2017 National Postdoctoral Association Meeting Report

2017 National Postdoctoral Association 15^th Annual Meeting – San Francisco, CA (March 17-19^th)

·       The non-profit National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) was founded 15 years ago through the efforts of seven founders. In the last year, the NPA hired a new Executive Director, Julie Fabsik-Swarts, MS, CFRE, CAP, and moved out of the AAAS building and to their own offices in Rockville, MD.

·       The NPA had $400,674 in expenses on $417,345 of revenue.

·       The NPA has 6,902 individual members and 227 sustaining member institutions. Greater than 79,000 postdocs represented in total.

·       NPA Accomplishments:

o   Worked to increase stipends for postdocs.

o   Have been integral to establishing a definition of what a postdoc is on a national level.

o   Established a national postdoc appreciation week, which this year will be September 18-22^nd, 2017.

·       NPA Resources:

o   The new NPA job board is at: http://careers.nationalpostdoc.org/. Part of an all-new NPA online career center. Candidates can seek new positions, set up lists of opportunities that will be emailed directly to them at regular intervals, and upload their resume and CV for viewing by potential employers. Sustaining member institutions (such as Yale University) get 8-10 free posts to this job board.

o   2016 Institutional Policy Survey resulted in the creation of a policy database, a source for current postdoc policies and practices at U.S. research institutions. Available at http://database.nationalpostdoc.org/.

o   Updated the monthly NPA newsletter, the POSTDOCket. Postdocs who register for membership received this free and informative newsletter about NPA activities.

o   Three webinars are offered through the NPA:

§  MyPDO monthly webinar for Postdoc administrators.

§  MyPostdoc monthly webinar for Postdocs

§  Diversity monthly webinar

o   SUNY survey on postdocs and postdoc offices (PDOs) across institutions. Enables comparison at a national level.

§  Determined funding for PDOs. 

§  Postdoc compensation

§  Postdoc appointment criteria

§  Postdoc fringe benefits

·       Distinguished service award:

o   Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Postdoc Executive Committee

o   Received Burroughs Wellcome Fund funding for some of their activities including a postdoc symposium

o   We can apply for this award in the future.

·       Next year’s meeting is in Cleveland Ohio from April 6-8^th, 2018.

2016 NPA Institutional Policy Survey

·       Dr. Kryste Ferguson, Membership manager of the NPA

·       126 Postdoc Offices (PDOs) Responded

·       62% Response Rate

·       Survey Components

o   Demographics

§  Institute demographics

§  Number of postdocs

§  Postdoc demographics

§  PDO structure

o   Appointment review and exit process

o   Postdoc policies

o   Compensation and Benefits

o   Professional development training programs

·       Selected results:

o   Compensation

§  77% of institutes have a minimum salary requirement of $47,476

§  6% are still deciding if they will institute this policy

§  17% do not have a minimum salary requirement

o   43% of universities have no exit survey

o   68% of universities have no mechanism to track postdocs after exit

o   PDO Staffing

§  Average: 1.6 full-time employees

§  Median: 1.2 full-time employees

·       Full results will be released later this year.

o   Contact k.ferguson@nationalpostdoc.org with questions.

·       A comprehensive benefits package regardless of funding origin (e.g., R-level, F32, Private, etc.) was proposed and is being piloted by the University of California system.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Peter Fiske – There and Back Again: Ph.D. Career Navigation in the 21^st Century

·       Dr. Fiske has written two books, “To Boldly Go” and “Put Your Science to Work”.

·       Old Skills vs. New Skills

o   In the Past: People went to school to get skills. The top priority when looking for a job was job security, wages were the most important form of compensation and infrastructure in the form of a large stable company was key.

§  Key attributes for success:

·       Seniority

·       Guilds

·       Risk Aversion

·       Passivity

o   Now: A high value is placed on life-long learning. Risk taking is highly valued, stock options are the most important form of compensation and intellectual property is the key to success.

§  Key attributes for success:

·       Experience

·       Independence

·       Risk-Management

·       Entrepreneurialism

·       In a start-up you build, measure and learn.

·       A common misconception is that entrepreneurs are daring, visionary, risk-taking and confident.

·       Actually, they are defined more by the qualities of careful, analytical, risk-averse and patient.

·       Ph.D.’s are set up well for business success because we specialize in these new highly valued skills:

o   Work with limited resources and limited support

o   Putting together plans

o   Organizing projects

·       Skills that really count, but Ph.D.’s sometimes lack:

o   Leadership

o   Persuasion

o   Humor

o   Tact

o   Understanding Risk and Reward

o   Understanding Investment and Return

o   Organization

o   Sensitivity

o   Drive

o   Perspective

o   Creativity

·       All of the above skills are teachable.

