OPA Services

Highlights of the services provided by The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA)

The UTHealth Houston Office of Postdoctoral Affairs serves as a dedicated resource for postdoctoral trainees, faculty, and administrators to provide outstanding postdoctoral training and quality support to the institution. For further information please contact Leslie Beckman, Director at 713.500.6612 or leslie.beckman@uth.tmc.edu.

Recruiting and Appointment Processing:

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs facilitates appointment processing for all UTHealth Houston Postdoctoral Research Fellows and offers resources for recruiting and promoting the university and the Houston area to potential postdoctoral candidates.

• Posts open positions on the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs website job board (HR links to this site for all postdoctoral openings).
• Meets with candidates as a part of their interview to promote the numerous opportunities and activities offered to UTHealth Houston postdocs.
• Offers resources to new postdocs to assist in their transition to the Houston area.
• Facilitates postdoctoral appointment approvals working with departments and related service offices (Human Resources, Office of International Affairs) to ensure all paperwork is accurate and effectively expedited.

Postdoctoral Community:

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs has an outreach program designed to welcome all new postdocs and keep the postdoctoral community informed of funding opportunities, networking events, and trends in postdoctoral training.

• Sends a welcome letter to all new postdocs.
• Provides new postdoc orientation sessions before each academic semester.
• Maintains a list-serve to keep postdocs well informed of educational, funding, and networking opportunities.
• Offers travel awards, excellence in research awards, grant writing workshops, and has a fellowship funding database exclusively for UTH Houston postdocs.
• Offers free affiliate membership to the National Postdoctoral Association and the Postdoctoral Association at UTHealth Houston.
• Provide CV/resume review and career coaching services.
• Monthly Coffee and Career seminars, Annual Career Symposium, TMC social and training events.

Postdoctoral Certificate Training Program:

There are two tracks of 12-semester credit hour programs. Didactic courses include Responsible Conduct of Research, Teaching Skills, Communication Skills, and Career Development. Online courses are additionally offered in Mentoring Skills and Management Skills. Department Seminars will earn the Postdoctoral Fellow 1 semester credit hour and Supervised Research is required each semester for 1 semester credit hours. Postdoctoral Fellows are alternatively permitted to select any elective course from the UT System catalog to acquire more specialized knowledge or skills.

• The Program is designed to meet the mentoring and training requirements for NIH, NSF, and other grants funding postdoctoral fellows.
• All tuition and fees are provided by the university.
• Classes meet weekly on Thursdays during the Fall and Spring semesters.
• Postdoctoral participants receive student credits and benefits.

Faculty Resources:

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs warehouses data required for grants, mentoring tools, and other resources to ensure quality postdoctoral training.

• Maintains a comprehensive database used to track postdoctoral trainees throughout their careers used for grants and governmental reporting.
• Provides mentoring resources including assistance with Individual Development Plans, sends reminders and platforms for annual performance reviews, and provides guidance for grievance resolution.