study and what additional goals are neces-
sary for the chosen career path. In the best of
all worlds, graduate students learn the suc-
cessful practices of asking a scientific ques-
tion, designing and executing a set of experi-
ments to obtain the answer, reporting results
to the scientific community, and identifying
future areas of pursuit. However, if any
aspect of this experience is lacking, the post-
doctoral fellowship is where this is remedied
and refined.Choosing the proper postdoctoral environ-
ment is important for a successful postdoc-
toral experience. Individuals who work best
with a minimal amount of guidance or who
prefer a small lab group should find situa-
tions that meet those needs. Those whose
future plans include teaching should find a
setting where that experience can be
obtained. In most cases, it is beneficial to
change fields and institutions for postgradu-
ate education for exposure to different
approaches to science and new groups of
people and ideas. Often, advancements in
science are made when two previously
uncoupled areas come together. Adding new
approaches and perspectives to the graduateexperience optimizes a new scientist’s abili-
ties to contribute to new areas of research.
A postdoctoral fellow should extend the
scientific way of thinking and problem solv-
ing learned in graduate school to a new prob-
lem and level of involvement. In choosing
experimental projects, it is often beneficial to
choose two projects, each of which provide
different educational experiences. One project
may be a continuation of ongoing work in the
new laboratory, while the second project
extends the work in directions that provide an
opportunity for novel creative approaches.
In the first type of project, a new scientist
quickly learns the basic techniques in the
laboratory and has an opportunity to devel-
op teamwork skills. This “bread and butter”
type of project should be designed to gener-
ate useful data no matter what the outcome
of technically solid, individual experiments.
As this work comes to fruition, it provides
the opportunity to work with the senior
scientists of the group in all aspects of
publishing a manuscript, such as choosing
the appropriate journal, preparing the draft
and final version of the manuscript, com-
municating with journal editors, respond-
ing to reviewers’ critiques, and proofread-
ing final galleys.
In addition to providing experience in sci-
entific writing, this “bread and butter” project
also provides opportunities for oral or poster
presentations at department, local or national
meetings. Lessons in seminar preparation and
presentation that were not absorbed as a
graduate student can be addressed as a post
graduate researcher. Participation in a unit of
work that contributes to a larger ongoing
study in the laboratory also positions the new
scientist to aid in the preparation of grant
applications that include this work. Lessons
in grantsmanship as a fellow are invaluable
for those individuals who plan to develop
their own laboratories.THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY
CHAPTER 5 • POSTDOC ISSUES 173In the best of all worlds,
graduate students learn the
successful practices of asking a
scientific question, designing
and executing a set of
experiments to obtain the
answer, reporting results
to the scientific community,
and identifying future areas
of pursuit.