NIH Career Symposium

The NIH Career Symposium is a virtual event highlighting the diversity of career choices available to biomedical researchers. This event provides career exploration and networking opportunities for graduate students, postdocs, and fellows in the NIH Intramural Research Program. Graduate students and postdocs from outside the NIH are also welcome to attend.

Whether you’re a graduate student, a postdoc, clinical fellow, or a senior student looking for a job, this event will help you explore your career options. Come to hear from professionals and peers and learn strategies for navigating the job search process.

During this multi-day event we’ll host speakers from across the biomedical workforce. The agenda includes:

• Nine panels than span a broad range of careers
• Talks exploring what the data tell us about:
  • Where biomedical researchers work
  • Current hiring trends in various sectors, and
  • The job search for international scientists.

OITE staff will present strategies for navigating the job search and its ups and downs.

On Friday, May 17 there will be an opportunity for trainees not at the NIH to explore training opportunities within the Intramural Research Program.

Register in Whova to see the full agenda and learn more!

The 2024 NIH Career Symposium will take place May 14-17, 2024. The event is virtual and held online via the Whova event platform.

CART services will be provided for all talks and panels. American Sign Language interpreting services, CART services for sessions with breakout rooms, and other reasonable accommodations are available upon request. Individuals who need interpreting services and/or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this event should contact the organizers at nihcareersymposium@od.nih.gov or the NIH Interpreting Office directly at nih@ainterpreting.com. Requests should be made at least five business days in advance in order to ensure interpreter availability.

Each year graduate students, postdocs, and fellows, in conjunction with OITE staff, organize the symposium. Members of the symposium committee include:

• Natalie Atyeo, Research Fellow, NIDCR
• Harrison Daly, Postdoc Fellow, NCATS
• Marlena Fisher, Postdoc Fellow, NHGRI
• Avery Funkhouser, Medical Research Scholars Program Fellow, NCI
• David Haggerty, Postdoc Fellow, NIAAA
• Vani Pande, Postdoc Fellow, NCI
• Helen Parker, Postdoc Fellow, NICHD
• Dominik Reichert, Graduate Student, NEI
• Jennifer Strong, Medical Research Scholars Program Fellow, NIAMS
• Anushka Wickramaratne, Postdoc Fellow, NCI
• Bengi Yavuz, Postdoc Fellow, NCI
• Caleb Ng, OD

OITE staff members:

• Emily Summerbell, Program Manager, Office of Postdoctoral Services
• Laura Marler, Director, Office of Postdoctoral Services
• Sharolyn Kawakami-Schulz, Resource Manager, Special Projects Lead

Couldn’t make it to the live event? You can access an archive of Career Symposia information online. Note that some events, including career-path specific break out rooms, were not recorded.

Selected recordings from 2023

• Introduction to Careers in research (all sectors) - watch the recording
• Introduction to careers in industry (non-research), policy, communication, government and education - watch the recording
• Why career choices are so hard: A practical guide for navigating the career process - watch the recording
• Visiting fellows: Navigating careers in the United States and internationally - watch the recording
• Hiring trends and making a career plan - watch the recording
• Navigating career transitions by addressing: Am I/will I get stuck? - watch the recording