NIH Postbaccalaureate Program + NIH questions

[LowGradeInflammation]

Hey everyone!

I'm pretty dead-set on the MD/PhD path, and being in the final semester of undergrad, I've settled on applying to the NIH Postbaccalaureate Program (not OITE-PEP) to sharpen my research skills further and solidify my interests, as well as to expand my network and get more experience.

That being said, the NIH is currently undergoing various... erm... changes, and I'm (admittedly selfishly) concerned about how this will pan out in the short and long run. So far, I understand the NIH is effectively gagged and hence unable to communicate publicly.

I know that everyone's experiences may vary and that there's a ton of information floating around. For example, I know that the NCI has its own hiring freeze (unrelated to current events), but hiring freezes only affect full-time employees (which trainees like postbacs and summer students aren't). Also, is this program impacted by the changes to DEI? - I see no mentions of any DEI language in the Postbaccalaureate Program itself but plenty in the related-but-separate OITE-PEP program.

Is anyone else applying for this position or in a similar position right now? Has anyone gotten an offer for a position? Should I aggressively pursue options outside of the NIH, or are they going to be hit even harder (considering a bunch of study sections just got paused). Also, can anyone working at the NIH right now please chime in?

Apologies if this is a strange post - I just joined this forum and am getting a little antsy because of recent news.

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[Mr.Smile12]

As a potential MSTP candidate, you should pursue opportunities held on other campuses. Some MSTP programs have "feeder/prep" programs to get participants interested in clinical/translational research in many of those MSTP labs.

I would also ask questions in our Research Scientists forum where most MSTP folks hang out.

On current events, I would be most concerned about funding. If the government had to freeze because of the debt ceiling, no one will be processing your Postbac IRTA application any time soon. It may also affect disbursement of the grants supporting the MSTP labs and students. Those who are currently leading the Executive Branch have made anti-science and anti-higher education positions extremely clear.

 

[near_airport]

Hey everyone!

I'm pretty dead-set on the MD/PhD path, and being in the final semester of undergrad, I've settled on applying to the NIH Postbaccalaureate Program (not OITE-PEP) to sharpen my research skills further and solidify my interests, as well as to expand my network and get more experience.

That being said, the NIH is currently undergoing various... erm... changes, and I'm (admittedly selfishly) concerned about how this will pan out in the short and long run. So far, I understand the NIH is effectively gagged and hence unable to communicate publicly. However, the lab I've fostered a relationship with is (thankfully) still very much open to meeting with me to discuss their science and work.

I know that everyone's experiences may vary and that there's a ton of information floating around. For example, I know that the NCI has its own hiring freeze (unrelated to current events), but hiring freezes only affect full-time employees (which trainees like postbacs and summer students aren't). Also, is this program impacted by the changes to DEI? - I see no mentions of any DEI language in the Postbaccalaureate Program itself but plenty in the related-but-separate OITE-PEP program.

Is anyone else applying for this position or in a similar position right now? Has anyone gotten an offer for a position? Should I aggressively pursue options outside of the NIH, or are they going to be hit even harder (considering a bunch of study sections just got paused). Also, can anyone working at the NIH right now please chime in?

Apologies if this is a strange post - I just joined this forum and am getting a little antsy because of recent news.

I would not focus on opportunities at any of the current NIH intramural campuses. You are correct about the NCI hiring freeze, however (at least as of 6-7 months ago), there is an additional component where, due to lack of funding increases, as well as administrative mismanagement, significant cuts have been made to intramural labs in order to maintain funding commitments, resulting on a lab-size cap of around 4-5 people for all labs except for new investigators. This is not NCI exclusive either, from what I recall NIDDK, NIA, NIMH, and several other ICs are in the same boat.

I would strongly recommend applying to institutions with significant private funding, e.g. the Broad-Whitehead institute, which may be able to weather the storm better.

Finally, regarding the study section pause, from what I've heard, there is an effective halt on all external NIH communication (in addition to other agencies such as the CDC, FDA, etc.) until a new HHS director is confirmed by congress. This is in addition to the current recently announced indefinite moratorium on disbursement of federal funds outside of medicare and social security.

 

[Breadman10]

I would look elsewhere for a postbac. The hiring freeze does apply to postbacs. Also, since the fellows unionized and fought for higher wages, each lab will be able to hire less fellows due to the higher cost of having one. The pre-existing hiring freeze for the NCI (and now the NIMH after the union asked for higher wages) is independent of the new administration and is likely to continue for quite some time. The new DEI regulation (or lack thereof) applies to all facets of the the federal government, including the hiring of postbacs.