The Future Is Ours: Make Your Voices Heard, Postdocs!

Back in undergrad I would have never imagined in 11 years I would become a postdoc. At the time, I did not know that postdocs existed. It was not until recently that I discovered that the person who mentored me during my summer research project was a postdoc. So what is this mysterious postdoc?

The National Postdoctoral Association’s definition of a postdoc is: “an individual holding a doctoral degree who is engaged in a temporary period of mentored research and/or scholarly training for the purpose of acquiring scholarly, scientific and/or professional skills needed to pursue a career path of his or her choosing.” ¹

This sounds like a fantastic position! If this is what a postdoc is supposed to be then why does the rest of the world not know more about us?

Sadly, the answer is that reality falls short of the expectations on paper. 

Jorge Cham of PhD comics said it right. ² A postdoc is like limbo where more times than not we are biding our time until we figure out what to do with our lives. 

You might be thinking that this is some overdramatic feeling. Everyone hates their job at one point or another. It cannot be that bad, right?

WRONG!

As Kendall Powell reported, postdocs are overcrowded and underpaid. ³ How can such a large workforce make almost half of the salary that non-postdoc person? Perhaps it is a case of supply and demand where the supply of postdocs is so great that people can toss out tinier wages due to resource competition.

By this point, you might ask why postdocs are putting up with this garbage. Postdocs should walk away from this lifestyle and find more jobs! That would be nice, except for the fact that majority of academic labs are still pushing for scientists to go the route of being a Principal Investigator. It is like an apprenticeship, where the master teaches the student to become like them and carry the torch of research. That would be nice except that…

Alberts et al., have shown that the number of young investigators becoming Principal Investigators and securing grant funding for their labs are on the decline. ⁴ Perhaps this is one reason why people have been doing postdocs over 10 years. People are hungry for a position but the reality of it is that jobs in academia are too far and few in between. There are plenty of jobs in other sectors such as industry, government, and non-profits where their skills acquired during their PhD and postdoc could be applied. However, many PhDs are lacking the training and mentoring to know how to look for those jobs, let alone land them. The postdoc is truly stuck in limbo waiting for their big escape.

And thus the postdoc remained unheard of…until now.

Organizations like the National Postdoctoral Association advocate for the better treatment of postdocs. Amongst other things, they have helped fight for higher pay, recognition of postdocs at institutions, capping the training period to 5 years, and encourage the mentoring and training needed to successfully transition postdocs into a variety of careers.

Nationwide, there is a movement called the Future of Research ⁵ where these issues and more are being brought to light. Symposia organized by postdocs themselves are being launched in New York, Boston, the Bay Area, and Chicago.

This is where we need your voices postdocs!

Let us change how the world sees postdocs so that we will no longer remain invisible. A postdoc should be a training period that will aid in developing the skills to pursue any career that he or she wants. It is our responsibility as postdocs now to ensure that future generations of postdocs get treated with respect and this training is a viable option for undergraduates and graduate students to consider.

Because I am a postdoc in the Midwest, I want to spread the word about our local Future of Research Symposium in Chicago is happening on October 29, 2015, from 8:00 am – 5:30 pm. ⁶

“FORChicago will be a one-day series of panel discussions and participant-led workshops with the aim to:

• Illuminate the fundamental challenges in training scientists in today’s research climate
• Propose solutions to equip the STEM postdoctorate to be leaders in diverse paths of the future career landscape
• Initiate a dialogue with key stakeholders in the Chicago area about embracing the rich community of PhD-trained talent as drivers of innovation”

Registration for the event is now open: http://futureofresearch.org/chicago/

I know I will be there. Will you?

If you are a postdoc, know postdocs, or are an advocate for postdocs please spread the word.

