Towards sustaining a culture of mental health and wellness for trainees in the biosciences

by Jessica Tsai and Fanuel Muindi 

Originally published in Science 

The challenges faced by the current biosciences research enterprise have been extensively discussed and reviewed by many. These include the current hypercompetitive environment for obtaining federal research funding, long training periods for graduate and postdoctoral trainees, the existing publishing model, the grim academic job market, the challenges of navigating opportunities outside of academia, financial responsibilities and mentorship, among others. Such information is now increasingly common knowledge to many trainees in the pipeline. Evidence exists showing detrimental effects on trainees, including substance abuse, sleep disturbances and substantial depression. However, what is particularly concerning is the lack of detailed mental health data on the full extent to which biosciences trainees are affected by these challenges. This is important, as trainees in the biosciences constitute the largest fraction of the 417,251 graduate and the estimated 60,000 postdoctoral trainees in various science fields in the United States5(http://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/gradpostdoc/2013). As such, many questions emerge. Do graduate and postdoctoral trainees have adequate mental health resources? Which groups of trainees have the greatest need for mental health services? What types of mental health services are required? For those trainees who do have access to mental health resources, what are the barriers to obtaining such support?

Towards sustaining a culture of mental health and wellness for trainees in the biosciences

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