OITE/OIR Professional Development Curriculum for NIH Faculty

Fellows Management: Unions and Policy

Tools for Mentoring Trainees

Managing Your Research and Career

The sessions will be recorded; please register to ensure access to the recordings. Supervisory credits will be provided for those who attend the sessions in real-time (applies to the first 10 sessions up to and including Research Integrity).

Fellows Management: Unions and Policy

2026 Updates for Faculty and Staff around non-FTE Fellows

January 29, 2026, 1:00pm-2:30pm
Registration Link: Register
In 2025, we implemented many changes related to non-FTE Fellows. We will talk about new templates for onboarding, renewals, non-renewals, and research group transfers, as well as updated policies including unpaid designations, recruiting new trainees, summer plans, and more. This session will provide a high-level overview of these topics, bust myths around trainees/fellows, share additional resources, highlight upcoming workshops, and things to watch out for in 2026.

Union 101: Navigating a Unionized Trainee Population at NIH

February 10, 2026, 11:00am-12:30pm
Registration Link: Register
This webinar will provide an overview of NIH Fellows United, collective bargaining agreements, policies, and best practices for fostering a collaborative and productive research group in a unionized environment. Attendance is limited to intramural NIH PIs, research group leaders, administrators, and mentors who interact with NIH IRTAs, CRTAs, and Visiting Fellows.

Understanding Leave and Telework Policies for Trainees

March 4, 2026, 10:00am-11:30am
Registration Link: Register
This webinar will address attendance and leave policies for non-FTE fellows (IRTAs, CRTAs, and Visiting Fellows). It will provide information on attendance, protected time for professional development, the types of leave available, leave requests, and how to track leave during the fellowship year. We will also highlight current Telework guidance for fellows.

Setting Expectations and Managing Performance

April 16, 2026, 1:00pm-2:30pm
Registration Link: Register
This webinar will provide information and tools for setting and communicating expectations with your fellows. It will also address annual performance reviews and how to use this engagement to build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement while motivating fellows to grow, learn, and contribute.

Tools for Mentoring Trainees

Interviewing and Selecting Trainees

March 11, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
This webinar focuses on the nuts-and-bolts of recruiting trainees to your research group. It will provide information on advertising positions, and discuss strategies for ranking applications, interviewing candidates, collecting references, and selecting new trainees.

Training/Mentoring Grad Students and Postdocs

April 22, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
The webinar will focus on mentoring graduate students and postdocs in the NIH Intramural Research Program. It will discuss best practices for mentoring and provide information on NIH-wide resources to support you in providing an outstanding training experience. It will also highlight the intricate workings of the NIH Graduate Partnerships Program and differences in mentoring graduate students and postdocs.

Training/Mentoring Postbacs

May 14, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
The webinar will focus on mentoring postbacs in the NIH Intramural Research Program. It will discuss best practices for mentoring and provide information on NIH-wide resources to support you in providing an outstanding training experience. It will also highlight the importance of educational advising in this population.

Preparing Your Trainees to Leave

June 16, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
This webinar will discuss ways to support trainees as they transition from your group. It will discuss letters of recommendation and other ways to support trainees through the application, interview, and negotiation process. It will also address the completion of NIH work including authorship, data management, and the completion/transition of projects.

Mentoring International Trainees

July 22, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
This webinar will focus on the unique needs of NIH visiting fellows with a focus on supporting their acculturation to U.S. cultures and integrating them into NIH communities and your research group. It will also provide information on nuances of the job search process important for this community.

Managing Your Research and Career

Research Integrity

June 4, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
This seminar covers the major forms of research misconduct (fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism), which are illustrated with examples from real-life cases. Best practices are shared for preventing research misconduct and maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, including establishing good communications with staff and setting realistic expectations regarding productivity and publications. The topics of research security and avoiding inappropriate foreign influence are discussed, given their potential impact on research integrity.

Tenure Criteria and BSC Reviews

June 25, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
This seminar offers practical advice to early career PIs on how to develop a successful research career leading to tenure. The importance of getting known, or networking, within and outside the institution is emphasized. Guidance is provided for a successful review by the Board of Scientific Counselors, the mechanism by which the quality of the NIH intramural research program is evaluated. How to fulfill the criteria for tenure is a major topic, with insights provided by a panel of recent members of the Central Tenure Committee.

Faculty Mentoring: An Introduction

July 9, 2026, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Registration Link: Register
While the sessions in the OITE/OIR faculty curriculum up to this point have focused on the PI as mentor, this seminar is about the PI as mentee, specifically about pre-tenure faculty on the receiving end of mentoring from more senior colleagues. The seminar will introduce the importance of mentoring for faculty success, what faculty mentoring involves, and the attributes of effective mentors and mentees, as well as an ideal form of faculty mentoring that involves a network of multiple mentors in formal and informal relationships.