References:

1.       http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.nationalpostdoc.org/resource/resmgr/PDA_Toolkit/NPA_BYLAWS_-_Dec-28-2012.pdf

2.       http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1102

3.       http://www.nature.com/news/the-future-of-the-postdoc-1.17253

4.       http://www.pnas.org/content/112/7/1912.full

5.       http://futureofresearch.org/

6.       http://futureofresearch.org/chicago/

Written by Natasha Wadlington, Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Chicago. 

Opinions stated are of my own belief and not directly associated with the organizations and people mentioned in this article. All images are from their respective references listed above.

AAAS Annual Conference: An Inspiring Experience for our Postdocs

By: Laurie Risner, PhD, Postdoctoral Affairs Administrator

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, annual conference was held in Chicago last month.  This was an excellent opportunity for BSD postdocs to attend an international conference with wide-spread scientific interest and a variety of programming in our own hometown.  Thanks to an effort by the PDA to spread the word about this event, and generous support from the Dean of the Biological Sciences Division, Dr. Polonsky, over twenty postdocs were able to attend.  The BSD Postdoc Office was also represented at the AAAS conference with Dr. Nancy Schwartz and myself attending.

Beth Russell, a postdoctoral scholar in Surgery and co-chair of the Public Affairs subcommittee of the Postdoctoral Association, thought of the idea to request special funding from the Dean, so that a few postdocs could take advantage of the opportunity to attend the AAAS conference during a year that it was being held in Chicago.  Dean Polonsky generously offered to provide funding for ten BSD postdocs’ registration, so that we could receive the discounted group rate.  

I organized a lottery in which postdoc scholars and fellows from across the BSD could submit their names to receive funded registration at the conference.  Thirty-seven postdocs submitted their names in the lottery, which is over 10% of the postdoc population.  Ten grateful postdocs were selected in the lottery and received the group rate.  In addition, myself and more than twelve UC postdocs and research professionals were selected to be poster judges for the AAAS student poster competition and were honored with an very low registration rate.  In the end our group from the BSD came to at least 25 people!  

In addition to our many poster judges for the student session, several postdocs also presented posters of their own research at the conference.  Postdoc scholar Sunhwan Jo commented, “I was able to connect with several poster presenters, including undergraduate researchers and postdocs.  I could see their passion and it was great talking to them.”  Postdoc Santosh Kumar added, “I was able to present my research project to an out-of-field audience, where I was given ideas to expand my work. I am extremely grateful that I was given this great opportunity to participate and attend the AAAS Conference.”

The theme of this year’s AAAS meeting was “Meeting Global Challenges: Discovery and Innovation.” The conference consisted of career development workshops, scientific symposia, plenary lectures, poster sessions, a large exhibit hall, a family science day open to the public, and many special events.  I especially enjoyed the plenary talks.  Nobel Laureate and former US Secretary of Energy, Dr Steven Chu, discussed the energy crisis in our country and offered promise for the future.  Alan Alda, former actor turned science advocate and communicator, offered us great reason and tips to communicate science to the public.  In addition, having the chance to talk to students interested in science and to attend career development workshops made the AAAS conference a very positive and inspiring experience.  Postdoc Rebecca Pompano reflected on the conference, “I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to attend the AAAS meeting this year.  AAAS is unlike most other conferences, in that does not focus on the details of the science arising out of a particular area of study.  Instead, it focuses on the impact that scientific research can have on society, and on ways that scientists can get make sure that their messages are heard by the public and the policy makers.  It is exciting to feel be reminded of how important our work can be and what impact it can have on the lives of real people.”  

The career development workshops were especially useful and appealing to our postdocs.  A recurrent theme at the career workshops and many other AAAS events was “communication skills.”  From talking to politicians, to using LinkedIn and social media, to understanding how to use improvisation as a tool in communicating science to the public, it was clear that scientists need to enhance their communication and share their stories about their research and life as a scientist with the rest of the world.   Postdoc Natasha Wadlington commented on the communication sessions: “Receiving tips on how to use social media, talking with the press, and even the improvisation session to help connect with your audience was such an invaluable learning experience. I am currently utilizing the methods that I learned, not only for my own career, but I am also passing down some of the information to colleagues and students in our lab.”

