bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.11.19.468693

The Effect of COVID-19 on the Postdoctoral Experience: a comparison of pre-pandemic and pandemic surveys.

Morin, A.·Helling, B. A.·Krishnan, S.·Risner, L. E.·Walker, N. D.·Schwartz, N. B.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

In the interest of advocating for the postdoctoral community in the United States, we present results from survey data collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on the same population of postdocs. In 2019, 5,929 postdocs in the US completed a comprehensive survey, and in 2020, a subset completed a follow-up survey several months into the pandemic. The results show that the pandemic has substantially impacted postdocs mental health and wellness irrespective of gender, race, citizenship, or other identities. Postdocs also reported a significant impact on their career trajectories and progression, reduced confidence in achieving career goals, and negative perceptions of the job market compared to pre-COVID-19. International postdocs also reported experiencing distinct stressors due to the changes in immigration policy. Notably, having access to Postdoctoral Associations and Postdoctoral Offices positively impacted postdocs overall well-being and helped mitigate the personal and professional stresses and career uncertainties caused by the pandemic. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=137 SRC="FIGDIR/small/468693v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (56K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@174d7e3org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9893dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@114470org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1a4278f_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG Graphical Abstract of survey responses to: Why or how has your research been disrupted or not disrupted due to the pandemic? Overall, postdocs responded with feelings of loss of control as the pandemic was acting upon them and taking away their ability to complete their work. C_FIG

Source connections

Explore related subjects

scientific communication and educationPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Morin, A., Helling, B. A., Krishnan, S., Risner, L. E., Walker, N. D., Schwartz, N. B.. 2021-11-21. The Effect of COVID-19 on the Postdoctoral Experience: a comparison of pre-pandemic and pandemic surveys.. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.19.468693

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Evaluating Large Language Models as Tools to Navigate Researchers in Rapidly Evolving Research Landscapes: A Case Study in Cancer Drug Response Prediction

Large Language Models (LLMs) have emerged as promising tools for assisting researchers in automating and accelerating the synthesis of literature reviews. However, their reliability is a significant concern due to issues like factual inaccuracies and hallucinations. The key question is whether LLMs can reliably provide comprehensive, up-to-date overviews and analyses. This study evaluates the performance of three leading LLMs (OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and DeepSeek) on the complex task of generating a comprehensive survey paper on deep learning for cancer Drug Response Prediction (DRP). By testing both standard and Deep Research (DR) / Deep Think (DT) modes of LLMs with prompts of varying detail, this paper assesses key academic dimensions, including reference management, content quality, and analytical depth. Key findings reveal that while DR modes of LLMs significantly improve reliability by eliminating hallucinations, performance variations exist across models and prompts. A trade-off between reference quantity and integration quality was observed, and even the best-performing models lacked the analytical depth of human experts, often requiring extensive human supervision. The study concludes that LLMs currently serve as powerful assistive tools but still cannot replace the critical validation and synthesis provided by human researchers. Choosing the best LLM to use depends on the task in hand, while several strategies can be implemented to improve the produced output.

scientific communication and education↗
bioRxiv2022

Welfare concerns for mounted load carrying by working donkeys in Pakistan

Working donkeys (Equus asinus) are vital to peoples livelihoods. They are essential for carrying goods, however globally, overloading is one of the primary welfare concerns of working donkeys. We studied mounted load carrying by donkeys and associated factors in Pakistan. A cross-sectional study of donkey owners (n = 332) was conducted, and interviews were undertaken based on a questionnaire. Owners estimated that the median weight of their donkeys was 110kg (interquartile range (IQR) 100-120kg), and that they carried a median mounted load of 81.5kg (IQR 63-99kg). We found that 87.4% of donkeys carried a load above 50% of their bodyweight ratio (BWR), the median BWR carried was 77.1% (IQR 54.5-90.7%), and 25.3% of donkeys carried above 90% BWR. Donkeys that were loaded at more than 50% BWR were more likely to sit, compared to donkeys loaded with less weight (p=0.01). Donkeys working in peri-urban and urban areas were more likely to carry a greater BWR than donkeys working in rural areas (P<0.001), as were those carrying construction materials or bricks, compared to agricultural materials (p=0.004). Age (p=0.03) and breed (p=0.01) were also associated with carrying a higher weight. Overloading based on current recommendations (50% BWR) was common, with the majority (87.4%) of donkeys reported to carry more than the recommended 50% limit. This survey provides evidence of on-the-ground working practices and factors associated with mounted load carrying, which is critical for developing evidence-based recommendations for loading, in order to improve the welfare of working donkeys.

scientific communication and education↗