In Brief

Workshop to Aid Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Career Choices
An upcoming three-session group workshop is designed to help postdoctoral fellows and graduate students explore career options. The Career Transitions workshop will be held Wednesdays, 3 to 4:30 PM, June 29, July 6, and July 13, in the graduate office conference room.

Daphne Lurie, director of Scripps Research Counseling and Psychological Services, and Ryan Wheeler, manager of the Career and Postdoctoral Services office, will co-facilitate the workshop, featuring a confidential small-group format to help students explore four basic areas:

• Evaluating the option to continue an academic career track
• Matching work and environment to an individual's skills and personality
• Identifying transferrable skills developed at Scripps Research.
• Examining individual career values, priorities, alternatives, and goals

Participants must commit to attending all three workshop sessions. Registration is required.

For more information about the Career Transitions Workshop series and other upcoming career-related events, contact Ryan Wheeler, rwheeler@scripps.edu or x4-9740, or visit the Career and Postdoctoral Services webpage.

Society of Fellows Offers Course Reimbursements
The California campus Society of Fellows (SOF) reminds postdoctoral fellows and graduate students the organization offers course reimbursement for a variety of specific professional development courses and symposia, including those offered by the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) summer extension program.

Students may be reimbursed up to $350 in course/registration fees per year. Eligible courses include UCSD extension courses and certificate programs in industry-related bioscience topics, UCSD Rady School of Management Learning Consortium courses, and a variety of locally organized and presented professional development workshops and networking events. For more information and a list of eligible courses, see the Career Resources webpage.

Healthcare and Dependent Care Reimbursement Deadline: June 30
Thursday, June 30, is the deadline to submit reimbursement claims for 2010 plan-year expenses from Healthcare Spending Accounts (HCSA) and Dependent Care Spending Accounts (DCSA). Claim forms should be turned in to UMR, the Scripps Research flexible spending accounts administrator.

Under the voluntary HCSA, eligible employees may set aside up to $5,000 pre-tax annually for self-reimbursement of medical, dental, vision, and prescription expenses not covered by health plans. Examples of such expenses include prescription co-payments, eyeglasses, contact lenses, and plan deductibles and co-payments. The Benefits Department reminds employees that as part of the Health Care Reform Bill, reimbursement for over-the-counter medication is allowed only with a doctor's prescription as of January 1, 2011.

Eligible employees with a DCSA may set aside up to $5,000 pre-tax annually for qualified, dependent-care expenses.

UMR claim forms are available on the Scripps Research Benefits website. For further information, contact Benefits Administration at 858-784-8487 or via email .

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu