The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars, in partnership with the Office of Postdoctoral, organize an Annual Career & Research Symposium intended to provide University of Kentucky postdocs, and regional postdocs, an opportunity to connect, network, and present their research. In addition, the symposium includes career development programming to allow postdocs to explore careers and develop critical skills for them.
Society of Postdoctoral Scholars
The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) is a volunteer run organization of postdocs at the University of Kentucky who assists current, past, or incoming postdocs with career advice, professional development, and networking opportunities. SOPS is a UK student organization and was formed in 2014. They have a wide variety of members from colleges across campus and are always looking for postdocs to get involved in leadership positions in SOPS.
All postdocs at UK are automatically members of SOPS. Anyone looking for leadership experience is welcome to join the Executive Committee!
Get involved!
To learn more about the Society of Postdoctoral Scholar and to get involved, visit their website!
Annual Career & Research Symposium
2024 Symposium
Symposium Website
The 2024 symposium took place on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 and was held in person at the Bill Gatton Student Center. For more detailed information please visit the symposium website.
21
Speakers & Guests
38
Posters
10
Recruiters
2023 Symposium
Symposium Website
The 2023 symposium took place on Tuesday, September 21, 2023 and was held in person at the Bill Gatton Student Center. For more detailed information please visit the symposium website.
24
Speakers & Guests
42
Posters
230
Attendees
2022 Symposium
Symposium Website
The 2022 symposium took place on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 and was held in person at the Bill Gatton Student Center. For more detailed information please visit the symposium website.
18
Speakers & Guests
22
Posters
115
Attendees
4
Recruiters
2021 Symposium
Symposium Website
The 2021 symposium took place on Tuesday, September 28th, 2021 and was held in person at the Bill Gatton Student Center and remotely via Zoom. For more detailed information please visit the symposium website.
22
Speakers
Symposium recap
Read how the Research & Career Symposium Empowers Postdoc Scholars and Fellows here:
98
Attendees
9
Colleges represented
2020 Symposium
Online symposium
Originally scheduled for May 29th, the 2020 Society of Postdoctoral Scholars Research & Career Symposium was postponed and rescheduled for National Postdoc Appreciation Week, September 21st to 25th, 2021. The symposium was held entirely online with a session each day at 12pm.
29
Speakers
274
Attendees
67
Institutions represented
8
Countries represented
Sessions
Sessions catered to a variety of foundational postdoc training topics including wellness, career exploration, science communication, and presenting your research. You can access recordings of individual sessions below.
September 22, 2020
September 22, 2020
September 23, 2020
September 25, 2020
Annual Book Club
The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars, in partnership with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, organize an Annual Book Club intended to provide University of Kentucky postdocs an opportunity to discover, learn, and connect around a topic of interest each year.
2024 Book Club
The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) is pleased to announce the fourth edition (pun intended) of the annual book club. For 2024, the book club will discuss Shankar Vedantam's and Bill Mesler's 'Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain'. This book is filled with powerful personal stories and draws on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, to offer a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.
The book club will meet every 2 weeks on Wednesdays at 4:00 PM and SOPS will provide participants with a copy of the book.
Membership
The book club is open to graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. Membership is limited to 20 people and will be given on a first-come first-serve basis (with priority being given to postdocs). Members were expected to attend all 4 sessions.
Schedule
- 03/27/2024: Meet & Greet, book pick up, and start of the Book Club (in the Gillis Building, conference room 104)
- 04/10/2024: Part I
- 04/24/2024: Part II
- 05/08/2024: Part III
- 05/22/2024: Conclusion and book club social
Location
The Book Club will meet in person in the Gillis Building, conference room 104.
2023 Book Club
The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) is pleased to announce the third edition (pun intended) of the annual book club. For 2023, the book club will discuss Walter Isaacson's 'The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race'. This book explores how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies.
The book club will meet every 2 weeks on Wednesdays at 4:00 PM and SOPS will provide participants with a copy of the book.
Membership
The book club is open to graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. Membership is limited to 20 people and will be on a first-come first-serve basis (with priority being given to postdocs). Members are expected to attend all 7 sessions.
Schedule
- 03/08/2023: Meet & Greet, book pick up, and start of the Book Club (in the Gillis Building, conference room 104)
- 03/22/2023: Part 1
- 04/05/2023: Part 2
- 04/19/2023: Part 3
- 05/03/2023: Parts 4, 5, and 6
- 05/17/2023: Parts 7 and 8
- 05/31/2023: Part 9
Location
The Book Club will either be in person (in the Gillis Building, conference room 104) or on Zoom depending on member preference submitted when you apply.
2022 Book Club
The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) is pleased to announce the second edition (pun intended) of the annual book club. The 2022 theme for SOPS is GROW – Giving back, Realizing research goals, Opening your network, and Working with postdoc peers. Keeping with the aim of cultivating community and collaboration to enrich the postdoc experience at the University of Kentucky, we are going to read and discuss Safi Bahcall’s bestseller 'Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries'. This book explores group dynamics, collaboration, innovation, and how small changes in structure affect the spread of breakthrough ideas.
The book club will meet every 2 weeks on Thursdays at 12:00 PM online and SOPS will provide participants with a copy of the book.
Membership
The book club is open to graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. Membership is limited to 20 people and will be on a first-come first-serve basis (with priority being given to postdocs). Members are expected to attend all 6 sessions.
Schedule
- 02/24/2022: Introductions and start of the book club
- 03/10/2022: Chapters 1-2
- 03/24/2022: Chapters 3-4
- 04/07/2022: Chapters 5-6
- 04/21/2022: Chapters 7-8
- 05/05/2022: Chapter 9, afterword, and end of the book club
2021 Book Club
The Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) is coordinating their first ever book club during Spring 2021. We will be discussing questions and issues around science communication as we read through 'If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating.' by Alan Alda.
The book club will meet every 3 weeks on Tuesdays at 12:00 PM and SOPS will provide participants with a copy of the book.
Book Club Launch
As an official launch to the book club, Dr. Morris Grubbs, an alumnus of the Alda Center for Communicating Science Summer Program at Stony Brook University, will lead a discussion on this topic. For more detailed information and to register for the launch, follow the link below:
Science, Humanity, Alan Alda, and the Quest for Story
Membership
The book club is open to graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. Membership is limited to 20 people and will be on a first-come first-serve basis (with priority being given to postdocs). Members are expected to attend all 7 sessions.
Schedule
- 1/26/2021: Science, Humanity, Alan Alda, and the Quest for Story with Dr. Morris Grubbs
- 2/16/2021: Chapters 1-3
- 3/9/2021: Chapters 4-7
- 3/30/2021: Chapters 8-11
- 4/20/2021: Chapters 12-15
- 5/11/2021: Chapters 16-19
- 6/1/2021: Closing, Chapters 20-21
