Foundational Training

Inspiring Research: Creative Strategies for Communication

Part of the grAdvantage programming, this intensive four-day workshop will enhance participants’ abilities to vividly articulate their research and inspire audiences. Participants will incorporate storytelling, metaphor and gestures while practicing innovative communication of their research.  During the final day of the workshop, participants will be filmed by an expert interviewer and camera crew in a setting that resembles a professional media capture environment.

• Dates: Wednesday, January 4 – Saturday, January 7, 2016, 10am to 5:30pm everyday, Dolores Huerta/Philip Vera Cruz Room

• Applications are available on the grAdvantage website and are due by Wednesday, November 16th.

Postdoc Research Symposium

Organized by Postdoctoral Association (PDA), this symposium showcases the research being conducted by postdoctoral scholars at UC San Diego, one of the premier research institutions in the world.  In addition, the postdoctoral scholars will have the opportunity to connect with your peers, faculty and industry professionals.

November 1, 2016

“Save early, save often” is a mantra touted by many financial planning websites and experts.  Time is critical when saving for retirement or any financial goal.  According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, every 10 years you delay starting to save for retirement, you will need to save three times as much each month to catch up.

To help you get started and understand how to maximize your financial potential, the Office of Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Affairs has teamed up with Curo Financial Planning to offer the “Financial Education Series for Postdocs”. 

Each workshop will discuss the ways to set yourself up for financial success for that specific topic.  Partners and family members of postdocs are welcome to attend.  Come join us to learn about the topics listed below and create a strategy for your financial future!

As many people are concerned about how to plan for their financial future as their careers advance, the program offers a complimentary one-on-one personal consultation.  These one-on-one consultations are a great way to get individual solutions that fit your specific financial situation. If you would like to schedule a session, time slots will be available to meet on campus the next week after each workshop.  These one hour sessions with a Financial Advisor are confidential and complimentary.  A sign-up sheet will be available at each workshop.

All workshops will be held from 12:30 - 2 pm in Medical Education and Telemedicine (MET), Rm 215.

Register HERE

Please note that family members of postdocs are also welcome to attend.

Dates and locations are subject to change.

The ability to successfully secure funding is a critical part of your postdoctoral training.  However, how does one write a competitive grant?  What funding opportunities exist for postdocs? How does the submission process work? Come and learn the answers by attending the workshops of Funding Fest!  

Funding Fest is an annual series of informational workshops that is held each Spring or Summer and provided by the Torrey Pines Training Consortium.  The Torrey Pines Training Consortium members include Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and UC San Diego. They sponsor training courses and programs designed to provide career development and leadership competencies for scientific professionals at early stages of their career.

Funding Fest workshops are presented by various faculty members, postdoctoral training grant and fellowship recipients and institutional offices.

This year various workshops will be held at the different Torrey Pines Training Consortium institutions from April to May, 2017.

Registration: https://fundingfest2017.eventbrite.com

Questions? Suggestions? Contact the person at your respective institution:

Ginger Hazen, UC San Diego, vhazen@ucsd.edu or (858) 822-5915

Jean Branan, TSRI, jbranan@scripps.edu

Nisha Cavanaugh, SBP, ncavanaugh@sbpdiscovery.org

B.Bea Rajsombath, Salk, brajsombath@salk.edu

Postdoctoral training is a time of transition for scholars, which can lead to feelings of uncertainty and stress.  In addition, this training period often coincides with personal milestones (e.g. marriage, parenthood) and usually requires relocation to a new city or even new country.  To address the challenges that confront postdoctoral scholars, this series is designed in collaboration with the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) and Office of Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Affairs (OPVSA) to help postdoctoral scholars have a healthy and productive time while in training.

Workshops addressing different challenges will be held in Student Services Center, room 300 from 12-1:30 pm. 

Lunch will be provided by OPVSA.

Dates and locations are subject to change.

