Methods in Pharmacy & Molecular Biotechnology

• All Speakers: one DAY BEFORE your presentation. please send an Email to u.mueller@urz.uni-hd.de
• Speakers are expected to bring their own laptop and mount their presentation in advance such that the seminar can start on time. If you are scheduled for presentation outside the lecture term (i.e. if your presentation is to take place during "Vorlesungsfreie Zeit", also called "Semesterferien"), make sure to pick up the key to the seminar room. The key can be obtained from the "Hausverwaltung, 1st floor in INF 327.
• You can find all talks here. Please send your slides as one single .pdf file named "DD.MM.YYYY - First Name Last Name - Title.pdf" after your presentation to up4@uni-heidelberg.de.
• Sending your slides is mandatory to get the necessary grading for the seminar!
   

Time:
09:15 am until 10:45 am.
Please have a pdf file of your talk ready!
Start: 26.10.2022

You can find the new schedule for winter term 2022 here.

Important: If you are scheduled for presentation but you cannot give your presentation at the indicated date, it is your responsability to find a partner to trade places with.

Participants:

• Ph.D. students of the IPMB`s Ph.D. program are required to participate on a 70% attendance basis in the first year and a 50% attendance in the second year of their PhD. In the third year students may attend on a voluntary basis. Each student is expected to give an average 1 presentation per semester, in total at least 3 presentations are required. Ph.D. students working abroad (e.g. in the frame of a scientific collaboration) are requested to supply a letter from their Ph.D. supervisor.
• For every presentation, the speaker receives feedback from every single participant in the audiance through a questionaire.
• Students of the M.Sc. Program Molecular Biotechnology can participate and are awarded 2 Credit points for 13 attendences plus 1 presentation. Usually, these requirements are to be met during one semester. Upon agreement, the Credits can also be earned during semester break.
• Participants in the DKFZ Ph.D. program can also obtain Credit Points under these conditions (To be confirmed with the DKFZ officials on a case-by-case basis).
• "Kenntnisstandsprüfung" for admission to the Ph.D. programm includes 13-14 attendances, 1 presentation and a 30-minutes oral exam.
• NEW PARTICIPANTS: please send an email with your name, supervisor, and starting date of your Ph.D.

Content: Methods used at the IPMB

There is one powerpoint - presentation of 20 minutes per session. The speaker will present a method she or he is actually using in the bench (or at the computer). Alternatively, a method may be presented, which has been used by the speaker before coming to the IPMB. The aim is to communicate the following facts as short and concise as possible (no particular order required):

• What is the method good for in general ? What is it used for or what could it be used for at the IPMB ? How does it work? / What is the basic principle ? What equipment is needed ? Where is the equipment located ? What are the limits of the technique ? How long does the technique take to learn so one can apply it to his own problems ?
• Contact address!

Do's & Don'ts

• Speakers should keep in mind the highly interdisciplinary composition of the audience, ranging from chemistry, biochemistry & biology to molecular biotechnology & pharmacy. There should be a little bit of "take home" even for people working in remote areas, therefore there should be a general (but short) introduction on the topic.
• The topic does not have to be complicated. Methods can be as simple as comparing different ways of DNA precipitation and as complex as writing an algorithm, BUT SHOULD NOT represent the entire Ph.D. project in the guise of a "method". The general rule is "KISS" = keep it simple and stupid. Use about 20 slides for 20 minutes.
• Seminars that significantly deviate from the 20 minutes can be rescheduled for a renewed presentation.
• The topic is a method and not a report of research results. Therefore the presentation does not have to and actually should not contain too much actual research information, especially if that information is deemed sensitive . If you deem the information sensitive, DO NOT INCLUDE it in your presentation. In the worst case, chose a different method.
• Experimental details are warranted, especially if they serve to illustrate pitfalls or advantages in the bench. However, please do not discuss every single salt ingredient of your buffer solution UNLESS it is crucial to the success of the assay.
• Avoid "text only" slides whereever possible. Address in your oral presentation every picture that you show, and explain all abbreviations etc. Nothing is more unappealing than a slide full of three-letter abbreviations which are not explained. Do not show details in text or pictures that go unexplained.