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Scientific societies such as FASEB, funders including the NIH and NSF, and various scientific institutions agree about most of the major issues that need to be updated: stipend levels, healthcare benefits, term limits, and professional development. Now comes the hard part: making the changes.

For the first time ever, all UC postdocs, regardless of their funding source, have access to the same comprehensive group health insurance.

"[T]he ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Awards target policy and programs with the potential to change the culture of science."

"I don't think that a union and a professional society are mutually exclusive," said NPA spokesperson Orfeu Buxton.

"His lab mantra was, 'It's better to ask forgiveness than permission,' 'If I don't know about it, it doesn't happen,' [and] 'Get it done at all costs, and don't tell me how.' " --Maura Lee Upright

"FASEB recommends that all institutions involved in the training and career development of postdoctoral fellows have a well-defined mentoring program in place." --Heather Rieff, FASEB senior policy analyst

By focusing my career on teaching, would I be marked forever as a second-rate scientist?

"We deliberately tell them up front that their possibilities of getting a faculty position are few and far between. [Postdocs] need to stretch [their] horizons."

--Trevor Penning

”Nothing is more important than supporting the new investigators early. … In the press of budget adjustment, we do not jeopardize the seeds of the future.” --Elias Zerhouni

"The combined efforts of the OACD and UPPDA will establish at the University of Pittsburgh a new type of postdoctoral experience that, it is hoped, will migrate to other institutions."

At most universities, responsibility for postdoctoral fellows lies with either the vice chancellor for research or the graduate dean. In my opinion, leadership at this level is critical for substantial progress to be made in regularizing postdoctoral education.