NIH working group calls for fewer—but better paid—postdocs
Postdocs in U.S. biomedical research labs should be paid better, even if it means supporting fewer of them. That’s the preliminary position of a working group formed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to address growing concerns that postdoctoral appointments are no longer an attractive option for early-career researchers. Meeting online last week to discuss its progress , the group laid out “guiding principles” that include boosting postdoc pay, pushing for benefits, and capping the length of postdocs. “Some of the changes that we’re deliberating over may ultimately lead to fewer postdocs,” acknowledged Tara Schwetz, acting principal deputy director of NIH and a co-chair of the working group, which expects to issue final recommendations in December. “But hopefully at the end of the day what we will...