Overall, our group had a very positive and inspiring time at AAAS.  Here are some final quotes from our postdocs who attended the conference:

“I was thrilled by the convergence of multiple topics in all fields of science, many unfamiliar to me. It was an important reminder of how urgent global awareness is for a scientist. I mostly focused in all science communication events and workshops and had an extremely valuable experience closely interacting with several professionals in that field. Thank you for this great opportunity to be a better scientist and a better communicator!”

Ana Cristina Gomes, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow

“The greatest part about AAAS was the diversity of the presentations and the professionals there. I attended meetings covering federal funding of basic research, entrepreneurship, and advances in big data for health sciences. Additionally, there were fantastic networking opportunities there:  I talked with Congressman Randy Hultgren and Nobel Laureate Dr. Martin Chaulfie in addition to many other leaders in academic and private sciences. These connections will be invaluable for my career to come. I would highly recommend attending the AAAS to any graduate or postdoctoral scientists.”   

Sean W. Fanning, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow

“I particularly enjoyed the many career development workshops offered during the meeting, and I am quite confident that new skills I have learned in writing, presenting, and communication, will no doubt help me with my future career path. This meeting has instilled me a desire to pursue some form of scientific outreach, and I will continue think of ways in which my scientific training and background can help and influence the community.” 

Heather Titley, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow

“While I have been fortunate to have had many positive experiences throughout my tenure at UChicago, attending the 2014 AAAS meeting was one of the most positive experiences of my scientific career… Many times as post docs, we are at the bench with our “nose stuck in the data” and we are almost too close to our own studies to see the forest through the trees. It was very refreshing and invigorating to attend the AAAS annual meeting to get back up to the 30,000-foot level to get an overall survey of where we stand as scientists in society as a whole. It is an experience I won’t soon forget, and I would like to thank Dean Polonsky for the opportunity to attend the AAAS meeting.”    

Vanessa Leone, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar

Read full reflections from the postdocs here.

A Dialogue with Dean Polonsky – The State of the Postdoctoral Enterprise

by Beth A. Russell, Ph.D.

As postdoctoral researchers we work in a microcosm of our labs and our departments, rarely venturing out of our comfort zone. Deans, Provosts, and Presidents come and go with little effect on us but another email in our inbox. It is easy to forget that the University has an administration when one’s entire career seems dependent on the goodwill of a single primary investigator. But I have recently discovered that the administration is not in fact fictional after all. Last month I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the Dean of the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) about the challenges that today’s postdocs face and the ways that the division could expand our opportunities.

Dean Kenneth Polonsky is a soft spoken man with a congenial manner and deep insight. In 2010 He returned to the University of Chicago to head the BSD after an 11 year stretch as Chair of the Department of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis and Physician-in-Chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Previously, Dr. Polonsky had spent over 20 years building a considerable reputation as a top diabetes researcher here in Chicago. Most of that work was done here at the University of Chicago. As Dean of the BSD, Dean Polonsky has to be a bridge between very disparate groups. On one side there are the basic sciences departments and academic programs and on the other are the clinical departments, medical school and hospital. While these areas share many issues, they also face different, sometimes conflicting, challenges; the tensions between these two missions were clear during “The State of Enterprise,” a presentation he gave for the faculty the day we met, that I was also invited to attend. The role of mediator-in-chief is not one that I envy but seems to be well suited for our patient and attentive Dean.

