Program Participants

Participants were postdoctoral research fellows who self-identified as women, performing cancer research at the NCI. Participants had received their highest degree (typically PhD) between 1 and 7 years prior to applying to the SRK program. Participants performed research at one of the three NCI Maryland campuses: Bethesda, Shady Grove, or Frederick. Participants were either basic science researchers, epigeneticists, or population scientists and were competitively selected from a self-nominated application package. The package contained a personal statement of professional goals, including non-scientific career aspirations and expectations for the program, a professional history and a resume highlighting professional accomplishments, a statement of work environment describing any limitations currently faced, and a note of any special circumstances. In addition, applicants were required to submit recommendation letters from their primary research mentor and laboratory/branch director, which indicated support for the required activities, benefits to the applicant, and acknowledgement of the time commitment of the program. Applications were submitted by the applicant through an online system and scored by a review committee on the content and quality of the materials submitted. Initially, ten applicants were selected to participate in the program for cohorts 1–4. The program proved to be popular, and, as a result, the cohort size was increased to 12 for subsequent years.

Program Commitment

Upon acceptance, each fellow signed a commitment letter indicating they would participate fully in all scheduled workshops, activities, and assignments. This commitment emphasized the interconnected nature of all the components of the program and how each one builds upon the others to create the cumulative value of the program. Over the course of the year-long program, excused absences for personal and family reasons were allowed, but in order to graduate from the program, participants could accrue no more than two. Additionally, the NCI staff running the SRK program held themselves responsible for the success of the program by setting clear expectations, monitoring attendance and participation, being present for the sessions, and serving as unofficial mentors throughout the program.

Program Curriculum

The program lasts 10 months (November through August) and aims to teach fellows a skillset that will help them be successful in future leadership roles in the biomedical sciences. This skillset includes building self-awareness and self-confidence, goal setting, developing strong relationships, conflict resolution, time management, cultivating accountability, situational leadership, and enhancing emotional intelligence, among other topics. The SRK program teaches these skillsets via five main program components: leadership coaching, mentorship, peer support, additional skill building, and grant writing (Table 1).

Table 1 The components of the SRK program and the skills that fellows learn in eachLeadership Coaching

The core of the program is a 9-month coaching curriculum designed and coached by Samantha Sutton, PhD and based on the co-active coaching model. Co-active coaches teach tools and approaches for personal growth and then empower participants to leverage their own innate strengths and resources to find solutions. The SRK coaching curriculum consists of two modules. Module 1 builds a strong internal leadership core of self-awareness, self-confidence, and a clear and compelling articulation of career goals. Module 2 leverages this core to teach fellows how to positively shape their external environment, including time management and building professional and personal relationships, to support their career ambitions and allow them to successfully work in whatever environment they choose. Coaching topics are further detailed in Table 2.

Table 2 Topics covered in the coaching component of the program

Each module begins with an 8-h in-person interactive workshop that consists of instruction, coaching, reflection, and group work. Workshops are held in January (Module 1) and April/May (Module 2) and are each followed by seven 2-h sessions conducted over videoconference. All workshops and sessions include a required homework assignment, due 3 days prior, in response to which fellows receive individual feedback.

Throughout both modules, fellows design weekly commitments around tasks they will accomplish, both personally and professionally, to help achieve desired outcomes in their lives. Fellows receive coaching and feedback on their performance from an accountability coach, Tanara Martin, MEd, LCPC, with the intention of building accountability and driving performance.

Mentorship

In order to gain expert career advice in their chosen field of study and network with potential role models, fellows select a mentor from a pool of accomplished women with scientific careers in academia, industry, and government. Mentor engagement varied by fellow and typically included monthly meetings (either in-person or via phone or videoconferencing) and group events consisting of networking opportunities, informal social gatherings, and presentations. Key contributions provided by mentors include sharing success strategies, celebrating fellow accomplishments, and acting as a source of support.

Peer Support

As an additional learning aid and source of reflection and support, fellows were assigned into peer groups of 3–4 fellows (“buddy groups”). These groups met at varying frequencies, either in-person or via phone or videoconferencing, and shared assignments and commitment results with each other. Peer group members were charged with holding each other accountable for doing their best work during the program, even when working through difficult topics.

