Since 1973, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annually selects doctorate holders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines at different career stages for their Science and Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF). These fellowships span all branches of the U.S. federal government and provide countless opportunities to learn about and engage in federal policymaking processes. Joyonna Gamble-George, Ph.D., who pursued neuroscience pre-doctoral training at Vanderbilt University, had future hopes of working as an independent academic scientist and developing new drug therapies to treat people suffering from anxiety and depression. But, before embarking on her journey to pursue a career in academic medicine and research, she felt the need to do more with her brain science doctorate. So, she began her AAAS STPF fellowship, a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a public health emergency. For Gamble-George, the AAAS STPF in the executive branch at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest biomedical research agency in the world, would be a life-changing experience.

Transferable Skills are a Scientist’s Treasure

During graduate training, postdoctoral scholars develop the ability to quickly understand new subject matters and organize and communicate complex information to a wide range of audiences. Gamble-George utilized these skills as a project scientist in the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS) within the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). She led the federal scientific efforts for a research project-cooperative agreement (U01), called the ImPlementation REsearCh to DEvelop interventions for People Living with HIV (PRECluDE) consortium. The consortium extends over 12 U.S. geographical areas at more than 30 healthcare organizations and comprises five multidisciplinary research teams. It uses strategies to address barriers to the scale-up and application of guideline-based interventions in community and clinical settings to prevent, treat, and control cardiopulmonary and mental health comorbid diseases and disorders among people living with HIV (PLWHIV). The existing HIV care continuum does not include guideline-based care for these comorbid diseases and disorders prevalent among PLWHIV. The consortium aims to address this public health problem.

Other skill sets postdoctoral scholars have in their arsenal from their doctoral academic experiences include collaborating on research projects, facilitating group discussions, conducting meetings, and navigating complex hierarchical environments.

Gamble-George is also involved in the trans-NHLBI HIV/AIDS Program Team. The NHLBI HIV/AIDS Program coordinates and leads all HIV-related research, training, and education programs on heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. Through this program, she used her writing skills to review administrative supplement applications related to HIV/AIDS research priorities. These skills, along with interpersonal and leadership skills, became instrumental when Gamble-George was selected to chair an objective review committee similar to an NIH study section for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Minority Health. She led grant review panelists in evaluating the technical aspects of grant proposals detailing a three-year-long $40 million initiative – the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities (NIMIC). The NIMIC will create a nationwide network of community-based organizations to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in racial and ethnic minority, rural, and socially vulnerable communities.

Other skill sets postdoctoral scholars have in their arsenal from their doctoral academic experiences include collaborating on research projects, facilitating group discussions, conducting meetings, and navigating complex hierarchical environments. Gamble-George applied these skills when she served on two trans-NIH Special Populations Research Forum (SPRF) working groups to develop recommendations that address disparities in morbidity and mortality among underserved and COVID-19 vulnerable populations. Her work led to serving on the SPRF Clinical Research Recommendations Committee to facilitate a systematic review on evidence-based strategies that increase the inclusion of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical research. She even collaborated with other working group members, such as those in the NHLBI Women’s Health Working Group (WHWG) and the NHLBI All of Us Research Program, to author several publications, including their graphic illustrations. These publications included a commentary on racial inequities in heart failure care, a review on hypertensive disorders, the leading cause of maternal mortality and stillbirths in the United States, in pregnancy, and a paper on HIV-related stigma included in AIDS and Behavior.

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone is Worthwhile

Gamble-George was trained to be a cellular and molecular neuroscientist. She has studied the intricacies of how emotions, memory, and decision-making processes work in the brain to develop treatments and improve our understanding of various diseases and disorders. Yet, as an AAAS STPF, she has learned that being put in positions outside of her comfort zone or knowledge expertise can allow her to make a real difference in society.

