If you are going to be working with someone that you haven't met before, then it's important to arrange a visit to get to know them and to see what the lab is like. I was fortunate that my host offered to have his institution fly my over to Belgium to give a seminar. We planned a 4 day trip with one day spent at the Institute, where I would meet with him and the director of the Institute. I would give a seminar there and also meet the other scientists that I would be working with.
It was a great trip and I really enjoyed meeting everyone there. They were very generous hosts and I got a great tour of Brussels. I even got to see how beautiful the city is during a rare snowfall. I saw the Institute and the lab space and was very pleased with the facilities. After my seminar we discussed, with the director, the specifics of my visit. I made it clear that my salary would be covered by my home institution but that I did not think that I would be able to provide any funds for the research supplies that I might use during my visit. We plan on trying to get a grant in Belgium to help pay for those supplies, but even without that they felt that it would be fine for me to work on an ongoing project within the lab.
Another important discussion was about the timing of my visit. They pointed out that things are pretty quiet in the lab for the month of August and suggested that I start in September. That should work out perfectly because it will give my family time to get settled and to visit Belgium and some other European countries before I start work.
Another important goal for this trip was to visit schools for my son ... more on that in my next post!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Step 3: Contacting Potential Sabbatical Hosts
You should contact your potential hosts at least a year in advance of your sabbatical. I waited until 8 months and I was very lucky that things were able to work out.
Who to contact?
That depends on your goals for your sabbatical. I had two things that I hoped to accomplish. First, I wanted to work in a lab that studied immune tolerance and cytokines. This is a field that my own research interests had migrated into within the past year or two and I wanted to get some hands-on experience working in this area. Second, I wanted to provide an interesting cultural experience for my family. We love to travel and my son is going to be eleven years old next year -- an ideal age for such an experience.
With those two goals in mind, I started looking for labs to contact. I was in the middle of writing a paper on my research in this field so I simply looked at the reference list for that paper. Like I mentioned above, this was a new field for me so I really didn't know any of the scientists in this field. I looked at the list and several scientists stood out, either because they were doing work very similar to my own research or because they were major players in this field. I next looked to see where each scientist was located and two people caught my attention: one was in Belgium and the other in Germany. Obviously, this was a pretty simple way to find potential hosts, but I thought it was good enough for a start.
How to contact them?
The paper that I was trying to publish offered an excellent opportunity to contact these potential hosts. I waited (anxiously) for the paper to be accepted. Once it was accepted, I e-mailed a copy of the accepted manuscript to the two potential hosts. I explained to them that I had two reasons for contacting them. First, I wanted to share with them my unpublished work because I thought that they might be interested in it. Second, I explained that I was interested in collaborating with them and that I was looking for a place to visit for my sabbatical.
This approach worked out great for me. Not only have I successfully arranged to do a sabbatical with one of the scientists, but I have started correspondence with the other and may collaborate with him in the future.
Next: Arranging a visit!
Who to contact?
That depends on your goals for your sabbatical. I had two things that I hoped to accomplish. First, I wanted to work in a lab that studied immune tolerance and cytokines. This is a field that my own research interests had migrated into within the past year or two and I wanted to get some hands-on experience working in this area. Second, I wanted to provide an interesting cultural experience for my family. We love to travel and my son is going to be eleven years old next year -- an ideal age for such an experience.
With those two goals in mind, I started looking for labs to contact. I was in the middle of writing a paper on my research in this field so I simply looked at the reference list for that paper. Like I mentioned above, this was a new field for me so I really didn't know any of the scientists in this field. I looked at the list and several scientists stood out, either because they were doing work very similar to my own research or because they were major players in this field. I next looked to see where each scientist was located and two people caught my attention: one was in Belgium and the other in Germany. Obviously, this was a pretty simple way to find potential hosts, but I thought it was good enough for a start.
How to contact them?
The paper that I was trying to publish offered an excellent opportunity to contact these potential hosts. I waited (anxiously) for the paper to be accepted. Once it was accepted, I e-mailed a copy of the accepted manuscript to the two potential hosts. I explained to them that I had two reasons for contacting them. First, I wanted to share with them my unpublished work because I thought that they might be interested in it. Second, I explained that I was interested in collaborating with them and that I was looking for a place to visit for my sabbatical.
This approach worked out great for me. Not only have I successfully arranged to do a sabbatical with one of the scientists, but I have started correspondence with the other and may collaborate with him in the future.
