Activities

Annual Retreat

Every spring since the Office of Education was established, the fellows and graduate students of NICHD have organized an annual meeting or retreat. One hundred trainees participate, and every one presents a poster. You meet new people, exchange ideas, network, and learn from presenters and one another in this protected time away from your laboratory and clinical responsibilities.

The meeting is organized by a volunteer Steering Committee of fellows and graduate students who determine the theme for the meeting, work to identify speakers, build a program, judge the abstracts, select the winner of the "best scientific image" competition, introduce speakers and moderate sessions, and overall build a set of administrative and leadership skills through this firsthand experience.

Professional Development Programs

Your primary research experience and professional growth as a fellow, whether postdoctoral or clinical, will be gained in the laboratory and clinics, working alongside your mentors and other members of the laboratory or patient-care team. To build and expand on this central experience, the Office of Education offers a range of activities each year from which you may benefit.

These include the following, some on a rotating basis:

• Writing Classes
  • Editorial service
  • Grant-writing
  • Online scientific writing classes

• Public Speaking
  • Presentation skills
  • Job interview preparation
  • One-on-one coaching

• Careers
  • Lunchtime sessions with NIH scientific professionals
  • Alumni speakers and panels
  • E-mails of job openings, including personalized searches
  • C.V., resume, and cover letter review and editing
  • Annual job fair (NIH-wide)

• Teaching
  • Skills workshops (curriculum design, technology, active learning...)
  • "Becoming an Effective Scientist" course for postbaccalaureate fellows, a twelve-week lecture and journal club series offered by postdocs and clinical fellows

• Grants
  • Grantsmanship workshops
  • Study section attendance to learn about the grant review process firsthand
  • Practical guidance to application preparation
  • Individualized coaching and editing of applications
  • Reference materials and sessions with NICHD extramural staff

• Awards
  • Fellows Award for Research Excellence, annual NIH competition
  • Abstract competition to be a speaker at the annual NICHD fellows' retreat; annual competition for the image used on the poster and web site
  • K22 and K99/R00 Career Development Awards, to support your transition to academe