Gamble-George experienced many firsts as an AAAS STPF. For one, she led a competition, the NHLBI Hope for Sickle Cell Disease Challenge, to inspire the next generation of STEM pioneers and increase awareness about sickle cell disease (SCD). The Challenge stimulated students to use STEAM (A refers to the arts) to create digital health education tools that solve a major public health problem-myths about SCD in public, using evidence-based information about SCD. In addition, her knowledge across medical, technology, and education domains allowed CTRIS to expand the Challenge for outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving institutions (HSIs) and to students that majored in the humanities and social sciences.

Secondly, she experienced the administrative side of the U.S. research enterprise. Gamble-George helped develop a research funding opportunity on familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disorder that leads to premature heart disease. Additionally, she served on the planning committee for a workshop on implementation research in low- and middle-income countries and small island developing states and as a moderator for a workshop on behavioral economics. Among several other new experiences, Gamble-George also conducted grant portfolio analyses to identify research gaps and opportunities.

In Gamble-George’s opinion, these experiences made her a more well-rounded individual. She learned more about herself (especially her strengths, weaknesses, and passions), became more adaptable to change and challenging work environments, enhanced her creativity, and expanded her professional network. To this end, Gamble-George suggests that applying your expert skill sets acquired during your doctoral and post-doctoral training is a vital asset for your personal growth and professional development. It can also help you advance public health initiatives to better society at different ecological levels.

Joyonna Gamble-George, Ph.D., M.H.A., is a health scientist and AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Institutes of Health and an associate editor of The POSTDOCket.

Living overseas and away from family and friends can be challenging, particularly during a global pandemic. Concern over the well-being of loved ones and the inability to be physically present to help during the crisis are major contributors to stress. Moreover, the distance and frequent changes in international travel restrictions make one feel wildly unprepared for worst-case scenarios. Maintaining productivity in the workplace with these constant stressors is difficult. A large percentage of postdoctoral scholars in the United States have been facing these challenges since March 2020. Even today, countries like India, home to many postdocs in the United States like myself, are undergoing an immense public health crisis. The second wave of COVID-19 infections took the death toll to nearly 400,000 in India. In these times of crisis, I found myself being weighed down by feelings of helplessness and in a constant state of worry for my family and friends back home. Here are a few ways I coped with the stress, and I hope reading this will help some of you manage pandemic stress.

Seek help for your mental health. Your mental health does not need to hit rock-bottom for you to seek professional counseling. Talking to a counselor about the reasons that triggered stress helped me navigate any overwhelming feelings. Counseling allowed me to focus better on work and be good support for parents back home. Do you know that overused saying about helping yourself before helping others? It is true.

Find a way to contribute to relief efforts in your home country. Personally, it was empowering to financially assist organizations like Give India, Goonj, and the Hemkunt Foundation working on the ground in India to provide support to COVID-19 patients and their families. Although this may seem like the bare minimum one can do, the help of any kind has far-reaching effects in such situations. For those who want to get further involved, volunteering for organizations with chapters in the United States working to provide relief in COVID-19 hit countries is a good idea. Here are a few links to websites focused on relief in India, in case you are interested:

• Give India – #IndiaAgainstCoronaVirus
• Goong – Rahat Covid Work
• Hemkunt Foundation – Oxygen Relief
• Aidindia.org – Volunteer-AID
• American India Foundation AIF – Get Involved

Stay connected. Needless to say, keeping in touch through text, video, or voice calls is a great way for expatriates to communicate with friends and family overseas. I found it helpful to increase the frequency of video calls with my parents in India. I discovered that I could help my family with awareness about the pandemic because I checked in on them often. Much of the uncertainty regarding ground realities gets cleared up through frequent communication. Also, it is easier to deal with things when you are well informed rather than being caught off-guard. Of course, it is crucial to have a plan in place for an emergency trip home.

Most of us will get through this on our own, but a little help from friends can make a huge difference.

