basically Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 Did anyone else attend the TPCB Open House this past weekend? I'm curious to hear your thoughts about the Open House and the program itself. I'll just repeat the question from other program-specific threads: what do you see as the pros and cons of TPCB? For me, funding is one of the most attractive aspects of TPCB. Not only does it offer both the best stipend AND the cheapest housing, but the three institutions that comprise TPCB are just loaded with research funding and resources such that "if you want to do a particular experiment, you most likely can very easily" as remarked by a current student. I personally wish there had been more opportunities for speaking with current students about their experiences, but based on my conversations with a few students, I got the impression that TPCB students are overall a happy and friendly group of people. I also like the rotation system and the fact that we can take classes at other NYC universities, the latter which is not super crucial but still a nice plus. The program director said something about a TPCB student publishing ~4-5 papers on average, which sounds like a great number to me. My only reservation about the program is that it is relatively new. It may be the world's first chemical biology PhD program, but I don't think it is as widely recognized as programs like UCSF CCB and Harvard Chemical Biology. I feel like a graduate degree from UCSF or Harvard would carry more weight when seeking industry jobs, since these schools are also conveniently located in the two biggest biomedical hubs of this country. I don't think NYC is quite ready to compete with the Bay Area and Boston yet, though this is just my personal opinion.
basically Posted January 30, 2015 Author Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We most likely met during the Open House, then This is a very unique program, indeed. Another "pro" for me was that this program was not restricted to a particular discipline (i.e. ABC chemistry, XYZ biology), and there is so much diversity in the disciplines represented by the faculty and the students. I guess this is what I like about chemical biology, in general, the collaborative spirit and the lack of rigid boundaries between traditional disciplines. Which specific area of chemistry/biology are you interested in? Among the faculty presentation, I enjoyed Tarun Kapoor's the most, and his lab is definitely one that I would like to rotate in (he seems to have a good number of TPCB students in the lab).
basically Posted February 4, 2015 Author Posted February 4, 2015 I got an email from the program director last afternoon, saying that he will be calling me tomorrow. I'm not sure with what news.
ashmatack Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 How'd the talk with the director (Tan?) go? I got an email from the program director last afternoon, saying that he will be calling me tomorrow. I'm not sure with what news.
basically Posted February 7, 2015 Author Posted February 7, 2015 How'd the talk with the director (Tan?) go? It went well. I got accepted - he called on Thursday to say congratulations and ask me which PI's I'm most interested in, and yesterday he got me in touch with all of them. I'm most likely going to accept the offer, so we've started discussing ideas for the lab rotations. How about you?
ashmatack Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 I haven't heard anything so far. Maybe I didn't make it after all. It went well. I got accepted - he called on Thursday to say congratulations and ask me which PI's I'm most interested in, and yesterday he got me in touch with all of them. I'm most likely going to accept the offer, so we've started discussing ideas for the lab rotations. How about you?
jplee93 Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 It went well. I got accepted - he called on Thursday to say congratulations and ask me which PI's I'm most interested in, and yesterday he got me in touch with all of them. I'm most likely going to accept the offer, so we've started discussing ideas for the lab rotations. How about you? Derek Tan called me and gave me an offer. I am most likely going to accept the offer as well, so that'll make us classmates!
basically Posted February 8, 2015 Author Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) Derek Tan called me and gave me an offer. I am most likely going to accept the offer as well, so that'll make us classmates! Awesome, congratulations! Can't wait to meet you! Are there any other chemical biology programs that you are still considering/have yet to interview, or are you pretty set on TPCB? Edited February 8, 2015 by basically
jplee93 Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) Awesome, congratulations! Can't wait to meet you! Are there any other chemical biology programs that you are still considering/have yet to interview, or are you pretty set on TPCB? I was at the TPCB open house, so we probably have already met! I have a couple of offers on hand a ranging from material science/nanotech to chemical biology, and I still have a couple more chemical biology interviews with UCSF and Scripps in March. I'll see how those turn out and make a final decision by then, but I really enjoyed the open house, facilities, research, and the prospects of living in Upper East Side. Edited February 8, 2015 by jplee93
basically Posted February 8, 2015 Author Posted February 8, 2015 I was at the TPCB open house, so we probably have already met! I have a couple of offers on hand a ranging from material science/nanotech to chemical biology, and I still have a couple more chemical biology interviews with UCSF and Scripps in March. I'll see how those turn out and make a final decision by then, but I really enjoyed the open house, facilities, research, and the prospects of living in Upper East Side. You must have a wide range of interests! Which TPCB PI's are you most interested in? Tarun Kapoor and Sean Brady are my favorite two. We seem to be deciding between the same set of programs. I'll be seeing you again If you're attending the March 8-9 UCSF interview weekend!
jplee93 Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 You must have a wide range of interests! Which TPCB PI's are you most interested in? Tarun Kapoor and Sean Brady are my favorite two. We seem to be deciding between the same set of programs. I'll be seeing you again If you're attending the March 8-9 UCSF interview weekend! I'm thinking about Derek Tan, Sakmar, and Kapoor. I'm going to talk more with Derek later next week for potential research topics. And yes, I'll be at UCSF during those dates as well!
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