Scientists Say University is one of the “Best Places to Work”

The University has been ranked among the nation’s top 10 non-profit workplaces for life scientists, according to The Scientist magazine’s annual assessment of “Best Places to Work.”
Life scientists conduct medical research, or work in related fields, such as biology.

“It’s gratifying to be recognized for the research environment that we’ve worked hard to create,” said Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of the Medical Center. “This is an institution founded on the principle of interdisciplinary collaboration. Our scientists’ satisfaction plays an important role in the ultimate success of our research enterprise, and helps us truly achieve ‘Medicine of the Highest Order.’”

High marks from scientists bode well for the Medical Center’s Strategic Plan, which places a premium not only on recruiting – and outfitting – top research talent, but also on fostering a collaborative environment, in which people from different disciplines unite to address complex scientific questions. Scientists rated the University highly in this area, citing the professionalism and collegiality of their peers.

The University also received high marks in the realm of teaching graduate students and mentoring new scientists; in fact, the magazine prominently features an example of strong mentoring at the Medical Center.

The ready availability of sophisticated technology also proved attractive to scientists. While cutting-edge tools are necessary for scientific discovery, oftentimes they are out of reach for a single investigator. To solve this, the Medical Center established several shared resources, such as a laser flow cytometry system that can pluck out precise cells of interest, an array of the latest imaging instruments, and biomolecular tools to manipulate genes and DNA as efficiently as possible. These are now accessible to all investigators.

More than 2,300 scientists nationwide responded to the magazine’s annual survey, which included scientists working in educational, government-sponsored, or other non-commercial research institutions. Respondents were asked to assess their work environment according to 41 criteria in eight different categories — job satisfaction, peers, infrastructure and environment, research resources, pay, management and policies, teaching and mentoring, and tenure.

Read more about the honor here.