Recent PhD Graduates Pursue Post-doctoral Fellowships
With a PhD in hand after many years of hard work, many fresh scholars embark on even more training to strengthen their research records and scholarship talents. Four recent PhD graduates in the College of Social Work--Dr. Susan De Luca ‘09, Dr. Natasha Mendoza ’09, Dr. Amy Mendenhall ’07, and Dr. Stella Resko ’07--have chosen to pursue post doctoral work upon graduating with the PhD.
“The post doc allowed me to dedicate nearly all of my time to research,” says Resko. “I was able to develop publications that made me more competitive on the faculty job market. Post docs can set you apart from other candidates.”
Medenhall adds, “The post doc continues to contribute to my current work because it links me with research data that I plan to continue analyzing and colleagues that I plan to continue working with in the future. These linkages have given me a solid base to start working from as a new faculty member on the tenure track.”
 Dr. Susan De Luca | De Luca is a National Research Service Award (NRSW) post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Study and Prevention of Suicide in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center. She is beginning an evaluation of a multi-state suicide prevention program in middle and high schools as well as a longitudinal study focusing on Latina youth and suicidality. De Luca recently completed her dissertation, Latina Adolescent Suicide: Examining the Effects of Cultural Status and Parental, Peer and Teacher Supports, under the direction of The Ohio State University College of Social Work’s Dr. Keith Warren . |
 Dr. Natasha Mendoza | Mendoza is the first recipient of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE) Student Award for Social Work Research (see Social Work PhD Graduate Receives GADE Award for Research in the News & Events section). She is a post-doctoral fellow in the Research Training on Alcohol Etiology and Treatment Program, established by a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) grant, at the Research Institute on Addictions, University of Buffalo, SUNY. Mendoza completed her dissertation, Single Mothers, Substance Misuse, and Child Well-being: Examining the Effects of Family Structure and Service Provision in the Child Welfare System, in the spring under the direction of the College of Social Work’s Dr. Tom Gregoire . |
 Dr. Amy Mendenhall | Mendenhall worked as a post-doctoral researcher with the Department of Psychiatry, The Ohio State University Medical Center from 2008-09, where she served as the study coordinator for a multi-site National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded longitudinal study on manic symptoms in youth. This academic year, she began her current position as an assistant professor at the School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas. Mendenhall completed her dissertation, Patterns and Predictors of Service Utilization of Children with Mood Disorders: Effects of Multi Family Psychoeducation Program, in 2007 under the direction of the College of Social Work’s Dr. Theresa Early. |
 Dr. Stella Resko | Resko worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at University of Michigan Addiction Research Center (UMARC) within the Department of Psychiatry, UM Medical School. Her position was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) grant on “Multidisciplinary Alcoholism Research Training.” Resko is currently an assistant professor at Wayne State University in Detroit with a joint appointment in the School of Social Work and the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute (MPSI). She completed her dissertation, Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Exploring Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender, in 2007 under the direction of the College of Social Work’s Dr. Theresa Early. |
Speaking of how she found her post doctoral position, De Luca says, “I heard about it by going to the Center for Study and Prevention of Suicide Summer Research Institute two years ago and staying in contact with many of the fellows and faculty after wards. I found out about the institute from IASWR, but it's good to google every so often using keywords in your field to find these opportunities. There are a handful of post docs in social work but there are a lot in psychiatry. It pays to do a little research to learn what's going on in other disciplines.”
About working at RIA, Medoza says, “These researchers are passionate about their work and about sharing their knowledge and data. There is no expectation that I will work on anyone else's funded research unless I want to. There is, however, an expectation that I will propose my own research agenda and access the funding to conduct it. This place is like a think-tank and I am free to build the foundations for my career with as much or as little guidance as I need.”
In addition to gaining an edge in the faculty market, Resko noted a number of important contributions that a post doc can make toward preparing a new graduate for a faculty career. They include expanding research agendas, strengthening research abilities through workshops in advanced statistical methods (such as multilevel and latent variable models) as well as qualitative methods, and opportunities for collaboration.
“My post-doc mentor was Maureen Walton, MPH, PhD, I worked with her on several journal articles and conference presentations,” says Resko. “Since I left Michigan, I have continued to collaborate with Maureen and some of my other colleagues at UM on publications, presentations, and grants. I also am continuing to analyze some of the data collected during my post doc.”
Resko and Mendenhall each had multiple offers for faculty positions in a very competitive hiring season (2008-09) that saw many searches cancelled by the large scale financial crisis. Early adds, their post-doctoral training and publications likely contributed to their success at landing such excellent posts.
