2017-2018 Program Cohort
This premier leadership development program at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) is designed for early career PhDs on the Torrey Pines Mesa. In this program, participants will learn more about their leadership styles and preferences, and the leadership styles and preferences of others, towards understanding how they and their future teams can succeed. Certificates will be awarded to participants who complete all program requirements.
The 2018-2019 program cohort will include 30 postdoctoral scholars and advanced graduate students. Participants will attend classroom-style modules (4 hours each, Friday mornings starting at 9:00 am) every month, and engage in discussions and assigned projects in between modules. Participants will work in groups to develop a program project for presentation at the finale. See Program Timeline for more information.
In Module 1 program participants will undergo a process of self-analysis through utilization of the results from a comprehensive personal assessment. As the assessment will serve as a foundation for understanding the unique value each individual brings to their leadership roles, participants will spend Module 1 exploring their personal leadership styles, motivations, and preferences, as well as considering what type of leader they want to be. As a first step in defining their personal leadership goals, participants will consider how they would describe what they offer as a leader to others.
CloseIn Module 2 participants will explore what professional and leadership strengths they already possess that they want to continue to refine, and what additional leadership strengths they would like to continue to develop. Additionally, participants will develop their unique value proposition that will serve as a guide as they continue to explore how and where they can best contribute what they desire to offer as leaders.
CloseIn Module 3 program participants will build on the information they learned in Modules 1 and 2 by exploring four aspects of their personality: where they get their energy, how they take in information, how they make decisions, how they interact with their environment. Participants will consider how their personalities further mold how they approach the workplace, team members, colleagues, and the world at large. Participants will integrate knowledge of their personality preferences into what they have already learned through their original personal assessment.
CloseIn Module 4 participants will shift their focus externally to gain an understanding of the styles, preferences, and strengths of others. While an understanding of others will be explored to some degree in Modules 1, 2, and 3 by hearing about the various DiSC styles, leadership aptitudes, and professional/leadership strengths, in Module 4 participants will specifically concentrate on the styles, aptitudes, and strengths that are not inherent to them. Through the activities in Module 4 participants will explore how to better communicate and work with individuals who have different styles, preferences, and strengths than they do.
CloseIn Module 5 participants will learn about different communication styles and preferences and how best to communicate with individuals with different styles/preferences than they have. Participants will be introduced to general conflict resolution models that provide an understanding of how and why individuals approach conflict differently. Through discussion and activities, participants will practice various ways to approach difficult conversations and manage conflict as a normal component of working with others and making progress.
CloseIn Module 6 participants will spend time presenting and analyzing case studies that highlight relevant challenges that they and others are currently navigating. By applying the knowledge they have gained in the first five program modules, participants will work with each other to suggest approaches to dealing with the challenges being discussed. In addition to discussing current unresolved challenges, case studies of challenges that have already been overcome and the approaches taken to overcome them will be shared.
CloseIn Module 7 participants will again shift their focus towards action and developing as a leader. In Module 7 participants will discuss the importance of strategically selecting team members based on needs such as diversity, short-term project goals, long-term project goals, areas of expertise, to name several. Participants will also learn the importance of managing, mentoring, and coaching their team members based on an individual’s level of competence, personal goals, and style preferences. Additionally, ways to give effective and well-received feedback will be shared and practiced. Included in this module will be exploration of the ideas of “inclusion” in addition to diversity, as well as how “unconscious bias” can affect our interactions with others. Most importantly, this module will highlight the importance of not only having a vision, but of sharing it with the team one leads and including the team in shaping the vision.
CloseIn Module 8 program participants will assess how they approach four aspects of leadership and leading others: 1) how they make decisions, 2) how they process information, 3) how they handle change, and 4) how they manage uncertainty. Participants will utilize all of the information they have learned to this point to create a leadership map that highlights their leadership style and the behaviors and methods they tend to utilize under both “normal” and stressful conditions, outlines the success they have had and are likely to have utilizing those behaviors/methods, and creates development tracks they can follow towards achieving their leadership goals.
