Postdoctoral Training
Suzanne Serreze, Manager, Sponsored Training Programs
Glenn Smallidge, Grants Coordinator II
As academic and industry programs in mammalian genetics and genomics grow, there is an emerging and growing shortage of qualified applicants to fill these positions. To help serve this need, The Jackson Laboratory has established a coordinated training program for postdoctoral fellows which provides broad understanding and experience in appropriate skills.
The foundation of our training program is a one-to-one relationship between a trainee and his or her sponsor, with the trainee expected to work mainly in the laboratory of the sponsor. The Jackson Laboratory is an acknowledged world leader in mammalian genetics, maintaining extensive genetic resources and Shared Scientific Services to support research by over 35 faculty groups.
Research foci include Cancer, Developmental Biology & Aging, Genomics, Hematology/Immunology, Metabolic Diseases and Neurobiology & Sensory Deficits.
A special training program for Veterinarians is also available.
In addition to one-on-one training with individual staff scientists, postdoctoral trainees at the Laboratory:
Attend Courses and Meetings. Postdoctoral trainees at the Laboratory have access to three advanced courses in mammalian genetics taught by distinguished international geneticists: The Short Course in Medical Experimental Mammalian Genetics, presented annually since 1960 in cooperation with Johns Hopkins University; Experimental Genetics of the Laboratory Mouse directed at postdoctoral fellows and graduate students; and Genetic Approaches to Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary course focusing on QTL analysis for investigators early in their research careers. In addition, they have access to the several international scientific meetings and workshops The Jackson Laboratory hosts each year. The purpose of the Meetings program at TJL is to promote meaningful exchanges of information on the latest scientific developments in specific topics in mammalian genetics.
Attend TJL Interest Groups. Trainees are expected to participate and present one talk per year in at least one of the weekly Research Interest Groups (Functional Genomics; Diabetes, Obesity, and Artherosclerosis; and Immunology-Hematology).
Attend TJL Seminars. Trainees attend most of the regular TJL Staff Seminars usually held on Thursday afternoons. There were 57 Staff Seminars, most presented by visiting speakers, this last year.
Attend Faculty Meetings. Trainees are invited to attend all open faculty meetings.
Travel to Meetings. Each trainee is expected to travel to one national/international scientific meeting per year. After their first year in the program, the trainees are expected to present their research at these meetings.
Write Grant Applications. We expect all postdoctoral trainees at TJL to prepare and submit at least one fellowship grant application for extramural support of the second and third years of training e.g., an NIH individual NRSA,. This gives the trainee valuable experience necessary for competition in the job market. The Training Office identifies funding sources and coordinates the submissions.
The American Association of Universities (AAU) issued a report containing eight recommendations to improve postdoctoral training and treatment of postdoctoral associates. The substance of these recommendations has been policy at The Jackson Laboratory for several years and includes oversight by an institutional Training Committee, which performs annual trainee reviews and insures uniformity of compensation and benefits; and a Training Office devoted to equitable administration of the five institutional NIH Training grants and the welfare of the Trainees, including help in job placement.
Currently, over 50 postdoctoral associates are training at the Jackson Laboratory.
Location - Located in Bar Harbor, Maine, the Laboratory is adjacent to Acadia National Park. Mountains, ocean, forests, lakes, and trails are all within walking distance.
There are no regular deadlines for receipt of applications. Letters of inquiry should include: curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, list of publications, and names of three references.
If you are interested in obtaining postdoctoral training in an area that is rapidly emerging as one of the key research technologies of the twenty-first century, you can submit a resume or obtain further information by writing:
Suzanne Serreze
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, ME 04609-1500
email training@jax.org