·       Ph.D.’s often fail because of timidity, loss-aversion, inexperience and cultural aversion.

·       Good attributes of a Ph.D. can also lead to negative consequences: “The Curse of Being Smart”

o   Pro: We become very skilled vs. Con: We value our skills over others

o   Pro: Able to conceptualize vs. Con: Can conceive of many complications

o   Pro: Used to knowing it all vs. Con: We fear being the “dummy”

o   Pro: Intellectually smart vs. Con: Fail to appreciate the other forms of smart

o   Pro: Used to being exceptional vs. Con: Fear of failure

·       80:10:10 Rule

o   80% - Work

o   10% - Professional Development

o   10% - Networking

·       Two simple questions:

o   How will you grow and gain new skills if you don’t invest the time?

o   How will people know of your abilities if you don’t tell them?

·       Model postdoc association ideas from UCB:

o   PIEP: Postdoc Industry Exploration Program

§  Day long visits to companies in industry

§  Face to face meetings with management

§  Tours of facilities

o   BPEP: Berkeley Postdoc Entrepreneurship Program

§  Evening workshops

·       NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps)

o   This program teaches NSF grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training to participants by combining experience and guidance from established entrepreneurs through a targeted curriculum.

·       Tomorrow’s Ph.D. must be a T-Person:

o   Adaptability, Problem Solving, Drive and Leadership supported by Thesis, Research and Experience

Plenary Session 1: Organizational Culture and its Consequences

·       Dr. Claudia Adkison (Emory) and Dr. Kevin Grigsby (AAMC)

·       Leaders shape a positive culture with positive consequences

·       Primary focus of leadership: Creating and sustaining an organizational culture

·       Culture includes

o   Vision

o   Values

o   Practices

o   People

o   Narrative

o   Place

·       Vision Statement:

o   15 words long

o   Guidance for decisions and purpose

o   A compelling vision of where things will be in the future

·       How to identify an organizational culture

o   Assess existing information:

§  Institutional Reputation

§  Financial Health

§  Accreditation

o   Check References

§  Employees Surveys

§  Feedback from “Insiders”

§  Explore Turnover

o   Exercise Due Diligence

·       Cultural fit is important

o   47% of HR managers said this is the top criteria when assessing potential employees

·       Important factors when determining culture inside organization:

o   Management Styles:

§  Autocratic

§  Democratic

§  Laissez-Faire

§  Independent

o   Social Environments within organizations:

§  How do they communicate?

·       Open vs. Formal

·       Letters/memos, e-mails, in-person meetings, phone

§  What is expected:

·       Live to Work vs. Work to Live

§  What types of relationships exist?

·       Across staff/administration lines vs. strict social divisions

§  How do people behave?

·       Aggressive/competitive vs. collaborative/sharing

o   Practices within organizations:

§  Policies

§  Hours

§  Difficulty of work

§  Appointments to important committees or teams on a local or National level.

§  Dress Code

§  Gender/multicultural colleagues – leaders/role-models

§  Risk-taking

§  Accountability – individual or shared

§  Resources

o   Benefits

§  Wages, fringe benefits, stock-options, retirement fund matching

o   Onboarding procedures

§  Mentoring

§  Career Development

§  Training

o   Evaluation

§  Measures of performance

§  Criteria for promotion/pay raises

o   Places

§  Geographic

§  Arrangement of working spaces: Personal office vs. Cubicles

§  Green space vs. pavement

o   Identify which of these criteria are the most important for you personally.

Plenary Session 2: Data driven approaches to tracking postdocs

·       Dr. Nancy Calvin-Naylor

·       Institute for Research on Innovation and Science - IRIS (http://iris.isr.umich.edu/)

o   Repository for administrative research data

o   Deidentified information derived from member institutions that can be used to observe postdocs over time.

o   Understand postdoc outcomes.

o   Linked to census data.

o   Datasets available for use.

·       Dr. Pauline Kay Lund

·       Institutional Research and Career Development for Early Stage Postdocs (K12, NIGMS)

o   Links large research intensive institutes with historically underrepresented institutions for the enrichment of both.

o   70% of participants went on to become academic faculty

·       NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship: Regression Discontinuity Analysis

o   If you get an F32 you are much more likely to apply for NIH awards in the future.

o   Much more likely to successfully obtain an RO1.

