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Graduate School

Postdoc Community at Stowers

Join an Institute, not just a lab

A collegial community of fellow scientists and support staff

Group photo of postdoctoral researchers at the Stowers Institute

Community

Postdocs have opportunities to interact frequently with their peers through numerous postdoc-specific events and resources.

Group photo of postdoctoral researchers standing near double helix statue on the Stowers Institute campus.

Postdoc Meetups

Postdoc Meetups are an opportunity for postdocs to convene as a community to relax and exchange ideas and experiences. Monthly Postdoc Meetups alternate between informal gatherings and more formal informational sessions presented by faculty or alumni on topics relevant to postdocs and their careers.

People in a crowded room with lanyard name badges talking to each other

Postdoctoral Retreat

The annual postdoctoral retreat is a dynamic day of keynote speakers, research presentations, and social activities aimed at fostering greater camaraderie and collaboration amongst the postdoc community.

Woman writing on whiteboard

EDGE Talks

Stowers postdocs benefit from EDGE Talks, a seminar series presented by postdocs, for postdocs. The monthly EDGE Talks have a flexible format where the time can be used by the presenting postdoc in the way that best meets their needs. Postdocs sign-up by choice and have the flexibility to use the time in a way that would best benefit them.

Person presenting to a group at an event

Stowers Crossroads

Stowers Crossroads is an Institute committee focused on enriching scientific and professional development and connecting the Stowers research community. Predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers and scientific staff who are elected to serve on the Crossroads Committee provide a voice for their respective constituencies and a means for Stowers to address their evolving needs. Crossroads coordinates the popular Crossroads Research Conference, an internal multi-day research symposium where Stowers scientists showcase their research, as well as the annual Career Exploration Day conference. Crossroads also coordinates informal round-table interactions where trainees can discuss career-related topics of their choosing with faculty.

Man and woman walking down hallway with packets of paper and talking

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring

Stowers postdocs have the opportunity to be paired with a more senior postdoc as a peer mentor upon commencing the postdoctoral training. This program strives to introduce incoming postdocs to some of the features of the Stowers Institute in an informal way and help postdocs connect within the Stowers community. Peer mentors can be a source of support and guidance throughout postdoctoral training. As a postdoc becomes more senior themselves, they can also participate in the program by mentoring more junior postdocs.

The primary objective of postdoctoral training at the Stowers Institute is to gain the training, experience, skills and professional network required to succeed as an independent scientist. Maintaining a balance that enables development of each of those areas requires communication and alignment between the postdocs and their mentoring team, as well as advanced planning and organization. Stowers strives to empower postdocs to take ownership of their training experience and their career with recommendations for achieving success.

An Zeng
Blair Benham-Pyle
Kai Lei
Katerina Ragkousi

An Zeng, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, China

“

I love the Stowers Institute because it combines leading science with a wonderful place that has a true sense of community. Being in the Stowers postdoc program brought me into contact with high profile researchers doing interdisciplinary work and exposed me to new methodologies. The experience at the Institute helped me to learn to communicate with colleagues of different backgrounds and discover new angles to work on important and challenging problems.

”

Blair Benham-Pyle, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine

“

Choosing to complete my postdoctoral training at the Stowers Institute was one of the best professional and personal decisions I’ve made. The resources at the Institute allowed me to take risks and pursue ambitious projects, including developing new tools in collaboration with the technology cores. I’m not sure that the experiments I proposed could have been completed on the same timeline anywhere else. This freedom and support to pursue ambitious projects and big questions in biology made it easy to build a foundation for my own research group and made me a very competitive applicant for independent positions.

”

Kai Lei, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator, Westlake University, China

“

The experience and training at the Stowers Institute provided far-reaching significance for my career and vision. The whole Institute was organized systematically to make individual research better. What we focused on was first and foremost was doing great science and making the Institute a better place.

”

Katerina Ragkousi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Amherst College

“

Besides the excellent facilities, the Stowers Institute attracts visionary scientists who all together create an environment where thinking outside the box is strongly encouraged. This allowed me to pursue questions in poorly investigated systems and create a research framework at the interface of new biology and my own scientific interests.

”

How to Apply

Interested candidates can email their curriculum vitae and bibliography, along with a cover letter outlining their background and career objectives, to the principal investigator whose area of research matches their academic interest.

More information about open positions can be found at Careers.

Careers

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