The postdoctoral blueprint part two: the faculty application

Reimagining bioRxiv and preprint servers as platforms for academic learning

“…While existing programs, such as Project Strengthen , have sought to increase research skills within students through primarily mentoring (Barongan et al, 2023; Marshall et al, 2022b, 2022a; Marshall, Brady, et al, 2022; Marshall, Palavicino‐Maggio, et al, 2022), these may be expanded to include training and mentorship involving bioRxiv, to both better familiarize students with preprint platforms as well as offer new perspectives on the revisions process. Furthermore, past guides on successfully making the transition from a postdoctoral fellow to a junior faculty (Murray et al, 2022b, 2022a; Spencer, Shuler, et al, 2022), while useful, do not discuss in‐depth considerations around effectively utilizing preprints. Similarly, for health professions education, it has been proposed that preprint‐based journal clubs, as well as other curricula around preprints, may serve to increase critical discussion around preprints and their usage (Maggio & Fleerackers, 2023).…”

A review of undergraduate research programs aimed at underrepresented students

“…Similarly, seminars for career and professional development may help students develop as individuals beyond only being researchers in the duration of these programs, as well as help expose them to the steps beyond graduate school, such as becoming a junior faculty member. 108 , 109 , 110 However, if research programs implement goals such as publishing or conferences, it is important to keep realistic goals that do not lead to student burnout. Notably, a study exploring the impact of a motivational intervention on STEM students showed paradoxical effects, with students who had higher expectations also having lower grade point averages, highlighting the potential risks associated with unrealistic expectations.…”

The power of junior faculty mentoring committees

“…However, we note ). In particular, the journey to becoming a tenured faculty member in biomedical sciences can be tumultuous (Murray et al, 2022c(Murray et al, , 2022d but the experience can be improved through mentoring, especially through the use of a mentoring committee (Hackworth et al, 2021) This may or may not include practices for formal or informal mentoring including mentoring guidelines at the departmental college level. In recent years, more institutions have established formal processes and evaluations (Grossman et al, 2009;Rosenthal et al, 2012;Yukawa et al, 2020) for mentoring as they recognize the impact of mentoring on faculty success and retention (Griffin et al, 2010;National Academies of Sciences, E., and Medicine, 2020).…”

“…Mentoring committees are crucial for faculty to understand the processes of merit and promotion at their institution. These topics have previously been discussed and are likely to be learned by junior faculty members in the process of applying for faculty positions (Murray et al, 2022c, 2022d; Spencer, Shuler, et al, 2022). Yet there is a relative paucity of information on the defining features of a junior faculty mentoring committee.…”