The Biology Department is immersed in a rich scientific environment at New York University, and as part of the larger research community of New York City and the Tri-State Area. Below, we highlight a few of the major events and scientific communities that students at NYU Biology can engage with during their PhD research.
PhD Events and Community
The department hosts two major symposia each year, the Genomics Symposium, hosted by the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, and the Developmental Genetics Symposium, hosted by the Center for Developmental Genetics. These events feature an exciting lineup of renowned speakers, and are organized each year around a different featured topic. Click to view the programs from last year’s Genomics Symposium and Developmental Genetics Symposium.
The Darwin Day lecture is hosted by the Biology Department and co-sponsored with NYU’s Dean for Science, and is free and open to the public. This annual invited lecture celebrates achievements in the study of evolution, and is given by an evolutionary biologist or population geneticist who has made major contributions to the field. Click to view information about a recent Darwin Day lecture.
The department hosts the annual meeting of the Bacillus Interest Group, a meeting of Bacillus researchers from the Northeastern United States. It is typically held in the beginning of June, and features talks by students and faculty from at NYU, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University, and the Public Health Research Institute Center, among others. Click to view the program for last year’s NY/BIG conference.
Each year, the department kicks off the fall semester with a departmental retreat, organized by the graduate biology group, a student-run organization. The retreat features talks by students, postdocs, faculty, invited speakers from industry, social activities, and a happy hour. In recent years, the retreat has taken place in unique venues including Wave Hill in the Bronx, and most recently on Ellis Island, where the department went on a tour of the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital and had spectacular views of New York City and the Statue of Liberty on the Ellis Island Ferry. Stay tuned for future venues in the NYC area.
The weekly seminar series in Biology presents a wide range of talks on the latest research breakthroughs across the entire field. Students have the opportunity to meet and discuss with the invited speaker over lunch and during the post-talk reception each week. The schedule for Monday Seminars for can be viewed here.
Every Friday morning, two PhD students present their research to the entire department in a half hour seminar, followed by questions. Students are mentored by faculty to prepare their talks, and each student presents at the Friday colloquium once a year. This weekly forum engages students in the work of their peers, and provides an excellent forum for practicing and improving their public speaking skills.
All Biology Department graduate students automatically belong to an organization known as the Graduate Biology Group (GBG). The GBG is an important component of the department; helping to unite the students and mold the academic environment into a favorable one for study and research. It is a progressive organization that is constantly pursuing these goals. Click here for further information on the GBG.