Mentorship and Resources

Mentorship

Each HCPDS Postdoctoral Fellow will be matched to at least one mentor from their home discipline, as well as a mentor from an outside discipline. Often, HCPDS Postdoctoral Fellows have an idea about whom they want to work with prior to arriving; in other cases, the Center director will work with new HCPDS Postdoctoral Fellows to determine an appropriate mentoring team. This arrangement will be discussed during the interview phase of the application process.

The Center provides a unique and dynamic environment where diverse interests, areas of expertise, and worldviews mix to promote creative thought on critical issues in population and development. HCPDS Postdoctoral Fellows are strongly encouraged to connect and collaborate with a wide range of researchers at Harvard. This interaction is fostered by way of participation in weekly activities and working groups. Fellows are also expected to be proactive in arranging meetings with prospective mentors and collaborators.

Resources

Data/Computer Resources: HCPDS Postdoctoral Fellows are provided with timely access to data sources, laboratory facilities, and other resources as needed. The HCPDS is home to a population science research platform. Studies are tightly harmonized so that critical comparisons across studies (or countries) can lead to important insights. The HCPDS also houses a Restricted Data Enclave, certified for the use and storage of level 4 sensitive data. Data managers and analysts are on staff and available to aid fellows in their research efforts. They also offer access to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Secure Environment (FASSE) and Cannon clusters, maintained by FAS Research Computing (FAS RC). These clusters provide full-featured user environments with a wide range of research tools for computationally intensive analyses. They are accessed via a virtual private network (VPN) connection to ensure users can work effectively and securely, whether on site or elsewhere.

Libraries: Since they are considered employees, HCPDS Postdoctoral Fellows have access to all of Harvard’s vast resources including its library system that encompasses more than 70 libraries and is at the leading edge of new information technology. The Francis A. Countway Library is located on the Longwood Medical Area Campus and combines the resources of the Harvard Medical School library and the Boston Medical Library. Among libraries serving medical and health-related schools, it is the largest of its kind in the United States.

Affiliated Centers/Programs: HCPDS Postdoctoral Fellows may also attend courses, seminars and programs at affiliated Harvard schools and centers: examples include the Institute for Quantitative Social Science, which holds regular conferences and seminars allowing scholars in the social sciences to gather for research seminars in core methods related to causal inference, innovations in health assessment and general issues relate to demographic and population health issues; the Center for Geographic Analysis offers technical training workshops to introduce GIS concepts and teach the basics on how to use GIS software; The Malcolm Wiener Center Inequality & Social Policy seminar series at the Harvard Kennedy School; Department of Sociology seminar series; and the Harvard Global Health Institute seminars and conferences.