In truth, I never expected to have the opportunity to speak with Dean Polonksy. I assumed that my emailed request for a meeting would be replied to with the contact information for another administrator who might be able to help with the BSD Postdoctoral Association’s recent initiatives. Perhaps it was fortuitous timing. I was granted an appointment the very next day, a few hours before his presentation to the faculty. My intention was to start a dialogue between the Dean and the Postdoctoral Association. Many of the issues that postdocs face in the BSD are bigger than a single department and the role of the postdoctoral researcher in the BSD has begun to change as our opportunities to continue in academia have shrunk. It’s easy for the postdoc population to forget about the administration as we go about our experiments but it is just as easy for the administration to forget about us. We are the wallflowers of academia, hovering in a space that is ill-defined. It is unfortunately to the advantage of the faculty and granting agencies that the role of postdocs remains sketchy. In order to advocate for us, the administration faces contention of some of its loudest constituencies. It is much too simple for the administration to forget that we are also members of the University.

By accepting my request, Dean Polonsky signaled a sincere desire to recognize the role that postdocs play in the success of the BSD. He believes that the primary responsibility of the BSD towards postdocs is to provide a good education and research experience. The research tools available to postdocs here are exceptional; the relationship between the postdocs and the primary investigator might be the biggest limiting factor that we face in regard to research success. Dean Polonsky felt that these relationships are generally successful and was resistant to the suggestion of codifying the responsibilities of the postdocs and the PI. He was supportive however, of the postdoctoral association’s work with the provost’s office to develop a grievance policy for postdocs and the recent implementation of the Individual Development Plan in the annual review process. In the future, I hope that we can explore further what actually defines a “good educational experience.” I believe that it should include a strong professional development component. This is one of the primary functions of the BSD Postdoctoral Association and was central to most of my discussion with the Dean. Given the fact that so few of us (14%¹) will end up in academic positions, postdocs need to develop skills that support alternative careers. This statistic seemed to come as news to the Dean and his eyes widened as I illustrated the disconnect between the career expectations of University of Chicago postdocs and the realities of the job market. He was supportive of the idea of developing opportunities for internal externships in existing sectors of the division such as the public affairs office and within the hospital administration so that postdocs could have the opportunity to explore alternative careers in-house. He also agreed to fund our initiative to have postdocs attend the 2014 AAAS meeting which will be held in Chicago in February. The world’s largest general science meeting presents an excellent opportunity for postdocs to learn more about and network in alternative scientific careers and develop skills to support academic careers. I suspect it was the 23 professional development workshops available at the meeting that sold him.

The Dean’s generous support has allowed the BSD Postdoctoral Association to hold a lottery for 10 free postdoc registrations and permits us to obtain a group rate of $235pp for any additional University of Chicago postdocs who wish to attend. While we are no longer taking entries for the lottery which about 10% of our postdocs entered, we will soon be announcing winners and begin collecting registration information from postdocs who wish to pay the reduced rate. This opportunity will be open until early January so keep an eye out for more information in upcoming bulletins.

The AAAS meeting initiative is a superb first collaboration between Dean Polonsky and the BSD Postdoctoral Association. We had an excellent meeting and are looking forward to more successful meetings in the future. Unfortunately, this is only the start of our work. In the “State of the Enterprise” presentation Dean Polonsky gave that night we heard about lots of new professors, patient care aims, financial challenges, and wellness promotion and faculty advising programs for medical students. Nary was a word spoken about postdocs. Perhaps the administration thought we were fictional. I hope our new dialogue shows them that we aren’t.

¹http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/institute_basic_biomedical_sciences/news_events/articles_and_stories/employment/2012_09_Biomed_Workforce.html

Chicago Area Organizations of Interest to Postdocs

C2ST -- C²ST seeks to be the preeminent regional consortium for science- and technology-related education and policy and a prominent voice nationally.
      Student membership (including postdocs) -- $35 per year
      Science professional membership -- $75 

AWIS -- The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving equity and full participation of women in all areas of science, technology, and engineering.  Includes outreach programs, professional development workshops, and social activities for area women scientists.
     Junior membership (including postdocs) -- $65 for national membership + $5 for Chicago chapter
     Students only (not postdocs) -- $5 for Chicago chapter membership without national membership 

Women in Bio (WIB) Chicago Chapter -- The Chicago Chapter of Women In Bio was established in October 2010 under the auspices of the national organization. WIB-Chicago is dedicated to increasing awareness, fostering career development, and facilitating communication among the diverse set of groups and individuals – especially women – in Illinois committed to biotechnology innovation and commercialization. Student Membership: $50 (includes women enrolled in college, graduate and post-docs)
Interested in learning more?  WIB has a "Metro Meet & Mingle,” a summer networking event held concurrently at three different locations across the Chicago area: Downtown, Deerfield, and Oakbrook, on August 21st, 2013.

