Student Perspective: Joseph Calarco

A big part of my decision to come to the School for my doctorate was the opportunity to be immersed in Cold Spring Harbor’s historic research community. A large part of this unique group of scientists are the post doctoral fellows who have been a constant source of advice and guidance, both scientific and otherwise. The lab’s rich community of post docs have already done so much to enrich my scientific education from a practical standpoint and a theoretical one, helping me to further develop both techniques and ideas. The highly collaborative nature of the institute allows a young scientist to gain knowledge from these highly trained individuals very easily. I can’t begin to think of how many times I have gotten advice on experiments from post docs in other labs over a drink at the bar, lunch by the water or even an incubation period between assays. The amazing thing about it is that they approach you and ask how your work is going and it is not uncommon to get advice from post docs trained in a completely different field of research, which allows for very unique perspectives and insights. In my experience so far they have been tremendously helpful in all respects and will continue to enrich my education here at the school throughout my entire PhD. It is them and the rest of the scientific community here that makes getting a degree at CSHL so unique.