Take time off for activities. If you live away from home, I can understand the sleepless nights spent worrying about the health of your loved ones. I can identify with the dip in productivity in your research, the strain on your mental wellbeing. Talk to your mentor and take some time off to cope with the stress. Spend some time pursuing your hobbies. Take the weekend off and go hiking or take photographs or paint or read a book. Avoid getting consumed by negative thoughts about your loved ones’ situation. Hang in there; we will come back stronger. Our home countries are resilient, and I do not doubt that they will stand strong and survive this pandemic.

Finally, if you do not have family and friends in countries hit with severe COVID-19 waves, I urge you to consider what your fellow postdocs may be going through. Take some time to talk to them and if you feel strongly enough, include them in your plans. Most of us will get through this on our own, but a little help from friends can make a huge difference.

Srijon K. Banerjee M.Sc., Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh.

Around 300,000 foreign visitors from over 200 countries are granted temporary visas annually under the J-1 Exchange Visitor program in the United States. Of these, approximately 35,000 J-1 visas are approved for international postdoctoral scholars undergoing research training in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Currently, the maximum duration of the J-1 program for international postdoctoral scholars is set at five years, with no possibility for further extension at most American colleges and universities. The only option for extension beyond five years is transitioning from a J-1 visa to an academic H-1B visa or filing a green card petition. However, most, if not all, J-1 visa holders are tied to a two-year home-country residency rule after completing the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program that hinders them from transitioning to appropriate visas needed to extend their stay in the United States.

The pandemic has caused funding cuts at colleges and universities across the United States and the collapse of the STEM job market.

Obtaining a J-1 Visa Waiver Can Be a Struggle

To maintain legal visa status, J-1 visa holders must secure a waiver of the home country residency requirement within five years from the start of their postdoctoral training. Unfortunately, many postdocs holding J-1 visa status are undecided on extending their stay in the United States after completing four years in the J-1 Exchange Visitor program. As a result, many international postdocs desperately scramble to secure their J-1 visa waivers and apply for H-1B visa change of status by the end of five years.

The entire process of securing a waiver and maintaining visa status is highly stressful. The processing time for J-1 visa waivers can take up to a year and is coupled with complications of international travel and job changes during the waiver period. Unfortunately, there is no available data on the number of J-1 visa waiver applications and approvals for change of status from a J-1 visa to an H-1B visa and from an H-1B visa to a green card. Nevertheless, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released data showing a backlog of 1.2 million green card applications in 2020 (Fig. 1).

COVID-19 Pandemic Delayed J-1 Postdocs Training

The COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to international postdocs. The pandemic has caused funding cuts at colleges and universities across the United States and the collapse of the STEM job market. A recent survey by Nature highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted postdocs’ progress and dampened their future career hopes. The practice of social distancing needed to contain the spread of the coronavirus resulted in a complete or partial shutdown of labs and mandated remote work. Furthermore, lab shutdowns negatively affected the work progress for most postdocs since experiments were put on hold or discontinued, leading to a loss of precious bench time. According to Nature’s survey, 7,287 postdocs (80 percent of the survey respondents) had trouble performing experiments and data collection (Fig. 2) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To compensate for the loss of time in the lab because of the COVID-19 pandemic, J-1 postdocs should voice this concern to the U.S. Department of State Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau (ECA) and request an extension of the J-1 exchange visitor program beyond the duration of five years. The ECA that administers the J-1 program should also investigate this issue and offer necessary extensions to international postdocs affected by the pandemic. Additionally, with the pandemic slowing down the processing of J-1 visa waiver applications and the filing of new H-1B visa petitions, any possible extension for J-1 postdocs by the ECA will be a great sigh of relief.

Sunil Kumar Boda, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Pediatrics, within the Division of Blood & Marrow Transplantation, at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

This fall, the celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) crossed institutional borders on virtual platforms to recognize the hard work of postdoctoral scholars and their contributions to research and science advancement. Virtual events from across the country were open to postdocs as part of the 12th annual edition of NPAW on September 20-24, 2021. This was the second year NPAW was celebrated on virtual platforms, following the success of the 2020 experience.

