TRICKS OF THE TRADE IN MIAMI 2013 – NEW INVESTIGATORS SIG EVENT

There is an article about the tricks of the trade meeting in Miami 2013 in Quality of Life Quartely - so go have a look!!

http://www.isoqol.org/membership/quality-of-life-quarterly

(Update 04.02.2014 - and here is the article)

Following its big success during the previous two annual conferences, the New Investigators event “Tricks of the Trade” was convened again this year, combined with the Mentor-Mentee reception. This year’s panel consisted of Prof. Donald Patrick, Prof. Karen Sousa, and the recipient of the 2012 Emerging Leader Award, Prof. Melanie Calvert, who were invited to talk about their own career development within QOL research; give advice to new investigators beginning to work in this field; and share their views about the future of QOL research.

Prof. Patrick told us that new investigators should start early on thinking about their career, and not be afraid to be flexible. It was often during times of change, and moving to a new place, that Prof. Patrick made his biggest advancements during his career. In addition, he urged new investigators to never stop writing and publish at least 4 manuscripts a year, of which at least two had to be good ones. A final remark was that to advance in this field, one should make sure to have a good spouse to get that much needed support. 

Next up was Prof. Karen Sousa, who indicated that doing research is like a journey. New investigators should actively think about their career trajectory and research path, and compare their current status with  future goals. To help facilitate these future goals, new investigators need to be confident, and not be afraid to talk to people and ask for advice. Furthermore, Prof. Sousa urged new investigators to practice their “elevator speech”, which should contain no more than 10 words. 

Last, but certainly not least, was the newly appointed professor of outcomes methodology, Melanie Calvert. Prof. Calvert told us that if constant meetings and different views hinder research progress, a new investigator should apply the JFDI method. In addition, new investigators need to make sure that they work with people they can learn from. New investigators should also learn to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Finally, when that hard work pays off, Prof. Calvert advises to make sure you actively celebrate that success with the team. 

Some major tricks that stood out were the following: First, all three professors agree that you have got to have a gimmick - you have to make sure that you are one of the very few that can do what you do. Second, find yourself a mentor who can help you with research and career issues. Lastly, make sure you don’t forget you own quality of life - research should first and foremost be fun!

Best wishes,

Katerina and Marc.

New Investigators SIG meeting in Miami

a reminder of a very interesting and productive morning meeting

vacancy

ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE/FULL PROFESSOR TENURE TRACK POSITION IN HEALTH SERVICES AND OUTCOMES RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON     The University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) seeks candidates for a tenure track (or tenured) faculty appointment in the Department of Population Health Sciences (PHS) (www.pophealth.wisc.edu) with a focus on patient and/or population health measurement methodology.  Applicants should have demonstrable strength in one or more germane methodological areas related to development of patient and/or population health measures, such as psychometrics, survey methodology, preference measurement, patient-reported outcome or health-related quality of life instrument development, or a related field. This position requires a doctoral degree in a relevant discipline and the ability to lead a research program related to patient and/or population health measurement. Appointments at the rank of Associate or Full Professor require credentials for tenured faculty positions at UW-Madison. The incumbent will be expected to contribute to the research, educational and service missions of the Department, SMPH and the University. The successful candidate will be expected to engage in extramurally funded research both as principal investigator and in collaboration with other University faculty. He/she will also contribute to mentoring and teaching in the Population Health graduate program, including a course on health outcome measurement in the Population Health graduate program, as well as leading or participating in other lectures and/or courses as appropriate. The incumbent would join a thriving multidisciplinary department with a strong program of research and training in health services research, epidemiology, social and behavioral health sciences and public health. The successful candidate would also have the opportunity to join the broader community of researchers in the health and related sciences across the University. Many PHS faculty hold affiliate or joint appointments in research centers and other departments, such as the UW Population Health Institute, Center for Demography and Ecology, UW Carbone Cancer Center, Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies, Health Innovation Program, the LaFollette School of Public Affairs, and the Departments of Biostatistics & Medical Informatics, Economics, and Industrial and Systems Engineering. Such appointments or other opportunities for joint or affiliate appointments will be considered for applicants as requested. In addition, extensive resources to support health outcomes research are available through the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (www.ictr.wisc.edu) supported by the UW’s Clinical & Translational Science Award.  Depending on background and interests, the candidate could participate in the clinical outpatient and/or inpatient services of UW Health. The successful candidate will also participate in professional, public and University service appropriate to the faculty rank. To apply, submit a letter of interest (referencing PVL 74845; for the complete job description, please see: http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/PVL74845) and CV with names and contact information for three references, to F. Javier Nieto, Chair, Department of Population Health Sciences, 610 Walnut Street, 707 WARF, Madison, WI  53726 or by email to fjnieto@wisc.edu.  Review of applications will begin November 1, 2013 and will continue until the position is filled.  For full consideration, complete applications must be received by December 1, 2013.  For more information see: www.pophealth.wisc.edu.  Unless confidentiality is requested in writing, information regarding the names of applicants must be released upon request.  Finalists cannot be guaranteed confidentiality. UW-Madison is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply

Since October 2013, Marc Jacobs has taken over Antonia Bennett as the co-chair of our group!

We are both very excited to work together in the coming year and we are looking forward to getting to know and working together with more and more people in our group and to organizing activities for our group.

Hereby Marc's brief message to our group.

Best,
Katerina

Fellow New Investigators,

I am happy to be the newly elected Co-Chair of the ISOQOL New Investigators SIG. Being a Co-Chair on this great SIG will be both exciting and challenging. My mission for the next two  years will be to continue the excellent work of Antonia, my predecessor as a Co-Chair, and to expand the role of this SIG in stimulating active participation between new investigators, and between new and senior investigators, both within and outside the annual ISOQOL conference.

It was great to meet some of you during the last ISOQOL conference in Miami. I have heard some interesting ideas on how to expand our activities, but also on how to strengthen the activities and the support tools that we already have. I think it is very important that new investigators feel free to not only ask questions, but also to come up with possible ideas and solutions. Thus, if you have ideas, please contact us and share your ideas with us so we can share them with the rest of the group!

In addition, I would like to see each SIG member to become an active member. For instance, by volunteering to assist us in achieving the SIG goals, you can help us to help you. Furthermore, by actively contributing, you will also be in direct contact with both new and senior researchers.

To facilitate this, we will send an e-mail containing some of the ideas that have been mentioned by SIG members during the SIG meeting in Miami. Our goal is to assess which activities/ideas/goals are deemed most important by you as a group, and to identify members that want to actively participate on one or more of these activities.

I look forward to working with all of you!

Kind regards,

Marc Jacobs

ISOQoL Webinar: "An Introduction to Response Shift Theory and Methods"

The New Investigators SIG together with the Response Shift SIG has sponsored a webinar entitled: "An introductions to Response Shift Theory and Methods". It will take place on September 18th, 11:00 AM ET.

This webinar is an excellent opportunity for those interested in Response Shift (and we know there are a lot) to find out more about the theory behind response shift and the statistical methods used in identifying the presence of response shift.
So, don't forget to mark the date in your agenda!

For more information on the webinar and registration, visit the ISOQoL web page:
"http://www.isoqol.org/research/online-education", or contact the New Investigators SIG.

Looking forward to some nice discussion on Response Shift following the webinar!

Dear New Investigators, 

Here is a link to an article suggested by Karla Gonzalez. This article provides a helpful look at how to approach career planning, and also includes fresh tips and resources to help those seeking to further develop their career. Enjoy reading! 


The full article can be found here:
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2013/07/08/a-creative-approach-to-career-development/

2013-2014 SIG goals

Dear New Investigators,

In June 2013, we submitted the New Investigators’ annual report to the Board of ISOQoL. In this report, we described all the activities of the previous year, and reported our goals for the coming year. We would like to share these goals with you:

1.       Host a webinar on “Response Shift” (in co-operation with the Response Shift SIG).

2.       Host a webinar on “Oral / poster presentations”

3.       Elect the new co-chair for the period November 2013 – November 2015.

4.       Hold New Investigator activities during the ISOQoL conference.

a.       Annual SIG meeting

b.      Tricks of the Trade presentation

c.       Roundtable 

d.      Social event

5.       Plan the activities for the ISOQol 2014 meeting

6.       Maintain and enrich our blog

7.       Promote and raise awareness of ISOQOL and the New Investigator SIG as a resource for those seeking to hire people with expertise in QOL assessment. 

We would be very happy to know of your suggestions on next year's goals for our group.

Katerina & Antonia