Biotechnology Association (UCBA) --  The University of Chicago Biotechnology Association's mission is to provide career education and skill development opportunities to University of Chicago students and post doctoral scholars.

Interested in Entrepreneurship?  
The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is excited to announce D4 Foundations, a new course open this fall to an interdisciplinary cohort of students, faculty, and staff at the University of Chicago.
D4 Foundations is an experiential lab course that teaches an entrepreneurial design method to discover pressing needs in complex problem areas that will enable the design of innovative solutions. This quarter, participants will work in interdisciplinary teams to identify latent, unmet needs in the areas of education and healthcare. By the end of the course, participants will have acquired the skills to 1) discover and develop ideas with a strong foundation in user-centered design, and 2) iteratively test and execute on ideas with the intent of making a meaningful impact to various industries.  The class meets on Thursdays, 9/26/13 - 12/12/13, from 5-8pm.

The UChicago Postdoctoral Association - New members are always welcome to join the PDA!  Join to help plan events for postdocs on campus.

Do you know of any other good groups in the area that UC Postdocs would be interested in joining?  Please leave a comment with the information!

NIH Promises to Improve Biomedical Research Training

NIH Promises to Improve Biomedical Research Training  by Jocelyn Kaiser on 7 Dec 2012, Science Insider.
"Reacting to a steep rise in the number of young biomedical scientists seeking scarce academic jobs, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) plans to launch programs to prepare scientists for nonacademic careers, move students through their Ph.D.s faster, and bolster the pay of postdocs."  You can also read the NIH report.

myIDP: What Do You Care About?

myIDP: What Do You Care About?  Science Careers, By Bill Lindstaedt, Philip S. Clifford, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Jennifer A. Hobin December 07, 2012.   
This is the fourth article in a series designed to help you create an Individual Development Plan (IDP) using myIDP, a new Web-based career-planning tool created to help graduate students and postdocs in the sciences define and pursue their career goals. To learn more about myIDP and begin the career-planning process, please visit: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org.

Career advancement for postdocs

Career advancement for postdocs
One Thursday afternoon in May, a conference room at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts, is filling beyond capacity. More than two dozen postdocs and young faculty members from the BIDMC and other affiliates of Harvard Medical School in Boston stream in for tips on how to produce an effective oral presentation. The attendees, many of whom are not native English speakers, look overworked but expectant. They have relinquished the freedom of a late-afternoon coffee break because their career advancement is on the line. They know the importance of being able to deliver an hour-long lecture or a ten-minute talk, daunting though that might be. “I have been giving talks for 30 years,” begins the presenter, Terry Maratos-Flier, an endocrinologist and neurologist who directs the Office for Academic Careers and Faculty Development at the BIDMC. “So I figure I should take my expertise and offer it to you.” To read more, please see below.
Career Adv.: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7411/full/nj7411-419a.html

Tooling Up: Questions to Set Your Sails By

Tooling Up: Questions to Set Your Sails By  by: David G. Jensen, November 16, 2012, Science Careers.    

If you love working at the bench and are confident that doing bench science will make you happy for the foreseeable future, then you can find opportunities on either side of the academia/industry divide.

myIDP: Interests

myIDP: Interests

By Bill Lindstaedt, Cynthia N. Fuhrmann, Jennifer A. Hobin, Phillip S. Clifford
November 02, 2012

A careful and detailed analysis of "interests" is at the core of the assessment phase at myIDP.

