I am responding to this with care after initial frustration. I fully agree with HGF fellows and friends that today is a day to celebrate the accomplishments of the new cohort. This tweet also gets at a concern I have with how the scientific community views HGF fellows. (1/n) https://twitter.com/beascientist/status/1362422176540893190

A main benefit of being an HGF is the ability to distinguish myself as an independent scientist. The award goes to the fellow, not the PI. I was enabled and encouraged to develop independence early. I have my own ideas and my science isn’t just defined by my academic genealogy.

I seriously considered the mentorship I would need as a postdoc to succeed in academia and it’s a lot. This is not an opportunity for PIs to get a “free postdoc” as the fellowship asks a lot in terms of mentorship. And that is key - there are safeguards built into the program.

In order for this program to succeed, fellows need to become faculty. So if departments base hiring decisions on an applicants having a certain CV do not expect HGF fellows to have made decisions other than what is currently defined as successful. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/1/e1400005