Cell scientist to watch – Christine Faulkner

ABSTRACTChristine Faulkner pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney, Australia. She then joined Robyn Overall's research group at the same institution to obtain her PhD in molecular and cell biology, where she characterised plasmodesmata, which are connection channels between plant cells that allow for communication and molecule transport. In 2005, Christine moved to the UK to continue studying plasmodesmata characterisation and function, as well as trying to understand their link to infection outcomes. Her first postdoctoral position was with Karl Oparka at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a second at the John Innes Centre in Norwich with Professor Andrew Maule. She subsequently joined the lab of Silke Robatzek at The Sainsbury Laboratory, also in Norwich, before starting an independent fellowship at Oxford Brookes University, in Oxford, in 2012. In December 2013, Christine returned to the John Innes Centre to establish her own lab. In 2016, she was awarded an ERC Consolidator grant. Her lab is trying to understand how cell–cell communication occurs in plants, focusing on plasmodesmata, and how this process is crucial for regulation of the plant immune response.

Donald T. Stuss Obituary, Canadian Psychology

Presents an obituary for Donald T. Stuss (1941–2019). The work of Donald T. Stuss, OC, FRSC, who died in Toronto on September 3, 2019, of complications following pancreatic cancer was world-leading but also notable for his influence on the landscape of Canadian neuroscience. Don worked as a teacher and football coach at high schools in Ontario before returning to the University of Ottawa to pursue graduate studies in psychology; he obtained his PhD in 1976. After a postdoctoral position at the Boston VA Medical Center, Don returned to Ottawa to pursue neuropsychological research at the university and also clinical work at the Ottawa General Hospital, where he served as director of clinical neuropsychological services from 1978 to 1989 and wrote the seminal volume The Frontal Lobes with Frank Benson (Stuss & Benson, 1986). Don had three major research interests in his scientific career: first, the functions of the frontal lobes and their role in cognitive processes, conscious awareness, and feelings of self; second, the effects of traumatic brain injury on these functions; and third, improving clinical approaches to assessment and rehabilitation. Each of these was grounded in Don’s thinking about functions of the frontal lobes in enabling cognitive processes and experiences in the normal adult, as well as how these functions are affected by focal and diffuse damage. Don’s success and influence as a researcher and scientific manager earned him many accolades and prestigious marks of recognition. These included being president of the International Neuropsychological Society, a member of the Order of Ontario, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an Officer in the Order of Canada. Donald Stuss was a great neuropsychologist and also a great Canadian. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

How to find the right postdoctoral position for you

The increasingly competitive academic job market has forced PhD graduates in psychology, neuroscience, and related fields to maximize their research output and secure grant funding during the early postdoctoral period of their careers. In the present article, based on a Q&A session presented at a research retreat (Brain and Behaviour Lab, University of Sydney) in February 2018, we draw on our firsthand experiences of navigating the transition from graduate student to postdoc. We offer practical advice to students who may be nearing the end of their PhDs and planning their first steps toward an academic career. Although the postdoc experience is varied, it is important for early-career researchers to make optimal choices to increase their chances of securing a continuing academic position. Ultimately, the goal of a postdoctoral position should be to develop all the facets of an academic career, but with a strong focus on the quantity and quality of research outputs.

A day in the life of a Senior Research Scientist

Jennina Taylor-Wells received a BSc in Biotechnology at Oxford Brookes University in 2008, followed by a PhD in Physiology. Her first job in 2013 was a postdoctoral position also at Oxford Brookes University, where she identified mutations in insect receptors, that were linked to insecticide resistance. Her interest in mosquitoes led her to the University of Florida in 2016. In Florida she investigated how insecticides elicit their action on mosquitoes, which provided her with a wider interest in vector control and public health. Jennina has since returned to the UK and now works in industry, continuing to research novel methods to control mosquitoes.

Alan Astbury. 27 November 1934—21 July 2014

Alan Astbury worked in the area of accelerator based subatomic physics. Increasing beam energies, intensities and types of available accelerated beams opened scientific windows to new phenomena throughout his career. Exploiting these new beams required new techniques and the use of the latest technology. Alan was always at the forefront of putting these components together into the experiments needed to confirm or reject the latest theoretical advances or clarify conflicting experimental observations. Following his PhD using the synchrocyclotron at the University of Liverpool and a postdoctoral position at Berkeley, he became a staff member at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, where he played a central role in the successive experiments with the Nimrod proton synchrotron, the 26 GeV proton synchrotron at CERN and, perhaps most significantly, with the UA1 experiment at CERN that discovered the W and Z particles. Alan moved to Canada in 1983 and made enormous contributions to Canadian science. He was instrumental in building relationships between Canadian scientists and CERN, DESY and SLAC. As director of the Canadian Institute of Particle Physics and then director of the TRIUMF laboratory, he guided subatomic physics policy and planning for two decades. On the international scene, he was president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics.

Assessing the landscape of US postdoctoral salaries

Purpose Postdocs make up a significant portion of the biomedical workforce. However, data about the postdoctoral position are generally scarce, and no systematic study of the landscape of individual postdoc salaries in the USA has previously been carried out. The purpose of this study was to assess actual salaries for postdocs using data gathered from US public institutions; determine how these salaries may vary with postdoc title, institutional funding and geographic region; and reflect on which institutional and federal policy measures may have the greatest impact on salaries nationally. Design/methodology/approach Freedom of Information Act Requests were submitted to US public universities or university systems containing campuses with at least 300 science, engineering and health postdocs, according to the 2015 National Science Foundation’s Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering. Salaries and job titles of postdocs as of December 1, 2016, were requested. Findings Salaries and job titles for nearly 14,000 postdocs at 52 US institutions around December 1, 2016, were received. Individual postdoc names were also received for approximately 7,000 postdocs, and departmental affiliations were received for 4,000 postdocs. This exploratory study shows evidence of a postdoc gender pay gap, a significant influence of job title on postdoc salary and a complex relationship between salaries and the level of institutional National Institutes of Health/NSF funding. Originality/value These results provide insights into the ability of institutions to collate and report out annualized salary data on their postdocs, highlighting difficulties faced in tracking and reporting data on this population by institutional administration. Ultimately, these types of efforts, aimed at increasing transparency regarding the postdoctoral position, may lead to improved support for postdocs at all US institutions and allow greater agency for postdocs making decisions based on financial concerns.

Assessing the Landscape of U.S. Postdoctoral Salaries

PurposePostdocs make up a significant portion of the biomedical workforce. However, data about the postdoctoral position are generally scarce, including salary data. The purpose of this study was to request, obtain and interpret actual salaries, and the associated job titles, for postdocs at U.S. public institutions.MethodologyFreedom of Information Act Requests were submitted to U.S. public institutions estimated to have at least 300 postdocs according to the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Graduate Students and Postdocs. Salaries and job titles of postdoctoral employees as of December 1st, 2016 were requested.FindingsSalaries and job titles for over 13,000 postdocs at 52 public U.S. institutions and 1 private institution around the date of December 1st, 2016 were received, and individual postdoc names were also received for approximately 7,000 postdocs. This study shows evidence of gender-related salary discrepancies, a significant influence of job title description on postdoc salary, and a complex relationship between salaries and the level of institutional NIH funding.ValueThese results provide insights into the ability of institutions to collate actual payroll-type data related to their postdocs, highlighting difficulties faced in tracking, and reporting data on this population. Ultimately, these types of efforts, aimed at increasing transparency, may lead to improved tracking and support for postdocs at all U.S. institutions.