As the current NICHD Basic Sciences Institutes and Centers (IC) Representative, I represent NICHD postdoctoral fellows at the NIH Fellows Committee (FelCom) meeting every month and share the latest news with you here. Do you have a concern or question that you want brought up at the next meeting? Contact me, Hyo Won Ahn, at hyowon.ahn@nih.gov.
Extension policy for postdoctoral fellows: Dr. Lori Conlan, Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Services at the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE), wants to remind all postdocs about the 6th and 7th year extension policy, which can be found here. This temporary policy applies to all IRTA/CRTA/Visiting Fellows and is valid until July 2024. Please direct your questions to Dr. Conlan at conlanlo@mail.nih.gov.
- This extension will cover both the 6th and 7th year
- The minimum timeline for these approvals is nine months, so start this paperwork immediately after starting your 5th year if you plan to apply
- You still cannot be a trainee at the NIH for more than a total of eight years. This means that your combined time as an IRTA/CRTA/VF plus Research Fellow cannot exceed eight years without seeking an exceptional extension
- The Division of International Services (DIS) requests that Visiting Fellows submit extensions and other documents ahead of time
FelCom has open liaison positions! Please submit a statement of interest to both FelCom Co-Chairs Vasty Osei Amponsa (vasty.oseiamponsa@nih.gov) and Marja Brolinson (marja.brolinson@nih.gov) if you are interested in running for one of the following positions:
- NIH Child Care Board FelCom Co-Liaison (1 position)
- Service and Outreach Committee Co-Liaison (1 position)
- Recreation and Welfare Committee & Health and Wellness Council Liaison (1 position)
The Women Scientists Advisors Committee (WSA) invites you to join the 2022 Anita B. Roberts Lecture, a series that highlights the outstanding research achievements of women scientists in the NIH Intramural Research Program and honors the role of Dr. Anita Roberts as an exceptional mentor and scientist.
- Speaker: Brigitte Widemann, MD, Senior Investigator and Chief of the Pediatric Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, NCI
- Title: “Advancing the Development of Effective Therapies for Children and Adults with Rare Tumors”
- Date: November 3, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Videocast: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=45832
The NIH Child Care Board meeting will take place on November 3, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, please contact Sila Ataca (sila.ataca@nih.gov).
The Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) subcommittee invites fellows to the 2022–2023 season of WALS lectures, on Wednesdays from 2:00–3:00 p.m. Please find this season’s schedule and details on the WALS website.
The Health & Recreation Subcommittee is planning events for this fall. Looking for updates on events or to connect with other postdocs? Check out Bethesda Postdocs Slack! Despite the name, this Slack page is for all fellows! Join with a non-NIH e-mail here.
The Fellows Safety Committee (FSC) is working on establishing advertisement avenues for FSC, which include reaching out to various Offices of Education, flyer generation, and list-serv acquisitions. Additionally, FSC is in contact with the Division of Occupational Health and Safety about planning an open house, which might include in-person activities depending on what COVID restrictions look like in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! Join the Fellows Safety Committee Listserv at FELLOW-SAFETY-COMM@LIST.NIH.GOV.
National Postdoctoral Association (NPA): All NIH postdocs and fellows receive complementary NPA affiliate individual memberships, so join now! Upload your resume or CV—there are 28,500 jobs posted on the NPA Career Center. NPA is also hosting the 2022 Race & Ethnicity Equity Summit on November 17, from 12 noon–4 p.m. EST. Find more information here.