Fellow Appreciation
Fellows' Career Development
Fellow Appreciation
Fellows' Career Development
Each year, NIEHS celebrates all of our fellows during National Postdoctoral Appreciation week. This annual event is sponsored by the National Postdoctoral Association, and is endorsed by NIH as a way to honor and thank the trainees who carry out a very large percentage of research nationwide. Please see below for latest activities.
2024 Events
Monday, September 16
- 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | CommuniTEA: Drop in for Doughnuts* (cafeteria)
- 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Meet and Greet with OFCD Staff (cafeteria)
- 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. | NTA General Meeting and 15th Annual Trivia Challenge (Rodbell Auditorium)
Tuesday, September 17
- 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. | Core Facility and Support Group Scavenger Hunt (cafeteria)
- 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. | Pop-In for Popsicles* (cafeteria)
- 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. | “Women in Science” Networking Event (Boxyard RTP)
Wednesday, September 18
- 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. | Wellness Wednesday Workshop – “Creating a Mindset of Personal Well-Being: Strategies for Increasing Effectiveness at Work and Home” with Denise Saunders, Ph.D. (Room A262)
Thursday, September 19
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. | “Two Truths and a Lie About Lab Failures” Sponsored by NTA (Rodbell Auditorium)
Friday, September 20
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Fellow Pizza Party* (patio)
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Big Picture, Small Chalk! Sidewalk Chalk Representations of Your Science (patio)
- 12:30 p.m. | Fellows’ Group Photo, Steven McCaw (patio)
- 12:30 p.m. | Fellow and Mentor Bake-Off Competition* (patio)
2023 Events
Monday, September 18
- 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | CommuniTEA*: "We are muffin without you!” (cafeteria)
- 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Meet and Greet with the OFCD staff (cafeteria)
Tuesday, September 19
- 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Drop in for Doughnuts* (cafeteria)
- 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. | Olden Distinguished Lecture (Rodbell Auditorium)
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch With the Olden Lecturer, Ana Diez Roux, M.D., Ph.D. (Boxyard RTP)
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | 14th Annual Trivia Challenge (Rodbell Auditorium)
Wednesday, September 20
- 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. | “Netwalking” Lake Walk (meet on the patio)
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | NIH Research Festival Virtual Poster Session
- 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. | Lab NIHnja Challenge (patio)
Thursday, Sepetember 21
- 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. | Core Facility and Support Group Scavenger Hunt (lobby)
- 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Pop-In for Popsicles* (patio)
Friday, Sepetember 22
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Pizza Party* and Fellows’ Group Photo (patio)
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Fellow and Mentor Bake-Off* Competition (patio)
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Big Picture, Small Chalk! Sidewalk Chalk Representations of Your Science (patio)
*No government funds will be used to purchase food. We thank our principal investigators and NIEHS staff for generously donating funds for this purpose.
2022 Events
- NIEHS Fellow Appreciation Week Agenda (169KB)(169KB)
Monday, October 3
- 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Olden Distinguished Lecture (Rodbell Auditorium or Zoom): Robert Bullard, Ph.D., Talk Title: The Quest for Environmental and Climate Justice.>
- 10:15 – 11:00 a.m. | CommuniTEA Social Gathering & Donuts* (Patio): Start out the week with donuts and tea on the patio. This is a great opportunity to meet fellows at NIEHS.
- 11:30 a.m. – noon | Fellows’ Meet and Greet with Olden Lecturer, Robert Bullard, Ph.D. (Zoom)
Tuesday, October 4
- 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. | Fellows’ Lake Walk (meet at tables outside of cafeteria): Join NIEHS fellows for a relaxing walk around Discovery Lake.
- 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. | Meet and Greet with Acting OFCD Director, Mercy Arana (Patio): The Office of Fellows’ Career Development has a new acting director! Come meet Mercy and at informal meet and greet. This is a great opportunity to share suggestions, network and learn more about our office.
Thursday, October 6
- 11:00 a.m. – noon | New Fellows’ Orientation with the Office of Fellows’ Career Development (Zoom): Are you new to NIEHS and wondering how to make the most of your time here? Do you want to learn more about the professional development resources that are available? Are you interested in becoming more involved in the trainee community? If so, please join to learn more... and come prepared with your questions!
