As a CADRE Fellow, one of my tasks at the DRK-12 PI Meeting--in addition to making new connections and learning about the projects that are being funded by the DRK-12 program--is to blog about the sessions that I attend.  The first day was a real interesting one, and this is the first of my posts on my experiences.

I have learned that given the scheduling of the PI Meeting, past fellows had met at the beginning of their fellowship while our cohort is meeting face-to-face at the end.  Since we have had numerous phone conferences together, ranging from publishing to applying and reviewing grants, it was with great anticipation that we met for the first time in-person so that we could, as many fellows put it, "put a face to a voice."

So rather than marking the beginning of our induction in the DRK-12 program and the CADRE community, this meeting marks a milestone for us.  At our luncheon we all met each other with our PIs and discussed issues of embarking on a career funded by grants in academia and non-profit research and development.  From the information I was able to pick up as well as the relationships I was able to strengthen in person, I look forward to continuing on this trajectory.