Congress Approves "National Postdoc Awareness Week"

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  National Postdoc Appreciation Week was officially recognized by the US Congress on 23 September. The move confers no funding and creates no laws. But it is vital for building awareness of postdocs' research contributions as well as of their compensation issues and other woes, says Cathee Johnson Phillips, executive director of the National Postdoc Association (NPA) in Washington DC. The NPA, along with institutions nationwide, began the week in 2009. This year, it was 20–24 September and more than 70 institutions took part. In the past, most legislators knew little about postdocs, says Phillips. “Now, when our members talk to them about compensation and benefits, they'll say, 'Let's talk,' not 'What's a postdoc?'” she says.