Postdoctoral Training
Joining Dana-Farber
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Finding a position at Dana-Farber
Dana-Farber has a variety of departments with a diverse research focus. The best way to identify postdoctoral openings is to check the job listings through our employment opportunities link or check the postings in the major peer reviewed journals like Cell, Science or Nature, where our researchers are known to post their hot positions.
The best way to create a connection with investigators is to find out about their research and, if you are interested, send them an e-mail to inquire more about their direction. Investigators are generally excited to speak with someone who shares the same research interests. Please keep in mind that their time is valuable; you will want to limit your contacts with them unless they request otherwise.
Good luck in your job search.
Before you arrive
This will take place the month before you start at Dana-Farber:
Offer letter
You will likely receive an unofficial offer letter from your hiring principal investigator that can include your start date, salary and responsibilities. You must also receive an official offer letter from Human Resources.
Before you can be hired at Dana-Farber, a research recruiter in the Human Resources Department (HR) must review your job application and curriculum vitae and issue a formal HR job offer letter. If you have not received such a letter you should contact HR to assure that the appropriate processes have been completed. Once your application has been reviewed and approved, HR will issue an official offer letter together with a packet of additional paperwork, including a health history form and informational materials. If your start date is less than three weeks away and you have not received your official offer letter packet, you should contact Tim Wood at (617) 632-4417 or timothy_wood@dfci.harvard.edu in order to complete this process.
Visa
If you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you will need to have a Visa. Please note that Dana-Farber cannot pay you for work done before your visa has been issued. All applications must be processed through Human Resources. Visa applications can take from three weeks to six months. Please contact Lorraine Barnes at (617) 632-3052 or lorraine_barnes@dfci.harvard for the application and complete it immediately. You will need a letter of support from your hiring principal investigator.
Social Security Number
- Social Security Cards
- It can take several weeks to get a Social Security Number. We cannot enter you into the payroll system until a Social Security Number has been issued to you by the Social Security Administration. Social Security Number Applications (Form SS-5) are available at several Social Security Administration Offices throughout the area. The closest Social Security Administration Office to Dana-Farber is at 10 Causeway Street, Room 148 1st Floor, Boston, MA, 02222 (800-772-1213), or you can call (800) 772-1213 for the office nearest to your home, if that is more convenient. You will need to know your home zip code in order to access this system.
- If you are in the United States on a non-immigrant visa, you will
need to bring the following with you when applying for a Social Security
Number:
Visa Category Forms Required F1 (Practical Training) Form I-20, EAD Card (Employment Authorization Document) Passport J1 Form DS2019, I-94 Card, Passport J2 Form DS2019, I-94 Card, Passport accompanied by Work Authorization Card H1 Form I-797, I-94 Card, Passport TN I-94 Card, Passport O1 Form I-797, I-94 Card, Passport
If you require further information or need assistance, please contact Lorraine Barnes in Human Resources at (617) 632-3052.
Occupational Health
At least one week before you begin work at Dana-Farber, you must meet with a member of the Department of Occupational Health Department (OH) to review your health history. This information might be needed should you develop a health care problem at work and are unable to communicate your health history. It also will help the OH staff evaluate whether you have a health problem that might pose a risk to Dana-Farber patients or other staff member. When you schedule your appointment time, please let the OH staff member know if you have had a TB test that was positive in the past. If not, a TB skin test will be conducted at the time of your visit to determine if you have been exposed to TB in the past. You will need to return to OH 2-3 days after the TB test has been placed to determine if it is positive. If you have had a positive TB skin test in the past, or have a positive test at the time of your visit, the OH staff member might ask you to have a chest X-ray taken to determine if you have active TB.
It is best to schedule your appointment with OH as soon as possible after you have received an offer so you can start work on the expected day. You cannot attend orientation without the checklist approval from OH. Their number is (617) 632-3016. You may also contact Tim Wood for assistance at (617) 632-4417 or timothy_wood@dfci.harvard.edu.
(Note: May through September is an especially busy hiring season. It is essential that you contact OH at least two weeks before your start date.)
The First Week at Dana-Farber
Orientation
You must attend orientation to begin working at Dana-Farber. This is regardless of your funding source. Orientation is available every Monday (if there is a Holiday it will be on Tuesday). To attend orientation you must have the Occupational Health Checklist. Orientation check-in begins at 8:45 a.m. and the first speaker starts at 9 a.m. You will have a 15-minute break in the morning and a lunch break at 1 p.m. If you are defined as Unfunded (meaning your funding does not go through the Dana-Farber payroll), then you are able to leave at 1 p.m. If you are paid through the Dana-Farber payroll, then you will return at 2 p.m. for benefits information and a tour.
