Creating community: How we collectively built an adaptable postdoctoral program to develop skills and overcome isolation

Fork, Megan L.; Anderson, Elsa K.; Castellanos, Adrian A.; Fischhoff, Ilya R.; Matsler, A. Marissa; Nieman, Chelsey L.; Olesky, Isabella; Wong, Michelle

doi:10.22541/au.160519333.36036478/v1

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Sense of belonging has been shown to be related to persistence in science, especially for underrepresented groups (Good et al, 2012; Luft et al, 2004; Yen et al, 2017). The postdoctoral experience can be especially isolating, but institutions can combat this by establishing or supporting Offices of Postdoctoral Affairs and postdoctoral associations (Åkerlind, 2005; Fork et al, 2020; Graham et al, 2018; Nowell et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Retrospective Analysis of Career Outcomes in Neuroscience

Ullrich,

Ogawa,

Jones-London

2024

Preprint

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What factors are associated with different career outcomes among biomedical PhDs? Much of the research to-date has focused on drivers of interest in (and intention to pursue) various careers, especially during graduate school, but fewer studies have investigated the ultimate career outcomes of participants. Even less is known about what factors matter most for groups historically underrepresented in the US STEM workforce, such as for women, some racial and ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), 2021a). This study reports a new analysis of data from 781 PhD neuroscientists that were obtained from a retrospective survey (reported in Ullrich et al. (2021)) to investigate the factors that influence the career sector in which neuroscience PhDs are employed, and whether there were group differences according to social identity. We find evidence of academia as a "default path" for incoming PhD students, but interest in different careers changes gradually over time. Those who remained in academia had greater acceptance of the structural aspects of academic careers, such as the promotion and tenure process, and greater faculty support during their postdoctoral training. Conversely, prioritizing monetary compensation and wanting varied work were associated with not being in academia, while a strong interest in research was positively associated with being in non-academic research. Somewhat surprisingly, there were few interactions with gender, and no interactions with underrepresentation status. Our findings also underscore the role of advisors, networking, and personal relationships in securing employment in STEM.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Retrospective Analysis of Career Outcomes in Neuroscience

Ullrich,

Ogawa,

Jones-London

2024

Preprint

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“…Sense of belonging has been shown to be related to persistence in science, especially for UR groups ( Luft et al, 2004 ; Good et al, 2012 ; Yen et al, 2017 ). The postdoctoral experience can be especially isolating, but institutions can combat this by establishing or supporting offices of postdoctoral affairs and postdoctoral associations ( Åkerlind, 2005 ; Graham et al, 2018 ; Nowell et al, 2018 ; Fork et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Retrospective Analysis of Career Outcomes in Neuroscience

Ullrich,

Ogawa,

Jones-London

2024

eNeuro

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What factors are associated with career outcomes among biomedical PhDs? Much of the research to-date has focused on drivers of interest in (and intention to pursue) various careers, especially during graduate school, but fewer studies have investigated participants’ ultimate career outcomes. Even less is known about what factors matter most for groups historically underrepresented in the US STEM workforce, such as women, some racial and ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), 2021a). This study reports a new analysis of data from 781 PhD neuroscientists that were obtained from a retrospective survey (Ullrich et al. (2021)) to investigate the factors that influence the career sector in which neuroscience PhDs are employed, and whether there were group differences according to social identity. We find evidence of academia as a “default path” for incoming PhD students, but interest in different careers increases gradually over time. Those who remained in academia had greater acceptance of the structural aspects of academic careers, such as the promotion and tenure process, and greater faculty support during their postdoctoral training. Conversely, prioritizing monetary compensation and wanting varied work were associated with not being in academia, while a strong interest in research was positively associated with being in non-academic research. Somewhat surprisingly, there were few interactions with gender, and no interactions with underrepresentation status, although perhaps this was due to lack of statistical power. Our findings also underscore the role of advisors, networking, and personal relationships in securing employment in STEM.Significance StatementA new analysis of a retrospective survey from 781 PhD neuroscientists who have completed their training reveals factors associated with differences between respondents who are working in different sectors, including preferences about careers and experiences in graduate and postdoctoral training. We find evidence of academia as a “default path” for incoming PhD students, but interest in different careers changes gradually over time. Our findings also underscore the role of advisors, networking, and personal relationships in securing employment in STEM. To create a more inclusive and diverse academic environment, it's essential to address financial disparities, provide tailored support, foster mentorship relationships, and actively work to create inclusive academic cultures that embrace a variety of career paths for neuroscientists.

