On November 6-7, 2008 City of Hope held its first graduate school reunion. The event was planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Beckman Research Institute and the 15th anniversary of City of Hope's Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences. More than half of the school’s alumni participated, with two coming from the East Coast, one from the Midwest, and others from the Bay Area and San Diego.
Seven alumni led a panel discussion on Careers in Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical Companies, attended by current students and postdoctoral fellows. The panelists included, from left to right below, Ren Liu, Ph.D. (VasGene Therapeutics); Min Soeb Lee, Ph.D. (Sequenom); Rob Ring, Ph.D. (Wyeth Research); Qing Chai, Ph.D. (Eli Lilly); Elizabeth Eng Gielow, Ph.D. (Allergan); Tom Bane, Ph.D. (Anti-Doping Research Institute); and Jie Huang, Ph.D. (Covx Pharmaceuticals).
The panelists encouraged attendees to apply for positions even if they do not have all of the listed qualifications or experience. Companies seldom find or even know exactly what they need in a recruit. The panelists agreed that what they look for in new staff is critical thinking ability, problem solving skill, willingness to learn, and the ability to communicate and be part of a team. Scientists in industry work long hours, they said, but enjoy careers that are both intellectually and financially rewarding.
Graduate school leaders welcomed the alumni. Dean John Rossi, Ph.D., encouraged alumni to visit the construction site of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Cancer Immunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology, scheduled for completion in late 2009. The entire first floor will be space for the graduate school, with two classrooms, a teaching lab, a lounge and library, conference rooms, office space, and a bistro. Jack Shively, Ph.D., spoke of his pride in seeing his students who had worked at different stages of related research. Queenie Du, the registrar, explained the process for requesting transcripts. Jonie Tsuji Watanabe, the career counselor, encouraged alumni to use her help, either in person or via e-mail.
A social mixer with faculty and current students was followed by an alumni-only dinner at Restaurant Devon in Monrovia.
Several alumni attended the Beckman Symposium on November 7, the title of which was
Innate Immunity: Our First Line of Defense.
One of the goals of the reunion was networking. We encourage alumni to stay in touch with the school, to send us news of your publications, fellowships, awards, and new career positions.