Register HERE

For information on the Postdoc Health & Wellness Series, please contact Merritt Bradford, merritt@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-3553

Interviewing Skills for PhDs Program

This program is a series of events designed in collaboration with Career Center, Office of Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Affairs and the Postdoctoral Association to provide postdoctoral scholars and doctoral students application materials preparation and useful interviewing skills with a chance to apply those skills in a mock interview session with local professionals and hiring managers.

Registration: https://interviewskillsphd2016.eventbrite.com

Session 1: Translating Your CV and Preparing Your Resume and Cover Letter

December 1, 2016; 12 - 1:30 pm, Horizon Room, Career Center

This first workshop will teach you how to translate your CV into a resume; how to effectively highlight your qualifications, experience, and skills for appealing to a non-academic audience; and how to construct a powerful cover letter. Please bring a working draft of your CV or resume.

Session 2: Preparing for your Non-Academic Interview

March 7, 2017, 12 - 1:30 pm, Horizon Room, Career Center

This second, interactive workshop will teach you interview techniques and strategies that will allow you to create an effective and comfortable dialogue during the interview. We will focus on concrete tools and examples to help you be successful.

Session 3: Mock Interview Session for Industry with Jon Miyake, Ph.D.

March 29, 2017, 1 - 2:30 pm, Horizon Room, Career Center (during Career Development Week)

At this mock interview session, 2 candidates will be interviewed for 20 - 30 minutes, one at a time in front of an audience followed by a debrief discussion about the interview as well as a general Q & A session. Jon Miyake, PhD; Senior Manager, Technical Support at Illumina will be our mock interviewer.

Interviewing Skills for International PhDs

This series of workshops is designed in collaboration with Career Center, Graduate Division, International Faculty & Scholar Office and Office of Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Affairs to provide international postdoctoral scholars and doctoral students with the tools they need to successfully navigate an interview for non-academic long-term employment in the U.S.A.

November 14 & 16, 2016

For more information and to register: https://internationalinterview2016.eventbrite.com

Permanent Residency Pathways for Postdocs

This workshop offered by the International Faculty & Scholar Office and Office of Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Affairs will touch on the most common pathways that postdoctoral researchers can use to adjust to permanent residency status. Additionally, this workshop will address the topic of internal policies on employment-based permanent residency here at UC San Diego, and the specific appointment titles that allow such sponsorship.

September 21, 2017

Understanding your Visa for Career Preparation

Roark Miller, Director of the International Faculty & Scholar Office, will discuss common questions that postdocs in J-1, H-1B, and F-1 OPT status have pertaining to their nonimmigrant status, including eligibility for outside employment, planning your next nonimmigrant status in tandem with the institutional policy on job titles and visa selection, and a short overview of the USCIS I-140/I-485 employment-based permanent residence filing.  

May 3, 2017

For more information and to register: https://understandingvisa2017.eventbrite.com

Teamwork and Leadership certificate

Part of the grAdvantage programming, this UC San Diego Extension Specialized Certificate in Leadership and Teamwork is designed to equip participants with skills to help them excel in any working environment; communication skills, self-awareness, time management, and the ability to function on diverse and collaborative teams. The certificate consists of three courses focusing on leadership, teamwork, and project management. Throughout the program, students will implement these skills by working collaboratively on teams to manage hands-on projects on campus. The culmination of the program will include a showcase of the students’ projects to campus leaders, industry guests, and the general public. Upon completion of the certificate program, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will be empowered to transition into their career pursuits.

Leading Yourself and Others to Career Success

This Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) leadership development program is designed for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to learn more about their leadership styles and preferences, so they can use this information in the context of their career paths to help them and their future teams succeed. Certificates will be awarded to participants who complete all program requirements.

Ambassador Program

In collaboration with the UC San Diego International Faculty & Scholar Office, the Postdoctoral Association offers assistance with the transition of a new postdoc to campus through our Ambassador Program. The program places a new postdoc in contact with a fellow postdoc “Ambassador”.

