Current Postdocs
The Office of Postdoctoral Education (OPE) is a central hub to connect you to internal and external resources to support your career, research, and wellness. Our goal is that your time at UAB is one of both professional and personal growth, and we hope to be a component of that for every postdoc. We are available for individual consultations as you navigate your career journey and make decisions about steps after your postdoc.
It is common to have a lot of questions at the beginning of your appointment here at UAB. The Office of Postdoctoral Education is here to assist with any of your questions and concerns. The Getting Started section contains a collection of resources that can help you with your first steps to being a UAB postdoc.
If you have any questions, please contact us!
Upon appointment, a postdoctoral scholar is assigned to one of two distinct categories for payroll and taxation purposes:
- Status Code 21: A Postdoctoral Employee is an individual who, while pursuing further training, provides services to UAB for compensation. These postdocs receive a salary, usually as part of an NIH-funded grant. Salaries and wages are fully taxable to the individual providing the services. Postdoctoral employees receive benefits as shown under the Benefits section.
- Status Code 20: A Postdoctoral Trainee is an individual who is receiving a true fellowship, as defined by the IRS, and receives an amount to aid in the pursuit of research training. This amount cannot represent payment for the performance of any past, present, or future teaching, research, or other services. Postdoctoral trainees are provided health insurance with the opportunity to purchase dental options.
UAB is committed to ensuring compliance with sponsor and university requirements while providing effective stewardship of resources. In support of this commitment, it is important to remember that external support of research activities (including salary, supplies, stipends, etc.) must be processed through the UAB Office of Sponsored Programs. This helps ensure transparency and facilitates compliance with UAB’s regulatory and other responsibilities by allowing for institutional reviews (e.g., COI, export control).
In accordance with IRS regulations, UAB does not withhold federal income taxes on status code 20 postdoc trainees, and the State of Alabama currently excludes fellowships from taxation in their entirety. Therefore, to the extent that a scholarship/fellowship is federally taxable to the individual, that individual will probably have to file federal quarterly estimated income tax returns and pay quarterly taxes in order to comply with individual income tax regulations. (For specific advice on an individual tax situation, a tax professional or the IRS should be contacted. Non-resident aliens should direct their tax questions to the International Scholar and Student Services opens a new website (ISSS) at (205) 934-3328. Postdoctoral trainees receive benefits as shown on Benefits & Compensation.
In accordance with regulations, federal and state income taxes are not withheld from stipend amount IF YOU ARE A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES. You may be required to file federal quarterly estimated income tax returns and pay quarterly taxes to comply with individual income tax regulations.
It is important to consult an income tax professional or the IRS for advice on income taxes.
IRS Resources
- Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education (pdf) opens a new website
- Topic No. 421: Scholarships, Fellowship Grants, and Other Grants opens a new website
- Basics of estimated taxes for individuals opens a new website
- Topic No. 306 Penalty for Underpayment of Estimated Tax opens a new website
- Publication 505: Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax (pdf) opens a new website
Other Resources
Starting a postdoc comes with a lot of logistics and start up information, and we know this is even more so for international postdocs. UAB has a number of resources to support you in the process of transitioning to your new life as a postdoc in Birmingham.
- International Student and Scholar Services opens a new website (ISSS) provides insight and support as you navigate the visa process for yourself and any dependents. ISSS also plans events for international scholars and their families to build community and enjoy cultural experiences in Birmingham.
- The OPE is here as a support for both navigating your appointment as well as your relationship with your mentor. If you would like to speak to someone in the OPE about your transition or a current situation you are experiencing please contact us.
- The National Postdoc Association (NPA) has created a detailed International Postdoc Survival Guide (pdf) opens a new website that includes information about expectations for the US postdoc experience, ways to build credit while in the US, tips for navigating the visa process, and testimonials from current and past international postdocs.
- International postdocs are not eligible for US federal funding. However, there are many funding opportunities available for postdocs that do not take citizenship into account.
Individual Development Plan
An individual development plan is a tool to explore, define, and plan the postdoctoral scholar’s research, professional development, and career goals. At its foundation, the IDP establishes, in writing, the career aims of the scholar and the steps needed by both the postdoc and the faculty mentor for the scholar to reach those goals. The IDP, consequently, focuses on research training as it relates to the postdoc’s professional growth and career readiness. It also emphasizes the professional experience needed so that they can succeed in the job market.
IDP Instructions:
Within the first thirty days of their postdoctoral tenure at UAB, the postdoctoral scholar will need to download the IDP template and, in consultation with their faculty mentor, complete the document. Once both the scholar and mentor sign the IDP, the scholar should email the document to OPE at
Postdoctoral 5th-Year Appointment Request
Postdoctoral scholars should prepare for completion of their postdoctoral tenure at the end of their fourth year. Under special circumstances, postdoctoral scholars may be eligible for a fifth year of training. If a fifth-year extension is necessary, a written request to the Associate Dean for Research and Training should be made before the end of the postdoctoral scholar's fourth year. Justification for a fifth-year must show compelling reasons for extension and a clear and detailed career transition plan with quarterly benchmarks and targeted dates of completion for stated objectives. The plan must also include how the scholar will transition to their next position. The document needs to be specific in its direction and steps. This request must be signed by both the faculty mentor and the postdoc. In all cases, an appointment as a postdoctoral scholar at UAB is limited to a period not to exceed five years. A fifth-year appointment letter will not be issued without a signed extension request.
