Bridges to Independence Fostering the Independence of New Investigators in Biomedical Research (2005) / Chapter Skim
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4 Optimizing Postdoctoral Training
4 Optimizing Postdoctoral Training
Pages 80-101
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From page 80... ...
. Some postdoctoral researchers are poorly matched with mentors and some feel exploited, while others may be well-matched and respected but feel trapped by being unable to secure independent positions.
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From page 81... ...
The worst thing that can happen is the risk averseness that you see in many postdocs today. It's not a good idea to have a scientific talent pool that's afraid of risk." Given the amount of concern that has persisted for so many years about the postdoctoral experience, it is notable that not all institutions have agreed even on a single definition of a postdoctoral researcher.1 The committee endorses the definition2 adopted by the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP, 2000)
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From page 82... ...
LENGTH OF THE POSTDOCTORAL APPOINTMENT The postdoctoral period should be a temporary apprenticeship and not extend beyond the time needed for training. However, because postdoctoral researchers have more experience and often generate more novel ideas than graduate students or technicians, the "cost" (financial and time investment)
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From page 83... ...
Universities should consider conversion of all individuals in postdoctoral training to staff or faculty appointments at the earliest possible opportunity. Cer tainly, by five years of postdoctoral training experience, training should be completed and individuals who are being retained at the institution should be converted to non-training positions that provide appropriate levels of income and a benefit package that includes such items as retire ment, leave, and health insurance.
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From page 84... ...
According to an informal survey conducted by the National Postdoctoral Association in 2004, only about one-third of institutions have a term limit for postdoctoral appointments; those that do are generally consistent with the 5-year recommendation. A survey of the members of the Graduate Research, Education, and Training (GREAT)
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From page 85... ...
, regardless of the type of award. That is, the time limit should apply equally to postdoctoral researchers supported with individual NRSAs, training grants, or R01s.
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From page 86... ...
This report focuses on biomedical researchers beginning with the postdoctoral period and on the success of those individuals in establishing an independent research career. As such, the committee addresses only the individual postdoctoral NRSAs (F32)
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From page 87... ...
In addition, because programs or institutions are awarded training grants -- instead of only individual PIs -- they share responsibility for providing appropriate research training and career development. 4.2 Postdoctoral researchers should be more independent and less dependent on the research grants of PIs.
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From page 88... ...
But the viewpoint of this committee is that postdocs are not simply workers, but scholars with their own ability to contribute that must be nurtured. This committee's focus on the quality of biomedical research training to foster independence causes it to conclude that funding of postdocs through individual awards and training grants is preferable to funding on PI research awards.
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From page 89... ...
The committee recognizes that significant shifts of funding from research to training would require Congressional action, as research and training budgets are separately enumerated in NIH allocations. For this reason, the committee has not set a target distribution nor suggested the amount of research resources reallocated to individual awards and training grants in support of postdoctoral researchers.
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From page 90... ...
Non-U.S. citizens now make up the majority of biomedical sciences postdoctoral scholars at academic institutions.
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From page 91... ...
Moreover, these effects would be mitigated in concert with recommendation 4.2 that calls for increased support for individual fellowships and training grants overall. Making federal support available to those who are not U.S.
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From page 92... ...
While the project would obviously be related to the general interests in the laboratory, it should be outside of the main thrust of the lab's focus. Moreover, the proposed project would be under the direction of the postdoctoral independent researcher.
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From page 93... ...
Finally, as a research award, indirect costs could be recovered by the host institution in compensation for the space and other institutional needs of the supported research. The proposed awards would encourage independence for postdoctoral researchers by offering them control in determining the subject and course of their research interests.
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From page 94... ...
4.5 NIH should modify the application for R01s so that requests for postdoctoral research positions include a description of how the postdoc will be prepared for an independent career (training) and a description of the elements of the proposed project in which the postdoctoral researcher will be involved.
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From page 95... ...
? These issues are already addressed in the review of predoctoral training grant applications, which could serve as a model for consideration of training components of R01s.
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From page 96... ...
The committee recognizes that in these times of fiscal constraint, new funds might not be readily available, but it urges NIH to release funds from other programs to support this critical aspect of the NIH mission, either as stand-alone programs or as supplements to existing awards like training grants. The resource needs will be modest and have the potential to impact a large number of postdoctoral researchers from each program.
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From page 97... ...
The director has formal training and 10 years of experience as a career counselor. A research-focused faculty advisor consults on pro gram planning, advises postdocs, conducts individual grant reviews with postdocs, and -- critical to success -- creates buy-in among UNC faculty.
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From page 98... ...
Some events organized by the OFCD include a Survival Skills work shop series covering issues such as job-hunting and teaching skills, semi nars on management and networking skills, and brown-bag lunches featur ing former NIEHS fellows discussing careers in biotech and the reality of being a new assistant professor. In partnership with Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society headquartered nearby, the OFCD developed and now cosponsors an annual weeklong grant-writing skills workshop.
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From page 99... ...
As such, it will not provide a statistical portrait of the postdoctoral community at all institutions nationwide. Despite the large size of the NIH-supported postdoctoral population, insufficient data are available on this group, with almost no data available on postdoctoral researchers funded through R01s (despite the predominance of this funding mechanism for postdoctoral researchers)
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From page 100... ...
Maintaining updated personal profiles online could facilitate data collection. Such profiles could be a requirement for receipt of NIH funds and allow NIH to track individuals as they move from graduate student and postdoctoral positions into independent research positions.
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From page 101... ...
This study could help answer questions related to the effectiveness of various postdoc programs that could address issues of balance between research, training, and individual support, as discussed in relation to Recommendation 4.2 above. This review could compare postdoctoral researchers funded through, for example, R01s, individual NRSAs, NRSA institutional postdoctoral training grants, and NIH and other career transitions awards.
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