Postdoctoral Fellows Finds Ways to Network, Learn, and Socialize

Last May, a group of postdoctoral fellows launched the HSPH Postdoctoral Association to provide a means by which the School's 219 post-docs — who work in labs around the Longwood and Cambridge campuses — might connect with one another. Until then, there was no formal way for post-docs to meet socially, network, and share professional experiences with one another.

"A lot of us hide in our labs, show up early in the morning, and don't go home until late at night," said Publicity Chair Joy Crowther, a research fellow in the Department of Environmental Health and one of the founders of the Postdoctoral Association. "We may want to connect with others outside of the occasional seminar, but we don't know how. The Postdoctoral Association gives us a way to help each other and ourselves at the same time."

She said that the goal is essentially "surviving, thriving, and making the most of your post-doc experience."

To that end, the Postdoctoral Association has achieved some concrete accomplishments. For example, the group expressed to School administration a need to clarify the mentoring relationship between post-docs and faculty supervisors.

"Being a post-doc is a time for newly-minted PhDs to develop independence," Crowther noted. "But we're in this nebulous area, no longer a student and not yet faculty members. Many of us have our own grants, but not our own staff. It can be confusing."

In response, the School formed last September a Postdoctoral Advisory Committee, which developed a document that articulates roles and responsibilities of postdoctoral fellows and their faculty supervisors.

The Postdoctoral Association also has begun a schedule of social events. There have been three get-togethers so far this academic year: tea and coffee breaks, and a pizza party. The association also holds orientation sessions about Boston, featuring practical information such as inexpensive places for dining and entertainment, ways to get around the city, and information tailored to international post-docs.

Working with HSPH Faculty Affairs, the Postdoctoral Association has developed a schedule of workshops including ones on grantwriting and on writing academic CVs.

Crowther observed that the postdoctoral phase of an academic career is an important time. She said, "You're cheating yourself if you don't take advantage of what Harvard offers and what we [post-docs] can offer each other."

The HSPH Postdoctoral Association is led by a council of 10 post-docs, including President Andreas Sandgren and Vice President Lynnelle McNamee, who originated the idea of forming an association. All post-docs conducting research under an HSPH faculty member's supervision are considered members. Contact the HSPH Postdoctoral Association or email pda@hsph.harvard.edu.

—Ellen Barlow