Program Overview
While Education and career development has been an essential value for the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute (MCRI) since its inception in 1959, in 2017 MCRI prioritized the development of a formal postdoctoral fellowship program. The mission of the Postdoctoral Fellowship program is to educate and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders. This program is designed to equip, facilitate, and mentor a junior scientist's independent research portfolio, in areas such as grant applications, manuscript writing, scientific presentation development, scientific merit and peer review, internal and external collaboration, and formal training in statistical/data management software.
Read MCRI's Year in Review for a snapshot of the activities, people and resources at our institution that contribute to our collaborative, team science approach to research.
Program Positions
The MCRI Postdoctoral Fellowship program offers a unique approach to training and career development in that participants are engaged across MCRI's interdisciplinary spectrum. The program is supported by all of the nationally-recognized Centers within MCRI, as well as the support Offices. Fellows include individuals holding positions funded by philanthropic efforts, research sponsors for specific studies or projects, internally funded by the research department, and partner institutions fellowship programs. As the overarching goal of the program is to educate and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders, individuals eligible to participate in professional and career development activities include all of MCRI's Postdoctoral Fellows as well as interested early career researchers currently employed at MCRI.
See the Postdoctoral Positions webpage for the various programs that support Postdoctoral Fellows and early career researchers and the Postdoctoral Opportunities webpage for current openings.
Fellowship Skills & Experiences
The postdoctoral experience at MCRI will be individually tailored to align with specific needs of the fellow with an overall goal of the fellow achieving professional independence and academic and individual success. While a defined curriculum is not practical in today’s ever-changing research landscape, the MCRI postdoctoral program focuses on the development of skills related to research, career development, as well as both personal and social skills. At the start of their appointment, fellows will work with their mentor to create a personalized development plan focused on acquiring, improving or maintaining skills.
Fundamental competences for all development plans include ethical and professionalism. Ethical responsibilities comprise of upholding the moral duties of researchers in the pursuit of the advancement of science and health care and comprehensive professionalism and leadership skills while working on a diverse team. Professionalism compromises of connecting across research Centers and Offices as well as institutions, and identifying and clarifying goals while motiving others and engaging research staff and a project team when leading a project.
Advanced competences for development plans include conceptual knowledge related to the discipline-specific implications of research on the broader field, skill development and communication skills. Skill development encompasses all aspects related to carrying out independent research including research techniques, experimental design, data analysis, and the publication process. Communication skills focus on engaging a broad audience though scientific writing for application, career document, and scientific publication development as well as speaking though presentations and participating on peer review panels.
Fellowship Resources/Materials
As one of the largest private research facilities embedded within a regional, integrated health care system, MCRI is uniquely positioned to conduct innovative, translational and applied research in a learning health system environment serving a large underserved rural segment of Wisconsin. It is impractical to assume that a single mentor or institution has every skill and the mastery of topics to be able to provide a fellow with a full experience. The MCRI fellowship program utilizes existing partnerships with regional educational institutes, national research organizations and agencies, and numerous networks to provide fellows with access to a wide range of interdisciplinary activities, external workshops, online classes, webinars, and network meetings. The specific networks a fellow will have access to are specific to the research area and will be discussed with the mentor during the recruitment and selection process.
Program Contact
Seth Langreck - Program Administrator
Marshfield Clinic Research Institute
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
1000 North Oak Avenue
Marshfield, WI 54449-5777
Phone: 1-800-782-8581