CloseIn Module 9 participants will explore the true concept of negotiation as a means to arriving at mutually acceptable outcomes and building alliances and collaborations based on trust and transparency. Participants will learn how to focus on "interests" and not "positions" to quickly get to the heart of the matter at hand, separate the person/people from the issue, work together to find options that create mutual gain, and view both sides of the issue objectively. The role that emotions plays in negotiating collaborations and persuading others will also be explored. Participants will gain an understanding of the importance and roles of various stakeholders involved in any long-term goal so they can enter any discussion or negotiation fully prepared to speak to the interests of the various stakeholders.
CloseIn Module 10 the concept of creating an Individual Leadership Development Plan (ILDP) based on all the knowledge participants have gained over the course of this program will be discussed with the goal that participants will create their own ILDPs to inform their continued professional and leadership development in the future. Participants will apply the concept of design thinking to their approach to continued personal development.
CloseModule 11 marks the end of the program. Participants will learn about the importance of serving as a leadership development ambassador to their peers and institutional leadership, as well as of opportunities to become a peer mentor for future cycles of this leadership program. Group projects will be presented and discussed, followed by an end of program networking celebration.
CloseDr. Diane Klotz is Director of the Office of Education, Training, & International Services (OETIS) at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) in La Jolla, CA. In this position Diane oversees scientific career education and professional development programs for SBP’s graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, participates in institute-wide efforts in strategic planning with respect to education and training initiatives, and serves as an advisor to executive leadership on education and training policy.
Diane received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Tulane University, and pursued her postdoctoral research training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, NIH). Diane’s research focused on cross-talk between steroid hormone receptor and growth-factor signaling pathways in the female reproductive tract. Outside the lab, Diane served as a member and chair of the NIEHS Trainees Assembly Steering Committee, and was a member and chair of the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) policy committee. She subsequently served as a member and chair of the NPA Board of Directors, and she remains active with the NPA as a member of the NPA Advisors. Diane recently served on the NIH study sections for the NIH BEST Award program, and she is currently a member of the NIH BEST Award External Scientific Panel of advisors. In addition to her research education, Diane is a certified DiSC® facilitator, was a member of the inaugural NIEHS Leadership Development Program, and is currently pursuing a Mindful Executive Certificate.
Diane’s career path has been shaped by her observations of and experiences with how scientific organizations function and how scientific leaders strive to effect change and make progress. Her focus in the education and training of scientists at all levels and in all career paths is on helping scientists find their voices as high impact leaders who are able to guide their teams with compassion, clarity, vision, and intent.
Dr. Nisha Cavanaugh is the Manager of Postdoctoral and Academic Programs, within SBP's OETIS. In this role, Nisha oversees the administration of career and professional development programming for SBP postdoctoral scholars and graduate students. Additionally, she collaborates with OETIS staff and with the SBP Science Network to design new professional development workshops, programs and opportunities to enhance the postdoctoral experience at SBP.
Nisha received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she elucidated the primase-polymerase enzyme mechanism in Herpes Simplex Virus-1 DNA replication initiation. As a postdoc at the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), she analyzed the structure-function relationship of DNA polymerase beta and the misincorporation of ribonucleotides during DNA repair. Her interest to encourage postdocs and graduate students to explore PhD career paths stems from her own postdoctoral experience and time spent as Chair of the NIEHS Trainees Assembly, the NIEHS postdoctoral association. Prior to joining the OETIS staff, she was the Director of NC State University’s Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
Virginia (Ginger) Hazen attained her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California and then began a postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Diego. Ginger studied the development of mammalian spinal neurons during her scientific training. Throughout her training, she also participated in student government, career development and outreach programs that ultimately led her to pursue a career path in professional development. She became the professional development coordinator in 2013, a newly created position at UC San Diego. Ginger developed, implemented and now manages the professional development training curriculum called Explore, Prepare, Innovate, Connect (EPIC) Program for postdocs that addresses the individual and holistic needs of the 1200+ postdocs at UC San Diego. She is also the advisor to the Postdoctoral Association and provides individual career advising for postdocs. Ginger is dedicated to the advancement of postdocs through career development by empowering highly capable, educated and qualified individuals to contribute to the diverse global workforce through self-evaluation, preparation and community.
