Postdoctoral fellows from HMS and HSDM are expected to converge on the Quad for the third annual National Postdoc Appreciation Week, September 19-23. Postdocs will meet and mingle, discover one another’s research through talks and a poster session, learn about the state of academe-industry relations from an HMS leader who knows that landscape well, and explore job opportunities for scientists-in-training with a doctoral degree in the basic sciences.

Systems Biology postdoc Andrea Tentner studies embryonic development through the lens of zebrafish.

The event at HMS, organized by the Office for Postdoctoral Fellows (OPF), was spearheaded in 2009 by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) to recognize the important contributions postdocs make to scientific research. The celebration evolved from a single day to several days in 2010, when the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing National Postdoc Appreciation Week.

“The week allows us an opportunity to bring the postdocs together and celebrate their significant contributions,” said Jim Gould, director of the OPF since June and, up until then, a postdoc himself.

Tuesday through Friday, these informative events will unfold:

  • At Hot Talks, postdocs will enjoy a pizza lunch while hearing about research by peers who, in discussing their research projects, aim to polish their presentation skills. Participants are invited to offer comments and ideas during this informal meeting of minds;
  • On Postdoc Research Day, postdocs will showcase their work at a poster session to gain recognition for the important scientific contributions they make to research on the Quad;
  • At “Academic-Industry Interactions: New Frontiers,” keynote speaker and HMS Executive Dean for Research William Chin will discuss academic-industry relationships and their importance to research funding, collaboration and discovery. Prior to joining HMS, Chin served as senior vice president for discovery research and clinical investigation at Eli Lilly and Company. At a reception to follow, travel awards will be presented for best posters from the previous day;
  • At “Secrets of the Recessionary Job Market: How Employment Works in a Down Economy,” keynote speaker Dave Jensen, Science Careers columnist at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), will offer practical advice on managing careers in the life sciences and navigating today’s job market. OPF will cosponsor this and future events with a revitalized Faculty of Arts and Sciences Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.

Postdocs at HMS are engaged in mentored, advanced training, and many aim to run independent laboratories, according to Gould. The OPF’s goal is to serve the roughly 800 postdocs across six basic science departments on the Quad and often collaborate with the School’s affiliates to reach another 4-5,000.

“We’re giving postdocs a forum in which they can be at work, surrounded by other postdocs,” Gould said, “but also take a break from the bench to foster a community.”

Another goal of the HMS/HSDM Office for Postoctoral Fellows is to provide postdocs with the tools they need to become effective scientists. For example, an August workshop on “How to be an Effective Mentee” encouraged postdocs to nurture their relationships with faculty mentors, while a monthly “Career Discussion Hour” series features guest speakers in various fields. Gould urges postdocs to become collaborators rather than competitors, something he feels “will serve them best in the long run.”

The OPF places a strong emphasis on career exploration. Though postdocs at HMS may initially focus on traditional tenure-track positions on faculties at colleges and universities or positions in industry, they are exposed to various other careers that may ultimately be more suitable to their strengths and interests. Given the imbalance between the boom in research funding during the Clinton administration and the tight market in available faculty positions, many have extended their fellowships or sought a second postdoc before landing positions, Gould said.

However, postdocs have a host of valuable transferable skills—critical thinking, project management and budgeting—that make them attractive to employers in diverse fields.

Many teach science at community colleges, advance health and research policy at the federal, state and local levels, edit scientific journals, consult for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, or become administrative leaders in academic and faculty affairs.

“We have top notch postdocs here at HMS who are more than qualified for a variety of positions in academia, industry and the public sector,” said Gould. “This office is here to support them in whatever they decide to do.”

For more information about the OPF, please visit postdoc.hms.harvard.edu. Postdoctoral fellows may contact Jim Gould at postdoc_office@hms.harvard.edu.