Communication and Presentation Skills

Fellows also participated in two workshops on communication and presentation skills to improve the effective delivery of their scientific message through body language and tone. The lessons were put into action during a Three-Minute Talk, modeled after the Three-Minute Thesis,Footnote 1 where fellows described an aspect of their research in a single slide within 3 min. Research and program mentors were invited to provide constructive feedback on the presentations.

Writing a Grant Proposal

The fellows are invited to apply for a competitive grant to purchase materials for a novel research project intended to generate preliminary data for a future grant application. The application format follows the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, and reviewers are asked to score applications following the NIH scoring system, which uses a 9-point scale for overall impact and evaluates criteria including career development and research plan (significance, innovation, and approach). The opportunity is open to current SRK fellows as well as all SRK alumni who are still at the NCI. All fellows who apply receive a critique of their application. This grant proposal writing exercise is valuable even for fellows who do not aspire to go into academia, as fellows learn how to conceptualize a new idea and to write clearly and convincingly.

Additional Skill Building

To offer a core set of tactical skills, fellows attended additional customized 2-h seminars led by the NCI Office of Workforce Planning and Development (recently renamed to the Office of Workforce Strategy and Effectiveness). Seminar topics included the DiSC behavioral/work style assessment, enhancing emotional intelligence, managing people, situational leadership, managing change and transition, and increasing one’s influence. These seminars featured instruction as well as individual work and reflection.

Survey Instrument

In order to measure the success of the SRK program, we developed and administered pre-program and post-program surveys. The original version of the survey was piloted on cohorts 1 and 2 (data not shown). The fellows indicated the SRK program helped them improve self-confidence. Based upon these initial responses, we designed a more comprehensive survey to better understand the program impact. Questions for the revised survey were developed based on the stated goals of the program. The survey included questions on program expectation, self-perception of skillsets, confidence in chosen career paths, and strength of interpersonal relationships. The survey also included open-ended questions intended to gauge program satisfaction.

The survey was distributed online using SurveyMonkey to fellows accepted to the program. Baseline data were collected within 1 week of acceptance into the program (pre-program survey; Supplementary Table 1). The survey was administered again within 1 week of completion of the program (post-program survey; Supplementary Table 1) in order to measure longitudinal growth over the course of the program. Invitations to respond to the survey were distributed by email and responses were anonymous and voluntary. Respondents had 1 week to complete the survey, and one reminder was sent prior to the due date.

Data Analysis

We summarized the survey responses through descriptive statistics and analyzed the pre-program and post-program responses for each question. Using R stats and ggsignif packages, we performed a Wilcoxon test and identified which differences were statistically significant (p values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant). For responses with a defined set of discrete values, the R package ggplot was used to produce a combination of boxplots and violin plots displaying the distributions of pre-program and post-program responses in cohorts 3 to 10. A violin plot depicts distributions of the data with (mirrored) probability density curves. Each curve corresponds to the smoothened frequency of data points in that region, wider sections represent a higher probability of a given value. In combination with boxplots (which show summary statistics such as median and interquartile ranges), the violin plots reveal valuable information about the full data distribution shape and skewness. For open-ended questions with narrative responses, in order to show recurrent topics and keywords, we extracted the qualitative themes, and using the R package wordcloud, created a summary graphic where the size and color of the words corresponded to their frequency of occurrence.

Post-program Connections

After each cohort completes the program, we maintain professional connections with the alumni as they move through their careers. At the start of the program, fellows are encouraged to join the SRK LinkedIn group. This private group allows fellows to network with program alumni and to keep up to date on each other’s professional trajectories.

Furthermore, we hold an annual SRK Career Day, which brings alumni back to the NCI to meet with current fellows. A keynote speaker is invited to present on a topic of interest to the fellows; examples of topics include the role of mentorship, combating imposter syndrome, life after postdoc, and unconscious bias. Alumni also participate in career panels which are designed to expose fellows to career options in academia, government, industry, and other biomedical fields. The career panels are an opportunity for fellows to hear what the panelists learned from the SRK program and how it helped them progress to the current stage of their professional trajectory.