·       New tools and Resources:

o   Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)

§  Survey of doctorate recipients

§  National survey of college graduates

§  National survey of recent college graduates

§  Publically accessible tool to track careers of Ph.D. recipients

§  http://highered.ipums.org/highered

§  Result from study using IPUMS data:

·       Doing a postdoc in academia increases likelihood to stay in academia, but negatively affects the pay of postdocs who choose to go outside of academia after completion.

o   NIH Resource training website

§  http://researchtraining.nih.gov

§  Resource for finding funding opportunities in the NIH

o   Biomedical Workforce Data Dashboard

§  NIH funding rates and demographic data

§  Coming soon.

o   NIH Extramural Diversity Website – NEW!

§  http://extramural-diversity.nih.gov

§  Information about NIH initiatives and career pathways

o   NIH Career Path website

§  https://researchtraining.nih.gov/career-path

§  Searchable career resource providing suggestions on steps to take to prepare yourself for your future career.

o   NIH BEST, R25, IRACDA grants

Concurrent Session 1: Elective Modules to Broaden Training Experience

·       Dr. Kim Petrie – Vanderbilt University Biomedical Research Education and Training (BRET) Director of Career Development

o   Vanderbilt University:

§  650 Ph.D. Students in 15 biomedical Ph.D. programs

§  450 postdocs in 25 biomedical departments (700 total postdocs at the university)

o   Elective modules open to both graduate students and all postdocs.

·       ASPIRE Program

o   Funded through an NIH BEST grant

o   Since BEST grant is temporary this program was designed to be cost-effective long-term

§  Majority of instructors for modules are volunteers from faculty

·       ASPIRE Modules – Non-credit bearing elective courses

o   Four major areas:

§  Communication

§  Teaching

§  Clinical Research

§  Business & Entrepreneurship

o   10 modules, 10 different partners

§  1-2 hours/week

§  2-32 Sessions in total

§  Capacity = 5 to unlimited number of students

§  Designed for biomedical trainees but open to all STEM postdocs and graduate students

§  487 participants over the last three years

o   Mission:

§  Modules should:

·       Be time-efficient

·       Be cost-effective

·       Engage experts as instructors

§  In order to facilitate:

·       Acquiring practical knowledge

·       Putting new skills into practice

·       Gaining insight into career path

o   Modules incorporate didactic teaching with hands-on practice in the subject areas:

§  Examples:

·       Biomedical Research & Media

o   Taught by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) News & Public Affairs Office

o   Writing for lay-audiences

§  Opportunity to write articles that have the chance to be published in on-campus news publication

o   Interviewing techniques

§  Opportunity to conduct an on-camera interview and have it recorded

o   Media training with Vanderbilt University press office

o   Discussions with science communicators

·       Clinical Laboratory Medicine

o   Taught by medical directors of VUMC Clinical Labs

o   Role and training pathways of clinical medical directors

o   Attend bench rounds in clinical laboratories

o   Meet with diagnostic management team at Vanderbilt Hospital

·       Management & Business Principles for Scientists

o   Taught by Professor for Managerial Studies in Arts & Sciences

o   Partnered with Core Facilities who provided real-life projects for trainees to develop solutions to actual problems.

§  Promoted to core directors as an avenue for them to get business training

o   Half didactic/Half project-based

§  Projects include developing business plan to purchase new equipment, develop contingency plan for key personnel replacement, etc.

o   See handout outlining modules for more information. (Appendix 1)

o   Module toolkit available at: http://NIHbest.org

Concurrent Session 2: Pregnancy, Parenting and Postdocs

·       Jessica Lee, Staff Attorney at the Center for WorkLife Law at UC-Hastings

·       Most information can be found at: http://www.thepregnantscholar.org/

·       Postdoc-Parent Study

o   66 institutions

o   800+ births and adoptions

o   Women that have children during their postdoc are more likely to change their career direction than those that had children prior to their postdoc.

o   Identified that many institutions do not have a policy, or policy confusion exists regarding pregnancy in the workplace for postdocs

o   Burden falls on Principal Investigator and Postdoc to figure it out

·       Law of Accommodations

o   ADA/Rehabilitation Act & Title IX:

§  Must provide disability conditions for pregnancy & pregnancy-related conditions

·       Lifting assistance

·       Not having to climb ladders

·       Additional PPE

o   Generally in business workplaces, 70% of women ask for some form of accommodation, but in research science, only 40% of postdocs who become pregnant ask for some form of accommodation. In academic research science, only 32% of women who become pregnant ask for accomodations.

