Bringing focus to an uncertain status

Science Article
August 1, 2002

Student/Postdoc Advisory Committee provides support with mentoring, orientation, scholarships and childcare

Members of the Student/Postdoc Advisory Committee include (from left) Dr. Karen Spratt, chair; Kim Robien, co-vice chair for student affairs; Megan Fluegel, co-vice chair for student affairs; Dr. Karen Peterson, adviser; Jackie Starr, co-vice chair for student affairs; Dr. Julie Randolph-Habecker, co-vice chair for postdoc affairs; Dr. Marie Vodicka, co-vice chair for postdoc affairs, and Dr. Guy Hamilton, co-vice chair for postdoc affairs. Photo by Tom Paulson

By KAREN SPRATT

Grants. Funding sources. Publications. Anyone working in academic science knows the success of research relies heavily on these three subjects.

Most biological science labs, including those at the center, consist of a principal investigator, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and technicians. But who actually does much of the experimental bench research that is proposed in the grants, submitted to the funding source and receives first-author credit on the publication?

A survey of research articles in two issues of Science magazine shows that 43 percent of the first authors were postdoctoral fellows.

"Postdoctoral fellows have become indispensable to the science and engineering research environment, performing a substantial portion of the nation's research," said the National Academy of Sciences in its guide, Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers.

"In many labs, postdocs also educate, train, and supervise junior members, help write grant proposals and papers, and present the laboratory's research results at professional society meetings."

As a follow-up to its study of education and training of graduate students in the sciences, the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy - an organization of the of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine - took a close look at the experiences of postdoctoral fellows.

The committee found that many postdocs highly value their experiences and the opportunity to engage in rewarding research without competing responsibilities. But many also are dissatisfied with the conditions of their positions.

No clear responsibility

In many research institutions, postdocs' status is uncertain. Not faculty, staff or students, they often find no clear administrative responsibility to assure fair compensation, benefits or job security.

Many postdocs receive no clear statement of the terms of their appointment and have no place to go to determine appropriate expectations or redress grievances. Often the sole person to whom they can turn is the principal investigator who hired them and upon whom they depend not only for support in their current position, but also for help in advancing their career.

But postdocs at the center have another source to which they can turn for support.

The Student/Postdoc Advisory Committee (SPAC) is composed of board members elected among graduate students and postdocs at the center. Recognized within the center as a representation of the students and postdocs, SPAC devotes monthly meetings to address the needs of students and postdoctoral and medical fellows in career development, mentoring, communication and family life, to enhance their education during their time spent at the center.

Since its beginning in 1999, SPAC has implemented policies and programs in career development, mentoring, orientation, scholarships, and childcare assistance. SPAC stands as a national leader among a growing list of postdoctoral associations and offices that address the inconsistencies of the postdoctoral experience.

At the recent national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Nextwave-sponsored Postdoc Network, SPAC received plaudits for its Web-based Survival Guide.

"It was singled out by other institutions as an excellent example of how such resources can be put together," said Dr. Karen Peterson, administrative adviser to SPAC and the center's interdisciplinary scientific liaison.

Affording quality childcare

The center also is a national leader in addressing the challenge of affording quality childcare on a postdoctoral salary. As the age of postdocs has increased (the average Ph.D. graduate in the life sciences is 32 years old), the number of postdocs with children also has risen. Also, many postdocs remain in their positions for longer periods of time, pushing the average age of a postdoc even higher. Therefore, if postdocs want to have a family, the prime fertility years are during the postdoc tenure.

In the fall of 2000, SPAC developed the Postdoc Childcare Subsidy Program that eases the financial burden of childcare for qualifying postdocs.

"The center has been concerned for some time that the postdoctoral experience is stressful for individuals with families," said Peggy Means, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

"We were impressed with the initiative shown by SPAC to form a plan that improves the quality of life for many of our postdocs without creating an unmanageable financial burden for the center.

"Many people opt out of academic research careers because it compromises their time with their families. All of us share the responsibility to create and maintain a culture that permits researchers to have families and careers. If we fail, academic science will not be able to compete effectively with industry for the best people."

Word of the Postdoc Childcare Subsidy Program has spread nationwide as a result of a presentation by SPAC at the Postdoc Network meeting last year and through the center's Web site.

As a result, other research institutions are designing their own childcare subsidy programs as part of an incentive to recruiting top postdoctoral fellows and to compete with the center.

[Dr. Karen Spratt is chair of the Student/Postdoc Advisory Committee.]

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