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Postgraduate scientists in the Department of Integrative Physiology play a critical role in research activities as well as in mentoring students.

We are committed to helping these postdoctoral researchers gain the skills and experience required to fully develop into the next generation of scientific leaders. In addition to providing cutting-edge research training, we offer a career development program to complement the extensive program offered by the College to help our postdoctoral researchers achieve their individual career goals.

Friendly and collaborative atmosphere

Our department includes faculty at all stages of their career. It offers a friendly and collaborative environment for research and training that fosters communication between faculty and postdoctoral researchers. The weekly Thursday lunch following student and postdoc seminars allows discussions of any topic in an informal setting between faculty and postdoctoral researchers.

Faculty committee to accompany the postdoctoral researchers throughout their time in the department

Five faculty members form the postdoctoral faculty committee to organize, with the current postdoctoral researchers, activities to improve the professional development of our trainees. These committee members are Ross Poché, Ph.D. (director and an alumnus of our postdoctoral program), Christine Beeton, Ph.D., Frank Horrigan, Ph.D., William Lagor, Ph.D., and Joshua Wythe, Ph.D.

Seminar series

Presenting research results in a coherent and interesting way is crucial to all scientists, regardless of their long-term career goals. To help develop and improve these skills, all postdoctoral researchers give an annual seminar to the department. Most give a 30 min seminar (20 min talk + questions) but four trainees selected annually based on merit will be invited to give a 60 min seminar (45 min talk + questions) during the invited faculty seminar series.

Career development committee to guide postdoctoral researchers towards successful careers

Our postdoctoral researchers have diverse backgrounds, diverse research interests, and diverse career goals. To help them develop the requirements for these careers, we offer individualized training. The Postdoc-Faculty forum is a series of quarterly roundtable discussions. Faculty members and other professionals in various fields share their experiences and discuss major career steps, such as choosing a career path, navigating the job search, preparing for an interview, or balancing research and family life. Besides working in close collaboration with a faculty in research laboratory within the department, each postdoctoral researcher establishes a committee of faculty and other professionals he/she meets with regularly to ensure individualized career development.

An award for postdoctoral researchers who obtain a fellowship

Whether postdoctoral researchers want to develop your career in academia or in the private sector, writing funding applications is a crucial skill to develop and nurture.

To help our postdoctoral researchers write the best funding applications, we organize study sections to evaluate and provide constructive criticism on their applications before submission to the funding agency. In order to recognize their efforts and excellence, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences offers a Dean’s Award for Excellence to postdoctoral researchers who obtain a nationally/regionally competitive fellowship after Nov. 1, 2014. Those eligible postdocs will be provided a one-time gift of $3,000.

Ross Poché, Ph.D., Director
Email: poche@bcm.edu
Telephone: (832) 788-5835
Fax: (713) 798-3475