Postdoctoral Fellows at the University of New Mexico

A postdoctoral fellow is a person engaged in a period of special study and/or research at the postdoctoral level. The postdoctoral fellow is a trainee, which is a unique category of employment at UNM, distinct from staff, faculty and students enrolled in a degree-granting program. Being a trainee, each postdoctoral fellow must have an identified faculty mentor (advisor). It is the responsibility of the institution, college, department and faculty mentor to supervise, encourage and foster the education of the postdoctoral fellow in a manner consistent with postdoctoral fellow's career goals. Postdoctoral fellows will be appointed through the Faculty Contracts Office.

Postdoctoral Biomedical Research

Biomedical research at the UNM Health Sciences Center draws upon the collaborative interdisciplinary efforts of faculty in the School of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and others to promote significant advances in the basic sciences and to support translational research programs that are focused on improving healthcare. The UNM-HSC has made tremendous strides in expanding multidisciplinary research programs resulting in rapid growth of sponsored projects.

See Questions and Answers Related to NRSA Tuition, Fees, and Health Insurance Policy: http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa_tuition_q&a.htm.

Specific questions concerning this notice or other policies relating to training grants or fellowships should be directed to the grants management office in the appropriate NIH Institute or Center, AHRQ, or HRSA.

General inquiries concerning NRSA stipend and tuition policies should be directed to:

Rodney Ulane, Ph.D.
NIH Research Training Officer

Phone: (301) 451-4225
FAX: (301) 480-0146
Email: NIHTrain@mail.nih.gov

National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 3516
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7963

The following benefits will apply to eligible Postdoctoral Fellows:

  • UNM holidays: UNM Holiday Schedule
  • Fifteen (15) days annual leave per year or 10 hours per month
    • Must have at least a 50% appointment to be eligible for annual leave benefits
    • Annual leave balances will carryover from contract year to contract year but may not, at any point in time, exceed 180 hours
    • Annual leave balances may not be converted to cash
    • When postdoctoral fellows separate from the University, they will not be paid for unused annual leave

    • The hiring department will maintain leave records and leave balances will appear on payroll earnings statements

  • Fifteen (15) days sick leave per year or 10 hours per month
    • Must have at least a 50% appointment to be eligible for sick leave benefits
    • Sick leave balances will carryover from contract year to contract year but may not, at any point, exceed 360 hours
    • Sick leave balances may not be converted to cash
    • When postdoctoral fellows separate from the University, they will not be paid for unused sick leave
    • The hiring department will maintain leave records and leave balances will appear on payroll earnings statements
  • Medical, dental, life, and vision insurances only
    • Must have a contract of at least nine (9) months working at least .50 FTE to be eligible
    • Human Resources - Benefits for available plans and details
  • Flexible spending  and 403b Tax Shelter Annuity plans
  • Courses available through Human Resources Employee Training or the Teaching and Research Center.
  • Discounts available to faculty and staff, which do not incur additional fringe benefits charges.
  • If fringe benefits are not an allowable cost on the contract or grant paying the Postdoctoral Fellow's salary, the department shall identify another allowable source of funds (usually unrestricted) to pay the University's portion of fringe benefits.
  • No other employee benefits apply.

If a Postdoctoral Fellow is appointed for less than full-time (1.0 FTE) but more than .50 FTE benefits will be pro-rated.

Effective with all Kirschstein-NRSA awards made on or after October 1, 2011, the following annual stipend levels apply to all individuals receiving support through institutional research training grants or individual fellowships, including the Minority Access to Research Career (MARC) and Career Opportunities in Research (COR) programs.

Career Level: Postdoctoral
Years of Experience: Stipend for FY 2012
0 $39,264
1 $41,364
2 $44,340
3 $46,092
4 $47,820
5 $49,884
6 $51,582
7 or more $54,180

These stipend levels are to be used in the preparation of future competing and non-competing NRSA institutional training grant and individual fellowship applications. They will be administratively applied to all applications currently in the review process.

NRSA support is limited to 5 years for predoctoral trainees, and 3 years for postdoctoral fellows. The NIH provides eight levels of postdoctoral stipends to accommodate individuals who complete other forms of health-related training prior to accepting a Kirschstein-NRSA supported position. (The presence of eight discrete levels of experience, however, does not constitute an endorsement of extended periods of postdoctoral research training.)

It should be noted that the maximum amount that NIH will award to support the compensation package for a graduate student research assistant remains at the zero level postdoctoral stipend, as described in NOT-OD-02-017.

Tuition and Fees, Training Related Expenses, and Institutional Allowances for Kirschstein-NRSA Recipients

The NIH will provide funds for tuition, fees, health insurance, and training related expenses, as detailed below.

A. Tuition and Fees

  • Predoctoral Trainees and Fellows: For institutional training grants (T32, T34, T35, T90, TL1) and individual fellowships (F30, F31) an amount per predoctoral trainee equal to 60% of the level requested by the applicant institution, up to $16,000 per year, will be provided. If the trainee or fellow is enrolled in a program that supports formally combined dual-degree training (e.g., M.D.-Ph.D, D.D.S.-Ph.D.), the amount provided per trainee or fellow will be 60% of the level requested, up to $21,000 per year.
  • Postdoctoral Trainees and Fellows: For institutional training grants (T32, T35, T90, TL1) and individual fellowships (F32, F33) an amount per postdoctoral trainee or fellow equal to 60% of the level requested by the applicant institution, up to $4,500 per year, will be provided. If the trainee or fellow is enrolled in a program that supports postdoctoral individuals in formal degree-granting training, an amount per postdoctoral trainee or fellow equal to 60% of the level requested by the applicant institution, up to $16,000 per year, will be provided.

B. Training Related Expenses on Institutional Training Grants

  • For institutional training grants (T32, T34, T35, T90, TL1) these expenses (including health insurance costs) for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees will be paid at the amounts shown below for all competing and non-competing awards made with FY 2012 funds.
    • Predoctoral Trainees: $4,200
    • Postdoctoral Trainees: $7,850

C. Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows

This allowance for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows will be paid at the amounts shown below for all competing and non-competing awards made with FY 2012 funds.

  • Institutional Allowance for individual fellows (F30, F31, F32, F33) sponsored by non-Federal Public, Private, and Non-Profit Institutions (Domestic & Foreign, including health insurance):
    • Predoctoral Fellows: $4,200
    • Postdoctoral Fellows: $7,850
  • Institutional Allowance for individual fellows (F30, F31, F32, F33) Sponsored by Federal and For-Profit Institutions (including health insurance):
    • Predoctoral Fellows: $3,100
    • Postdoctoral Fellows: $6,750