Life after the PhD: Finding the Right Postdoctoral Position Sponsored by Boston University AGEP in conjunction with the Graduate Student Organization Panelist Profiles Chantal Stern Dr. Stern is a professor from the psychology department. She is also the director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging lab. She understands how to best transition from graduate student into the postdoc role, and later into the faculty position. Tyrone Porter Dr. Tyrone Porter is a member of the faculty of the mechanical and biomedical engineering departments at Boston University. Dr. Porter made the successful transition from postdoc to faculty ~4 years ago, so he is aware of what it takes to be successful at both finding and being a postdoc. Robert Ross Dr. Ross is a postdoc in Dr. Stern’s lab. This is his second postdoc. He can give us a fresh perspective on finding a postdoc and the postdoc experience. Wynter Duncanson Dr. Duncanson recently graduated from the department of biomedical engineering at BU. She is now a postdoc in the Weitz lab at Harvard. She was new to the search for a postdoc and can provide some perspective for first‐timers. She can also provide some insight into the benefits and drawbacks of being part of a large lab. Discussion Contributors Tom Gilmore Dr. Gilmore is a professor in the biology department at BU. He will be participating in the question/answer portion of the discussion. Michael Garbati Dr. Garbati recently received his doctoral degree in biology and is currently searching for a postdoctoral position. He will also be participating in the question/answer portion of the discussion. Panel Background: Each panelist discussed their background Chantal Stern Dr. Stern spoke of her postdoc history (before she landed a faculty position) reviewing her three postdocs in neurobiology, imaging work in a physics lab, and radiology/neurology. She believes a postdoctoral position (1) segues into a faculty position, (2) is a means to change fields/directions in one's research, and (3) is a way to add to one's training. When interviewing postdoctoral candidates, she looks for the following:  Are they a good fit for the lab?  How much theoretical or practical experience do they have?  Are they motivated?  Have they completely finished their doctoral work? 1 Tyrone Porter Dr. Porter had a couple of postdoc positions before his faculty position. After completing his graduate work at the University of Washington, he moved to the University of Cincinnati. He actually received a postdoctoral fellowship before beginning his postdoc at the University of Cincinnati (he applied for the fellowship with his potential postdoc sponsor). Dr. Porter spoke about his fellowship in Cincinnati, which was funded through an institution specifically devoted to his field (acoustics). In terms of finding postdoc positions, he got to know his eventual postdoc sponsor through attending many conferences. Since he was a “free” graduate student (he had fellowships throughout most of his doctoral degree, and barely leaned on grant funding), he was able to attend a lot of conferences/meetings. Dr. Porter stated that he did not go to a conference where he didn’t present. He stressed the importance of networking and presenting. He was fortunate that his advisor was a very good networker, and also president of a society. His advisor encouraged him to shadow him at many of these conferences, allowing Dr. Porter to meet a lot of people in the field. Dr. Porter shared that he had some uncertainty about an academic position/postdoc. However, his advisor said his experience as a postdoc had been the most enjoyable time during his research career; with no other real obligations (teaching, training students not mandatory), you have the opportunity to focus on your research. His advisor stated that as a postdoc you are often without the demands of teaching, training, or seeking funding. You can take the time to focus on your research and take on any personal developments (in teaching, training, or seeking funding) as you see fit. Dr. Robert Ross Dr. Ross is currently in his second postdoc position. He discussed his first postdoctoral position with a junior faculty member. Working with a junior faculty member has its advantages (working closely side by side with the PI) and disadvantages (thin funding for research and less likely to receive grants with a junior PI listed on the grant). Dr. Ross gave a grant‐writing tip: do not put a junior faculty member as the primary sponsor; the grant will not be funded (most junior faculty have no track record of mentorship). He also advised against writing a NRSA grant while also writing dissertation. He stressed that it should be your aim as a postdoc to publish a first‐author paper. In psychology ‘10’ is the magic number of publications universities look for when hiring, in engineering 3 or 4. It is not necessary for all the papers to be first author. Dr. Ross felt that being a postdoc is harder than being a doctoral student; you are expected to know everything and also spend a lot of time helping other graduate students with their work. He stressed the importance of making time for one's own research, despite the increase in additional responsibilities that could eat up one's time. Dr. Ross reiterated the importance of networking and making connections at conferences. To find the right postdoctoral position you should make contact with a lot of people in your field. A lot of postdoc positions are found via meetings/conferences. Dr. Wynter Duncanson Dr. Duncanson spoke about how she found her postdoc position. She had the “single body advantage” (no spouse to coordinate moving/finding jobs). Towards the end of her degree she was told of a postdoc position, through a committee member who had connections with a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. However, the Weitz lab was suggested to her by a friend (who was also at that lab). She met with the PI, discussed some possible work, and was hired. Dr. Porter interjected that if a lab can afford 20 postdocs, you can hire a new postdoc whenever you want. This lab has a lot of money sitting around; this situation is rare. The PI of this Harvard lab is well established and very successful with funding. The position has given her a lot of experience presenting to large groups of people. She Dr. Duncanson discussed her typical day; “A typical day? There is no typical day.” She stated