Summer Research Scholar Program

In partnership with Prof. Elizabeth Komives and UCSD Extension, this mentorship program allows postdoctoral scholars to have hands-on mentorship of high school students from across the country over 3-weeks in the summer quarter.  The postdoctoral scholars will learn how to provide effective mentorship and guide a short-term and manageable research project that will culminate in a formal poster session.

Postdoctoral scholars rely on a network of mentors and advisors for success during their training and beyond.  Some postdoctoral scholars may not have the opportunity, contacts or venue to broaden this network, especially with academics in another field. 

To address this, the and Office of Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Affairs (OPVSA) and the Postdoctoral Association (PDA) have collaborated to create a platform for postdoctoral scholars and UC San Diego faculty to connect over an informal lunch at the Faculty Club once per quarter.

During this lunch, up to 5 postdoctoral scholars and a faculty member of the scholars’ choosing will have the opportunity to engage in discussions, such as postdoctoral training, research, life in and outside of academia and more.  The topics are driven by the attendees and all are expected to participate in the discussion.  OPVSA will sponsor the lunches at the Ida and Cecil Green Faculty Club.

We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to meet with UC San Diego faculty members as they share their insights and experiences.

Please do not apply if the featured faculty member is your mentor. The intent of the lunch is to broaden the postdoctoral scholar's network.

Lunches will be held in the Ida and Cecil Green Faculty Club from 12 – 1:30 pm.

Becoming a Successful and Effective Science Writer Workshop (In person training)

• November 29, 2016, 1 - 4:30 pm, Medical Education & Telemedicine (MET) Building, room 141
• For more information and to register: https://schimelwritingpostdocs2016.eventbrite.com/

Nature Masterclasses: Scientific Writing and Publishing (Online training)

As a postdoc at UC San Diego, you have access to the online Nature Masterclasses, courses about scientific writing and publishing. 

• To register, visit: masterclasses.nature.com.  Note: You will need to be using UC San Diego's Internet or wifi or access it remotely

The course is taught by editors from the Nature journals, contains 15 modules, and covers the entire scientific publishing process – from writing a paper to publication.

Access is available to UC San Diego postdoctoral scholars, students of all levels, faculty, staff and administrators. Note that the course focuses on the natural sciences.

Start your access:

To start using the course, make sure you are using the UC San Diego's Internet or wifi, or accessing it remotely, and register on the Nature Masterclasses website: https://masterclasses.nature.com/users/sign_up

You will always need to use the UC San Diego's Internet or wifi, or access it remotely, to access the course.

Once registered, you will have immediate access to the course: https://masterclasses.nature.com/courses/28

For more information, see the User Guide for Institutional Access PDF or PowerPoint presentation.

How To Videos:

Register and get access

Use the course

Review your progress

Use the blog and ask questions

Edit your profile and add a photo

Garnett-Powers & Associates (PSBP Insurance Broker) - (800) 254-1758

International Faculty & Scholar Office (International Center) - ischolars@ucsd.edu; (858) 534-3730

Payroll

• Anne Winterton awinterton@ucsd.edu, (858) 822-1185
• Paul Rodriguez prodriguez@ucsd.edu, (858) 534-3241

Research Ethics

• Mary Devereaux, mdevereaux@ucsd.edu , (858) 822-5764
• Michael Kalichman, kalichman@ucsd.edu,  (858) 822-2027

UC Learning Center - Registration system and catalog of training available to postdocs

UCSD Extension - Postdocs are eligible for  a 10 percent discount, up to $50 per quarter, on eligible courses to eligible students at UC San Diego Extension.

UCSD Whistleblower Hotline - (877) 319-0265

Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination - (858) 534-8298; ophd@ucsd.edu

Office of the Ombuds - (858) 534-0777

Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) - (858) 534-5523

Lactation Accommodation at UCSD

UCSD Early Childhood Education Center

Garnett-Powers & Associates Wellness Programs

For more information about benefits and services for UC San Diego postdocs, visit: http://postdoc.ucsd.edu/benefits-and-services/index.html