RHSE launches Postdoctoral Teaching Mentorship Program

The Office of the Vice Dean, Research and Health Science Education (RHSE) at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine has announced the first cohort of postdoctoral fellows who will participate in the new Postdoctoral Teaching Mentorship Program, set to begin in January 2025.

Participating postdoctoral fellows include: Sanyaolu Arinola Omolara, Ke Cao, Brendan Cordeiro, Maria Teresa Ciudad Garcia, Edward Benedict James, Omar Hamed, Kaiwen Mu and Liujun Chen.

The Postdoctoral Teaching Mentorship Program aims to provide early-career scientists with valuable undergraduate teaching experience and personalized coaching from seasoned faculty members. This program is part of a broader strategy led by Justin Nodwell, vice dean, RHSE, and professor of biochemistry, to enhance and revitalize the postdoctoral training experience at Temerty Medicine.

"We are very excited to introduce the Postdoctoral Teaching Mentorship Program,” said Nodwell. “This unique program will provide valuable teaching mentorship and support our goal of improving the postdoctoral experience at Temerty Medicine. This is only the first step we’re taking in this direction, but it’s a very important one.”

Postdoctoral fellows have completed extensive education, including a PhD, but are not yet practicing as independent researchers. Many postdoctoral fellows hope to eventually secure faculty positions at universities, where they will engage in both research and teaching.

A solid teaching dossier is a critical component of the academic hiring process for faculty positions. Traditional postdoctoral fellowships focus on the continued refinement of research skills, scientific communication, laboratory techniques and ethics, but provide little teaching experience to trainees. As a result, postdoctoral trainees seeking faculty roles must find alternative ways to build their teaching dossier.

The Postdoctoral Teaching Mentorship Program bridges this gap by offering hands-on teaching opportunities and personalized feedback on lesson design, content delivery and assessment techniques from experienced faculty.

“Gaining teaching experience was one of the two highest priorities identified in our polling of TAHSN [Toronto Academic Health Science Network] postdocs,” Nodwell added.

Nodwell emphasized that this initiative is a significant step towards improving the quality of the postdoctoral experience by listening to and responding to community needs. “We’re starting small so that we can optimize placements and mentorship out of the starting gate. But we hope to expand this project in the future, ensuring that more postdoctoral fellows can benefit from this valuable training.”

Applications for next year’s Postdoctoral Teaching Mentorship Program will open in summer 2024. Interested campus-based postdoctoral fellows can apply through the RHSE website. Selection criteria include a demonstrated interest in teaching, relevant scientific background and a commitment to professional development.

The Postdoctoral Teaching Mentorship Program represents a forward-thinking approach to postdoctoral training, equipping emerging scientists with the skills they need to succeed in academia.