Matthew Schaller, Ph.D.
Alumnus, Immunology Program, University of Michigan, 2006
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan
"I'm currently a postdoc here at U-M. I chose the University of Michigan for several reasons. The first was that there was a lot of interesting work being done by a lot of different people. The second was that Ann Arbor seemed like a great place to live.
"The connections I made here as a grad student have allowed me to remain in Ann Arbor and start what has so far been a successful postdoc. There were many experiences in grad school that have influenced my current occupation. Having a friendly lab to work in and an excellent mentor had a definite impact on my choices to stay in science after I graduated.
"I still maintain a good relationship with my Ph.D. mentor. A solid mentor is crucial to having a good graduate school experience. I also still keep in touch with many of the graduate students that were in my class. It's important to have a good network of people to help deal with any situation that may arise.
"Having visited labs at other universities I can say that Michigan really is a cutting-edge place. There is a lot of good science going on here, much collaboration, and a lot of new technology. If you are looking to work in a specific area, it’s likely someone here has the expertise to help you. Michigan really is a great place to do research."
