Postdoc Resource on Campus

The Ohio State University Office of Postdoctoral Affairs has compiled a list of resources across the University and beyond that are available to postdoctoral scholars at Ohio State.

These resources have been organized under the following headers:

• Resources for prospective postdocs
• Resources for new postdocs onboarding to Ohio State
• Resources for international scholars
• Resources to support research, study design, and scholarship
• Resources for Teaching Experience, Instructional Training, Curriculum Assistance
• Resources for finding collaborators, networking, and leading and managing teams
• Resources for mentorship
• Resources for seeking internal and extramural funding and proposal development
• Resources for career seeking

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs has compiled a list of resources to help prospective postdocs determine if Ohio State University and the city of Columbus will be a good fit for them as a next step in their career. 

Resources for international postdocs, including visa processing, healthcare, and learning English, can be found by visiting the resources for International postdocs page.

Teaching is a critical element of being a successful faculty member. Many postdocs do not have formal training or opportunities to learn these skills, which detrimentally impacts their abilities to pursue faculty positions. In this section of this section of the onboarding document, you will find information about campus resources related to teaching and curricular training and opportunities to gain vital teaching experience as a postdoctoral scholar.

• Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning. The Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning advances at-scale professional learning, evidence-based instructional strategies, and research and policy that elevate, across the university, the work of all who teach. Services the Drake Institute provides include:
  • Toolkits of resources focused on instructional design and effective teaching.
  • 1:1 consultations to assist with instructional design and to develop better teaching habits.
  • Sessions focused on preparing for the academic job search.
  • Workshops focused on curriculum design and redesign, inclusive teaching, and effective mentorship.
• Teaching and Learning Resource Center. Provides support and training for Ohio State’s teaching community pertaining to the university’s eLearning toolset.
• Guidance for international scholars interested in teaching. As a postdoc on a J1, H1B, F1 OPT, or other visa type, there may be restrictions on the types of teaching you are able to pursue while at Ohio State. If you are interested in gaining teaching experience but are not sure if you are eligible given your visa status, please reach out to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (osupostdocs@osu.edu).
• Opportunities to gain teaching experience at Ohio State:
  • Destination Ohio State University – Researcher, Mentor, Teacher (DOSU-RMT) The DOSU-RMT program is a joint effort between the Ohio State Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Columbus State Community College. One element of this program allows for Ohio State postdocs to gain teaching experience at Columbus State, by serving as an instructor of record for undergraduate coursework they offer. Postdocs are matched to Columbus State faculty who align with their area of research expertise and are provided structured training and mentorship focused on developing teaching expertise. Once you have completed the training, you are eligible to serve as paid, adjunct faculty (and instructor of record) at Columbus State. Many postdocs have gone on to be hired on a permanent adjunct basis at Columbus State. If you are interested in this program, please reach out to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (osupostdocs@osu.edu).

Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) seeks to enhance excellence in STEM undergraduate education by preparing future faculty for careers teaching in STEM fields at institutes of higher learning. Ohio State is a member of the CIRTL network, and membership is FREE for all postdoctoral scholars. Visit the CIRTL website to register with an Ohio State email address.

Postdocs have several resources to help identify collaborators across all research disciplines and informational resources, that helps participants learn effective strategies to manage and participate in large-scale, interdisciplinary research teams. Click the links below for more information about each resource.

• Find Collaborators:
  • Ohio Innovation Exchange (OIEx): Ohio's universities have a wealth of faculty researchers, equipment/instruments, laboratories, technologies, and other resources available to businesses across Ohio and around the globe. The OIEx connects you by consolidating information from multiple universities into a powerful collaboration web portal. Find experts who can help you solve challenges and capitalize on opportunities - from research partnerships, licensable IP, to business development and even student internships. OIEx also provides access to the facilities, equipment, and instrumentation you may need to conduct your own research.
  • Academic Analytics: the university has partnered with Academic Analytics to provide an aggregated search portal to members of our community. Through this resource, you can search for investigators at Ohio State and from across the United States in a diverse array of scholarly fields and review their scholarly publications, research funding, job history, and their professional networks.
• How to Effectively Lead Teams and Manage Interdisciplinary Team Projects
  • Team Science Resources: Team science is a collaborative effort to address a scientific challenge that leverages the strengths and expertise of interdisciplinary teams.
  • Free Team Science Training: Learn how to perform team-based translational research through a series of free, on-demand learning modules recorded by Northwestern University.

