Point of View: What’s in a name?

Authors

Michale D. Schaller, West Virginia University
Gary McDowell, Ablington Manylabs
Andre Porter, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dorothy Shippen, Texas A&M University
Katherine L. Friedman, Vanderbilt University
Matthew S. Gentry, University of Kentucky
Tricia R. Serio, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Wesley I. Sundquist, University of Utah

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3945-5208

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9470-3799

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9564-0200

N/A

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9047-2030

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5253-9049

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2687-7372

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9988-6021

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

College/Unit

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program/Center

Biochemistry

Abstract

Numerous concerns have been raised about the sustainability of the biomedical research enterprise in the United States. Improving the postdoctoral training experience is seen as a priority in addressing these concerns, but even identifying who the postdocs are is made difficult by the multitude of different job titles they can carry. Here, we summarize the detrimental effects that current employment structures have on training, compensation and benefits for postdocs, and argue that academic research institutions should standardize the categorization and treatment of postdocs. We also present brief case studies of two institutions that have addressed these challenges and can provide models for other institutions attempting to enhance their postdoctoral workforces and improve the sustainability of the biomedical research enterprise.

Digital Commons Citation

Schaller, Michale D.; McDowell, Gary; Porter, Andre; Shippen, Dorothy; Friedman, Katherine L.; Gentry, Matthew S.; Serio, Tricia R.; and Sundquist, Wesley I., "Point of View: What’s in a name?" (2017). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1329.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1329

Source Citation

Schaller, M. D., McDowell, G., Porter, A., Shippen, D., Friedman, K. L., Gentry, M. S., … Sundquist, W. I. (2017). What’s in a name? eLife, 6. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.32437

Comments

Copyright Schaller et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.