Dec 19, 2024

New Annual Summit Focuses on Graduate Student Resiliency

Earlier this month, the Huck Institutes, in partnership with the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State, hosted the Inaugural Huck Institutes T32 Summit.

With more than 100 predoctoral fellows and mentors in attendance, the event showcased the power of collaboration, mentorship, and innovation in graduate training. Focusing on the theme of student resiliency, day was filled with thought-provoking discussions, interactive workshops, and inspiring testimonials from students and faculty alike.

Key highlights included:

• Sessions on career development and professional opportunities for life sciences graduates.
• Insights into cutting-edge research and its broader societal impact.
• Networking opportunities that connected students with mentors, peers, and alumni.

Another highlight of the event was the keynote address delivered by Sharon Milgram, Director of the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education. Milgram emphasized strategies to avoid burnout in science and introduced two groundbreaking nationwide programs designed to transform the culture of training in academic institutions:

• Becoming a Resilient Scientist: A five-part series of lectures and discussion groups aimed at developing the skills needed to thrive in research careers. This program has recently been implemented for Huck-associated graduate programs.
• Raising a Resilient Scientist: A program designed to promote mental health and well-being within the academic research community by supporting faculty and administrators in developing self-management, relationship-management, and mentoring skills. Topics include communication and shared problem-solving, with the goal of helping trainees navigate the inevitable setbacks of high-knowledge environments.

A central theme of the day was the critical role of mentorship in fostering student success. As Donna Korzick, Director of Graduate Training Initiatives for the Huck Institutes, said, "Mentors play a key role in creating an environment in which trainees can thrive, so it was really exciting that our trainees and mentors could come together to hear the same message from an expert in the field.”

The event also highlighted the importance of NIH Institutional Training Grants (T32 grants) in shaping our graduate programs. These prestigious awards provide crucial support for training the next generation of scientists by funding stipend support, tuition coverage, and career development resources for predoctoral fellows. Beyond direct support to trainees, these grants drive improvements for all students by requiring faculty mentorship training and fostering an enriched academic environment.

“NIH Institutional Training Grants are an important part of the Fox Graduate School’s efforts to provide a high-quality experience for our life sciences PhD students," said Michael Verderame, Senior Associate Dean of the Fox Graduate School. Of course, there is tremendous value to students appointed as trainees under these grants who receive direct support: both financial support including a stipend, tuition coverage, health insurance premiums, and childcare subsidies, as well as career and professional development activities. However, these awards also provide important benefits for students not appointed; for example, faculty trainers receive mentor training, a required element of the grant, that will improve the experience of all their future students.”