The Whitehead Institute shot to first place this year, up from 14th the year before, after not even making the list in 2007 or 2006. According to Jennifer Hughes, a recently-promoted research scientist and former genetics postdoc at the Whitehead Institute, one reason for the Cambridge, Mass., institution's dramatic rise in the rankings is a renewed focus on postdocs and a generous benefits package.
Since its formation in 2002, the postdoc association has been lobbying to address postdoc concerns. "Our postdoc association seems to be getting stronger and stronger every year," says Hughes. The administration, for its part, has redoubled its efforts to listen to the postdocs, says David Page, the director of the institute.
An increase in benefits has also improved morale for the institute's 128 postdocs. At the beginning of 2008, Whitehead boosted entry-level postdoc salaries from $38,000 to $47,000 per year. They added a $4,000 lump sum ...
