The Graduate School and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at Stony Brook University observed National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) from September 15 to 19, organizing a series of events aimed at acknowledging the contributions of postdoctoral scholars to the university’s research efforts.
National Postdoc Appreciation Week, established by the National Postdoctoral Association in 2009, seeks to highlight the role postdocs play in advancing research across the United States.
Molly Lotz, director of research training initiatives in the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, said, “We celebrated NPAW this year with a slate of events designed to recognize our postdocs and all the work they do, while also enhancing their professional development for their next career steps. The theme for the week was ‘communicating your research,’ so a common theme at our events was how postdocs might be communicating their research to a variety of audiences.”
One event during the week was a “Women in Research” mentoring session that provided an opportunity for attendees to interact with women leaders and researchers from different departments. Celia Marshik, dean of The Graduate School and professor in the Department of English, participated as a panelist. She said, “The mentoring event was moving and meaningful, and it was inspirational to hear about some of the hurdles female faculty in STEM cleared to get where they are. Each speaker offered advice that I know will be of lasting benefit to our postdocs. As the Postdoc Office always says, ‘postdocs drive research,’ and NPAW events offered strategies, tools, and community to support our postdocs. Since postdocs are spread out across East and West campus, events that bring them together are so valuable, and we love seeing them get outside of their labs.”
A virtual career panel featured former Stony Brook postdocs who discussed their career paths after leaving academia. Kaitlyn Thompson shared her transition from researching multiple sclerosis as a graduate student at Stony Brook’s pharmacology department to becoming a high school research teacher on Long Island. Jinnette Tolentino Collado described her work on protein dynamics as both a researcher at Stony Brook and now as an assistant professor at SUNY Farmingdale. Katherine Gallagher spoke about her experiences working on projects related to penguins and marine robotics before joining the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
Panel discussions included topics such as salary negotiation, identifying transferable skills gained during doctoral training or postdoctoral appointments, and assessing job qualifications.
Jessica Roman led a resume workshop focused on preparing industry-oriented resumes for current postdoctoral scholars seeking non-academic careers. Bahman Khalvatifahlyani commented on his experience: “The resume workshop was especially helpful; I learned a lot and have already updated my resume based on the presentation. I met new friends and even kept in touch with one of them afterward. I also had great conversations with Molly Lotz and a colleague from HR, which I found very valuable. Everything was well-organized and I really enjoyed the postdoc appreciation events.”
To close out NPAW activities at Stony Brook University, participants attended social gatherings including an NPAW Social event and Coffee Chat hosted by the Postdoc Association. Attendees received tote bags and hats bearing the phrase “Postdocs Drive Research.”
Lotz stated: “That small but powerful phrase solidifies our commitment to supporting and celebrating postdoctoral scholars and all they do to move our research enterprise forward here at Stony Brook. NPAW is an opportunity to pause and recognize our postdocs, while also serving as a reminder that we need to do that far more often than once a year. We heard from incredible women faculty at Stony Brook who shared their insight and experience building robust research careers, as well as former postdocs who have found ways to translate their love of research to a range of jobs. We are thankful to the Graduate School and Office of Research and Innovation for the generous funding that made this possible.”