·       Laws regarding parental leave.

o   Trainee Postdoc (Directly funded by personal fellowship)

§  Governed by Title IX

§  Leave is “as long as medically necessary”

§  Same amount of time as given for a temporary disability

o   Employee Postdoc (Funded by bosses R-level grant or other similar, not by individual fellowship)

§  Governed by Title IX

§  Leave is for “a reasonable period of time off”

§  Generally seen in the law as 6-8 weeks

§  Same amount of time as given for a temporary disability

o   Eligible Employees (Funded by bosses R-level grant or other similar, not by individual fellowship, and meet qualifications listed below)

§  Governed by Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

§  12 weeks unpaid “job-protected” time off

§  Qualifications:

·       Must work at the job for twelve months prior to leave

·       Must have worked 1250 hours in the last twelve months (26 hours/week)

·       Must not have used your twelve weeks in the previous year

·       Must be taken with 12 months of child joining family

§  12 weeks is a maximum “job-protected” time off. E.g., If you are given 6 weeks of paid leave, you are entitled to an additional 6 weeks of unpaid leave.

o   University of California system has standardized all postdocs to receive the same benefits as employee postdocs.

·       Childcare

o   29% of postdocs were eligible for on-campus childcare

o   6% of postdocs received childcare assistance

o   Long waiting lists for on-campus childcare is a national problem

o   Lactation accommodations

§  Title IX and FMLA govern

·       Space free from intrusion

·       Not a bathroom

·       Must be provided whenever needed, not requiring the necessity to ask

·       Recommendations for Postdoc Offices:

o   Create and promote policies related to pregnancy. E.g., health accommodations, schedule flexibility, clock extensions, paid parental leave

o   Train HR and PI’s

o   Suggest working toward 12 week protected leave for all postdocs for both parental units

o   Require parents to provide notification of intent to take leave, but not require permission

o   Support childcare on-campus at reasonable prices

§  Subsidies, grants and emergency childcare funds

o   Clarify the paperwork requirements necessary for leave

Concurrent Session 3: Work-Life Resilience

·       Don’t try to achieve balance as you might imagine, but try to achieve a resilient lifestyle

·       Resilience = Coping with, bouncing back from, and adapting to difficult situations

·       Factors that contribute to resilience

o   Positive emotions

o   Relationships

o   Reflections

o   Strengths

o   Self-regulation

·       Solutions

o   Mindfulness

o   Stop, take a breath, observe, proceed

o   Make an action plan

o   Online resources

Concurrent Session 4: Discover the art of stretching your dollars

·       Travel awards

o   Frequently offered by PDOs and PDAs

o   Childcare awards are often available for conferences if you need to leave your children

o   “Early” career awards are often available for meetings

o   Biolegend offers a monthly travel grants (raffle) that postdocs are eligible for

·       Sponsorships may be a useful way to fund events in a PDA.

o   Vendors

o   Banks/Credit Unions

o   Offices on campus

·       Money for events can be saved by having individuals RSVP for events to avoid waste

·       Fundraising and profit sharing may be implemented

·       Multi-institutional collaborations can help share of cost of events

Concurrent Session 5: Discover National Science Foundation Resources that Advance your STEM Career

·       Dr. Barbara Natalizio, AAAS Fellow, and Dr Nimmi Kannankutty, Deputy Division Director of the Division of Graduate Education

·       Division of Graduate Education focuses on:

o   Broadening participation in science

o   Educational innovations

o   Cybersecurity

o   Workforce Development

§  National STEM Workforce Strategy

§  Education and Human Resources Research

§  NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Grant

·       Traineeship Track (Up to 5 years and $3 million)

o   Education of STEM graduate students through an innovative, evidence-based traineeship approach in high-priority interdisciplinary research areas.

·       Innovations in Graduate Education Track (2–3 years, up to $300,000–$500,000)

o   Dedicated solely to piloting, testing, and evaluating bold, new graduate-education approaches, models, and activities and to generate the knowledge required for their customization, implementation, and scaling.

·       Targeted funding opportunities are offered to a variety of basic science categories

o   https://www.nsf.gov/funding/

o   Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB)

§  Individual fellowships for early career (only eligible in your first six months of postdoc) U.S. citizen postdocs

·       (1) Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology,

·       (2) Research Using Biological Collections, and

·       (3) National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships.