Click here for the third article in a series designed to help you create an Individual Development Plan (IDP) using myIDP, a new Web-based career-planning tool created to help graduate students and postdocs in the sciences define and pursue their career goals. To learn more about myIDP and begin the career exploration and planning process, please visit: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org.

Have you tried the new myIDP yet?  Have you found it useful?

Introducing myIDP, the online Individual Development Plan

You Need A Game Plan

Introducing the new individual development plan, a long-term project sponsored by multiple scientific societies and universities. ‘Scientific careers are not like the board game Monopoly. In Monopoly, the rules are clear and it’s relatively easy to succeed; in fact you get $200 just for hanging in there long enough to pass “Go” on your way to the next round. But in science, it often seems there are no definite rules and there’s no guaranteed payoff for advancing to the next training round: Ph.D., postdoc, second postdoc—then what? To succeed in science, you need to have a game plan. This is especially true in the current research environment.’ To read more, please see the weblink below.

Website: http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2012_09_07/caredit.a1200100

The Postdoc Challenge

How dedicated are you to the academic research career? Are you willing to put in the time it takes to get in line and wait for the right faculty position? These tough choices await all of us and it has to be carefully weighed against family-, political- and other social considerations. Please see the link below for further insight to postdoctoral challenges awaiting academic scientists.   
       

Website: http://the-scientist.com/2012/08/01/opinion-the-postdoc-challenge/

ScienceCareers Annual Postdoc Survey Results

ScienceCareers is published by Science Magazine and offers career advice and job postings for scientists.  Check out their recent article offering career advice for postdocs based on their annual postdoc survey:  ThePostdoc Experience: High Expectations, Grounded in Reality.

Contract Editing Jobs with American Journal Experts - First hand experience from Rebecca

I wanted to share my experiences working as a contract editor for American Journal Experts (AJE) and let other postdocs (and grad students) know about this opportunity.   AJE recruits PhD-level scientists to edit papers that were written by international authors for submission to English-language journals.  The editors try to make the grammar and style of the text sound like a native-English speaker wrote it; they don’t try to edit or even comment on the scientific content.   I joined last fall after they held a recruitment session on campus.  So far, I have edited about 9 papers (I took a big break to write a review for lab), and I think it has been a good experience.  I like knowing that I am helping the authors have a better chance of getting their work published.  Senior-level editors at AJE check each assignment and give you feedback, so you know how you are doing and can be sure that the author receives a high-quality edit on the paper.  As a result, my writing skills have definitely been fine-tuned, which has helped me write my own papers more clearly.

What I like about this job is that it is under my control.  When you sign up, you tell AJE what fields you feel comfortable with, and they only assign you papers in those categories.   For example, I edit papers in Biotechnology, Analytical Chemistry, and Biomedical Engineering.  Furthermore, you decide how many papers you want to edit each week, if any.  When I am working late in lab, or working on my own paper or a grant, I set myself to “unavailable” so that I am not distracted by editing assignments.  When I am available, I limit it to 1 paper per week (though more are allowed), so that I can do the editing in my spare time and not detract from my lab work.  The papers vary from interesting to rather routine.  It usually takes me a few hours to complete an edit, though I know that in general I am a slow editor.  The most poorly written paper I received took me about 6 hours to edit, which I was discouraged by, but the very next paper I got only took 2 hours.  It averages out.  You do get paid for each paper you edit, and while the compensation isn’t going to make you rich, it’s nice to have a little extra spending money each month.

I am happy to talk to you about my experiences if you are curious.  Anyone who is interested can apply for the editor position under Contractor Opportunities on their “careers” page:  http://goo.gl/jFYUy. 