many days start with big plans; however, often big plans get pushed back by more urgent matters. Because she is the lead postdoc on the project, she ends up having to do a lot of administrative work (i.e. related to funding). She seconded Dr. Ross's comment about making time for one's research. Dr. Stern added that it is important to distinguish the important work from the urgent work. 2 Q/A Session How important is it to have a first­author publication when seeking a postdoc? Stern: Critical. In psychology it’s critically important. It’s a way of demonstrating that your thesis work made an original and new contribution to the field. Make sure to finish writing up you thesis work before you leave. Ross: Seconded. At least have it in the works. Duncanson: Made the mistake of not doing this, and she was at BU every Friday trying to finish writing up her doctoral work. “Not fun.” Porter: He received a postdoc without one, but said this was likely due to the strength of his networking. If your advisor is big in the field, you are more able to get a postdoc position without a first author publication. He also reiterated that you should try to write up your graduate work before you leave. In summary, it may be possible to get a postdoc without a first author publication; however, having this publication is still critically important. What is the postdoc salary? Stern: The NIH sets a minimum (the NSF scale is different) based one experience. This may also come down to your supervisor, who may be able to add to this minimum. BU has different scales based on department (i.e. engineering vs. psychology) and campus (Charles River vs. Medical Campus). Porter: It is very common in Boston for institutions to not add to that minimum. Gilmore: The starting salary usually ranges between $35,000 ‐ $45,000. Stern: It is important to find out if the institution includes benefits in that salary. What is the connection between being a postdoc and being a research assistant professor? Stern: The availability of this “transition” depends on the institution. At Harvard they transition you (after 2 yrs) from postdoc to instructor. This is basically a “fishing license”, a license to fish for funding. This isn’t a tenure track position, and there’s no guarantee for the institution to fund you. This is typically found on medical campuses. At BU, CAS transitions to RA professor, but may make you teach eventually. What fraction of getting a postdoc position is by application versus connections? Is it about job postings or who you know? Duncanson: Who you know. She found her position through affiliations. Stern: Seconded. Nearly all are found through connections, although that can be as simple as knowing what this person has done/presented in the past rather than a face‐to‐face encounter. She was deliberate about making contact with the people she wanted to work with. How should you go about applying for NSF funding towards the end of doctoral work? The application requires you to know where you are going; what if you are unsure about where you will be going to, or exactly what research you will be doing (especially if being hired depends on you getting this funding)? Is "we'd love to have you if you can bring your own funding" a polite way of saying "No?" Ross: No, it's exactly what it says. They want you to have funding first. You do need to make sure you know exactly where your work is going, and you are specific about it, or it will be very difficult to get funding. It can be difficult to apply for funding when you are unsure of your future lab. Are postdoc grant reviewers looking at the past (what you've accomplished) or the future (where you're headed)? Ross: The NRSA looks closely at where you're headed. The NRSA is supposed to focus on training, but they do look at your research plan and they scrutinize your mentor. 3 Stern: They do look at accomplishments, but they also want an idea of how you'll be trained and how you'll respond to training. They want to know what you’ve done, and if they pay for you to be trained you will be a phenomenal, be an important part of the U.S. scientific endeavor. Garbati: He has been told “we will give you funding for a year, but then you should find your own.” It can be really tough balancing a search for funding and a postdoctoral position. Porter: Seems like engineering is less tenuous; you do not necessarily need to have your own funding to be accepted into a lab. Garbati: During the interview process, make sure you do a phone interview before you actually fly in for an interview. You begin to see if you are a good match and you also establish rapport. How much can you switch between subject areas during postdocs? Ross: During his graduate work he studied memory, for his postdoc decided to go into greater depth in memory. So stayed in pretty much same field. Really about finding the correct niche‐not switching fields entirely, but finding the place where your skills fit the needs of the lab. Duncanson: It’s about “selling yourself: know your 'inventory' and your 'consumer' and convince the consumer that you have what he needs." Stern: She was able to switch into radiology because the neuroimaging field was so new at that point. She was the first neuroscience postdoc in the radiology department. Some said it was a gamble to get into something without a career path, and it was risky, but it paid off. Porter: Take the gamble! That’s how you make an impact. Take the gamble. How many letters of recommendations do you need when applying for postdocs? Gilmore: You need 3. Porter: Good to have 1 from major advisor, 1 from committee member. It would be outstanding if your third letter was from someone in your field who knows your graduate work (this looks good). Stern: Much better if the letter is from a faculty member (not a postdoc). At this point, we had to close the meeting, but the conversations continued! Take Home Message “There are about as many ways to get and types of post­
docs as there are grad students and PIs. Still the best thing a PhD student can do career­wise is to get some publications, they are sort of the currency that we deal in as scientists. “ ­ Tom Gilmore The goal of AGEP is to increase the number of students receiving doctoral degrees and entering academia in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, particularly students of those population groups underrepresented in the STEM fields. http://www.bu.edu/agep 4