From anecdote to evidence: ASPIRE publishes collaborative study showing participation in career development activities does not impact time-to-degree or productivity in grad school
This article was originally published in the 2021- 2022 Annual Report
Written by Elizabeth Woods and edited by Kim Petrie, PhD
The landscape of graduate education and postdoctoral training in the biomedical sciences has changed dramatically in the last decade as PhD programs have had to grapple with the demands of a diversifying economy. PhD scientists now have more career options than ever before, and many training programs have had to adapt to provide more opportunities for graduate students to explore their interests and passions in a wider range of careers in both academia and the biotech and healthcare industries.
The push to expand the focus of biomedical research training programs beyond preparing for academic research careers is not universally agreed upon, however. The changing nature of post-graduate employment has sparked some anxieties within graduate education, specifically regarding the potential effects of broadening training on graduate students’ productivity and efficiency. As biomedical research training programs looked to include more hands-on, experiential learning outside of the lab, the question remained whether these extracurricular activities would hinder students’ scientific work and increase the time spent in PhD training programs.
A 2021 article published in the journal PLOS Biology helps answer that question and assuage these fears. The article is the culmination of a five-year study that includes data from 1,700 graduate students across ten different institutions, including Vanderbilt, who received funding from the NIH to study how expanding career development opportunities impacts the career development and trajectories of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in the biomedical sciences. Vanderbilt co-authors of the cross-institutional project include Dr. Kathleen Gould, Dr. Kim Petrie, recently retired Dr. Roger Chalkley, and Dr. Abby Brown from Vanderbilt’s ASPIRE program. The ten universities who participated in the study were among 17 institutions across the country who were awarded an NIH Director’s Award in 2013 or 2014 as part of the “Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training” (BEST) grant program. By examining metrics such as time-to degree and number of peer-reviewed articles published during PhD training, the PLOS Biology study is the first to demonstrate that there is no difference in research productivity or efficiency between PhD students who participate in career development activities and those who do not. Even students who participated in career and professional development activities at the highest level, such as completing an internship, did not take longer to finish or publish fewer manuscripts.
The article’s findings validate the approach taken by graduate programs such as Vanderbilt’s that have sought to re-align their biomedical research training environment with the realities of the job market. Dr. Kim Petrie, Assistant Dean for Biomedical Career Development and co-PI on Vanderbilt’s BEST grant, shared, “This paper is a critical finding from the BEST consortium research. A common idea among faculty and trainees alike is that PhD students who participate in career development outside the lab are going to take longer to graduate and publish fewer papers. Our PLOS Biology analysis demonstrated that this wasn’t the case at all, including at Vanderbilt, where our biomedical PhD students publish papers, whether they participate in ASPIRE activities or not.” Dr. Kathleen Gould, Senior Associate Dean for Biomedical Research Education and Training and BEST co-PI, added, “Our philosophy has always been that career development starts on Day 1 of graduate school or postdoc training, and it is gratifying to have robust data in support of students taking time to be proactive in their career development.”
In 2005, the Vanderbilt Biomedical Research Education and Training Office (BRET) was among the first in the country to start a career development initiative dedicated to the needs of biomedical PhD students and postdocs. Upon receiving a BEST award in 2013, BRET established the ASPIRE program to complement the robust research training students and postdocs receive in the lab. The outcomes of the BEST consortium study confirm what ASPIRE team and biomedical trainees have known for years: supplementing traditional PhD and postdoctoral research training with intentional professional development, career exploration, and skill-building activities helps trainees develop exceptional professional knowledge and a clear sense of their career plans, ultimately strengthening the biomedical research workforce.