Mallory Smith, PhD

#phdlife #academicchatter #phdchatter #nextgensci #nih #nsf #doe #noaa #usda #cdc #sciencefunding #politics #standupforscience #highered #research

A report released today by the National Postdoctoral Association calls out stark findings about the effect of recent executive branch policies on postdocs.

🚨These findings should be concerning to all who care about the future of American science and research leadership.🚨

#sciencepolicy #postdoc

The worst part is the uncertainty - the not knowing if the new finish line will be just another few months away? A year? Four? How many more sacrifices will you have to make?

Finally, you're within arms reach of your dream. All you need is some start-up funds from a national science agency or a institution that is willing to take a chance on you. But, almost overnight, research funding becomes extremely uncertain, dragging the finish line further away.

You've learned resiliency that you didn't think was possible from repeated failed experiments and paper/fellowship rejections, all while receiving wages that often border the basic costs of living.

Imagine having dedicated the last decade of your life, your twenties, to the grind of achieving the academic dream. You've pushed past the poor work-life balance...

Federal research instability risks postdoc careers, American leadership In a new National Postdoctoral Association report, 43% of postdocs said Trump administration policies have threatened their positions, while more than one-third said their research is delayed or in je...

Though all of scientific research is sitting under the gun, the most vulnerable among us are our postdocs. The nations 72,000 postdocs often go unnoticed in national discourse but are essential to the American research enterprise across all disciplines. www.statnews.com/2025/03/13/p...