Event Schedule
NOTE: All event times below are in Eastern Time.
Evening 1: Monday, May 2 – V Scholar Meet-and-Greet Event
Fullsteam Brewery Boxyard, 900 Park Offices Drive, RTP, NC 27709
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Pre-Event V Scholar Social Gathering
Day 2: Tuesday, May 3 – Welcome, Science Communication Workshop & iPoster Sessions
Research Triangle Foundation of NC, Building 800
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Registration & Breakfast Service
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Welcome to the 2022 V Scholar Summit
Scott Levitan, President & CEO, Research Triangle Foundation
Shane Jacobson, Chief Executive Officer, the V Foundation for Cancer Research
Susanna F. Greer, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, the V Foundation for Cancer Research
9:30 a.m – 11:30 a.m.
Alda Center Science Communication Strategies Training
Elizabeth Bojsza, Lead facilitator and program designer, Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science
11:30 a.m – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch & V Scholar Networking Time
1:30 p.m – 4:30 p.m.
iPoster Session Presentations
4:30 p.m – 5:00 p.m.
Transportation Service from Research Triangle Foundation to DoubleTree Hotel
Evening 2: Tuesday, May 3 – Reception, Dinner & Keynote Address
DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park
5:30 p.m – 6:30 p.m.
Cocktail Reception
6:30 p.m – 8:00 p.m.
Dinner & Keynote Address
Keynote speaker – Dereck Whittenburg, Ambassador/Associate Athletic Director for Community Relations and Fundraising, NC State University
8:00 p.m – 9:00 p.m.
Post-Dinner iPoster Presentations/Discussions
Day 3: Wednesday, May 4 – Professional Development Sessions
Research Triangle Foundation of NC, Frontier Building 800
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast Service
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Staffing the Lab – Recruiting and Hiring Lab Members
Carole Wegner, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research and Grants Administration, the V Foundation for Cancer Research
10:00 a.m – 11:00 a.m.
Connecting with Patient Advocates
Cindy Geoghegan, Cancer Survivor, Patient Advocate & Founder of Patient & Partners LLC
11:00 a.m – 12:00 p.m.
Clinical Development of Cancer Therapies – Pharma Perspective and Academic Collaborations
Christina Twyman-Saint Victor, M.D., M.S., Director, Early Clinical Development, Hematology/Oncology and Cell Therapy Early Clinical Development, Bristol Myers Squibb Patient
12:00 p.m – 1:00 p.m.
Break for Lunch Service
1:00 p.m – 2:00 p.m.
Dealing with Conflict
Richard I. Fisher, M.D., FASCO, Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Fox Chase Cancer Center
(Member of the V Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee)
2:00 p.m – 3:30 p.m.
Mentoring Panel Session with Past V Scholars (followed by Q&A with audience)
Past V Scholars will discuss their career trajectory and best advice in round table format
1997 V Scholar – John M. Carethers, M.D., MACP (University of Michigan)
2000 V Scholar – Victoria L. Seewaldt, M.D. (City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center)
2015 V Scholar – Shizhen (Jane) Zhu M.D., Ph.D. (Mayo Clinic Children’s Research Center)
2018 V Scholar – Daniel W. (Trey) Lee, M.D. (University of Virginia School of Medicine)
3:30 p.m – 4:00 p.m.
V Summit Recap & Closing
Training Workshop Information
Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science – aldacenter.org
Before you can share your work and its significance, you must build trust and understanding with others. People need to feel that you understand and have compassion for their perspectives. Scientists must be willing to listen and engage in honest conversations before sharing their work. Alda Center programs empower researchers to build an authentic rapport that can help others appreciate the wonder and value of science.
Custom Training Session
During this 2-hour experience you will engage with others as you explore communicating with audiences outside your field. Strategic communication techniques are introduced through consideration of communication context and audience. You will receive the Alda Center’s communication tool as you practice and apply strategy to a range of contexts, introducing flexibility to your communication practice.
Training Facilitator: Elizabeth Bojsza
Elizabeth Bojsza is a lead facilitator and program designer at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science.
As an Alda-certified facilitator, Bojsza has delivered science communication programs to clients around the country and internationally. She has worked with many leading U.S. universities, as well as government agencies and national research organizations, helping scientists and researchers from across disciplines to build and refine communication strategies that are accurate and audience-focused.
Bojsza also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in science communication at Stony Brook University and has led the effort to integrate science communication principles and coursework into a wide variety of Stony Brook science and research programs.
She joined the Alda Center in 2017 after working in theater education and with private theater organizations for many years. Her background and expertise in theater arts play a central role in the development and continuous improvement of Alda Center programming. She is instrumental in applying improvisational techniques from theater into the Alda Method, the Center’s unique approach to communication training.
Outside of her work in science communication, Bojsza is deeply committed to community groups and efforts that use the arts to support social justice and environmental causes.
