The Doc Report - April 2026
Upcoming Events
From the University of Denver, "The Resilient Scientist" focuses on building resilience, adopting healthy mindsets, supporting well-being, and fostering professional growth to address the challenges in the science and healthcare fields.
Monday, April 6
1 p.m.
Mind Games: Imposter Fears and Other Unhelpful Stories We Tell
Monday, April 13
1 p.m.
Assertiveness 2.0: Speaking Up, Even When Power Dynamics Make It Hard
Monday, April 20
1 p.m.
Feedback: We Need It, Even When We Don’t Like It
Monday, April 27
1 p.m.
You Can’t Sing a Duet Alone: Mentoring Relationships for Success
Learn how our thought processes prioritize certain aspects of our interactions, communication patterns and evaluations, and come away with a variety of strategies that you can use to mitigate implicit bias.
April 7 & 9
9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Register Here
PAC Boulder Coffee Hour
Come meet and mingle with other postdocs at a coffee hour hosted by the Postdoctoral Association of Colorado Boulder (PAC Boulder).
Tuesday, April 7
10 a.m.
East Campus, JSCBB
PAC Boulder / Call for Board Members
Interested in serving on the Postdoctoral Association of Colorado (PAC) Boulder board? Join this session to learn about how the board organizes events, postdoctoral initiatives, and upcoming opportunities in career development and social programming. Submit nominations by April 25; elections will be held in early May.
Tuesday, April 14
11 a.m.
Microsoft Teams Link
Master the art of clear and concise writing in proposals. This seminar will focus on effective sentence and paragraph construction, transitions, image/figure use and strategies to maintain narrative flow.
Wednesday, April 22
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Register Here
This National Institutes for Health (NIH) session will cover the basics of what to look for in a job offer and how to negotiate the offer (if you even should negotiate). Topics will include: salary ranges, what to look at in the benefits package, and surviving your first 90 days.
Thursday, April 23
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Register Here
Considering a different research funding approach? Join RIO for a fast-paced, 30-minute introduction to Pivot, internal funding opportunities, and other free tools available with your CU Login. Bring your team—faculty, staff, and students are all welcome!
Thursday, April 23
1 p.m.
Register Here
PAC Social
Take time outside of work to connect with fellow postdocs at the monthly social at Rayback Collective! The family-friendly event is sponsored by the Postdoctoral Association of Colorado Boulder (PAC Boulder).
Thursday, April 23
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Rayback Collective
2775 Valmont Rd, Boulder, CO 80304
GradCO is a professional development collaboration among universities across Colorado. This session will provide postdocs with exercises to develop their public-facing personal brand.
Tuesday, April 28
Noon - 1 p.m.
Register Here
Take control of your career path by learning how to use an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to set strategic goals, identify skill gaps, and accelerate your professional growth. To sign up for NPA offerings, use this invitation link and follow the registration process. You can also explore OPA IDP resources, including a customizable template.
Tuesday, April 28
1 p.m.
Register Here
The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) invites all new postdocs to a virtual orientation to help familiarize postdocs new to campus with CU Boulder.
Wednesday, April 29
Noon - 1 p.m.
Register Here
Newsletter Block TitleLatest News
Mentoring Opportunity for CU Researchers (Apply by April 10)
CU Science Discovery is now accepting Research Mentor applications for the summer 2026 STEM Research Experience.
National Science Foundation Seeks Postdoc Input (Due May 8)
The National Science Foundation is seeking input on the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates—the primary national dataset shaping how postdocs are counted, funded, and supported. Comments are open through May 8 and offer a chance to influence how the postdoc workforce is represented.
CU Prep Postdocs Receive Outstanding Research and Service Awards
Congratulations to Florian Bergmann, Jonathan Dean, Benedikt Hampel, and Nadia Yoza Mitsuishi, who were recently recognized by the Department of Physics with Outstanding Research and Service Awards for their exceptional contributions to research and service.
Resource Highlight: Research Career Toolkit
The Research Career Toolkit fills the gap between scientific training and the practical realities of leading a research program. It provides a set of concise and reusable "tools" that support effective leadership of research projects and programs to enhance career durability.
Newsletter Block TitleFunding Opportunities
Animal Behavior Postdoctoral Fellowship (Due April 15)
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is offering a 3-year postdoctoral fellowship in animal behavior, supporting independent, field-based research in the tropics with a $62K annual stipend and research funding. Ideal for postdocs interested in ecology, evolution, and behavior with a strong field component.
CU Boulder Creative Futures Fellowship (Due May 11)
Transform your ideas into real-world impact—apply for funding, mentorship, and a supportive community to advance projects in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Gerda Henkel Lost Cities (Due May 27)
Postdocs in the humanities and social sciences may propose interdisciplinary projects examining abandoned cities across historical, social, cultural, archaeological, economic, environmental, or theoretical dimensions, with an emphasis on innovative, cross-disciplinary approaches.
NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00) (Due June 12)
This program supports postdocs transition from mentored postdoctoral positions to independent, tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty roles. It provides phased NIH funding to help postdocs establish competitive, independent research programs.
NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (Due September 29)
The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) will make awards for Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB) to recent doctoral degree recipients, for proposals with a research and training focus at the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Biological Sciences to Strengthen and Safeguard Biotechnology Innovations.