You can contact us at OETIS@SBP.edu!
Letizia Amadini-Lane, Pharm.D., is Vice President, Strategic Alliances and oversees key partnerships to maximize value to SBP and lead transformational initiatives within business development that align individuals, teams, and partners to deliver organizational goals.
Prior to joining SBP, Amadini-Lane spent 15 years at GSK, most recently as Vice President/Global Head, Employee Value Proposition where she led strategic planning and implementation to build engagement and sustain enterprise-wide alignment. In previous vice president positions, she established the Center of Excellence and best practices in global business development for the R&D product pipeline and was responsible for early- and late-stage collaborations.
Earlier in her career, Amadini-Lane served as a pharmaceutical consultant to international public health care organizations and was an executive at Fidia Pharmaceutical Corporation.
Amadini-Lane received her Doctor of Pharmacy from University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, a Master in Herbal Medicine from University of Urbino, and she is an Executive Coach certified ICF (International Coaching Federation).
Sean Mitton graduated from the University of New Brunswick in Canada with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration and Minor in Psychology. He founded the Canadian Expat Network, authored a book on hockey, and has been interviewed by a number of media outlets. Currently, he is a Software Account Executive in the Healthcare Industry.
His professional experience includes the creation of over 500 Mind Maps to stay focused, organized, manage his time effectively, and think strategically. He has used mind maps to prepare for interviews with entertainers, business people, government officials and several well-known sports figures including Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby. Sean has delivered professional development Mind Map workshops at NC State, NC Community College Conference and Wake County Libraries. He created an online Mind Map course with over a thousand students and has partnered with a High School Robotics Club on how to use Mind Mapping to prepare for contests.
Dr. Karen Peterson is the Scientific Ombudsman and Director of the Office of Scientific Career Development at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) in Seattle, Washington. She is the Co-Chair of the Program Committee for the Northwest Ombuds Group (NWOG). In addition, she is the author of the Nature Guide to Life Science Careers and a former member of the Board of Directors and Advisory Council for the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA). At the Fred Hutch, Dr. Peterson is the advisor to the Student-Postdoc Advisory Committee, which provides professional development for scientists-in-training, and a member of the advisory committee to Hutch United, which facilitates mentoring to underrepresented minorities in science. She is also a member of the Fred Hutch Diversity Council and Research Ethics Education Committee.
Dr. Peterson received a Bachelor's in Genetics from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Experimental Medicine from McGill University. She was a postdoctoral fellow conducting research at the Fred Hutch before making a career transition into administration. She is often interviewed about research training issues and has been quoted in journals such as Nature and Science.
Ryan Wheeler is Director of Career, International, and Postdoctoral Services at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). He received his Bachelor’s from the University of Washington and a Master’s degree in postsecondary education administration from San Diego State University. He is the founding administrator for TSRI’s Career and Postdoctoral Services Office, and oversees professional development training initiatives, international student and scholar services, and career advising for hundreds of postdoctoral researchers and graduate students in La Jolla, CA and Jupiter, FL. Prior to his current role, he worked in the Office of Admissions at the University of Washington and in the Career Services Center at the University of California, San Diego. He is an active member of the National Postdoctoral Association and the Graduate Career Consortium, and has given professional development workshops at institutions and professional meetings around the US.
You MUST be an SBP Graduate Student OR a Postdoctoral Scholar/Staff Scientist/Research Assistant Professor at one of five institutions: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), La Jolla Institute For Allergy and Immunology (LJI), or the University of California San Diego. Graduate students MUST have passed their Qualifying Exam and be admitted to candidacy.
The program's cohort of peer emerging leaders will be committed to fully engage in all program activities and support their fellow participants.
To be accepted into the program, complete the application form in full. The parts of the application include: