The remainder of this article focuses on the career paths of past Porter Fellows who have completed their training. Information on the career paths and training of past Fellows who were still students (graduate and postdoctoral) at the time of the survey is available in the full study report, forthcoming in March 2004.
   The career paths of past Fellows (n=38) who were employed physiologists at the time of the survey were examined in greater detail, to gain a better understanding of where they were in terms of career development and participation in the physiology community. Initially, the large majority (88%) of employed Fellows completed a postdoctoral fellowship before beginning their first professional position. Most Fellows held a single postdoctoral position (69%) while smaller percentages held two (12%) or three (8%) positions.
   Respondents were asked to describe their first professional position (Table 2). About two-thirds of responding past Fellows (65%) held first professional positions as assistant professors in medical schools or universities.

   When asked about their current position, the large majority of past Fellows indicated that they were employed by academic institutions (77%) (Table 3). Nearly half were in faculty positions, primarily in physiology or life sciences departments. Smaller percentages were in clinical (5%) or administrative (8%) positions. Less than 20% described their position as research assistant, lab assistant, or instructor. A number of Fellows were working in government positions, primarily as administrators of research programs, including an NIH Deputy Director and an Institute Director.
   Only 10% of the past Fellows were identified as holding positions in industry. It should be noted that this may be an underestimate, since some information was gathered via web searches and it is harder to identify and locate scientists employed in industry via web searches than either those in academia or government. Unlike researchers in academia or government, industry scientists are unlikely to have individual web pages describing their research or work and most industries do not publish employee titles and contact information online.

   Finally, respondents indicated how their work time is allocated (Table 4). On average, the employed past Fellows spent just under half of their work time engaged in research with the other half of their time divided between teaching and management/administration. This varied with specific job title, of course, with some Fellows (n=5) indicating that they spent 100% of their time in management or administrative tasks. Few Fellows (n=5) spent more than half of their time in teaching and only two Fellows indicated that they engaged in patient care activities. Three Fellows indicated that they spend a portion of their time on committee work.
In summary, the past Porter Fellows who have completed their training are, in general, working in physiology-related positions commensurate with their doctoral training. They are found not only in academic positions in medical schools and universities, but also in industry and government positions. A number of the past Fellows hold significant positions as department chairs, senior managers in industry, or department/division heads in government agencies. Most of the past Fellows spent a significant portion of their time engaged in biomedical research and spend at least a portion of their time in teaching, management, and administration. Few of the past Fellows are engaged in patient care or clinical research as a physician.

Porter Fellows and APS Membership
   One of the goals of the Porter Physiology Development Program is to encourage participation of Fellows in the APS. As shown in Table 5, the large majority of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the program are student or regular members of the Society. More than 40% of the employed physiologists were regular members at the time of the survey. Among the employed physiologists, 34% also indicated that they had been student members of the APS during their training. Of those who were student members during their training, 62% are now active members in the APS. At the time of the survey, 29 of the 72 past Fellows (40%) were active regular or student members.

  






  Past Porter Fellows have also made significant contributions to the APS through service on APS committees, sections, and task forces. They have played key roles in APS education programs such as the NIDDK Minority Travel Fellowships by serving as role models and mentors for minority students attending the APS annual meeting and fall conferences. Similarly, a number of past Porter Fellows have served as Physiologists-in-Residence for the APS Frontiers in Physiology Summer Research Program for middle and high school science teachers.

Impacts of the Fellowship
   The impacts of the Porter Fellowship cannot be assessed simply by numbers of degrees, titles, and institutional descriptions. Graduate and postdoctoral fellowships have important impacts on trainees in terms of not only financial status, but perseverance to degree completion, self-image, and perceptions of others. The retrospective study of past Porter Fellows also explored their perceptions of how the Fellowship impacted their training, professional development, and self-image.
Fellows first were asked whether they felt that the Porter Fellowship had an impact on the quality of their training as biomedical researchers. Many respondents indicated that the Fellowship provided them with the freedom to make important professional choices. Because they had an independent fellowship they felt they could select a graduate advisor or postdoctoral position based on their own research interests, not on the availability of funds in the advisor’s laboratory group. One Fellow stated:

The Porter Fellowship allowed me to choose the university, the major advisor—with or without funds—and my specific research area. Otherwise, I would have chosen a professor with funds whether or not I liked their research area.

   A number of Fellows indicated that having a Fellowship allowed them to focus fully on their research work, contributing to the quality of their work and training. Comments included the following:

The Fellowship allowed me to concentrate on my research and resulted in a higher quality PhD dissertation. As a result, my entire dissertation was published in quality peer-reviewed journals. This certainly helped me get a postdoctoral fellowship.
Academically, the Porter Fellowship has allowed me to be a stronger and more focused researcher as the financial assistance afforded me time to concentrate 100% on research and my development as a researcher.

