Adriana Bankston

Features authors who explore approaches toward effective training and education of biomedical scientists, and their preparation for STEM and research-related roles, covering the continuum of academic career development from undergraduate and graduate education through postdoctoral training and early career faculty roles.

Outlines some options available for responding to the blatant attacks on science and the scientific workforce in the US.

Discusses a series of reports over the past two decades that have recommended improvements to the training environments for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the United States, and notes that despite these recommendations, academic institutions and departments have not implemented significant changes. Outlines practical changes that academic institutions and departments can make to improve their training environments.

Focuses on the challenges faced by early career researchers (ECRs, broadly graduate students and postdocs) in establishing independent research programs in academia. Identifies the barriers ECRs experience to achieve research independence, and proposes solutions that highlight areas where training ECRs could be beneficial.

Provides insights from the 2017 National Postdoctoral Association meeting. The workshop brought together representatives with diverse perspectives on postdoctoral training to discuss strengths and challenges they faced in training postdoctoral scholars. A variety of topics were covered, including a discussion of potential partnership models for collaboration to enhance postdoctoral training.

Addresses the lack of comprehensive data on postdoctoral salaries in the biomedical workforce, and assesses actual salaries for postdocs using data gathered from US public institutions. Provides insights into the landscape of individual postdoc salaries and identifies areas where policy measures could have the greatest influence on improving postdoc compensation nationally.