Congratulations to the Spring 2023 Career Development Award winners!
Daniela Herrera Moro Chao, PhD (Department of Neuroscience)
Kelsey Johnson, PhD (Department of Genetics, Cell Biology & Development)
Kyusic Park, PhD (Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics)
Shubhechchha Sharma, PhD (Department of Knowledge Initiatives)
Joshua Shutter, PhD (Department of Soil, Water, and Climate)
Jessica Stone, PhD (Department of Anthropology)
Nominate an outstanding mentor of postdocs!
Advocacy and Event updates
Please read below for three important advocacy efforts and events that are upcoming or already underway. Consider submitting comments or attending these events. Questions, concerns, updates? Please email the UMN Postdoctoral Association at pda@umn.edu.
1) New Proposed Fee Rule for Immigration Services
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to increase their fees soon. The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) recently released a statement regarding the recent proposal, which you can find here: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.nationalpostdoc.org/resource/resmgr/docs/USCIS_Fee_Proposal_Comments_.pdf.
You can find more information about the fee increases here: https://www.uscis.gov/proposed-fee-rule-frequently-asked-questions. Note there is still an opportunity to comment on this rule until Monday, March 13th. Submit your comments here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/04/2022-27066/us-citizenship-and-immigration-services-fee-schedule-and-changes-to-certain-other-immigration.
2) NIH Listening Sessions on Postdoc Challenges
The National Institute of Health has created a working group of the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director focused on hearing the voices of postdoctoral trainees along with others impacted by this unique and skilled training position and in exploring ways to address some of the fundamental challenges faced by the postdoctoral trainee community.
Further information and the registration link for these sessions is here: https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2023/02/27/you-are-invited-nih-listening-sessions-on-the-postdoc-training-system/. Please consider tuning in and submitting feedback. The NIH has a Request for Information open until April 14, 2023 here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-23-084.html.
3) US Immigration and Employment Options for International Postdocs and Graduate Students
March 29 at 12 pm | Zoom link on the PDA Events Calendar | Add to your calendar
The Arkell Immigration Team at Dunn Law firm will present information about US immigration and employment options for international postdocs and graduate students.
Topics of discussion will include:
US permanent residence (green card)
National Interest Waivers for researchers and entrepreneurs
Extraordinary Ability petitions
Transitioning from F-1 OPT or J-1 status to H-1B and ‘H-1B cap’ issues
We have a new Slack channel for all UMN Postdocs to join!
Interested in connecting with other postdocs? We have created a new Slack channel that all UMN postdocs are welcomed to join! Please use this channel to plan social events, network about career development opportunities, and find common interests (research or otherwise). We have a #jobs channel as well where we share current job postings for postdocs in many areas! To join, please use this link and login with you umn.edu email account.
Interested in writing grants, fellowships, and manuscripts with fellow postdocs?
The Friday Morning Virtual Writing Group is held from 10:30-11:30am every week via zoom. Writing groups are a great way to increase productivity and make progress on grants, manuscripts, job applications, or other projects. Schedule some weekly writing time with your fellow postdocs! Check out the PDA Calendar for the Zoom link.
You can learn more about federally funded fellowships here (including ones available through NOAA, USDA, USGS, and more in addition to NIH and NSF): https://www.unh.edu/research/resources-grad-students-post-docs
Interested in joining the PDA Leadership? Email us!
We are still seeking a Diversity representative and delegates to College of Liberal Arts, College of Education, and/or Human Development, Public Affairs, and Public Health. You can learn more about the PDA Steering Committee positions here.
PDA is electing new members on a rolling basis at Steering Committee meetings. Many positions only require a 1-2 hour per month time commitment. These are a great way to get to know other postdocs and to boost the leadership section of your CV!
Please contact pda@umn.edu if you are interesting in filling any of the open positions at any time. Candidates will be contacted prior to the meeting. This meeting is open to everyone!
If you have concerns with COVID-19 safety, please let us know using this form! All submissions are anonymous (email addresses are NOT recorded) and any identifying information (such as names) will be removed. Our goal is to provide a safe, anonymous way for postdocs to submit safety concerns without fear of retribution or retaliation, while keeping track of concrete examples of these concerns that can be brought to the administration.
Hey postdocs -- let's keep in touch!
PDA would love to stay in touch with all the great UMN postdocs after they finish their postdoc positions. We'd also like to set up networking events with current and former UMN postdocs! If you are interested, please use this form to submit your contact info. If you know other postdocs who are no longer at UMN but would like to join this list, please feel free to share this with them! We will only use this information to contact you about future PDA initiatives like postdoc networking events.