Young Investigator Meetings

The biological sciences are poised to rapidly expand in India as a consequence of increasing government investment. But will India be able to recruit the very best young faculty to fill its institutes and universities, and afterwards, will young faculty receive the support and mentoring that they need to succeed?

The Young Investigator Meetings have evolved as grass roots efforts to meet the challenges described above. The first YIM Meeting (40 Indian junior faculty and 20 postdoctoral fellows) was held in Kerala in February 2009 and was a great success. It allowed young scientists to meet each other as well as senior faculty and government leaders; from this venue, the attendees made many valuable new contacts and gained insight into how to start their careers. It is now being followed by a similar style meeting in Kolkata in 2010 with an additional one day satellite meeting where postdoctoral fellows will meet institute directors/faculty representatives to discuss job possibilities.

YI Meetings also have started at international sites, being directed primarily to postdoctoral fellows and graduate students how are considering returning to India. The first such regional meeting was held in San Francisco in June, 2009 and was attended by >120 people who had a chance to hear and interact with Dr. MK Bhan and S Natesh (Dept. of Biotechnology) and senior scientists who are planning the Bangalore and Delhi Clusters of research institutes. Similar gatherings are being planned and will be posted on this web site.

This web site also is a direct product of the 2009 YIM, Kerala. These meetings, while valuable, only last a day or a few days and cannot be attended by all. This site is intended to promote information flow to and interactions among young investigators. Think of it as a year-long YI Meeting!