If you have not returned your paperwork from your offer packet to Human Resources, please bring these forms with you to orientation.
Lab Safety Training
This session is required for all staff working in a lab. New staff members, including unfunded staff, co-ops, and volunteers are required to complete a health screen and have approval from Occupational Health Services prior to attending this session.
Date:
Every Tuesday, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
(Except in the event of a Monday holiday, in which case it is held on Wednesday)
Location:
454 Brookline Avenue, room 251
Dana-Farber ID
Everyone must wear an ID badge for access to all Longwood Medical Area buildings. New employees must first complete their health screening at Occupational Health Services. Once they receive OHS clearance, new employees need to attend Orientation, where they will be issued a temporary ID badge that is valid for one week. Research staff must also attend Laboratory Safety Orientation. Employees who are not on the Dana-Farber payroll must also follow the appropriate procedure to obtain a photo ID badge.
How to Get a Permanent ID Badge
- ID badges are issued weekly by General Services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 2 - 4 p.m.) 375 Longwood Avenue, 4th floor, room L437.
- New employees should bring the following three items to General
Services:
- ID Card ppplication filled out and authorized by department supervisor and Human Resources
- Completed Dana-Farber orientation checklist
- Temporary ID badge
Harvard ID
Postdoctoral fellows are granted the academic title of "Research Fellow" in their academic appointing department. The academic appointment and title provides you with a Harvard University ID badge and privileges associated with officers of Harvard University. Your academic appointment as a "Research Fellow" is an annual appointment that commences at the time of your arrival and is renewable on July 1 of each year to end on June 30 of the following year or until your postdoctoral training is completed.
A "Research Fellow" is described in the Purple Book (viewable online at: http://www.hms.harvard.edu/fa/handbook/purplebook/index.html) as a training status appointment under the mentorship of a faculty member Your appointment record is maintained by the HMS Office of Human Resources (HR) in the University's HR/Payroll/Benefits system, Peoplesoft.
You will want to check with your individual business office to complete the Harvard ID application process. Please complete this as soon as possible so that you will receive your ID in a timely manner.
Please note: This appointment is merely the conveyance of an academic title. Although "Research Fellows" working in the Medical School's affiliated hospitals and institutions may have a HMS appointment, they generally are not paid by Harvard and salary and benefits derive from their place of work, i.e. Dana-Farber.
eCommons Access
http://www.ecommons.med.harvard.edu/ - click on Register Now You need your Harvard ID to complete this process and then you will be given a unique user ID and will be allowed to choose a password that can be used to access eCommons, MyCourses and the Digital Library.
Meeting with your Mentor
In the first week of work you should make an effort to schedule office time with your mentor to discuss the short and long term goals of your position. You should clarify that you would like to know what is expected at the end of one month, six months and one year. You may also want to inquire as to what the review process is like your individual lab. This is an extremely valuable chance to know the expectations of your mentor and how best to meet those expectations.
General Benefit Information
Being a postdoc can be very confusing when it comes to benefits. You have to know your actual title in Human Resources, your funding source, what your status is, how you receive your paycheck, if you are supplemented and many other factors. Basically, your benefits vary based on your status as determined by your funding. Status categories include Funded, Stipend or Unfunded.
The easiest situation to explain is the postdoc who is funded from their PI's training grant. The status of this person is generally known as Funded (Unfunded is explained below). You can tell that this is your status if you receive your paycheck on the last Thursday of the month from the Dana-Farber payroll. This entitles you to all of the benefits a regular Dana-Farber employee gets, except for the Dana-Farber Retirement Plan and short-term disability. Although you are able to invest your pre-tax dollars into a 403B, Dana-Farber will not put any money into a retirement account for you until you are out of the trainee status. Trainees are ineligible for employer funding of retirement plans due to certain governmental laws.
A Stipend Employee at Dana-Farber may be different from what you were familiar with in the past. It is generally a postdoc who receives a fellowship that is channeled through the Dana-Farber payroll system. This means that you receive a check in the middle of the month. You will want to read your fellowship guidelines very carefully as they sometimes limit the benefits you are eligible to receive.
Finally, we have the "Unfundeds." Unfunded status generally refers to people who receive funding from their home countries through a variety of sources, or someone on a fellowship where the granting institution does not process the money through the Dana-Farber payroll. You are eligible for medical and dental plans through Dana-Farber; however, they are not subsidized by Dana-Farber. Therefore, the cost for this coverage tends to be very high compared to stipends and funded postdocs. You should consider this when either receiving or renegotiating your fellowship.
As an employee establishing funding for your research, you may at any time change status. You will want to discuss this change directly with Human Resources or the Postdoc Office to identify any major problems.
Postdoc Benefits Eligibility Chart