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“…Poor research networks (e.g., due to relocation, institutional structures; Pannell et al, 2019;Fork et al, 2020) • Bolster research networks through collaborative program structure and mentorship (Fork et al, 2020) • Create ECR-focused spaces (e.g., regular ECR events, online communities, databases of ECR research, connect ECRs with complementary projects, funding for ECRs to attend encounters*; Pannell et al, 2019;Fork et al, 2020) Short duration of ECR positions, research time constraints (Bridle et al, 2013;Kelly et al, 2019;Pannell et al, 2019;Brasier et al, 2020;Fork et al, 2020) • Longer-term contracts, career development, and workshops on how to attract funding with salary support (Brasier et al, 2020) • Access to established interdisciplinary networks (Brasier et al, 2020) Ineffective support: supervisory or institutional (Killion et al, 2018;Kelly et al, 2019;Andrews et al, 2020;Blythe and Cvitanovic, 2020;Fork et al, 2020) • Active support within integrative research communities (e.g., formalize mentorship, provide training, interdisciplinary courses, organize encounters*, network building, provide seed funding, and follow-up activities; Lyall and Meagher, 2012;Bridle, 2018;Jaeger-Erben et al, 2018;Gibson et al, 2019;Pannell et al, 2019;Andrews et al, 2020) • Establish good channels of communication (e.g., provide early feedback on nascent ideas, alert to imminent funding opportunities, dialog-led management; Gibson et al, 2019) • Promote junior research group leaders, give the rank of junior professor (increases credibility with partners; Jaeger- Erben et al, 2018;Gibson et al, 2019) Stress due to career uncertainty, including short-term employment contract (Bridle et al, 2013;Hein et al, 2018;Gibson et al, 2019;Andrews e...…”

Section: Barriers To Ecr Interdisciplinaritymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ECRs are typically expected to move during their academic career in order to expand their research and network horizon, i.e., take temporary positions (Bridle et al, 2013;Brasier et al, 2020;Fork et al, 2020). This funding and employment system appears to be driven by several assumptions, in particular the ECRs' ability to relocate, i.e., the traditional view of ECRs as young, able, single, or with a stay-at-home spouse who is willing and able to relocate, and not as parents or carers for vulnerable relatives, or unable to relocate for other reasons (Jaeger-Erben et al, 2018;Andrews et al, 2020;Brasier et al, 2020).…”

Section: Systemic Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal Research Seen Through an Early Career Lens—A Perspective on Barriers to Interdisciplinarity in Norway

et al. 2021

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The value of interdisciplinarity for solving complex coastal problems is widely recognized. Many early career researchers (ECRs) therefore actively seek this type of collaboration through choice or necessity, for professional development or project funding. However, establishing and conducting interdisciplinary research collaborations as an ECR has many challenges. Here, we identify these challenges through the lens of ECRs working in different disciplines on a common ecosystem, the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. The most densely populated coastline in Norway, the Skagerrak coast, is experiencing a multitude of anthropogenic stressors including fishing, aquaculture, eutrophication, climate change, land runoff, development, and invasive species. The Skagerrak coastline has also been the focus of environmental science research for decades, much of which aims to inform management of these stressors. The region provides a fantastic opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration, both within and beyond the environmental sciences. This perspective article identifies the barriers ECRs in Norway face in establishing interdisciplinary and collaborative research to inform management of coastal ecosystems, along with their root causes. We believe our discussion will be of broad interest to all research institutions who employ or educate ECRs (in Norway and worldwide), and to those who develop funding mechanisms for ECRs and interdisciplinary research.

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Creating community: How we collectively built an adaptable postdoctoral program to develop skills and overcome isolation

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

A Retrospective Analysis of Career Outcomes in Neuroscience

A Retrospective Analysis of Career Outcomes in Neuroscience

A Retrospective Analysis of Career Outcomes in Neuroscience

Coastal Research Seen Through an Early Career Lens—A Perspective on Barriers to Interdisciplinarity in Norway

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