·       (4) Rotating Section. Now: “Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Using Collections”

o   NSF Grant Success Rate = ~ 23%

o   Criteria for Awards:

§  Intellectual Merit

·       Advances Science

·       Qualified Applicant

·       Original Research

·       Sufficient Budget

§  Broader Impacts

·       Promote Teaching/Training

·       Broaden Participation of Underrepresented Groups

·       Increases Overall Research Infrastructure

·       Dissemination Plan

·       Societal Benefit

·       Postdocs are welcome and encouraged to volunteer to be on grant review panels

o   Go to NSF website.

o   Find a grant program that fits your skill set

o   Look for the Program Directors of that grant

o   E-mail these Program Directors directly laying out your qualifications and including your CV

Concurrent Session 6: Finding the Right Organizational Culture Outside of Academia

·       Dr. Doug Kalish

·       https://www.dougsguides.com/

o   Free online resources, self-assessments and guides

·       Academia vs. Non-Academia is not a binary choice

o   Non-academia encompasses a wide array of careers

·       Components of workplace happiness – Positive emotions

o   Meaning – Purpose

o   Engagement – Does the work make good use of your skills?

o   Accomplishment – Can you achieve something?

o   Relationships – Do you enjoy interacting with the people you work with?

·       Culture Defined:

o   Management Attitude

o   Markets Served

o   Stage of Life

o   Regulations

o   Finances

·       Cultural Stereotypes (Charles Handy)

o   Power (Start-up)

§  Personality = Power

§  Relationship > Titles

§  Few rules and not much bureaucracy

§  Fashion/Film/Publishing

§  Can make decisions quickly

§  People who do well in these structures:

·       Likes less structure, and doesn’t mind politics

o   Role (Large Companies)

§  Title or Role = Power

§  Highly structured

§  Formal policies and procedures

§  Innovation and independence discouraged

§  Good for protecting highly-successful business and processes

§  People who do well in these structures:

·       Like to have well-defined jobs with explicit expectations

o   Task or Team (Consulting)

§  Skill = Power

§  Independence, innovation, critical thinking and team skills are essential

§  Demanding time-frames and challenges

§  People who do well in these structures:

·       Like to solve problems in unstructured environments with changing objectives

o   Person (Law Firms or Design Firms)

§  $$ = Power

§  Expertise of individuals is more valuable than the organization

§  Can be a loose collection of practices with shared or dedicated resources

§  People who do well in these structures:

·       Highly specialized skills. Can be like a combination of first three types.

o   Academic

§  Ability to argue, credentials, and results = Power

§  Oriented toward tech and not products or markets

§  Transition to a product-based company format may be difficult

§  People who do well in these structures:

·       Like doing research in a commercial environment

·       Cultural differences can exist within organizations in different departments

o   R&D vs. Sales vs. Production

·       Types of People – assessment available on website with more information

o   Individual Contributor

o   Motivated Apprentice

o   Team Player

o   Challenge Seeker

o   Looking for Balance

o   Minimally Committed

·       Your goals and personality may change over time

·       What do you need to get a job outside of academia?

o   Skills

o   Professional Presence

§  Publications

§  Presentations

§  Posters

§  Patents

o   Web Presence

§  LinkedIn

§  Contribute to your department or group website

§  Maintain a blog or website (personally)

o   Contacts

o   Good Recommendations

Concurrent Session 7: You’re More than Your CV

·       Mary Mitchell, The Mitchell Organization – Etiquette Matters

o   Communication Skills

o   Good Manners

o   Relationships

·       Incivility can cost you.

o   Seemingly inconsequential behavior but can be perceived poorly by others as inconsiderate

o   Raising awareness can prevent incivility

·       What’s in it for me?

o   Career Advancement

§  Surveys of HR directors indicate that 15% of promotion comes from technical ability and 85% is the result of personal skills.

·       Communication

o   Communication is the responsibility of the communicator

§  Shift from content to connecting

o   Effective communication

§  What we say – 7%

§  How we say it – 38%

§  What people see – 55%

§  Communication is perception

o   Non-Verbal

§  Open body posture

§  Eye contact

§  Facial expressions

§  Gestures

§  Posture

§  Space

o   Suggested Viewing: Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are - TED.com

o   Barriers to Communication

§  Age

§  Gender

§  Culture

·       Clothing

o   No such thing as neutral clothing

o   Dress appropriately

o   Avoid distracting others by paying attention to:

§  Overdressing/Underdressing

§  Too much skin

§  Perfumes/aftershaves/colognes

§  Bad grooming

§  Displaying tattoos or body piercings

o   ‘The Fit’ – areas to consider

§  Shoulders

§  Chest

§  Collars

§  Lapels

§  Armholes

§  Sleeves

§  Trousers

§  Skirts