Travel and Professional Development Awards
Travel Award
The OHSU Postdoctoral Scholar Travel Awards (up to $1000 each) are designed to enable postdocs to attend conference but which cannot be fully funded through their mentor’s grant.
There are three application cycles for the awards:
- For conferences occurring from September to December, application due the 1st Monday of August
- For conferences occurring from January to April, application due the 1st Monday of December
- For conferences occurring from May to August, application due the 1st Monday of April
The OPA is not currently accepting applications. Please stay tuned!
Eligibility:
- Applicant must be an OHSU postdoctoral scholar at the time of the application and during the dates of the conference. This includes postdoctoral researchers receiving salary via payroll and postdoctoral trainees receiving salary via stipend as outlined in OHSU’s postdoctoral appointment policy 03-10-045.
- Applicant must be presenting at the conference (oral or poster presentation). Confirmation of the presentation may be requested by the Travel and Professional Development Award Committee.
- Applicant must demonstrate financial need based on the budget for the conference.
- Applicant must agree to present their research at the Postdoctoral Society’s events (Research week, Joint symposium,...).
Evaluation of applications:
- Previous travel: Postdoctoral scholars with fewer previous travel opportunities receive a higher score
- Financial need: Detailed and reasonable proposed budgets and fewer alternative funding sources receive a higher score
- Potential to enhance postdoctoral education/career: Conference attendance that supports a postdoc's education and/or career goals receive a higher score
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) focus: For translational and clinical research only, research with direct DEI implications receives a higher score
- Additional considerations: Postdoc is providing service for the conference, postdoc has not been able to travel for their career within the past year, and postdoc is providing an oral presentation, young post doc or senior postdoc.
Overall, the Postdoctoral Scholar Travel Awards increase OHSU postdoctoral scholars’ participation and presentation experience at national and international conferences, as well as increased visibility of OHSU trainees at these conferences.
Professional Development Award
The OHSU Postdoctoral Scholar Professional Development Awards (up to $500 each) are designed to help postdocs attend a training or workshop (online or in person) to build and enhance scientific skills or professional competencies, but which cannot be fully funded through their mentor’s grant.
There are three application cycles for the awards:
- For conferences occurring from September to December, application due the 1st Monday of August
- For conferences occurring from January to April, application due the 1st Monday of December
- For conferences occurring from May to August, application due the 1st Monday of April
The OPA is not currently accepting applications. Please stay tuned!
Eligibility:
- Applicant must be an OHSU postdoctoral scholar at the time of the application and during the dates of the training. This includes postdoctoral researchers receiving salary via payroll and postdoctoral trainees receiving salary via stipend as outlined in OHSU’s postdoctoral appointment policy 03-10-045.
- Applicant must attend the training (online or in person). Confirmation of attendance may be requested by the Travel and Professional Development Award Committee.
- Applicant must demonstrate financial need and state how this professional development opportunity will support their career.
Evaluation of applications:
- Financial need: Detailed and reasonable proposed budgets and fewer alternative funding sources receive a higher score
- Potential to enhance postdoctoral career: Training that supports a postdoc's career goals receive a higher score
Overall, the Postdoctoral Scholar Professional Development Awards increase OHSU postdoctoral scholars’ scientific and professional skills to help them reach their career goals.
Dr. Hebert earned her BA in biology and chemistry from Minnesota State University-Moorhead and her PhD in biology from Portland State University. She is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Michael Hutchens’ lab in Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine where her project connects reproductive health and the developmental origins of health and disease to parental recovered acute kidney injury. This travel award allowed her to attend the 69th annual Society for Reproductive Investigation meeting in Denver in March 2022, where her work was honored as being part of the top 15% of all submitted abstracts and given a platform presentation spot. The opportunity to network and share research is invaluable to trainee fellows and she is grateful for the support of OPA.
Riley is a postdoctoral fellow and research audiologist at Oregon Hearing Research Center and VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research. He completed his Au.D. and Ph.D. at the Ohio State University, where he studied the ototoxic effects of antiretroviral drugs. He used the travel award to present that research at the American Academy of Audiology conference, where he also presented on strategies to create more LGBTQ-inclusive audiology clinics.
Beth earned her B.S. in marine biology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania and her M.S. and Ph.D. in human anatomy and biomedical physiology, respectively, from Penn State College of Medicine. She is now a first-year postdoc in the Department of Pediatrics and Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care. Beth used these funds to attend the 2022 AACR Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was her first time attending the meeting, where she presented a poster on her ongoing research regarding the role of the RNA-binding protein HuR as a mediator of impaired adipogenesis in pancreatic cancer cachexia. She was also able to attend several exciting sessions of relevance, including adipose tissue as a driver of carcinogenesis, as well as professional networking and career development events.
Dr. Hannah Morton is a postdoctoral fellow working in Dr. Joel Nigg’s ADHD research lab to identify trajectories of neurocognitive development across childhood and adolescence. She also works clinically under the supervision of Dr. Kristen Mackiewicz-Seghete in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic conducting neuropsychological evaluations related to neurodevelopment and learning differences. Hannah received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Binghamton University and completed her clinical psychology internship at Geisinger Health System in pediatric primary care. Her research examines neurocognitive development and environmental stressors that impact social expectations for autistic and ADHD youth. Outside of the lab, she enjoys cooking, fitness, hiking with her dog, and spending time with her family.
FAQs
Each OHSU postdoctoral scholar is eligible to receive one travel award (up to $1000) and one professional development award (up to $500) per calendar year. The goal is to support as many postdoctoral scholars as possible with the available fund awards.
For more information about the Postdoctoral Travel Awards, you can reach out to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at opa@ohsu.edu or the Postdoctoral Society at postdocsociety@ohsu.edu. We would love to answer your questions!
Yes! All OHSU postdoctoral scholars are eligible to apply for the Postdoctoral Travel Award and the Professional Development Award. Applicants must be an OHSU postdoctoral scholar at the time of the application and during the dates of the conference. This includes postdoctoral researchers receiving salary via payroll and postdoctoral trainees receiving salary via stipend as outlined in OHSU’s postdoctoral appointment policy 03-10-045.
Application review may take up to 1 month following each application due date. Reviews are completed by the Travel Award Committee which consists of current OHSU postdoctoral scholars and the Director for the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
The preferred distribution of the travel or professional development award is to submit receipts for reimbursement. However, the details of how you receive your award may vary based on your individual situation. Shortly after you’ve been notified of your successful application, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will reach out via email to develop plans to distribute your funds.
To maintain eligibility for future travel and professional development awards, please send an email to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (opa@ohsu.edu) or the Postdoctoral Society (postdocsociety@ohsu.edu) as soon as possible before your planned travel/training date. If funds have already been distributed to you, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will work with you through the process of returning these funds.
Please send an email to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (opa@ohsu.edu) or the Postdoctoral Society (postdocsociety@ohsu.edu) providing the correct information.