Career Development Guides | Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Working with Institutional Review Boards

Protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects

If you intend to conduct research involving human subjects, before you can begin, you must obtain the approval of your institution's Institutional Review Board (IRB). Most academic or governmental research entities have their own IRBs; there are also independent or commercial IRBs. Regardless, the IRB (sometimes known as an Independent Ethics Committee, or IEC) is the body charged with ensuring that all research conducted at the institution involving human subjects follows regulations and guidelines established by the federal government.

Thriving in an Era of Team Science

The fourth installment of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Development Guide series has been released. Thriving in an Era of Team Science. It, like the others in the series, offers tips and advice from established investigators on how to survive and thrive in collaborative science.

Moving On

The latest installment in BWF’s Career Development Guide series is out. Moving On: Managing Career Transitions offers practical advice on when to recognize it’s time to take the next step in advancing your career in research.

Science writer Karyn Hede interviewed researchers for their advice on setting a good foundation, developing research and teaching statements, networking, securing independent funding, and avoiding common mistakes.

Staffing the Lab

Staffing the Lab: Perspectives from Both Sides of the Bench answers the question of how to find the best laboratory to work in after a researcher has finished her doctoral program. It also takes the perspective of the principle investigator looking for a candidate to fill a position in her lab.

Staffing the Lab shares the advice and experience of established Burroughs Wellcome Fund awardees and associates.

Communicating Science: Giving Talks

Communicating Science: Giving Talks is the first in a series career development guides published by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Communicating Science provides advice from scientific speakers, tips on putting together talks, insights into how to use technology to your benefit, horror stories about speeches gone wrong, and pointers to inexpensive, approachable resources available in most communities to polish speaking skills and gain confidence.

Email Russ Campbell at news [at] bwfund.org for a free print copy.