- 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. | FAES NIEHS-Specific Health Insurance Orientation (Zoom): Join us as we speak with representatives from the Foundation for Advancing Education in the Sciences. They will discuss details about your insurance policies and answer any questions you may have.
- 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. | Fellows’ Grant Peer Review Group (Zoom): Consider joining the first meeting of the NIEHS Fellows’ Grant Peer Review Group where you will be guided along writing your grant application from the very beginning until submission with feedback from your peers and allies at NIEHS.
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | 13th Annual Trivia Challenge (Rodbell Auditorium): As part of this year’s Fellow Appreciation Week activities, the NTA and OFCD will hold the 13th Annual Trivia Challenge! Certificates will be awarded to the winners as well as those with the best team names—most humorous, most scientific, and most environmental.
- 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. | Pop-in for Popsicles* (Patio): Stop by the patio after trivia for a popsicle break with NIEHS fellows and staff.
Friday, October 7
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Pizza Party* and Resource Expo (A/B Patio): Come grab some pizza for lunch and learn about resources as well as how you can get involved at NIEHS.
- 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Big Picture, Small Chalk (A/B Patio): Create a drawing, diagram, or piece of artwork on the patio. The goal is to represent your science or what NIEHS means to you using chalk. Teamwork and creativity are encouraged.
*No government funds will be used to purchase food or prizes. The NIEHS OFCD and NIEHS Principal Investigators generously donated funds for this purpose.
2021 Events
- NIEHS Fellow Appreciation Week Agenda (193KB)(193KB)
Friday, September 17
- 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | FAES Health Insurance Open Enrollment Information Session (Zoom): Join us as we speak with representatives from the Foundation for Advancing Education in the Sciences. They will discuss details about your insurance policies and answer any questions you may have. Note that insurance open enrollment this year is September 13 – 24.
All Week During September 20 – 24
- Join in virtual events hosted by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPAW). All are welcome to join. For the full schedule of events during NPAW, please check out the NPAW website.
Monday, September 20
- 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | CommuniTEA & Donut Breakfast Grab-and-go (in-person, outside cafeteria*): Come start out the week and join us for breakfast. Pick up tea and donuts outside of the cafeteria.
Tuesday, September 21
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Postbac Chat (Zoom): This is an opportunity to join your fellow postbacs to check-in with each other and see how everyone is doing. This will be an informal discussion for anyone that wants a platform to connect with each other. We hope you will join!
Wednesday, September 22
- 12:00 – 1:30 p. m. | Pizza Party Grab-and-go and Resource Expo (in-person, outside cafeteria*): Come grab some pizza for lunch and learn about resources as well as how you can get involved at NIEHS.
Thursday, September 23
- 11:00 a.m. – noon | New Fellows’ Orientation With the Office of Fellows’ Career Development (Zoom): Are you new to NIEHS and wondering how to make the most of your time here? Do you want to learn more about the professional development resources that are available? Are you interested in becoming more involved in the trainee community? If so, please join to learn more... and come prepared with your questions!
- noon – 1:00 p.m. | Professional Development Brown Bag Lunch: Field Application Scientist (Zoom): Are you interested in a career as a field application scientist? Do you have questions about how to make the transition or the types of positions available? If so, please bring your lunch and join us virtually on September 23 to kick off our monthly Brown Bag Lunch series, where you will learn about careers as a field application scientist and ask questions of professionals in this field. Organized by the NIEHS Trainees' Assembly (NTA) Steering Committee, the Brown Bag Lunch highlights a different set of Ph.D.-level careers each month to provide fellows the opportunity to meet with individuals that have firsthand experience.
Friday, September 24
- 3:00 p.m | 12th Annual Trivia Challenge & NIEHS Trainees’ Assembly and Office of Fellows’ Career Development Overview (Zoom): As part of this year’s Fellow Appreciation Week activities, the NTA and OFCD will hold the 12th Annual Trivia Challenge! Prizes will be awarded to the winners as well as those with the best team names and Zoom background—most humorous, most scientific, most environmental, best Zoom background.
- 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. | Virtual Happy Hour organized by the Division of Translational Toxicology (Zoom): All fellows are welcome to join the NTP for their weekly happy hour to connect with fellows from across the institute.
*Masks are required for all in-person events, which will be held outdoors. Physical distance must be maintained. Events will be organized as Grab-and-go. No government funds will be used to purchase food or trivia prizes. The NIEHS OFCD generously donated funds for this purpose.