First Year Reflections From 2022 New Hires
First Year Reflections From 2022 New Hires
Vira Kravets, Reem Khojah, Alyssa Taylor
Vira Kravets, Reem Khojah, Alyssa Taylor
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Faculty Roundtable with Prof. Ben Smarr
Faculty Roundtable with Prof. Ben Smarr
UC San Diego Chien-Lay Department of Bioengineering was fortunate enough to hire three new faculty in 2022, Vira Kravets, Alyssa Taylor, and Reem Khojah. To find a home in a leading institution like UC San Diego School of Engineering takes many years of work, perseverance, and also just surviving good fortunes and bad. Yet so much happens so fast once the position starts, that those adventures and big moments of triumph and transition can fade like a dream.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Drs. Kravets, Taylor, and Khojah earlier this past summer. We talked about their transition to being part of the UC San Diego community. It was refreshing after a busy Spring of teaching, workshops, and grants, to reflect on the many positive feelings of just being here; of seeing our department with fresh eyes.
Ben: Thank you all for taking the time to talk with me and share your stories. Here we all are in the SW corner of the US. What was it about UC San Diego BENG that seemed attractive enough for you to move your life here?
Ben: Thank you all for taking the time to talk with me and share your stories. Here we all are in the SW corner of the US. What was it about UC San Diego BENG that seemed attractive enough for you to move your life here?
Alyssa: UCSD BENG has always been on my radar as a top bioengineering department. Throughout the process of interviewing, I became more and more excited because of all the incredible, renowned faculty here, and the generous, dedicated staff and wonderful students I was able to meet.
Vira: I agree. Also partly it was just how welcoming the faculty were during my interviews. I feel so fortunate to be part of the UCSD BENG community!
Reem: UCSD is immersed in a thriving biotech and pharmaceutical hub; it’s uniquely positioned to overhaul cradle-to-career (C2C) programs and address equity gaps in the rapidly evolving bioengineering field. This made me super excited to start my academic journey here!
Ben: Once you had committed to join, what were you feeling?
Ben: Once you had committed to join, what were you feeling?
Reem: I was excited in starting a new chapter in my academic journey in such a prestigious institution.
Vira: Yes, this. I felt excitement to start my lab, and of course felt the pressure to match the standards of the research in the department. It's a privilege to work in a department with so many renowned engineers and researchers, who are also accessible and kind! It's truly a great place to be.
Alyssa: I was so excited that the long process of interviewing and ironing out the personal logistics on my end were all falling into place and I was officially going to join UCSD! I felt honored and very happy.
Ben: So you all mentioned feeling excited. Could you say more – what excited you the most?
Ben: So you all mentioned feeling excited. Could you say more – what excited you the most?
Vira: To get my imaging experiments going! I couldn't wait to purchase a confocal microscope with the 2-photon laser to dive into 3D + temporal dynamics of the pancreatic islets. They look almost like neurons with waves of interconnected activity in response to glucose - and I can spend hours without noticing just recording these signals.
Alyssa: Overall, it was exciting to have the opportunity to contribute to the educational mission at UCSD BENG as a teaching professor, a relatively new type of position for the department.
Reem: The teaching professor community here at UCSD is incredible. For instance, Prof. Alverado and Prof. Minnes at the CSE department have been interacting with me lately and giving me amazing advice.
Alyssa: I was also really excited they hired you as another teaching professor at the same time, Reem. And I was super eager to get to know the students here!! It’s always great when there’s going to be a clear need for your contributions.
Ben: It’s great to hear your passion for diving into your work. I love that our department has passion as a default mode. In my first few years here, I’ve certainly experienced a great deal of that from both staff and senior faculty supporting me. Have you had any one colleague or staff member that you especially want to call out for helping you find your feet here?
Ben: It’s great to hear your passion for diving into your work. I love that our department has passion as a default mode. In my first few years here, I’ve certainly experienced a great deal of that from both staff and senior faculty supporting me. Have you had any one colleague or staff member that you especially want to call out for helping you find your feet here?
Reem: I’ll start with Alyssa as a colleague and mentor in teaching, since she just mentioned me. But everyone was very helpful, including Prof. Wheeler, Prof. Engler, and all the staff, including Doug Gurevitch and Irene Hom. I am also very grateful to have Prof. Shankar Subramaniam as a mentor.
Alyssa: There were/are so many people that have been extremely gracious and helpful. If I have to choose just one that would be Dr. Bruce Wheeler. He is an incredible teacher and advocate for students, and I learn so much from each of our conversations.
Vira: Dr. Geert Shcmeet-Shoenbien. He also is always there to talk science and brainstorm. Dr. Daniela Valdez-Jasso and Dr. Andrew McCulloch became my colleagues and friends from the start. They reached out to remind me that if there is anything I need - they are happy to help
Ben: How has your first year been? Did things go the way you expected?
Ben: How has your first year been? Did things go the way you expected?
Vira: It took me some time to adjust to the new administrative responsibilities as a lab leader. I missed my time at the lab bench, but the BIOE students are truly top notch! I was not expecting to have such a great, productive, and creative crew, nor to have received my first grant already!
Reem: That’s great news, Vira! I've just received a recommendation for funding on my first NSF grant! and while I'm not yet entirely certain about the final acceptance, there's a mix of happiness and anticipation. I also had a lot of administrative workload to get my educational lab running, but I guess that is usual.
Alyssa: Having experience as a faculty member for over a decade, I think that most of my experiences this first year matched whatever expectations I had formed in my mind, but one thing that stands out is how wonderful the students are here at UCSD BENG – they have exceeded my expectations! Not only in the courses I have taught, but also the graduate student teaching assistants I had the privilege of working with this year!
Ben: Sounds like things have gotten going! I have to agree, I feel very lucky to be here, surrounded by such a supportive community and extraordinary students. Looking back from this successful first year, what’s one piece of advice for the next incoming faculty?
Ben: Sounds like things have gotten going! I have to agree, I feel very lucky to be here, surrounded by such a supportive community and extraordinary students. Looking back from this successful first year, what’s one piece of advice for the next incoming faculty?
Vira: First, write your seed grants early; when one of them comes through it provides a big boost of confidence. Second (I know, you said one), work on your protocols and trainings each day as early as possible. These tasks take time. Finally, I found that MS students at BIOE are great.
Reem: Set up a time to meet with BE faculty and delve into their impressive work. There's a lot of exciting stuff happening here! It’s inspiring and gave me a big energy boost!
Alyssa: And connect early and often with the staff of the department. They were incredibly helpful during my transition to UCSD BENG, and they are so knowledgeable about everything. I really appreciated having their insights and guidance with getting all set up.
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