Terms of Appointment

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Appointments  |  Renewal  |  Expectations  

Appointments

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program awards approximately 2-3 postdoctoral fellowships annually for research conducted under faculty sponsorship. All Fred Hutch postdoctoral fellows receive a salary in accordance with Washington State Exempt Minimum Salary depending on the field and level of experience. Addtionally, all postdocs receive health dental and life insurance benefits, vacation, sick leave and parental leave and access to a transportation subsidy and an Employee Assistance Program. Dependent upon income and funding source, you may also be eligible to receive a childcare subsidy, retirement benefits and access to a Flexible Spending Account Program. (Please note that faculty mentors currently need to provide salary support for the PPFP Fellow). PPFP fellows do have access to apply for funding for travel and potentially some research support which typically comes from internal sources at Fred Hutch. This includes institutional funding to support PPFP fellows for their attendance at the national PPFP Fall covening in Oakland as well as the Spring retreat in Los Angeles, CA. (It is expected that departments and faculty mentors will make appropriate arrangements for space and other necessary resources.).

All postdocs also have access to the professional development offered by the Office of Scientific Career Development and other programs. This includes NIH F and K Award mock study sections and the Ivory Tower Quest program to develop a faculty application and prepare for faculty interviews and negotiations. In addition, postdocs have access to individualized mentoring and career counseling toward their career goals. The Fred Hutch is a founding member of the Coalition for Next Generation Life Science, which is dedicated to the transparency of graduate student and postdoc outcomes.

Renewal

Each award is for a 12-month period. A renewal of the fellowship for an additional term may be granted upon demonstration of academic productivity and participation in program events. All renewal terms will terminate twelve months after the renewal date. If an awardee has received an offer for a tenure track faculty position at the time of selection or has other postdoctoral fellowship awards, the fellowship may be awarded for one year, without renewal.

Expectations

President's Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to:

  1. establish residence and participate in academic life at the campus of their postdoctoral appointment,
  2. focus full-time on research and avoid other commitments such as teaching or additional employment,
  3. meet regularly with their faculty mentor, and (4) attend the PPFP professional development programs,
  4. Applicants are expected to find their own mentors, mentors are associate or full faculty members who have secured funding for a post a doc. Please look online at our current website for open funded post doc positions, and be sure to mention your interest in the PPFP program to the PI / associate or full faculty member.
    1. Applicants must apply to both the PPFP program and through the Fred hutch job application portal. In rare cases, a post doc may find a mentor who does not have funding for their post doc. The post doc may work with that faculty mentor / PI on seeking other possible funding opportunities, such as the Diverse Trainee Fund, and more