Postdoctoral Training and Support

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) at MCC facilitates the planning, organization, guidance, and evaluation of academic and career development activities for all of Moffitt’s research postdoctoral fellows.

• Individual Development Plans (IDP): All Moffitt postdoctoral fellows work with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) to complete an annual IDP that identifies their career goals and corresponding training priorities for the year. The process includes an individual assessment of skills, interests, and values with an emphasis on acknowledging strengths and identifying areas for growth and concludes with a confidential career counseling meeting with the OPA administrator to discuss professional development and devise career preparedness strategies.
• Grant Writing Academy (GWA): This five-month intensive course is designed to guide postdoctoral fellows through the grant preparation process. The course is a series of focus sessions led by experienced Moffitt faculty, interspersed with peer review sessions of each participant’s work. The conclusion of the course is a mock study session involving a faculty panel, and the cohort size is kept to under six trainees each cycle to ensure everyone receives substantive feedback.
• Scientific Writing Series: This four-part series led by the Office of Scientific Publishing includes seminars on grammar, syntax, argument, and style, along with editing workshops where participants receive expert and peer feedback to improve their manuscript writing.
• Road to Independence (RTI) Masterclass Series: The RTI Masterclass a series of faculty-led seminars linked by a common goal: to prepare postdocs for their duties in tenure-track academic research positions.
• Presentational Speaking Course: The Presentational Speaking course is a five-month intensive course that covers best practices for public speaking in a variety of professional contexts, as well as concrete approaches to managing speech anxiety.
• Moffitt Teaching Academy (MTA): The MTA The Moffitt Teaching Academy (MTA) is a training certificate program for postdocs interested in pursuing a teaching-focused academic career. Postdocs who enroll in the MTA receive targeted pedagogical training to prepare them to succeed in the classroom along with opportunities to teach at Moffitt and in the community.
• Professional Development Series (PDS): The PDS fosters improvement in key skills each postdoctoral fellow needs for their career. Topics include: scientific presentations, science communication, lab management, patents and licensing, entrepreneurship, project management, CV preparation.
• Life Skills Series (LSS): The LSS fosters improvement in everyday skills such as communication, leadership, time management, cybersecurity, persuasion, implicit biases, conflict management, and more.

MCC also provides internal funding programs expressly for postdoctoral fellows:

• Junior Scientist Research Partnership (JSRP) Award: The JSRP supports collaboration between a Moffitt clinical fellow and Moffitt postdoctoral research fellow to address a mutually intriguing research question. The purpose is to bring clinical and postdoctoral fellows together to learn from each other and better understand the challenges on both the clinical and research sides of the discipline. Selected projects receive $10,000 in funding for an 11-month term.
• Miles for Moffitt Postdoctoral Research Award: Miles for Moffitt is an annual community run/walk fundraising event to support the innovative research being done by Moffitt faculty and postdoctoral fellows. The Miles for Moffitt Postdoc Award provides pilot funding for a one-year term and is open to postdoctoral fellows in any program area.
• Research Instructor Designation: The Research Instructor Designation is a competitive career advancement opportunity for highly accomplished senior postdoctoral fellows. Research Instructors receive 20% protected research/academic time to develop their own research direction and grant submissions. Additionally, Research Instructors may request a limited amount of research funds to support their work, receive additional mentoring from a selected committee, and are eligible for internal faculty career development funds.