Academic ecosystems must evolve to support a sustainable postdoc workforce

Postdoctoral T32 training is correlated with obtaining an academic primarily research faculty position

The mission of NIH-sponsored institutional training programs such as the T32 is to provide strong research and career training for early career scientists. One of the main avenues to pursuing health-related research is becoming research faculty at an academic institution. It is therefore important to know whether these programs are succeeding in this mission, or, if barriers exist that prevent trainees from pursuing these careers. Our institution currently trains ~ 2400 post-doctoral scholars per year, approximately 5% of whom are enrolled in one of our 33 T32 programs. In this study, we 1) compare the proximal professional career trajectories of T32 trainees with non-T32 trainees at our institution, 2) compare proximal career trajectories of trainees in a subset of cardiovascular T32 programs based on their previous training backgrounds, and 3) survey past and current T32 trainees in a subset of cardiovascular T32 programs about the barriers and enablers they experienced to pursuing research-oriented careers. We find that former T32 trainees are significantly more likely to attain appointments as primarily research faculty members, compared to other trainees. Trainees report a perceived lack of stability, the paucity of open positions, and the 'publish or perish' mentality of academia as the top barriers to pursuing careers in academia. However, they were still more likely to choose research over clinical careers after participating in a dedicated T32 program. Our results support the conclusion that structured training programs strengthen the pipeline of young scientists pursuing careers in academic research, including those from underrepresented backgrounds. However, T32 postdoctoral researchers are held back from pursuing academic careers by a perceived lack of stability and high competition for faculty positions.

Postdoctoral scientists are mentors, and it is time to recognize their work

Academia often fails to recognize the important work that supports its functioning, such as mentoring and teaching performed by postdoctoral researchers. This is a particular problem for early-career researchers, but opportunities exist to improve the status quo.

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot programme

To attain a faculty position, postdoctoral fellows submit job applications that require considerable time and effort to produce. Although mentors and colleagues review these applications, postdocs rarely receive iterative feedback from reviewers with the breadth of expertise typically found on an academic search committee. To address this gap, we describe an international peer-reviewing programme for postdocs across disciplines to receive reciprocal, iterative feedback on faculty applications. A participant survey revealed that nearly all participants would recommend the programme to others. Furthermore, our programme was more likely to attract postdocs who struggled to find mentoring, possibly because of their identity as a woman or member of an underrepresented population in STEM or because they changed fields. Between 2018 and 2021, our programme provided nearly 150 early career academics with a diverse and supportive community of peer mentors during the difficult search for a faculty position and continues to do so today. As the transition from postdoc to faculty represents the largest 'leak' in the academic pipeline, implementation of similar programmes by universities or professional societies would provide psycho-social support necessary to prevent attrition of individuals from underrepresented populations as well as increase the chances of success for early career academics in their search for independence.

Qualitative evaluation of postdoctoral trainee and faculty advisor experiences within a research-intensive school of pharmacy

BACKGROUND

Postdoctoral trainees play a vital role in securing grant funding, building alliances, and mentoring graduate students under the guidance of a mentor who can help develop their intellectual independence. However, the experiences of postdoctoral trainees, particularly within health professions schools, is largely unexplored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of postdoctoral trainees and faculty advisors at a public four-year school of pharmacy and identify areas of opportunity to improve postdoctoral training.

METHODS

Focus groups and interviews were conducted to elicit participants' experiences, perceptions, and suggestions for improvement. Stakeholder groups included postdoctoral trainees and faculty who serve as postdoctoral advisors. Thematic coding was used to identify semantic themes, and summaries of participant perceptions were generated. Results were mapped to the identity-trajectory framework.

RESULTS

Participants described various experiences related to intellectual growth, networking opportunities, and institutional support. In addition, participant agency was critical for developing career goals and navigating transitions. COVID-19 introduced unique challenges associated with transitioning to remote work and managing goals/motivation. Areas of opportunity were identified, such as improving infrastructure, enhancing mentoring, and enhancing communication.

CONCLUSION

Postdoctoral trainees play a critical role in the success of academic institutions. Scholarly endeavors that explore postdoctoral experiences, specifically those utilizing qualitative methods, can help pharmacy education better understand and meet the needs of postdoctoral trainees and faculty advisors. This study provides insight into the experiences of postdoctoral scholars and provides evidence for improving these training programs in schools of pharmacy.

Aesthetic experiences and flourishing in science: A four-country study

In response to the mental health crisis in science, and amid concerns about the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientists, this study seeks to identify the role of a heretofore under-researched factor for flourishing and eudaimonia: aesthetic experiences in scientific work. The main research question that this study addresses is: To what extent is the frequency of encountering aesthetics in terms of beauty, awe, and wonder in scientific work associated with greater well-being among scientists? Based on a large-scale (N = 3,061) and representative international survey of scientists (biologists and physicists) in four countries (India, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States), this study employs sets of nested regressions to model the associations of aesthetic experiences with flourishing while controlling for demographic factors and negative workplace and life circumstances such as burnout, job/publication pressure, mistreatment, COVID-19 impacts, other stressful life events, serious psychological distress, and chronic health conditions. The results show that the frequency of aesthetic experiences in scientific work in the disciplines of biology and physics has a very large and statistically significant association with flourishing and eudaimonia that remains robust even when controlling for demographic factors and negative workplace and life circumstances, including COVID-19 impacts. Aesthetic experiences in scientific work are even as strongly associated with flourishing as the presence of serious psychological distress and are most strongly associated with the flourishing domain of meaning in life, thus pointing to a link with eudaimonic well-being. In line with neurophysiological evidence and positive psychological models of flow, self-transcendence, and intrinsic motivation, aesthetics are a key source of flourishing for scientists in the disciplines of biology and physics. While future research needs to test the causal mechanism, the strength of the findings could encourage leaders of scientific labs and research organizations generally to remove obstacles to experiencing the aesthetic dimensions of science. Fostering cultures in which the aesthetic experiences that are intrinsic to scientific practice are fully appreciated might potentially protect or boost flourishing by reducing the impacts of burnout, job/publication pressure, and mistreatment-related experiences in science.

Surveying the experience of postdocs in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

In the interest of advocating for the postdoctoral community in the United States (US), we compared the results of surveys of postdocs carried out in 2019 and in late 2020. We found that respondents’ mental health and wellness were significantly impacted by the pandemic irrespective of their gender, race, citizenship, or other identities. Career trajectories and progression were also affected, as respondents reported being less confident about achieving career goals, and having more negative perceptions of the job market compared to before the pandemic. Postdocs working in the US on temporary visas reported experiencing increased stress levels due to changes in immigration policy. Access to institutional Postdoctoral Offices or Associations positively impacted well-being and helped mitigate some of the personal and professional stresses caused by the pandemic.

The Invisible University Is COVID-19 Positive

Within the ivory tower of academia, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic stands to disproportionately impact the invisible workforce of postdoctoral researchers (postdocs). Faced with university closures, hiring freezes, and a general lack of support and benefits, an entire generation of postdocs and their knowledge and skills may be lost to academia without intervention.