TAC Trainee Survey
In 2004, the Trainee Advisory Committee (TAC) conducted the first TAC Trainee Survey to determine what each segment of APS trainees (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and new investigators) saw as important issues that the Society should address. The TAC conducts survey every three years to update APS' information on the needs of trainees. The survey is not limited to APS members but casts a broader net to solicit information from the many trainees who are involved in APS activities and meetings.
In 2007, the survey was revised and implemented online. Recipients who received the email about the survey were encouraged to pass the email along to other trainees and new investigators at their institutions. More than 600 trainees completed the survey including 306 graduate students, 231 postdoctoral fellows, and 80 new investigators.
When asked what their interest was in receiving professional development on different topics, the top choices for all three groups were "mentoring and being mentored" and "writing grants." This finding has already been used in the development of a proposal to NINDS for a grant to provide support for a new APS Professional Skills Training course on mentoring. In the survey results, postdoctoral and graduate students also rated "writing scientific manuscripts" highly. Graduate students also rated "giving a talk/symposium" highly as a professional development need.
EB Symposia Experimental Biology 2008
The 2008 TAC Symposium was entitled, "Marketing Yourself on Paper for Academic Positions," and was organized by Lacy Holowatz and Eric Berglund. It included presentations on developing academic cover letters, a research statement and a teaching philosophy along with an interactive session on developing one's teaching philosophy.
Experimental Biology 2009
In 2009, the TAC symposium will focus on "Mentoring Strategies: Beyond the Bench." Committee members Karen Sweazea and My Helms are organizing the session which will include talks on mentoring both students and employees.
Trainee Email Newsletter
The TAC sends out a trainee email newsletter monthly to keep all interested trainees advised of relevant APS and other news, notice of award opportunities, postdoctoral position openings, articles of special interest to trainees, etc. The TAC also issues a special e-newsletter issue containing a list of all relevant career sessions for trainees at the EB meeting. Each Committee member distributes the special list via their Section listservs.
Trainee Web Page
In 2006, the TAC launched an APS Trainee Website (http://www.theaps.org/trainees/) with a prominent link from the APS home page. The site provides information on APS programs and services as well as links and information on current topics of interest to trainees and new investigators.
In 2008, the TAC worked to update and expand the Trainee Webpage resources. The new page has drop down menus, information and links for each APS Section, a scrolling list of announcements, and rollover graphics at the bottom of the page offering instant synopses and hyperlinks to information on awards, symposia, professional development opportunities, and more. Each Section's trainee-relevant activities will be highlighted for one month at the top of the website.
APS Trainee Community and Professional Service Award
The Early Career Professional Service Award honors an early career stage APS member (graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, Assistant Professor or equivalent position) who is judged to have made outstanding contributions to the physiology community and demonstrated dedication and commitment to furthering the broader goals of the physiology community. The TAC serves as the selection committee for the award. This award of $1,000 was given for the first time at EB 2008.
The TAC received 14 nominations for the award and selected Diane H. Munzenmaier, Assistant Professor of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, as the first recipient of the APS Trainee Community and Professional Service Awardee. Munzenmaier received her award at EB 2008.
TAC Representative Outreach to New Members
In 2006, the TAC began requesting a monthly list of new student and postdoctoral members from the Membership Office so each TAC Section representative could offer a personal welcome to new members. This system has worked well with most representatives contacting new trainee members soon after their acceptance into Society membership. In addition to a personal greeting, each new member is encouraged to: 1) sign up for his/her Section listserv; 2) sign up for the Trainee Listserv; 3) download and review the Professional Skills Listing; and 4) visit the Trainee Webpage.
Outreach to Undergraduates
TAC members are actively involved in APS efforts to encourage undergraduate student involvement in research and in EB activities.
Council has recently approved a recommendation from the Membership Committee allowing undergraduate students to hold a student membership in APS. To assist the membership Committee with this new group of students, the TAC subcommittee on undergraduate outreach has compiled a list of suggested benefits that will be relevant to new undergraduate members in APS. These will be forwarded to the Membership Committee for their consideration.
TAC members attended the EB 2008 Undergraduate Poster Session and engaged many of the undergraduate students in discussions of their research. In addition, in 2008, TAC members also collaborated with the Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee on the new EB Undergraduate Orientation Session, presenting some of the orientation talks and interacting with undergraduate students at the session tables.
Communication with Other Organizations
As part of its duty to "bring relevant matters to the attention of Council," the TAC monitors activities of other trainee-related organizations (such as the National Postdoctoral Association) and communicates with these organizations on issues directly relevant to APS members.
The TAC learned of a new National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) effort to promote a recommended "curriculum" for postdoctoral fellows. The NPA identified six areas that should be addressed in postdoctoral training: scientific knowledge; research skills; communication skills; leadership/management; responsible conduct of research; and professionalism. TAC member Jessica Clark attended the annual NPA meeting. The NPA asked for input on the draft listing and the TAC responded to their request with feedback from several committee members.