Biology subjects

Layton, R. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Layton, R. L..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Development and Assessment of a Sustainable PhD Internship Program Supporting Diverse Biomedical Career Outcomes

A doctoral-level internship program was developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with the intent to create customizable experiential learning opportunities for biomedical trainees to support career exploration, preparation, and transition into their post-graduate professional roles. We report the outcomes of this program over a five-year period. During that 5-year period, 123 internships took place at over 70 partner sites, representing at least 20 academic, for-profit, and non-profit career paths in the life sciences. A major goal of the program was to enhance trainees skill development and expertise in careers of interest. The benefits of the internship program for interns, host/employer, and supervisor/principal investigator were assessed using a mixed-methods approach, including surveys with closed- and open-ended responses as well as focus group interviews. Balancing stakeholder interests is key to creating a sustainable program with widespread support; hence, the level of support from internship hosts and faculty members were key metrics analyzed throughout. We hypothesized that once a successful internship program was implemented, faculty culture might shift to be more accepting of internships; indeed, the data quantifying faculty attitudes support this. Furthermore, host motivation and performance expectations of interns were compared with results achieved, and this data revealed both expected and surprising benefits to hosts. Data suggests a myriad of benefits for each stakeholder group, and themes are cataloged and discussed. Program outcomes, evaluation data, policies, resources, and best practices developed through the implementation of this program are shared to provide resources that facilitate the creation of similar internship programs at other institutions. Program development was initially spurred by National Institutes of Health pilot funding, thereafter, successfully transitioning from a grant-supported model, to an institutionally supported funding model to achieve long-term programmatic sustainability.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2023

Citizenship status and career self-efficacy: An intersectional study of biomedical trainees in the United States

This study examines the intersectional role of citizenship and gender with career self-efficacy amongst 10,803 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees in US universities. These biomedical trainees completed surveys administered by 17 US institutions that participated in the National Institutes of Health Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (NIH BEST) Programs. Findings indicate that career self-efficacy of non-citizen trainees is significantly lower than that of US citizen trainees. While lower career efficacy was observed in women compared with men, it was even lower for non-citizen female trainees. Results suggest that specific career interests may be related to career self-efficacy. Relative to US citizen trainees, both male and female non-citizen trainees showed higher interest in pursuing a career as an academic research investigator. In comparison with non-citizen female trainees and citizen trainees of all genders, non-citizen male trainees expressed the highest interest in research-intensive (and especially principal investigator) careers. The authors discuss potential causes for these results and offer recommendations for increasing trainee career self-efficacy which can be incorporated into graduate and postdoctoral training.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2022

Standards needed? An Exploration of Qualifying Exams from a Literature Review and Website Analysis of University-Wide Polices

PurposeWhile known by many names, qualifying exams function as gatekeepers to graduate student advancement to PhD Candidacy, yet there has been little formal study on best qualifying exam practices particularly in biomedical and related STEM PhD programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the current state of qualifying exams through an examination of the literation and exploration of university policies. Design/methodology/approachWe conducted a literature review of studies on qualifying exams and completed an external evaluation of peer institutions and internal institutional qualifying exam requirements to inform our discussion of common practices of qualifying exams in doctoral training at a research-intensive institutions. FindingsOur research identified the need for more evidence-based research on qualifying exams, which are nearly universal as a major doctoral training milestone across US institutions of higher education. Our findings indicate a wide variety of qualifying exam formats, often lacking the establishment of explicit expectations and evidence for specific formats. This lack of understanding of best practices coupled with insufficient clarity has a real potential to disadvantage doctoral students, particularly first generation, underrepresented minority, international, and/or other trainees who are not privileged or socialized to navigate training environments with vague landmarks such as the qualifying exams. OriginalityThere are very few studies that evaluate qualifying exams in US doctoral education, particularly in STEM fields, and to our knowledge, there has been no analysis of campus wide policies on qualifying exams reported. The lack of evidence for best practices and the need for to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of qualifying exams are discussed.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2022

Career Self-Efficacy Disparities in Underrepresented Biomedical Scientist Trainees

The present study examines racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in career self-efficacy amongst 6077 US citizens and US naturalized graduate and postdoctoral trainees. Respondents from biomedical fields completed surveys administered by the National Institutes of Health Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (NIH BEST) programs across 17 US institutional sites. Graduate and postdoctoral demographic and survey response data were examined to evaluate the impact of intersectional identities on trainee career self-efficacy. The study hypothesized that race, ethnicity and gender, and the relations between these identities, would impact trainee career self-efficacy. The analysis demonstrated that racial and ethnic group, gender, specific career interests (academic principal investigator vs. other careers), and seniority (junior vs. senior trainee level) were, to various degrees, all associated with trainee career self-efficacy and the effects were consistent across graduate and postdoctoral respondents. Implications for differing levels of self-efficacy are discussed, including factors and events during training that may contribute to (or undermine) career self-efficacy. The importance of mentorship for building research and career self-efficacy of trainees is discussed, especially with respect to those identifying as women and belonging to racial/ethnic populations underrepresented in biomedical sciences. The results underscore the need for change in the biomedical academic research community in order to retain a diverse biomedical workforce.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2021

Using Stakeholder Insights to Enhance Engagement in PhD Professional Development

There is increasing awareness of the need for predoctoral and postdoctoral professional development and career guidance, however many academic institutions are only beginning to build out these functional roles. As a graduate career educator, accessing the vast silos and resources at a university and with industrial partners can be daunting, yet collaborative endeavors and network development both on and off campus are crucial to the success of any career and professional development office. To better inform and direct the efforts of graduate career offices, forty-five stakeholders external and internal to academic institutions were identified and interviewed to gather and categorize perspectives on topics critical to career and professional development offices. Using a stakeholder network visualization tool developed by the authors, stakeholder engagement can be rapidly assessed to ascertain areas where offices have strong connections and other areas where additional efforts could be directed to enhance engagement. General themes from interviews with internal and external stakeholders are discussed to provide graduate career educators with various stakeholder subgroup perspectives to help prepare for successful interactions. Benefits include increased engagement and opportunities to collaborate, as well as the opportunity to build or expand graduate career development offices.

scientific communication and education↗