The Scientific Leadership Development Program supports PhD students and postdoctoral fellows at Mount Sinai through online training and professional development programming. Participants in the virtual program will engage with recorded lectures, conceptual learning materials, peer-group discussions, and occasional live training sessions that focus on the application of concepts and tools through group exercises and interaction with guest speakers.
The program is designed to instill four competencies for postdoctoral training success as identified by the National Postdoctoral Association: professionalism, leadership and management, communication, and responsible conduct of research. Customizable to each individual’s needs and interests, the on-demand program further prepares PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to lead successful and fulfilling careers in a wide range of biomedical- and research-related sectors.
To register for the Scientific Leadership Development Program, please fill out the form. If you have any questions, contact us at sldp@mssm.edu.
Training Modules
Alongside module 01_Introduction covering how to make the most of the Program, we offer a variety of training modules to enhance your skills and prepare you for success in your chosen field. Our current modules include:
02_Communicating Visual Data
You will learn how to identify and avoid common pitfalls in data visualization, such as bias and distortion, as well as gain an understanding of the principles of effective slide design, and best practices for designing charts and tables, color use, and file formats.
03_Graphical Abstracts
You will follow the production of a graphical abstract from starting idea through to published article with process commentary from the researcher and graphical designer involved. You will then be provided with tools, tips and tricks to create an abstract based on your own research.
04_Team Effectiveness
You will explore the stages of team development, including the characteristics of each stage, typical behaviors of team members, and strategies for facilitating team cohesion and productivity. You will also identify effective strategies for managing team dynamics and fostering communication among team members.
05_Influencing Others
You will learn the concepts underlying influence, discuss different influence styles and tactics, and evaluate your own personal style. You will discuss emotional intelligence and how it affects influence, as well as considering ways to influence people within research collaborations.
06_Basics of Biomedical Commercialization at Mount Sinai
You will be provided with an overview of the key concepts and skills needed to start thinking about how to successfully commercialize biomedical research. You will explore topics such as “customer” discovery, identifying and protecting intellectual property, developing a commercialization plan, and securing funding and partnerships to support your venture.
07_Strategic Leadership
To be an effective leader, you need to hone your skills in building community, working in diverse teams, and navigating systems. Effectively supporting your people requires you to consider equity and equality and to practice inclusive leadership together with cultural- and self-awareness. You will learn leadership principles such as strategic planning, relationship building, and managing teams, with a lens of inclusivity and aligning your actions with your goals.
08_Presenting Your Research
You will be taken step-by-step through a framework to define the foundations of an effective talk: who is your audience, what are your goals and what is your core message. You will explore your speaking style and learn how to seek useful feedback and lessen your nerves.
09_Grant Writing for Researchers
You will learn the basics of writing a biomedical research grant, how to think strategically about your application, the importance of putting yourself in your reviewers’ shoes, and techniques to make your proposal more competitive. You will also receive guidance on managing deadlines and getting the feedback you need to improve your writing.
10_Career Exploration
You will explore strategic career planning processes that emphasize self-discovery through skills and interests aligning with career purpose and recognizing personal and workplace values. You will be guided through the benefits and process of creating your own individual development plan and then introduced to realistic job exercises to investigate your career options.
11_Planning Your Scientific Journey
Being a successful researcher requires more than acquiring knowledge and data –strategic choices of research question and experimental approach are also necessary. You will create a framework to evaluate your research question and experimental approach that can be used for your PhD or postdoc project or your future lab direction. You will learn how to bring your plan to life through goal setting and identifying resources and sources of support.
Upcoming Training Modules
We are continuously developing new content for the program. Upcoming modules include:
Project Management
Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and executing a project from start to finish. It involves defining project goals, creating a project plan, identifying and managing resources, and monitoring progress toward project milestones. Mount Sinai experts will walk you through the process of a systematic approach to task completion using real-world research project examples.
Exploring Your Leadership Style
You will discover the key attributes and structures of evidence-based leadership frameworks and learn to differentiate leadership from management and mentorship. Through self-reflection you will better understand your own leadership style and how it is influenced by different professional and cultural contexts.
Building and Supervising a Team
You will learn strategies for managing and communicating effectively with your team and how to cultivate positive relationships and environments. You will be provided with an orientation checklist and frameworks for feedback that you can actively adapt to your style as a supervisor in your current or future research setting.
Exploring the Bioscience Ecosystem
For scientific discoveries to be developed and impact the public, academia, government and the private sector must work together. You will learn the basics of how these three sectors contribute to scientific innovation, how you can thrive within these sectors and help drive the scientific ecosystem forward, and ways to maximize the impact of your research.