With the theme “I am a Postdoc,” the multi-institutional 2021 NPAW congregated more than 30 universities, research institutions, postdoctoral offices, postdoctoral associations, and professional societies. A total of 51 virtual events (a 45 percent increase from 2020) welcomed postdocs from across the country and around the world to participate in career and professional development workshops and panels, mindfulness and mental health sessions, game gatherings, and networking meetings. The NPA led the celebrations with the Values, Virtues, & Vocation kickoff event. It included the welcoming remarks by the Honorable Sethuraman Panchanathan (director, National Science Foundation) and the keynote lecture Values and Virtues of Being a Postdoc delivered by Robert T. Pennock, Ph.D. (University Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University; president, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society) and Keith Micoli, Ph.D. (assistant dean of postdoctoral affairs, New York University School of Medicine).

Virtual events from across the country were open to postdocs as part of the 12th annual edition of NPAW on September 20-24, 2021.

Attendance at the multi-institutional 2021 NPAW events surpassed the expectations of their organizers. Just like the 2020 NPAW, postdocs found the multi-institutional 2021 NPAW an exceptional opportunity to attend a variety of virtual events hosted by multiple institutions. In addition, these events provided the platform for postdocs to discover new career and networking opportunities. Event organizers were excited to report that at least half of the virtual attendees to their events were from external institutions. They agreed that having a larger audience is rewarding and that more people asking questions creates engagement and benefits all attendees.

Of course, this multi-institutional effort did not prevent institutions from organizing local events for their own postdocs. More than 40 institutions shared their local events on the 2021 NPAW map. Following social distancing guidelines, these events included appreciation meals, happy hours, networking meet-ups, picnics, symposiums, workshops, and town halls.

The second edition of the multi-institutional NPAW was led by an ad-hoc steering committee chaired by Kryste Ferguson, M.Ed. (NPA), and Misty Treanor, M.S. (Iowa State University). Volunteers from different institutions and career stages joined the other four committees to plan the main event and collected testimonials for the “I am a Postdoc” theme. Additionally, the volunteers established the marketing strategy for the celebration, organized the “Connecting for Career Success” networking event and a fun scavenger hunt, and advertised various events during the week. These committees were chaired by Paola Cepeda, Ph.D. (Stony Brook University), Dolon Chakraborty, Ph.D. (Bionest Partners), Heather Dillon, M.S. (University of California, San Diego), Karyn Lawrence (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital), Chris Smith, Ph.D. (North Carolina State University), and Amy Wilson (NPA).

An experience that started due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the multi-institutional NPAW is an initiative that is here to stay. If you would like to volunteer as a member of the 2022 organizing committee for the multi-institutional NPAW, please stay tuned for an invitation to a kickoff meeting that will take place during the 20th NPA Annual Conference (Chicago, April 1-2, 2022).

Paola Cépeda, Ph.D. (she/ella), is the program manager for graduate and postdoctoral professional development at Stony Brook University’s Graduate School. She also serves as an International Officer at the NPA.

The NPA’s new IMPACT Fellowship Program is a six-month, interactive fellowship that increases access to opportunities for marginalized early-career research trainees to build skills, understand strengths and develop networks for career success.

Six inaugural scholars were selected in September 2021 from a competitive pool of more than seventy applicants.

“We are thrilled at the tremendous enthusiasm for learning and potential for leadership in the Fellows of our incoming class,” said Stephanie Eberle, M.Ed., chair of the NPA. “Fellows will gain mentors from outside their current discipline, greater self-awareness to identify key strengths, and newfound confidence heading into the next steps of their careers.”

The IMPACT Fellowship Program uses various tools to empower participants to strategically build upon existing skills, recognize opportunities, and advance more confidently in their careers. Fellows are expected to benefit from their growth and use the knowledge, tools, and resources they gain from the program to implement activities or initiatives at their institutions and contribute back to their communities.

