Workshops & Events

Reminders for all postdoctoral fellows at Emory:

• Be sure to subscribe to our listserv to stay up-to-date with OPMTE offerings as well as other postdoc-related news, events and, fellowship & job opportunities. 
• Upcoming Events are listed on our homepage as well as throughout the OPMTE site.
• More career and professional development information can be found in our Career and Professional Development section.

The workshops and events offered by OPMTE include:

• • New Postdoc Orientation:  Four orientation sessions for new postdocs covering competencies expected of postdocs, components of a successful postdoc experience, responsibility for career planning, and guidance and support provided by OPMTE during Postdoc training. Individual Development Plan requirement introduced and explained as well as required Annual Progress Reports and Exit Interview.
  • Grant Writing workshops: Topics covered include the basics of grant writing, finding the right funding, and grant writing sessions for international postdocs.   In addition, multiple session tutorials for F32 and career development K-grant applications with one-on-one editing of applications.  Workshops include information on Federal and non-Federal grant applications. For more information about funding, please visit our grant writing & funding opportunities page. 

  • Research Ethics Course (Responsible Conduct of Research for Postdocs, Medical Research Fellows and Early Career Researchers - RCR) - This course consists of ten in-person classroom sessions and corresponding online informational documents designed by the Emory University Ethics Center in collaboration with the Office of Postdoctoral and Mentored Trainee Education for postdoctoral fellows, medical fellows and faculty in biomedical research.  The course was designed with the specific focus of fulfilling the NIH requirement (NOT-OD-22-055).  NIH requires all classes to be in-person; thus, there are no virtual classes offered as an alternative.  The course has been approved by the Emory University Office of Research Compliance & Regulatory Affairs, the Office of the Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Curriculum Committee of the School of Medicine.  This course is offered Fall and Spring semesters every year (but not Summer semesters).

    • TOPICS:

      1. Conflict of Interest– personal, professional, and financial – and conflict of commitment, in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
      2. Policies regarding human subjects in research
      3. Policies regarding live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
      4. Mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
      5. Safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
      6. Team science
      7. Data acquisition and analysis; laboratory tools (g., tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic laboratory notebooks
      8. Data science; secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
      9. Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
      10. Responsible authorship and publication

    • COURSE CONTENT: The online documents on each of the 10 topics listed above contain foundational information and explanation of the concepts involved in each of the topics.  The 10 topics are taught as 10 classes over 5 tandem sessions occurring every one to two weeks. Each class is led by an expert faculty member who facilitates discussions on the most important principles of the respective topics and how to resolve the ethical dilemmas in the submitted case studies (see next item).  In addition, the foundational information for each topic contains Emory University policies, federal laws and policies, and sample case studies with guide questions indicating the ethical principles needed for solution of the ethical dilemma in the case studies. 

    • FOR THE POSTDOC SECTION: After reading the foundation documents for the next tandem session, Postdocs are required to submit a personal or created case study (referred to as a "case/scenario") on their choice of one of the two topics to be covered.  The case studies are due the evening before the next tandem session.

    • FOR THE FACULTY SECTION: In place of the case studies described above for the postdoc section, Faculty are required to lead discussions with their lab members on 2 topics specified in the course syllabus after those topics have been covered in class.  They will then write up summary reports for each discussion.  The reports are due at the end of the course.

    • REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION: Attendance of all classroom sessions, submission of all required assignments (either 5 case studies for Postdocs or 2 discussion summary reports for Faculty), and successfully passing the final quiz are mandatory for course certification. 

    • ETHICS IN PRACTICE: The formalized background information and classroom discussions are supported and further enhanced by the mentor in the daily conduct of research relevant to the project. At Emory University, the faculty have been trained in the responsible conduct of research and thus are able to convey these principles to trainees as they enter into positions as postdoctoral and research fellows.  The training in and practice of the responsible conduct of research is an Emory University-wide expected norm.  An array of faculty take part in leading the formal discussion sessions of the RCR course, which brings a richness of experience on the topic.  The course is evaluated each term with registrants always highly rating the value of classroom discussions, shared experiences of the expert faculty, and background information documents.

      Additional Resources regarding the RCR Ethics Course:

    • RCR Course Summary
    • RCR Course Syllabus: Spring 2025
    • Sign-up Instructions
    • Transportation Considerations
      • Overview with useful links
      • Map of Shuttle Routes
      • Picture of Front Entrance

• Lab Management:  This course is offered annually and is especially designed for training young independent researchers and introducing multiple aspects of establishing and directing a new research laboratory.  Topics include successful planning strategies for establishing a new research laboratory; best hiring and staff managing practices for research laboratories; best practices for establishing lab safety practices; data management; conflict management; and tenure and promotion.  For successful completion of the course, each attendee is required to turn in their five year research plan including their overall short term and long term research career strategies; target grants; laboratory personnel requirements; laboratory space and equipment requirement; chief laboratory rules and practices; and personal benchmarks for promotion.  For those planning on applying for Career Development Awards such as the K awards from NIH or private funding agencies, this course satisfies the recommendation and/or requirement to attend a Lab Management course.
• Career Exploration:  Many career panels on diverse careers for PhDs are scheduled throughout the year and aim to expose postdocs to career opportunities in different fields.
• Preparation for Academic Job Search: panels on applying, interviewing and negotiating academic jobs and seminar of writing research and teaching statements.
• Job Search Preparation: seminar and workshops on job search strategies, writing CV, resumes and cover letters (twice a year), interviewing skills and networking.
• Gaining Self-Awareness: using the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator postdocs will gain understanding of their own personalities, learn to understand others better and use those differences constructively to be successful in work and life.
• Annual all-day events:
  • Postdoc Research Symposium
  • Career Opportunities Symposium
  • Job Fair