Groups and Organizations that Provide Networking Opportunities:

• Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA)
• Postdoctoral Association (PDA)
• STEAM Factory (an interdisciplinary effort that links science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, and medicine across campus and which provides many opportunities to engage with external organizations and members of the Ohio State and Columbus communities.)
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital Research Institute Trainee Association (RITA) (composed of NCH graduate students, postdocs, and fellows working in pediatric clinical, biomedical, and translational sciences)
• OSU Student Organizations ( many student organizations that are region or culture-specific offer events that are open to the broader public.)
• Many interdisciplinary institutes across Ohio State (see below)

Interdisciplinary research institutes

Ohio State has several interdisciplinary institutes, whose primary function is to facilitate connections across campuses and research fields that lead to novel educational and research pursuits. These institutes facilitate these connections through organizing scientific workshops, seminar series, and social events, regular newsletters, and through providing annual seed grant and pilot award funding competitions to aid in the collection of preliminary data and findings that can be used to pursue additional extramural support. Below is a short list of interdisciplinary centers on campus, and how you can get involved. A full listing of interdisciplinary institutes and centers across Ohio State’s campus can be found on the Office of Academic Affairs website.

Additional resources related to networking:

• The Four I’s of Networking: Building Strong Connections
• NETWORKING 101: THE BASICS “Your Power is in Your Network”
• “Alliancing” – A new Way to Look at Academic Networking

Ohio State University has a robust training and professional development environment that spans all colleges and scholarly disciplines with opportunities for individuals at every career stage. In this section of the onboarding document, you will find a selection of institutional units with professional development, mentorship, and other training offerings available to postdocs.

For additional resources about Professional Development and Other Trainings for Postdocs, please visit the Postdoc Workshops and Trainings page.

• Better Research through Better Mentoring for Postdocs
• Addressing Equity and Inclusion in Your Research Mentoring (for Postdocs) Workshop
• Mentoring Up for Postdocs

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs has collated a list of internal and external funding opportunities as well as funds to support postdoc travel to conferences, etc. Click on the links below for specific information on how to request permission to apply for grants, various support units available at Ohio State to support you in your grant pursuits, resources to find grant funding, and toolkits/narrative examples to assist in the preparation of grant applications.

Applying for research funding awards (internal and externally-funded grants and fellowships):

Principal Investigator (PI) Status: Postdocs must have PI Status to be eligible to apply for extramural funding. Postdocs can submit an application and begin the PI Status eligibility process, which is primarily about obtaining approval from their mentor/department chair.

How to request PI status: postdocs are eligible to seek and apply for grants as lead principal investigator (PI) or as other key personnel. If you are interested in applying for a grant as lead PI, the steps for this process can be found on the EHE Proposals Resources page.

Training for being a Principal Investigator: Roles, Responsibilities, and Resources: This online course, designed by the Office of Research, provides guidance for Principal Investigators (PI) and their staff.  “Being a PI: Roles, Responsibilities, and Resources” benefits all members of the research community and enhances Ohio State’s efforts towards supporting the responsible conduct of research.

The course content covers research administration/compliance processes & tools, explores the lifecycle of sponsored project, and provides access to additional resources. This session is open to all members of the research team.

Instructions to register:

1. Login to http://buckeyelearn.osu.edu
2. Search for “Being a Principal Investigator…” to register.
3. Click [Request] then select course from transcript to launch this course.
4. This course will take approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Finding internal and extramural funding: OPA has developed an informational resource for how to find internal and extramural funding to support research, scholarship, professional development and travel, while training at Ohio State. Please visit the Postdoc Funding and Fellowships page.

University Grant Development and Submission Support Units: some units on campus have dedicated grant seeking support units, who, in addition to proposal submission, assist with the creation of budgets, development of supplementary and administrative documentation, and potentially with review of your proposal narrative. A selection of these services is listed below.

If you do not see your unit here, but have questions about grant seeking or submissions, please reach out to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs -osupostdocs@osu.edu!

Resources to assist with grant writing (trainings, toolkits, example proposals):

External Resources