by Patrick C. Miller
Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.
– Marston Bates
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| Jonathan Geiger, Ph.D., values the work performed by postdoctoral fellow, Xuesong Chen, Ph.D., in his lab |
If this quotation is accurate, then those most often exploring the “alleys” of medical research within the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences are the post-docs who work in the labs.
To be sure, principal investigators and senior researchers are responsible for launching and leading research “expeditions,” but they rely heavily on the skills, talent and dedication of postdoctoral fellows (post-docs for short) to carry the research load in the lab.
“Post-docs are absolutely critical to the entire mission of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences,” says Jonathan Geiger, Ph.D. professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Therapeutics.
“There is recognition that post-docs are invaluable, not only for getting our research done as proposed and funded by our grants, but also for all the aspects of our mission – research and scholarly activities, service, and teaching/education,” he says.
So just what is a post-doc? As the title implies, the person is usually a recent recipient of a doctorate degree. As defined by the Association of American Universities (AAU), a postdoctoral fellowship entails:
- A temporary appointment (usually two to five years);
- Freedom to conduct full-time research;
- Preparation for a full-time career in academic or industry research;
- Working within a university department or research institution under the supervision of a senior scholar or researcher; and
- Publication of research results during the time of the appointment.
“A good post-doc makes your entire research program go,” says Donald Sens, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology. “They not only produce good research, but they’re also great mentors for graduate and undergraduate students.
“The entire operation works better with a good post-doc, mainly because graduate students are tied up with exams, research proposals and course work,” he notes. “Post-docs are full-time in the lab with no teaching duties, which is the norm.”
