# Supporting postdoctoral mentoring relationships through expanding the Postdoc Academy program

> **NIH NIH R25** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2022 · $109,180

## Abstract

The Postdoc Academy program is a comprehensive online and in-person professional
development program available to all postdoctoral scholars (postdocs) to help them develop the
transferable skills that will enable their success in a diverse set of biomedical careers. Our
content includes free online courses, open educational facilitation guides and accompanying
curricular materials, in-person workshops, and supported learning communities. Our available
courses include Succeeding as a Postdoc and Building Skills for a Successful Career, and
cover themes related to: joining a new community of practice, setting goals and expectations
with a mentor, career planning, developing resilience, working effectively in intercultural
environments, leadership, becoming a new supervisor, project management, translating
teaching skills into new professional settings, developing elevator pitches, and preparing job
application materials. We have reached over 7000 postdocs since our program launch, and
20% of our program participants are from underrepresented racial groups. Our research and
program evaluation data has shown that postdocs use our program and its supported learning
communities to have conversations with peers and facilitators that they are unable or
uncomfortable having with their primary mentor, especially those postdocs from marginalized
racial identities. This supplement to our parent award seeks to leverage our national reach,
partnerships, and access to the postdoc population to promote inclusive mentoring spaces for
postdoc trainees through creating or enhancing mentoring dialogues between postdocs and
faculty. We propose to do this through two aims: Specific Aim 1: Improve mentoring
relationships between postdocs and faculty mentors by integrating postdoc-led dialogue
frameworks into each Postdoc Academy module and our PALS facilitator guide; Specific Aim 2:
Improve faculty mentoring practices and their initiation of mentoring dialogues with postdocs
through developing virtual resources targeting departments and training programs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10605839
- **Project number:** 3R25GM121257-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** BENNETT B GOLDBERG
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $109,180
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-04 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10605839

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10605839, Supporting postdoctoral mentoring relationships through expanding the Postdoc Academy program (3R25GM121257-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-08-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10605839. Licensed CC0.

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