   Fellows also commented on the Fellowships’ impacts on their career commitment. They noted the positive impacts the Fellowship had on their financial security during their graduate studies and on their self-confidence as a researcher:

It gave me more confidence in my ideas and career path. Science is often negative and critical and support (financial and emotional) are greatly needed and appreciated during graduate school.
The Fellowship was pivotal in my career. It offered the opportunity of doing a post-doc in a new area of research, Developmental Neurobiology, which became my principal research interest. I cannot imagine becoming a successful investigator without the training opportunity this Fellowship offered me.
Receiving the Porter Fellowship made my self-confidence as a researcher improve. I…was very thankful to receive the Porter Fellowship during my pre-doctoral training. It was a very significant honor for me.
The Porter Fellowship was available to me at a time when financial difficulties made it strenuous to maintain my commitment to biomedical research. In this regard, Porter was instrumental in helping me maintain focus throughout the graduate school experience.
This prestigious award played a critical role in defining my career path as a Physiologist, both as a teacher and a researcher. It increased my commitment and devotion to the physiological sciences because I became part of a selected and highly distinguished group of scientists that defined the knowledge and direction of what constitutes physiology today.

   Fellows were invited to add additional comments about the overall impact of the Fellowship—both positive and negative. Their comments indicate that the Fellowship, in many cases, provided important support and recognition at critical junctures in their career development:

This Fellowship has helped me tremendously, economic and academically. I have been able to work long hours on my research project, and not to worry about part-time jobs. Also, being part of the Porter Physiology Fellowship [program] assured me of the relevance of my research topic.
This Fellowship gave me the opportunity to pursue my graduate studies full time. As a single [parent] at the time, this really helped me out!
The Porter Fellowship is a wonderful program for graduating doctoral students to develop their grant writing “muscles” and develop independent research.
As a PhD candidate I have gained more support and recognition from my institution after receiving the Fellowship.
My colleagues consider the Porter Physiology Fellowship a prestigious award; therefore, it has helped my C.V.

   When asked for final comments about the program, Fellows wholeheartedly encouraged the continuation of the program. As one Fellow said:

A superb model that should be emulated. One the country should be using in other areas of science and engineering.

Recent Program Enhancements
   Fellows were asked for suggestions for enhancing or improving the Fellowship program. A number of their suggestions echoed the enhancements already being made to the Porter Fellowships and other APS minority programs, including the following:

• Since 2002, an annual reception for all current and past Porter Fellows and NIDDK Travel Fellows has been held at the Experimental Biology meetings;
  
• In 2003, the APS Education Office launched the APS Minority Physiologist Listserv. In addition to offering easy communication among minority physiology students, the Education Office sends a bi-weekly email with information on awards, Fellowships, grant opportunities, and postdoctoral and professional positions available;
  
• Publicity for the Fellowship has been expanded via Internet and listserv announcements to numerous organizations and via exhibits at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and the NIH-sponsored Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). As a result, in recent years applications to the Porter Fellowship have increased significantly;
  
• The Fellowship stipend has been increased to be commensurate with NIH stipends; and
  
•  As part of the new APS Careers in Physiology website (http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/index.htm), special resource pages for minority students and physiologists have been added at each educational level.

Summary
   The Porter Physiology Development Program Fellowships have supported the predoctoral and postdoctoral studies of numerous minority students. All of the Fellows responding to the current survey continue to be involved in life sciences-related work, primarily as physiologists-in-training or as physiologists working in academia, government, or industry. Following receipt of their degree, the large majority of Fellows completed a single postdoctoral fellowship and entered their first professional position. Most employed past-Fellows spent at least part of their time engaged in research and were also involved in teaching, management, and administration.
   Respondents felt strongly that the Porter Fellowship had contributed to the quality of their pre/postdoctoral training. They felt it gave them intellectual freedom to select research advisors and topics or postdoctoral positions. They also felt the financial freedom provided by the Fellowship allowed them to concentrate on their research, contributing both to the quality of their work and to their overall career commitment. Fellows strongly recommended continuation of the program and offered suggestions for expansion and increased communication.
   Finally, one of the most powerful benefits of the program is in its longitudinal impact. Past Fellows now serve as role models for a new generation of minority students aspiring to careers in biomedical research. Some have their own graduate students who have received the Porter Fellowship. One such Fellow emphasized the importance of this aspect of the program:

I was always told by my colleagues that I would be a good role model to minority students. Having Fellowships like the Porter Development Fellowship insures the training of minority professionals. Young minority students have hope of becoming scientists when they see those of us who have made it. I have graduate students who tell me that they want a laboratory and to do research like I am doing which makes me feel that I have accomplished something [important].

   As stated earlier, the goal of the Porter Physiology Fellowship Program is to encourage diversity among students pursuing full-time studies toward the PhD (or DSc) in the physiological sciences, and to encourage their participation in the APS. The findings of this retrospective study suggest that the program has been highly successful in both of these aspects. 

References
1. Brobeck, J.R., Reynolds, O.E., & Appel, T. History of the American Physiological Society: The First Century, 1887-1987. Bethesda, MD: American Physiological Society, 1987.
2. Miller, D.C. Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement (5th Edition). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1991.
3. Heberlein, T.A. & Baumgartner, R. Factors affecting response rate to mailed questionnaires. American Soc. Rev. 43: 451, 1978.
 

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