"My two years as a postdoc at Genentech have profoundly influenced the way I do science and run my lab at Stanford University. At Genentech, I saw that one can work on intellectually stimulating problems that still maintain a high level of practical relevance to human health. What I was most impressed with was the level of rigor of Genentech science, as well as the productivity of each individual at the bench. I think in academic science there can be a tendency to drift away from a focused goal in a sort of intellectual "random walk." Through my experiences at Genentech, I now appreciate that each member of a laboratory needs to have structured, clear goals for their work and also be held accountable for demonstrating experimental progress towards meeting those goals on a regular basis."

"As a postdoc, I was inspired by my colleagues, by the projects we worked on, and by the hope that these projects might some day be helpful to the larger community. I am thrilled to be staying on at Genentech in the position of Scientist and continuing to work on interesting and relevant projects with high-quality colleagues.

If I were advising someone considering the Postdoctoral Program at Genentech, I would tell that person that this is a great place to work because we work on scientifically and medically interesting projects and are fortunate to have the resources and colleagues that allow us to contribute meaningfully to projects in both scientific and commercial ways."

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"There are many things I enjoyed about my two years at Genentech, but most of it boiled down to the terrific people. I was surrounded by people with many years of experience in every imaginable field, and everyone was extremely generous with help, advice and reagents. This environment allowed me to contribute to the preclinical investigations of a potential cancer therapy and resulted in a high-visibility publication.

In addition to the collaborative atmosphere within Genentech, the company has good ties to the outside world, with frequent seminars (including speakers hosted by the postdocs) and access to conferences and collaborations with academic labs. I had an amazing experience at Genentech and recommend the program highly to other young scientists."

"Ever since the early days of my graduate studies, I was fascinated by the idea of being part of a multidisciplinary team working on the development of new drugs for unmet medical needs. The experience of being a postdoctoral researcher at Genentech provided me with such an opportunity. In 1997, I joined the laboratory of Fred de Sauvage in the Department of Molecular Oncology and began enjoying the benefits of being surrounded by very talented scientists with many years of experience in different fields. During my stay at the company, I was involved in numerous productive collaborations, and everyone was extremely generous with advice and reagents.

There were about 60 postdocs at that time, and the postdoc program encouraged us to meet on a regular basis to discuss our own projects, scientific papers and job-hunting. Genentech is one of the best research institutions in the world, not only for developing new drugs but also for doing great science - evidenced by the publication record of many scientists working at Genentech and the number of excellent speakers invited for seminars. Taken together, all these aspects create a unique and very productive environment to do postdoctoral work."

"There were about 60 postdocs at Genentech during my tenure, and there was a nice community atmosphere amongst us. Most of us were intensely interested in our research to the degree that scientific conversations would inappropriately break out at social events or in public venues. We were likely regarded as odd or possibly even occult by any layperson within hearing distance. I remember that time with great affection and remain close friends with several fellow postdocs that I was introduced to at the time. The resources were amazing, the training I received was first-rate, and the opportunity it created left me in a position where I could only blame myself if I did not succeed."

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"I came to Genentech in 1993 as a postdoctoral fellow with Wayne Fairbrother in the Protein NMR group. I chose to come to Genentech because of: (1) the exciting and high-quality science going on in the Protein Engineering Department, (2) the opportunity to work with exceptionally talented colleagues, and (3) the collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to science. I highly recommend the postdoc program at Genentech, as the company seems to understand that one of the ultimate goals of a postdoc is to get a job. In other words, the program works hard to help postdocs gain relevant experience, perform and publish successful research in an interesting and exciting field, and know how to communicate results effectively. The program is designed to fully support your efforts such that if you are committed to your science, you can count on success."

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