“An exciting aspect of the IMPACT program is that Fellows from across institutions will be able to build a strong cohort of peers, and learn from each others’ experiences and unique perspectives,” stated Caleb McKinney, Ph.D., M.P.S., treasurer of the NPA and board liaison for diversity affairs.

The 2021-22 IMPACT Fellows are:

• Brienna Anderson-Coughlin, Ph.D., University of Delaware
  • Research focuses on food and environmental virology.
• Kimiko Krieger, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
  • Research involves studying metabolic alterations driving breast and prostate cancer disparities in African American cancer patients.
• Tanya Paes, Ph.D., Purdue University
  • Research seeks to understand the development of behavioral and cognitive skills in diverse populations of young children using experimental, observational, and longitudinal methodologies.
• Raul Rodriguez, Ph.D., University of California – Berkeley
  • Studies visual-inertial integration and perception. Previously served nine years in the U.S. Navy.
• Anaïs Tallon, Ph.D., Virginia Tech
  • Research focuses on the adaptation of mosquitoes to global climatic changes, at the neuro-ethological, physiological, genetic, and viral levels.
• Z Yan Wang, Ph.D., Princeton University
  • Research focuses on the evolutionary and social dimensions of aging and the use of emerging invertebrate model systems, such as the bee and the octopus, to investigate how the nervous system organizes, encodes, and mediates end-of-life transitions and death. Incoming assistant professor of psychology and biology at the University of Washington, Seattle.

The inaugural Fellowship class will engage in a peer mentoring program, a dedicated speaker series featuring luminaries from various disciplines, and ultimately a live educational and networking event at the NPA Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, in April 2022.

The IMPACT Fellows initiative is central to the NPA’s 2021-2024 strategic plan’s Champion and Model Greater Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion pillar. Through increased sponsorship and support, the NPA hopes to expand the IMPACT Fellows Program in 2022.

The IMPACT Fellowship Program uses various tools to empower participants to strategically build upon existing skills, recognize opportunities, and advance more confidently in their careers

Learn more about sponsoring and partnering with our IMPACT Program.

We will cover the IMPACT Program and the current Fellows’ experience in it in the next issue of The POSTDOCket.

A special thanks to our current IMPACT Program sponsors:

• Title Program Donor - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
• Individual Seat Name Donors - Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, University of Illinois Chicago, Louis Stokes Center for Promotion of Academic Careers, Division of Biological Sciences Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, University of Chicago
• Individual Donors - Harini Aiyer, Sreekanth Chalasani, Stephanie Eberle, Tom Kimbis, Caleb McKinney

Chris Smith, Ph.D., is the postdoctoral affairs program manager at North Carolina State University and a member of the NPA Board of Directors.

Through your contributions to this campaign, when people are asked, “What is a postdoc?” they will be able to answer: diverse, committed individuals who will shape the future for the better.

Postdoctoral scholars, we need your help to share with the world who you are and the value you bring to society. Many public members don’t know what a postdoc is and how the work of postdocs is instrumental to research, innovation, and scholarship. The NPA’s “What’s a Postdoc?” awareness campaign seeks to explain to the public, opinion leaders, and even academic professionals what postdocs are and what they are capable of. The campaign highlights not just the dictionary definition of postdocs but their diversity of backgrounds and fields. Postdocs are the future of the professoriate and emerging leaders in their fields. You all will accomplish great things as a result of your postdoctoral training. Help us highlight you and your work by completing the form below. Through your contributions to this campaign, when people are asked, “What is a postdoc?” they will be able to answer: diverse, committed individuals who will shape the future for the better. The campaign launches in early 2022, so we need your input today! All inputs are welcome, but photos/videos are highly effective and encouraged.

Link to form.

Chris Smith, Ph.D., is the postdoctoral affairs program manager at North Carolina State University and a member of the NPA Board of Directors.