Each year, groups of postbacs and postdocs join NCI Frederick for short-term positions—typically a couple of fleeting years—before making their next career move. To help them connect to the community and many resources available in Frederick, NCI staff and leading fellows organized the Frederick Fellows Welcome Day in September.
The Welcome Day began as a blitz of introductions and resource highlights and ended with lunch-and-learn breakout sessions on key topics for fellows.
“There are so many resources available to fellows across NIH, NCI, and CCR that it can be difficult to know where to start. An in-person Welcome Day gives new fellows a chance to hear directly from the people and groups who support them, ask questions, and begin putting faces to names,” said Brandi Carofino, Ph.D., a program manager in the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Office of Cancer Research Capacity Building (CRCB).
After a general welcome and announcements, the speakers from different NCI and NCI Frederick groups presented on various topics in their area relevant for fellows.
Getting started at NCI Frederick “can feel overwhelming at first,” said Carofino. “I hope Welcome Day makes that landscape a little easier to navigate and gives fellows a starting point.”
As the day progressed, speakers cracked jokes and interacted with the audience, and the atmosphere was friendly and calm. Fellows took notes to jot down contacts and information from the presenters and asked questions. Between speakers, and during the allotted break, fellows mingled and chatted in small groups.
The underlying message was clear: everyone here wants the fellows to succeed, and if they need help, resources aren’t far away.
Peers Choose Most Helpful Information for Incoming Fellows
The Fellows Welcome Day isn’t a new event, but this year, the Postbac Committee opted for a few changes, like including both postbacs and postdocs in the same event and what topics were covered.
“Welcome Day was really driven by the trainees themselves. The Frederick Postbac Committee led the planning, with support from the Frederick Fellows Committee, and they chose the sessions based on what they thought would be most useful for their peers and on what they had found helpful when they attended last year,” said Carofino.
The CRCB offered additional guidance to the two fellows groups planning the event.
The biggest change was to the format and schedule.
“To make the event more accessible and minimize time away from the lab, the program was streamlined to conclude at lunchtime, with industry-focused programming moved to a separate event later in the fall,” said Allison Kende, a postbac in NCI Frederick’s HIV and Dynamics Replication Program and co-chair of the Frederick Postbac Committee.
This change will allow more in-depth presentations about industry topics later in the year yet kept the Welcome Day focused on helping fellows settle in and learn the breadth of available assistance.
While fellows could leave after the morning speakers and information, many stayed for pizza and conversation during the breakout sessions. During these, fellows connected with colleagues and mentors to gain valuable insights into processes that may be relevant on their next steps as they move through the fellowship experience.
Each session focused on a topic relevant to different points in the fellows’ careers, Kende said. Postbacs heard about navigating graduate and professional school applications, while postdocs received guidance on K99 grant writing.
“These processes can often feel complex and challenging, particularly for newer trainees balancing full-time research with other responsibilities. Providing an informal and supportive setting allowed fellows to ask questions openly and receive guidance tailored to their individual needs,” said Kende.
Many mentors offered valuable advice about how to maximize their time while staying focused on their own career goals, including Carofino, who warned, “Do not wait until you are preparing to leave NIH to start thinking about your next step.”
“There are people in your corner when you’re a fellow at the NCI. … It's easy to feel alone at the benchtop, but all of us trainees are here to become well-rounded scientists, leaders in our fields, and people,” said Theo Reed, Ph.D., a postdoc in the Cancer Innovation Laboratory.
Growing Connections in Person
Rather than flood the fellows with more emails in their inbox from people they may not have met, the Welcome Day introduced them directly to people who could help them.
“Being in a leadership role, I think it’s extremely helpful to get in-person face time with new fellows. We all get inundated with emails daily, and it’s a lot easier to reach fellows when they’re getting an email from ‘Theo, the guy who they met at that thing,’ versus an email from someone they’ve never met. The more fellows I meet, the more people I can connect with and be a resource for,” said Reed, who is also the chair of the CCR-FYI Steering Committee.
The budding camaraderie sparked at the event was another boost for fellows, who don’t necessarily see each other on a regular basis. The campus is somewhat dispersed, and fellows stay for different periods of time. Meetings and events help them connect.
“Getting together in person with other new fellows … gives an opportunity to have familiar faces around Fort Detrick and, at a time where community is fundamental to our success, the in-person Welcome Day lays the foundation for that community development,” said Reed.
‘Something for Everyone’: Opportunities for Involvement
The Welcome Day also highlighted many ways fellows can get involved in their community. One is participating in the Frederick Postbac Committee, Frederick Fellows Committee, or CCR-FYI. Another is attending the many scientific events at NCI Frederick, such as the Frederick Fellows Poster Day, an opportunity for trainees to build confidence in their presentation skills.
One such event, also hosted by the Frederick Fellows Committee, is the Frederick Fellows Poster Day. Noah Salewski, a postbac in the HIV Dynamics and Replication Program and co-chair of the Frederick Postbac Committee, encouraged all fellows at the Welcome Day to participate as a chance to grow and build confidence in their presentation skills.
“NCI provides a special environment for everyone to grow both as people and scientists. And the mosaic of different groups and activities mentioned are but a part of what helps make that environment. There’s something for everyone if they look for it,” said Salewski.
Karolina Wilk is a technical editor in SPGM, where she writes for NCI Frederick and Frederick National Laboratory’s news outlets and edits scientific manuscripts, corporate documentation, and other writing. SPGM is the creative services department and hub for editing, illustration, graphic design, formatting, and multimedia training and support.
