talks, and interviewing and negotiating.

This practical and experiential course also includes small group exercises and stories from those who recently completed a successful search. Primary instructors are Chris Golde (Stanford University) and Arne Bakker (CZI), with additional guest presenters. Review the draft course schedule here.

Grant Writing for Science

In a four-part series hosted by Dr. Morgan Giddings of SciFoundry, participants will learn the four steps to funding which cover topics such as deciphering your reviewer’s interests, crafting a compelling grant project proposal, highlighting the strengths of your team, and outlining the effective execution of your proposed work to bolster your overall proposal.

• The Four Steps to Funding Part 1: What is the 'Why' that gets your reviewer interested and excited to support your proposal for funding?
  Tuesday, March 19, 2024
  Recording and Resources

What gets your reviewer interested and excited to support your proposal for funding? In this first of the four-part series, we’ll go into the "why(s)" of your proposal, and whether those will connect with your reviewer in a positive way, or not.

• The Four Steps to Funding Part 2: What makes a great grant project? Does it have solid rigor and premise? 
  Thursday, March 21, 2024
  Recording and Resources

The “what” is the heart of your proposal - what project you are proposing to do. It will determine whether reviewers are excited or unsupportive of your funding. Learn how to build and write the What with a clear premise and sufficient rigor, so you can get reviewers excited about your project. 

• The Four Steps to Funding Part 3: Who is the team behind the execution? Is it convincing? 
  Tuesday, April 9th, 2024
  Recording and Resources

Your reviewer and funder cares deeply about "who" they are supporting for funding. Are they confident that you can do the work proposed, and handle challenges or roadblocks when they arise? Learn how to convey your powerful “who,” going far beyond just the Biosketches or CV’s. 

• The Four Steps to Funding Part 4:How will the proposed research be effectively executed? Is it realistic? 
  Tuesday, April 11, 2024
  Recording and Resources

It’s tempting to start your proposal first with the question of “how will I do the work/experiments.” Yet if you don’t carefully align the How with the rest of the proposal, it will come across as confusing, leading to no funding. Learn how to construct your "how(s)" to align with and support the rest of your proposal, for the highest chances of funding. 

Grant Writing for Scientists Bootcamp: What it Takes to Write a Successful Proposal

June 18 - 20, 2024

This three-day virtual course provided foundational skills for science grant writing and guiding tools that can be applied to grants in any funding setting. This course will:

• Give clarity on how to construct a project that your reviewers and funders want to support;
• Leave participants with a clear understanding of what a stellar first page or specific aims page should look like for your project; and
• Teach how to tell a compelling project story that will engage your proposal reviewers rather than creating boredom or frustration.

The course is focused on your leadership and the strategies and tools needed to run a productive research group. As you work to define your leadership style in this context, the course will provide insight into how to cultivate positive relationships, how teams work best together, and how to identify and resolve interpersonal barriers to the effective conduct of research. Throughout the course, the trainers will offer tools, techniques, and insights tailored specifically to the laboratory/research setting for the leadership of people, good communication, healthy resolution of conflict, and the management of workloads and responsibilities.

Each module begins with an introduction from the trainers, followed by the use of a range of interactive tools – both in self-reflection and in small group breakout activities – to integrate examples, experiences, and ideas from participants into the learning environment.  

To keep the learning environment to an effective size for collaboration and support, we will be admitting participants through an application process. Admitted applicants will be notified no later than June 18, 2024.