S4E7: Demystifying the Tenure-Track Faculty Application Process

09/22/23 • 58 min

The fourth Season of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Building Up the Nerve podcast, where we discuss the unwritten rules, or “hidden curriculum,” of scientific research at every career stage. We know that navigating your career can be daunting, but we're here to help—it's our job!
In episode 7, we talk about applying for a faculty position, including preparing your application, negotiating, and the accepting or re-applying process.
Featuring Kimberly S Williams, Assistant Professor, Spelman College; Lucas Cheadle, Assistant Professor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; and Erin Stephenson, Assistant Professor, Midwestern University.
Resources

NIH Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE) Program (R25): https://nigms.nih.gov/training/RISE/Pages/default.aspx
NIH Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) (K12): https://nigms.nih.gov/training/careerdev/Pages/TWDInstRes.aspx
Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS): https://abrcms.org/
Future PI Slack community: https://futurepislack.wordpress.com/
Neuroscience Development for Advancing the Careers of a Diverse Research Workforce (R25) Programs: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/training-career-development/choose-award-career-stage-eligibility/diversity-awards/nih-neuroscience-development-advancing-careers-diverse-research-workforce-r25-faqs/neuroscience-development-advancing-careers-diverse-research-workforce-r25
- BRAINS (R25): Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroSciences - A national program to increase the advancement of neuroscience researchers from diverse backgrounds: https://brains.uw.edu/

Transcript available at http://ninds.buzzsprout.com/.

NIH Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE) Program (R25): https://nigms.nih.gov/training/RISE/Pages/default.aspx
NIH Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) (K12): https://nigms.nih.gov/training/careerdev/Pages/TWDInstRes.aspx
Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS): https://abrcms.org/
Future PI Slack community: https://futurepislack.wordpress.com/
Neuroscience Development for Advancing the Careers of a Diverse Research Workforce (R25) Programs: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/training-career-development/choose-award-career-stage-eligibility/diversity-awards/nih-neuroscience-development-advancing-careers-diverse-research-workforce-r25-faqs/neuroscience-development-advancing-careers-diverse-research-workforce-r25
- BRAINS (R25): Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroSciences - A national program to increase the advancement of neuroscience researchers from diverse backgrounds: https://brains.uw.edu/

Transcript available at http://ninds.buzzsprout.com/.

Previous Episode

All About Grants: What We Have Heard from Early Career Researchers (Part 1)

Listen in for the first of two special guest episodes of NIH's All About Grants podcast! In this episode, host Dr. David Kosub invites NINDS's Building Up the Nerve co-host, Dr. Lauren Ullrich, and the host of National Cancer Institute's Inside Cancer Careers, Oliver Bogler, for a conversation on what they've learned from early career researchers through their podcasts.
The next guest episode features Building Up the Nerve's other co-host, Dr. Marguerite Matthews!
Resources
All About Grants
Inside Cancer Careers
Transcript available at http://ninds.buzzsprout.com/.

Next Episode

S4E8: Demystifying the Early Career Faculty Stage

The fourth Season of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Building Up the Nerve podcast, where we discuss the unwritten rules, or “hidden curriculum,” of scientific research at every career stage. We know that navigating your career can be daunting, but we're here to help—it's our job!
In episode 8, we talk about succeeding as junior faculty, including starting a lab from scratch, balancing all aspects of the job, and how to manage tenure expectations.
Featuring Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, PhD, Assistant Professor, Columbia University; Katie Wilkinson, PhD, Professor, San Jose State University; and Jack Lipton, PhD, Professor, Michigan State University.
Resources

Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) (R35): https://nigms.nih.gov/Research/mechanisms/MIRA
Resources from the 2022 “Maintaining a Neural Network: Transforming Mentorship Workshop”: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/news-events/events/maintaining-neural-network-transforming-mentorship-workshop
NIH Glossary: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/glossary.htm
NIH Early Stage Investigator Resources: https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-stage/index.htm
Support for Research Excellence (SuRE): https://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/about-funding/types-research-support/research-project-grants/support-research-excellence-sure-program-r16
NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15): https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r15.htm
University of Washington BRAINS program: https://brains.uw.edu/
Big 10 Academic Alliance: https://btaa.org/
Diversity R01 for New and “At-Risk” Investigators: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/about-funding/types-research-support/research-project-grants/diversity-r01-new-and-risk-investigators
Books:
- At the Helm: Leading your Laboratory by Kathy Barker
- Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty, Second Edition from HHMI: https://www.hhmi.org/science-education/programs/resources/making-right-moves
- The Grant Application Writer's Workbook for NIH: https://www.grantcentral.com/workbooks/national-institutes-of-health/

Transcript available at http://ninds.buzzsprout.com/.

NINDS's Building Up the Nerve - S4E7: Demystifying the Tenure-Track Faculty Application Process

Transcript

[00:00:00] Lauren Ullrich: [intro music] Welcome to Season 4 of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's Building Up the Nerve, where we discuss the unwritten rules or "hidden curriculum" of scientific research at every career stage. We know that navigating your career can be daunting, but we're here to help. It's our job. [music fades]

[00:00:21] Marguerite Matthews: I'm Marguerite Matthews, a Program Director at NINDS.

[00:0