HSPH Postdoctoral Association (PDA) Newsletter: March 2021
Hello everyone- Below we have information on (1) Upcoming Events, (2) Current and upcoming PDA initiatives, (3) Additional opportunities that you might find interesting. Please send us any events or resources you would like highlighted in the next newsletter! (tkphung@hsph.harvard.edu)
🗓 Upcoming Events 🗓
** All events are virtual**
Nanocourse Info Sesion: Wednesday 3/10 at 2-3pm
Come learn about the PDA-run “Intro to Public Health” nanocourse series. Nanocourses are a great opportunity for postdocs looking to gain experience in teaching and course development. For anyone who is interested in participating in teaching nanocourses this semester or interested in getting more information about the program, we will have an information session (zoom link).
PDA Peer Support Group: (every other) Monday 3/15+ at 2-3pm
Each term, we choose one major theme and have 5-6 meetings where we learn and discuss ways to integrate that theme more deeply into our personal and professional lives. We begin with a 30-minute introduction to the topic and then have a 15-minute personal check-in and discussion. This term we’ll be focusing on effective communication from all sorts of different angles – check out the link for more.
PDA monthly meeting: Wednesday 3/31 at 4-5pm
The monthly PDA Council meeting is open to all members of the Postdoctoral Association (including postdoctoral trainees and research associates) who want to learn about current and future PDA initiatives. A zoom link will be sent the week prior to the meeting.
🌐 PDA Initiative Highlights 🌐
Career Explorations
To support you in your career exploration efforts, we have decided to organize a panel discussion with people working in and outside academia every month until May 2021 (please see the monthly themes at the bottom of this page). In March, we will highlight the academic track with a panelist of Faculty. A zoom link will be shared via email.
Career Discussion Groups
Career Development can be daunting and it can be hard to set some time aside your work to move towards your goals. We would like to start something new: informal Career Discussion Groups that you can join to share your needs and tips, ask questions, focus on specific aspects/requirements of your career development, and, maybe most importantly, help keeping each other accountable. If you are interested in this idea, please fill out this quick form to choose the option you prefer.
PDA Poster Day Winners!
The PDA hosted our annual poster day virtually this year. Congratulations to our award recipients!
1st Place: Douglas Paton Postdoctoral Fellow, Immunology and Infectious Disease
2nd Place: Leah Abrams Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Population Studies and Development
3rd Place: Joshua Petimar Postdoctoral Fellow, Epidemiology
Honorable Mention Student Poster: Larry Han Doctoral Student, Biostatistics
Honorable Mention Postdoc Poster: Longxiang Li Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Health
Honorable Mention Audience Choice: Marouen Ben Guebila Postdoctoral Fellow, Biostatistics
PDA + Research Scientist Association Mentoring Program
The PDA has partnered with the Research Scientist Association to create a mentoring program whereby Research Scientists provide some mentoring to postdocs and research associates. The goal of this program is to provide postdocs and RAs with the opportunity to get additional mentors who have no vested interest in their research, and with whom to discuss professional development/career-related questions and/or to seek for advice to navigate the school’s facilities/services/offices.
If you are interested in joining this program, please take this quick survey to share your affiliation and mentoring needs before March 10.
📚 Additional Opportunities 📚
Innovations in Positive Health Seed Grant Funding
The Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness is currently accepting applications for its 2021 Innovations in Positive Health grant program, and we’d like to encourage postdocs in the PDA to apply. The Innovations in Positive Health pilot grant fund supports pioneering research at early stages of development that focuses on positive health science or communication and translation sciences related to positive health science. Awards will be granted for amounts between $5,000 and $20,000. Funding can be used to cover research-related expenses, such as: supporting a research assistant, access to existing data, data collection activities, conference presentations, and travel (with prior approval). Applications for 2021 grant funding are due on April 16, 2021. Details are available on our website.
Opening for Research Operations & BiOS Freezer Core Manager
The Department of Nutrition at HSPH searching for their new Research Operations & BiOS Freezer Core Manager. Please see the link on Harvard Careers or LinkedIn for more details.