Registrations Open for Our 2021 Diversity Perspectives Speakers Series (DPSS) Event

April 1, 2021

We are now inviting registrations for our 2021 Diversity Perspectives Speaker series (DPSS) event, organized by Stanford University Postdoctoral Association, Stanford BioAIMS and the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. The DPSS is a trainee-hosted event that contributes to the ongoing, university-wide discussion on diversity, inclusion and equity in academia. DPSS also provides opportunities for under-represented trainees to share personal experiences and discuss strategies to thrive in graduate school, postdoctoral training, and subsequent scientific careers.

We are delighted to announce our keynote speaker this year is Dr. Raychelle Burks, a nationally recognized scientific communicator and associate professor of analytical chemistry at American University. After working in a crime lab, Dr. Burks returned to academia, teaching, and forensic science research. Her research team is focused on the development of colorimetric and luminescent sensing systems for detection of samples of forensic interest. Beyond the bench, Dr. Burks is a popular science communicator appearing regularly on TV, radio, podcasts, and print outlets. Most recently, she was a series regular in Smithsonian Channel show “The Curious Life and Death of..” and writes a science-meets=true crime column called “Trace Analysis” for Chemistry World. In 2020, she was awarded the American Chemical Society’s Grady – Stack Award for interpreting Chemistry for the public.

We will also host interactive discussion sessions between our speaker, Stanford trainees, and students from primarily undergraduate institutions to share advice on getting started and thriving in academia. A key objective this year is to provide cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural interactions between diverse trainees to enable undergraduates, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students to share, learn about, and improve the experiences of currently underrepresented members of the academy. This is also an opportunity for undergraduate students to learn more about the process of navigating academia from peers at graduate and postgraduate career stages.

The virtual event will take place April 13th: 9:30am – 12:00pm PT / 12:30pm – 3:00pm ET and April 14th: 11:00am – 1:20pm PT / 2:00pm – 4:30pm ET, starting with the keynote and then moving into panel discussions and breakout rooms on topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion and academic life. We encourage everyone to register here by April 9th. All registrants will be invited to the Keynote webinar on April 13th. The interactive sessions will be reserved for trainees (Students and Postdocs) to provide a space for open and honest discussions.