Postdoctoral Researcher
Enhancement Program

Required Course

All postdoctoral fellows are required to participate in Responsible Conduct of Research training. This training is accomplished through the following course:

Ethics and Professionalism 2 (IDSP 241)

• Use of Humans in Biomedical Research
• Use of Animals in Biomedical Research
• Publishing Research Findings
• Authorship and Peer Review
• Ownership of Data and Intellectual Property 
• Conflict of Interest in Research
• Misconduct in Research

Elective Courses

LSU Health Shreveport also offers multiple classes open to postdoctoral fellows for attendance and auditing. Full list of courses.

Required Meetings

All postdoctoral fellows are required to participate in their departmental seminar series, which features invited speakers from LSUHS and other institutions presenting their work. All fellows are also required to attend their departmental journal club if offered.

Elective Meetings

Postdocs are encouraged to attend other seminar series and symposia organized around the campus to promote the exchange of scientific knowledge.

• The Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences (CCDS) offers a monthly seminar series and an annual symposium.
• The Center for Redox Biology and Cardiovascular Diseases (COBRE) offers a monthly work-in-progress focus group where trainees present their work and an annual daylong symposium.
• The Cardiometabolism & NAFLD Focus Group meets monthly, where trainees can present their work. They also have monthly seminars where invited speakers present their work. Additionally, this year marks their inaugural symposium held with the Malcolm Feist research symposium organized by CCDS.
• The Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes holds a biweekly research-in-progress meeting and an annual daylong symposium.

Required Workshops

Postdocs will be required to participate in at least one of the following career development seminar series offered by LSU Health Shreveport and the School of Graduate Studies.

1. Monthly Faculty Development workshops
2. Grant Writing Workshop
3. The School of Graduate Studies Career Development Seminars

Elective Activities

♦  Individual career exploration

Hours spent in individual career development activities can be documented and counted toward the total.

Examples:

• Participating in adult education courses such as programming, management, accounting, leadership, etc.
• Job searching
• Virtual seminars
• Webinars
• Workshops at professional meetings

♦  Teaching Program (in development)

The School of Graduate Studies is developing training and teaching program for students and postdocs called the Shreveport Teacher Enhancement Program (STEP). Fellows may participate fully in STEP or select activities most aligned with their interests. This course will provide specialized training for postdocs interested in teaching at higher education institutions as a career option and help them understand the roles and responsibilities of faculty members in an academic environment. In this course, postdocs will be trained on:

• Design and teach courses that emphasize critical thinking and higher-order learning.
• Evaluate student learning using methods that are valid and reliable.
• Develop course grading schemes that reflect meaningful learning.
• Gather and use information from students and peers to improve teaching.
• Create a teaching portfolio and prepare for an academic job search.
• Balance the competing responsibilities of an academic career to achieve tenure successfully. 

♦  Career Development and Training Seminars

These seminars will build the postdoc skills to apply for tenure track positions, which include setting up and managing a lab in research-intensive institutions, mentoring, conflict resolution, and budgeting. Seminars covering different topics that promote the postdoc development in this track will cover topics such as:

• Career development
• Finding grant-appropriate funding sources
• Setting up a lab
• Lab management and mentoring
• Handling difficult situations and conversations with lab members
• Data management
• Chalk Talk interviews
• Finding a faculty position/setting up a faculty portfolio
• Communication skills, presentations, and delivery