Community Life
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Insider's Guide
Compiled by past and present Genetics and Dev BIo students the Insider's Guide shares some of the best places to go for coffee, shopping and recreation near campus.
Students enjoy time outdoors in nature.
Local Attractions
Students and postdocs take advantage of all the Genetics Department, Stanford, and the broader Bay Area have to offer! Stanford campus offers a plethora of attractions such as the Cantor Art Museum, Cactus Garden, Memorial Church, Hoover Tower, and Discovery Walk.
The “Discovery Walk” — a promenade that stretches across the entire length of the Medical School campus — commemorates major advances in medical science made by scientists at Stanford and beyond over the last 150 years.
Bay Area Attractions
There are also many Bay Area (and beyond) sight-seeing opportunities such as San Francisco, Oakland, Muir Woods, Half Moon Bay, San José, Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, Napa, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe. Activities of interest include: whale watching, wine tasting, visiting museums, live music, theater, attending sporting events, hiking, cycling, surfing, skiing, and camping.
Genetics and Biosciences students reached the Mission Peak Summit in the East Bay.
Genetics and Biosciences students relax and enjoy dinner on Koret Plaza.
Postdocs and their families join faculty and staff for a Saturday hike at the baylands.
Annual retreat
When not in a pandemic, the department packs up and heads to Monterey for a three-day retreat in September. While the time is packed with research talks, poster sessions, and lots of time discussing science, there’s plenty of room for fun events too! Highlights include an extremely competitive sand volleyball tournament, unparalleled entertainment organized and performed every year by the 3rd year PhD students, dancing, and board games. The first day of the retreat overlaps with the Developmental Biology’s annual retreat (including a joint poster session and barbecue lunch), fostering cross-department bonds.
2021 department retreat held out of doors on campus.
Weekly happy hours
The department hosts a Friday happy hour following the Current Issues in Genetics seminar series. It starts around 5pm in the Alway courtyard (weather permitting).
Genetics labs take turns hosting happy hour and sometimes invoke their inner creativity to bring themed events to life, such as when the Montgomery Lab hosted a birthday party for Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Annual holiday party
Every December, the Department hosts a holiday party for all members of the department along with their families. While the location varies, it is held somewhere nearby or on campus.
The Crown Plaza Hotel courtyard was a popular outdoor space to gather at the 2022 Genetics Holiday Party.
Genetics and Genetic Counseling students, postdocs, faculty, staff and their families celebrate together at the annual Genetics Holiday Party.
Lethal Yellows softball team
Not only does the Genetics Department encourage some healthy competition through the intra-departmental sand volleyball tournament at the annual retreat, members also partake in Stanford-wide intramural sports through IMLeagues. The Lethal Yellows is a summer softball team (and conference champions in 2017) composed of Genetics and Genetic Counseling students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and friends that is always open to new members! Contact Laura Donohue to sign up.
The 2019 Lethal Yellows softball team, along with a few canine mascots.