For Potential Mentors

This page contains content for PIs at OHSU interested in recruiting postdoctoral researchers via the OHSU Fellowship for Diversity in Research program. Please explore the content below for information about how to recruit diverse postdocs, the application and hiring process, programs you can participate in to gain additional experience in culturally aware mentoring, and more. Please note that if your prospective mentee will receive funding through a training grant or diversity supplement (or would be able to bring funding from their current position into a postdoctoral position at OHSU), they are still eligible to apply for additional benefits with OFDIR

Recruiting diverse postdocs

We understand that it can be a challenge to hire diverse postdoctoral candidates without the ability to directly ask a candidate about their race/ethnicity. We offer the following guidance:
1) Post a link to the OFDIR website or the flyer on your lab website or ask your department to highlight the fellowship. This way, you can tell anyone that you might be interacting with, “check out my website or the department website for information about opportunities available for scientists/trainees from underrepresented backgrounds”. Then if that person thinks they are eligible they will self-identify and follow your direction. Alternatively, you can in general, let any prospective person you’re talking to know that this fellowship and other opportunities exist at OHSU for underrepresented individuals and they can inquire with you to learn more. That allows you to open the door and leaves it for them to walk through it.
2) When recruiting for postdocs or other folks to add to your lab, we definitely recommend disseminating this information through networks/job boards that will reach candidates from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. SACNAS, ABRCMS, and Pathways to Science are great places to start. As well, many professional societies have databases to tap into to reach a diverse pool of applicants. 
For more information about reaching a diverse candidate pool, read "Strategies to improve equity in faculty hiring" by Needhi Bhalla, Ph.D. 

Hiring a Fellow with OFDIR

Explore the tabs to the left to learn more about the process a postdoctoral researcher must undergo to apply to OFDIR. One element of this process is that you as the mentor PI must provide a letter of support to the potential Fellow. This letter should include the following information:

  • Your proposed and personalized mentoring strategy for supporting the Fellow
  • Your experience providing culturally aware mentoring in the past
  • Your plan for helping the Fellow to find continued funding after their first OFDIR year

As described in the "Fellowship Benefits" tab, this Fellowship offers a one-year salary as well as professional development funds and relocation funds. Beyond that, it is the mentor PIs role (with OFDIR administrator support) to assist the Fellow in finding funding for their second year of research and beyond. For first-year Fellows, the OFDIR funding provided is at the NIH postdoctoral level. We have seen some mentor PIs pitch in with additional funding on top of that, and we encourage PIs to consider this if possible to make the hiring package more attractive to potential Fellows. 

Once a Fellows has been accepted to the OFDIR program, it is your responsibility as the mentor/hiring PI to oversee and complete the hiring process through your department. OFDIR is not the hiring party for your Fellow. 

Culturally aware mentoring

It is very important to us that our OFDIR mentors are well-equipped and experienced in providing culturally aware mentoring to OFDIR Fellows. To learn more about some of the key components of culturally aware and competent mentoring, visit the OHSU Mentoring Academy's website. 

In addition, there are several organizations within OHSU and the larger Portland community that provide opportunities for gaining experience in culturally aware mentoring and supporting groups that are underrepresented in the field of scientific research. Please consider becoming involved in one of the groups below if you are not already!