Rebecca Pompano

rpompano@uchicago.edu

Iowa Postdoc Research Day

The University of Iowa Postdoctoral Association hosted its inaugural Postdoc Research Day on May 14th.  Several institutions were invited to participate in this event, including Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Two postdocs from the University of Chicago, Terrie Vasilopoulos and Sean McConnell, were invited to give oral presentations. At the end of this successful event, Terrie Vasilopoulos was awarded the prize for best oral presentation.

Attending this research day at the University of Iowa was a great experience, providing us a chance to discuss our work with postdocs from diverse research backgrounds. We encourage other postdocs at the University of Chicago to seek out similar opportunities to present their research.

Locally, the University of Chicago Postdoctoral Association will host its second Postdoctoral Research Day in October and plans to invite postdocs from several neighboring universities.

Here are the details from the Postdoc Research day as advertised in our PDA Bulletin:

POSTDOC RESEARCH DAY

When:                May 14, 2012.  9:00am-5:00pm
Where:               The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (CPHB, College of Public Health Building *** NEW LOCATION)

What: An opportunity for postdocs to learn about the exciting research being conducted by your peers.  Registration for this event is FREE and open to all postdocs from the University of Iowa and other nearby institutions.  A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.  This event is hosted by the University of Iowa Postdoctoral Association (UIPDA) with support from the UI Office of Postdoctoral Scholars and the Graduate College.
 

Slides from Workshops at the National Postdoctoral Association meeting

The National Postdoc Association (NPA)'s (http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/home) mission is to advance the U.S. research enterprise by maximizing the effectiveness of the research community and enhancing the quality of the postdoctoral experience for all participants. The University of Chicago is a sustaining member, which means that any UofC postdoc can apply to be a affiliate member. 

The NPA 10th Annual Meeting was held March 16-18, 2012, at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, California. More than 300 postdoctoral scholars, postdoctoral administrators and faculty participated in the event including our PDA president, the interim postdoc administrator and the founder of our Public Affairs Committee. We found the meeting incredibly informative. The slides from several of the talks and workshops are available online and we highly recommend you take a look. The link to download slides is: http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/component/content/article/91-2012-am/637-2012-annual-meeting-workshop-presentations 

Topics include: 

Becoming a More Effective Research Mentor 

Advancing Women’s Careers in Science 

Health Science Administrators at NIH: Insight Into This Exciting Career Choice 

Effective Strategies to Diversify Your Institution’s Postdoctoral Population 

My Career or My Visa: How International Postdocs Must Balance Career Advancement with Visa Issues 

Recent report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

Anyone interested in teaching should read the recent report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast), which focuses on the need to retain and prepare one million additional college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Recommendation 1 in that report is to “catalyze widespread adoption of empirically validated teaching practices” with the goal of improving the first two years of STEM education and improving retention of majors. (One of the most common reasons cited by students who leave STEM majors is poor teaching by STEM faculty.)

Take Command and OWN Your Postdoc for Career Success

-A Recap of a Recent NIH Postdoc Professional Development Workshop

I’ve never written a blog post for anything before, but I figured that other postdocs might benefit from my experience so here goes….

This month I attended the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Postdoctoral Workshop at the NIH in Bethesda, MD.  This theme of this workshop was to give postdocs that attended a leg up in the hiring process by giving them information and tools to help them better focus on their goals while postdocs and to succeed in the job search whether they choose academia or another option. 

It was a great workshop and I highly recommend that others from UC apply (they give scholarships to go!) and attend in the future.  I received a scholarship so it won’t end up costing me or my PI anything (well once I receive that refund check…) Check back at the website below in January to see if this program is running again next year.  We will also make sure that it is included in the BSD-PDA newsletter so that you get some notice about it. 

In the meantime all of the sessions from this year’s workshop are available free of charge as webcasts at the following website http://nigmsworkshop.org  I highly recommend that you watch the sessions on Interviews and on Negotiating!  They were fabulous.

