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Issue 6 |
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What's New?
Dr. Canizares met with the Postdoc Advisory Council at our October meeting, and we came away from that meeting very excited about his willingness to strategize about and postdoc issues. We are taking this opportunity to feature a brief interview with him, as follows. Question 1: CRC: I'm committed to trying to align postdoctoral fellow benefits with those of a postdoctoral associate as much as possible. Of course, there are some benefits that we cannot by law provide, but we should explore if there are other ways to achieve the same purpose. It's a tough issue, because everything comes with a cost, and in these times of budgetary constraints, it is not always possible to fund all the competing priorities. I've been working with our HR folks on this and will report back to the Council in the near future. Question 2: CRC: I'd be interested in hearing what the Council has to say about the overall "quality of life" for Postdocs. I'm thinking now of "professional life," more than personal issues, but I'm open to all suggestions. Are there some specific activities, for example, that would help improve the amount and nature of your interaction with faculty members outside of your own research groups or even outside your disciplines? Are there career issues that you'd like to see discussed more openly? I think it would be a good idea, for example, if the Council could promote some events with broader faculty involvement - I know the faculty are overcommitted and have a lot of demands on their time, but I think the postdoctoral community could benefit by getting to know more faculty outside their disciplines. Question 3: CRC: I do have postdocs in my group, and my only regret is that I can't spend nearly as much time with them as I'd like. They do work closely with other senior researchers in the group and are actively involved in everything we do. My philosophy is to try as much as possible to give them free reign so they can take maximum advantage of this special point in their career when they can focus totally on their research. I also always try to convey the message that having a full and satisfying life both on and off the job is very important. We all work very hard, and they should too. But, they should also take advantage of other things that MIT and this great community have to offer. PAC: We look forward to working with you, and thank you for the commitment you have already made to improving conditions for postdocs.
Pathways to Independence According to the NIH website, “new investigators are the innovators of the future – they bring fresh ideas and technologies to existing biomedical research problems, and they pioneer new areas of investigation. Entry of new investigators into the ranks of independent, NIH-funded researchers is essential to the health of this country’s biomedical research enterprise. NIH’s interest in the training and research funding of new investigators is understandably deep and longstanding.” One of the new programs being piloted this year to support this mission are the Pathway to Independence Awards, which offer an opportunity for promising postdocs to receive both mentored and independent research support from the same award. The five year award covers expenses related to two years of the postdoc (mentored) phase, followed by three years support for start up as an assistant professor. A challenge for postdocs at MIT who are applying for the K-99, the mentored phase of the Pathway to Independence Award, has been the significant under-recovery costs, due to MIT’s Facilities and Administration (F&A) charge of 65% (with NIH only bearing 8% of F&A costs). The Postdoc Advisory Council noticed this problem early on, and expressed concern to the senior administration that MIT postdocs may be facing a competitive disadvantage over postdocs at other institutions. New Vice President for Research, Claude Canizares, has responded to these concerns, and with the help of the Provost, has allocated a modest pool of funding from the Institute for underrecovery on the K-99 awards. Because the School of Science, School of Engineering and the Vice President for Research are the three areas most likely to have candidates for these awards, these areas are running competitions for the use of these funds, in advance of the upcoming NIH deadline of February 12th. Check with your departmental or lab/center administrator for details on the process. The Council hopes that once the initial interest is gauged, more funding can be made available, such that MIT postdocs can continue to compete for these prestigious awards.
IAP 2007 Activities MIT IAP: ♦ THIRD ANNUAL Postdoc Bootcamp FEATURED PANELISTS: Are you wondering what it means to be a postdoc at MIT? Where do postdocs fit into the whole scheme of things here? What benefits are you eligible for? What is your status and how does that impact your time here? These questions and more will be addressed by a panel of speakers focusing entirely on issues for postdocs. If you've just come to MIT, be sure to come and get the facts. If you've been here a while, come by anyway, you'll probably learn something new. In addition, there are many other IAP offerings related to careers in industry and academia of interest to MIT Postdocs. This is a great time to explore MIT culture! IAP Offerings by the Department of Biology and the MIT Careers Office (open to all). Here is a random sampling of two: ♦ BioTech/Pharma Careers Join us for short talks and a Q&A session with scientists who have made the jump into industry. What is it like? What's the best place for you? Startups, medium biotech, or big pharma? Come meet scientists from all sectors. Featured Panelists: ♦ The Art of Negotiation – Workshop for Women This workshop is being organized by the attendees of Path of Professorship (Fall 2006). Postdoctoral women are welcome to attend, though space is limited. Express interest & RSVP by emailing: blanca@mit.edu ♦ Legendary Charm School 2007
Pub Night PUB NIGHT continues at the Muddy – usually the first Thursday of each month, but the schedule does vary! All pub nights are announced on the listserv. We’ll start the new year off on Thursday, January 11th at the Muddy with QUIZNO’S!
Check it out... Provides frequent opportunities for all MIT skiers and boarders to get up to the snow. Once the mountains are covered in snow,
we run bus trips every Sunday until the snow
melts. These bus trips provide you with an
affordable method of getting to the snow.
Typically, we can offer you a package
that includes lift ticket and bus
Our Members Daniel Abrams (EAPS), Jacob Berlin (Chemistry), Yu Chen (Research Lab for Electronics), Peter Chien (Biology), Sheryl Krevsky Elkin (Center for Cancer Research), Kathryn Jones (Biology) , Elizabeth Mann (Math), Rong Mao (Picower Center for Learning and Memory), Brenda Minesinger (Biology), Michael Moore (Chemical Engineering), Timothy Stoneman (STS), Peter Tarsa (Biological Engineering), Wilton Virgo (Chemistry), Yongting Wang (Biology). We try to represent postdocs across all disciplines of MIT, as space permits. If you are interested in joining the Council, please contact us at the email address at left.
The Postdocs@MIT Newsletter is published by the |
Since our last newsletter, former Vice President for Research, Alice Gast, left MIT to take on the
Presidency of Lehigh University. In June 2006,
Claude R. Canizares, who had been an Associate
Provost, was appointed as the new Vice President
for Research and Associate Provost. Dr.
Canizares received his Ph.D. in Physics from
Harvard University in 1971, and started working at
MIT as a postdoc working for Prof. George W.
Clark (Physics).