9:16 a.m., Oct. 15, 2009----A new monthly forum for life science post-doctoral scientists and engineers at the University of Delaware will start Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., to help build community among the University's postdoctoral researchers, and to provide a venue for discussion of career development topics. The series kicks off at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, in Conference Room 102.

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The gatherings will complement individual mentoring provided by faculty advisors. Recently, federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation have required faculty to develop specific plans to mentor postdoctoral researchers toward their career goals.

"Community-building and mentoring are critical for post-docs, so we wanted to support what faculty are doing, by providing information, and a place to discuss this important stage in a career," said Kelvin Lee, director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. Lee will lead the first discussion in the series.

The post-doc community being targeted is broad and includes individuals working on projects involving living systems and studies at the molecular and cellular length scale. It includes diverse programs such as materials science, chemical engineering, biology, chemistry and biochemistry, plant and soil science, animal and food science, bioinformatics, geology, and others.

At any time, new post-docs are welcome to join. Refreshments will be provided. There is no cost to post-docs, principal investigators, or departments for participation. Interested post-doctoral researchers can register to participate online.

Faculty interested in leading a discussion session should contact Kelvin Lee, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, at [khl@udel.edu].