One nice thing about this workshop was that it wasn’t only geared to postdocs with one foot out the door (There’s some info for you guys below too! Don’t stop reading here if you’ve already gotten a job offer).  There was plenty of excellent information for us newbies (less than 2 yrs). One of the things suggested for postdocs early in the process was an Individual Development Plan (IDP) which sounds really painful but is really just a great tool to help you take control of your postdoc.  The BSD-PDA has an IDP online that you can use http://www.bsdpostdoc.uchicago.edu/downloads/IDP-061011.pdf.   I’ll be filling out mine in a few weeks (after AACR) to help me find my way and I’ll try to let you all know how it went when I am done.  According to the presenters at the NIGMS, only 42% of us will stay in academia in ANY capacity.  Therefore, the majority of us are NOT going to become professors so finding out what other opportunities we are interested in and identifying the skills we need to develop during our postdoc to make these possible as well, is essential.  To make ourselves competitive in tomorrow’s job markets we need to use our postdoctoral experiences effectively. 

Another important thing to do is to NETWORK!!! At the meeting they couldn’t stress this enough.  I know many of you are not doing enough of this because I don’t know who almost any of you are.  Watch the Networking session online if you are shy, you don’t have confidence, or you are simply anti-social.  Then PRACTICE.  Practice with us, your fellow postdocs by coming to BSD-PDA events. More than likely the rest of us are as shy and awkward as you are. Then, get to know your department.  Get to know the PIs, learn who the other postdocs are, chat with the grad students (who knows they might be the ones to hire you someday!)  Also go to meetings: regional meetings, national meetings, or even (if you can get funding) that much admired International Meeting.  Smaller meetings like Gordon Conferences can be among the BEST networking opportunities.  Networking will get you collaborations, networking will get you more papers, networking will get you stuff for experiments that you need, networking might get you more lifelong friends, and FINALLY!!! Networking will probably get you your job.  I will quote Elaine Ostrander from the NHGRI and say “Everyone you meet has the potential to affect your career.”

For postdocs in later stages of their appointment there was tons of great advice.  I was particularly struck by the section of the Networking session about cultivating a relationship with the NIH and NSF program officers who covers your scientific interests.  Before this I only had a vague idea of what a program officer did.  I had NO idea they wielded so much power as advocates for your science. For a small number of special NSF awards if they hear a great idea from you they can simply decide to fund it.  No study session, no grant review.  You are just funded.  It is rare, but if you don’t communicate with them your chance of this is ZERO.  Someday mine is totally getting homemade cookies. If you already have a program officer with whom you have started developing a relationship, they want to hear from you.  They want you to send them info about presentations you are doing and about manuscripts that have been accepted.  If they think that it is cool enough science, they’ll do a press release.  And popular media is powerful!!

Why you ask???  Because not all funding comes from the NIH and the NSF!  Private grants make up a small but significant proportion of the research dollars.  The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and Robert Wood Johnson, and HOWARD HUGHES!!! are among the many charities named after dead guys that could give you money.  Susan G. Komen, however, might have a bit of trouble coming up with the funds to pay you in the future… Others are related to professional organizations like AACR or ACS.  Many are public organizations. Some of these funds are reliant on donations from the public. If your face got on TV or in an internet article then it is easier for them to take you on because they can sell your “public” accomplishments to their donors. 

Grants are your future employment insurance in this day and age so we’ve got to get them and they had tons of great tips at this meeting.  I’ll only give you one as a teaser.  The surest way to fail to get funded is to put forth an idea that’s already been done or funded.  After you do your literature searches make sure there isn’t already a NIH funded group working on your idea.  Go to  http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm and use the RePORTER to search funded grants in your topic area. It could save you A LOT OF TIME….

Well I’ve got publications to write and experiments to plan, an IDP to complete and perhaps also (somehow) a life to make.  So I’ll bid you goodnight and wish you all well.  May your grants get funded and may your PCRs all work.  Until we network at future events, sleep tight my friends and may dreams of Nature and Science papers or $120K per year industry jobs dance in your heads.