Postdoc Becky Wachs is leaving the Schmidt Lab to start her own faculty position at the University of Nebraska in January. Becky has been with the lab since June 2014 and has been a huge asset to the group, helping to write six successful proposals!
We celebrated with a traditional Schmidt Lab party at Dr. Schmidt’s home and roast. Several of our collaborators who have worked with Becky also joined the party, including Dr. Kyle Allen, Dr. Chelsea Simmons, and Dr. Hideko Kasahara. The roast poked fun at Becky and she was presented with gag gifts including a huge supply of Cheerios and La Croix (her favorite snack and drink) as well as a New Professor Starter Kit (which included sanitizer to fend off germs from college kids, a sheriff’s badge to let her own group know who’s the boss, chocolate to make any day better, wine to soothe the upcoming rejections, and champagne to celebrate the first big grant).
Becky will be missed by us all, but we wish her well in the next stage of her career and life!
For more on Becky’s background: http://bme.ufl.edu/labs/schmidt/2014/06/24/welcome-dr-becky-wachs/