A structured curriculum supporting biomedical trainees’ transition into independent academic positions and early career success

作者：Mabel Pérez‐Oquendo, Gabriele Romano, David Farris, Varsha Gandhi, Ignacio I. Wistuba, Robert E. Tillman, Ryan S. Udan, Paolo M. Mangahas, Rama Soundararajan · 发表于：BMC Medical Education · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1186/s12909-024-05370-w · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Health and Medical Research Impacts、Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions、Biomedical and Engineering Education

The United States government makes a substantial investment in biomedical training programs each year. However, for most trainees, these opportunities do not translate into career progression in academic research pathways. Only about one-fifth of postdoctoral fellows eventually secure a tenure-track faculty position, and even among these candidates, attrition is high. Although a number of factors govern career choices and career longevity, the transition from trainee to faculty is a challenging process and requires knowledge and skills that are not necessarily developed during a traditional university experience. Many postdoctoral fellows receive adequate training in research skills and scientific communication, but new faculty report not being sufficiently prepared for the job search process and for starting their labs. To address this critical training gap, the ITERT core (Interdisciplinary Translational Education and Research Training) and the Office of Postdoctoral Fellows at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center implemented a structured course for both postdoctoral fellows and senior PhD students to provide formalized training for successfully navigating academic positions in biomedical research. Here we report on the pilot Navigating Academic Careers course conducted in 2021-2022 for 30 PhD students and postdocs. The nine-module course was conducted over 13 weeks in 25.5 h instructional sessions. The key educational objectives included 1) navigating the job ...