Next: Arranging a visit!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Step 2: Funding the Sabbatical
I still don't know for certain how much support I'll have during my sabbatical. I know that I'll have at least 3/4 of my salary and that I won't be paying income tax on that salary -- so my take-home pay should be about the same. I am still waiting to hear final word on an NIH grant and, if that comes through, then I'll be able to pay my full salary -- and still not owe any income tax! The foreign sabbatical is a great deal!
The sabbatical program at most colleges and universities provides salary for a half-year leave every seven years. Most also provide the option for a full-year sabbatical at half pay. Bucknell also provides an option for a full-year sabbatical at 3/4 pay for each of the two years. All of these options were available to me regardless of whether I obtained any grant support.
If you are a scientist, I recommend starting to apply for grants to fund your sabbatical about 4 years before your planned trip. Because most grants can cover 3 years, then even if you get the grant the first try (yeah, right!) then you'll be able to use it to pay your salary during your sabbatical year. Of course, the real reason to apply so early is to give yourself 2 or 3 chances at getting the grant. I applied for an NIH R15 grant, which is also called an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA). This application is now in its third (and final) resubmission. Its priority score is right at the cut-off for funding, but I have to wait for the NIH to receive its budget for 08-09 to find out if it will be funded. Hopefully the NIH will receive a budget boost as part of the stimulus package. According to FASEB, "science agencies, including NIH, have a backlog of peer-reviewed, meritorious grants that they could get out to labs in a matter of weeks." Maybe I'll be a direct beneficiary of the economic stimulus!
Even without the NIH funding, I plan on taking the full year sabbatical at 3/4 pay. I was able to apply for support for my sabbatical from Bucknell and was awarded support. I believe that I was one of the few chosen to receive support because of my repeated attempts at obtaining outside funding for my work. So even though I might not get my grant, applying for it has paid off.
It would be difficult to afford a pay cut while also moving to Europe if it weren't for the Foriegn Earned Income Exclusion. If you are considering a sabbatical abroad, become familiar with Publication 54 of the IRS, the Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad. The key to getting the exclusion is to be living in a foreign country for at least 330 days during a period of 12 consecutive months. So you can't get this benefit for a half-year sabbatical. There are other factors involved and you should read Publication 54 carefully! The bottom line is that I won't have to pay income tax on up to $87,600 of income. That will pay the difference between taking a ful-year sabbatical and a half-year sabbatical!
The sabbatical program at most colleges and universities provides salary for a half-year leave every seven years. Most also provide the option for a full-year sabbatical at half pay. Bucknell also provides an option for a full-year sabbatical at 3/4 pay for each of the two years. All of these options were available to me regardless of whether I obtained any grant support.
If you are a scientist, I recommend starting to apply for grants to fund your sabbatical about 4 years before your planned trip. Because most grants can cover 3 years, then even if you get the grant the first try (yeah, right!) then you'll be able to use it to pay your salary during your sabbatical year. Of course, the real reason to apply so early is to give yourself 2 or 3 chances at getting the grant. I applied for an NIH R15 grant, which is also called an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA). This application is now in its third (and final) resubmission. Its priority score is right at the cut-off for funding, but I have to wait for the NIH to receive its budget for 08-09 to find out if it will be funded. Hopefully the NIH will receive a budget boost as part of the stimulus package. According to FASEB, "science agencies, including NIH, have a backlog of peer-reviewed, meritorious grants that they could get out to labs in a matter of weeks." Maybe I'll be a direct beneficiary of the economic stimulus!
Even without the NIH funding, I plan on taking the full year sabbatical at 3/4 pay. I was able to apply for support for my sabbatical from Bucknell and was awarded support. I believe that I was one of the few chosen to receive support because of my repeated attempts at obtaining outside funding for my work. So even though I might not get my grant, applying for it has paid off.
It would be difficult to afford a pay cut while also moving to Europe if it weren't for the Foriegn Earned Income Exclusion. If you are considering a sabbatical abroad, become familiar with Publication 54 of the IRS, the Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad. The key to getting the exclusion is to be living in a foreign country for at least 330 days during a period of 12 consecutive months. So you can't get this benefit for a half-year sabbatical. There are other factors involved and you should read Publication 54 carefully! The bottom line is that I won't have to pay income tax on up to $87,600 of income. That will pay the difference between taking a ful-year sabbatical and a half-year sabbatical!
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