Instructions for the Request Form:
The request form will need to be filled out by the postdoctoral scholar in consultation with their faculty mentor. Once the scholar completes the form and signs it, a box will appear that will ask for participant two's name and email. The scholar will need to put their faculty mentor's contact information (i.e. name and email) in those boxes so the facutly mentor can sign the docuement. Afterwards, the form is sent to the Associate Dean for Research and Training for review.
A scholar should submit a request for a fifth-year appointment at least four months before the end of their fourth year at UAB.
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Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management
UAB is committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and healthy campus environment for all students, employees, and visitors. To that end, it is essential to identify warning signs of inappropriate behavior and intervene before a person can engage in violent activity toward themselves or others.
UAB CARES Suicide Prevention Initiative
No matter who you are in the UAB community, remember that you matter, and you are important. UAB is here and there is help available today.
Commission on the Status of Women
The UAB Commission on the Status of Women is dedicated to promoting gender inclusion and equity by supporting and improving options and opportunities for women at every stage of their education and career.
Disability Support Services
DSS provides an accessible university experience through collaboration with UAB partners. These partnerships create a campus where individuals with disabilities have equal access to programs, activities, and opportunities by identifying and removing barriers, providing individualized services, and facilitating accommodations.
Employee Assistance & Counseling Center
UAB Employee Assistance & Counseling Center offers free, confidential support services for UAB Postdocs and members of their immediate household.
The Institute for Human Rights
The Institute for Human Rights at UAB serves as an internationally renowned platform for interdisciplinary interaction and collaboration for scholars, educators, students, practitioners, and activists to raise awareness, engage in education, foster research, and design initiatives for practical action and outreach resulting in the promotion and protection of human and civil rights locally, nationally, and globally.
Safety Escort
The UAB Blazer Express Safety Escort provides late-night, on-demand van service for UAB students and employees 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. every day. UAB students and employees must present their UAB ID badge to be transported. Use the TapRide app or call 205-934-8772 to request a ride on campus.
Kognito
Online simulation that lets you practice conversations with a virtual student, so you’ll know what to say in real life. You’ll learn how to determine when a friend needs help, how to talk with a friend who you’re worried about, and where you and your friend can turn to for help.
UAB BWELL Student Mental Health App
The UAB BWELL app, which is available in the Apple app store and at Google Play, encourages self-care habits and provides a plethora of useful mental health resources. Created in collaboration with UAB students, this app is a one-stop-shop for any and all of your mental health needs.
TAO: Therapy Assistance Online
TAO includes over 150 brief, effective, educational sessions covering over 50 common topics and skills related to mental health, wellness, and substance use issues. It also includes interactive sessions, mindfulness exercises, and practice tools, all aimed at helping you achieve your goals.
UAB Mental Health Ambassadors
Student Counseling Services offers students of all backgrounds, races, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, ethnicities, and cultures a safe place to discuss and resolve issues that interfere with personal and academic goals. We recognize and honor the complex intersectionality of all aspects of a person’s identity and presenting concerns.
Mental Health and Professional Development Graduate Courses
These courses are offered each Fall semester;
- HB 710/GRD 703: Mental Health Promotion and Professional Development (1 credit). Introductory course exposes students to mental health topics relevant to the graduate and postdoctoral level, while teaching skills for managing personal mental health as well as supporting others.
- HB 711/GRD 703: Advanced Mental Health Promotion and Professional Development: Service Learning (2 credits). Advanced course with a service-learning requirement. Students gain hands on experience in thinking critically about evidence-based approaches, innovative service delivery models, and research-practice partnerships to improve dissemination and implementation.
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Conflict of Interest Review Board (CIRB)
The CIRB is charged with the ongoing development of procedures for identifying, reviewing, and managing financial conflicts of interest as they relate to extramurally-funded research and all research involving human subjects regardless of the funding source.
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)
EHS ensures that UAB complies with occupational and environmental health and safety rules and regulations necessary to conduct research involving hazardous materials.
Ethics Matter
UAB is committed to conducting its affairs in ways that promote mutual trust and public confidence. All members of the UAB community are responsible for sustaining the highest ethical standards of excellence, integrity, honesty, and fairness and for integrating these values into teaching, research, patient care, business practices, and other services of the university.
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
IACUC oversees the use of animals for research, teaching, and testing conducted at or by UAB.
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
The UAB Institutional Review Board for Human Use is a committee established under federal regulations to help protect the rights and welfare of human participants in research conducted under the auspices of UAB.
Integrated Research Administration Portal (IRAP)
IRAP supports electronic submission of funding applications and compliance forms and will seamlessly connect the operations of OSP, IRB, IACUC, IBC, Chemical Safety Committee, Radiation Safety Committee, and CIRB.
International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS)
ISSS provides immigration compliance expertise and cultural exchange events for approximately 1,600 international students, scholars, clinical faculty, researchers, IT professionals, staff, and visitors.
Libraries
The UAB Libraries provide access to an array of rich and diverse scholarly resources that inform intellectual, cultural, social, and economic transformation of its community. It also provides the essential expertise to support excellence in education, research, patient care, and community outreach that collectively advance the success and impact of UAB.
Office of Sponsored Programs
Offers guidance on finding funding, preparing proposals, submitting applications, managing awards, closing out your project, and commercialization.
Research Administration Network Group (RANG)
The mission of RANG is to effectively optimize, engage, and coordinate the efforts of the Office of Research and the campus community of research administrators and faculty to identify issues, develop solutions, adopt best practices, tools, and tactics in the research administration arena, and to include a faculty voice on issues to support ongoing efforts to reduce the faculty burden in research administration.
University Compliance Office
The University Compliance Office manages UAB's Compliance Program, which serves as the framework for identifying areas of risk, addressing concerns, and measuring results.