DU is pleased to host two nationally-recognized webinar series that build resilience in science. Developed and facilitated by Dr. Sharon Milgram, the former director of the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education, these series offer practical, evidence-informed interventions and strategies that foster resilience, well-being, and productivity within STEM academic and research environments.
Raising a Resilient Scientist Series
This series is designed to promote well-being, productivity, and collegial research group interactions by strengthening the leadership, communication, mentoring, and relationship-management skills of faculty, staff, and administrators. The series focuses on helping leaders create environments in which trainees can thrive despite the inherent stress, uncertainty, and challenges of research careers. The information will focus on balancing accountability with support so that the group, and all its members, can thrive.
The series consists of four 60-minute webinars, each followed by a brief Q&A. All sessions in the series are free to attend. Register for one or more sessions in the series. The series takes place bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 12 – 1:15 pm MT, beginning on September 15, 2026.
These webinars are intended for faculty, staff, and administrators who supervise, mentor, or support trainees. Students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to access the recordings of The Resilient Scientist Series featured later on this page.
Register Now
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Unit I: Cultivating Resilience
The everyday challenges of research coupled with unmanaged stress can impact performance, engagement, and interpersonal relationships within groups. In this webinar we will explore principles of individual and group resilience with a focus on practical strategies for identifying and addressing issues. Topics covered include empathy, psychological safety, cognitive distortions and imposter fears, growth mindset and well-being within high-knowledge environments.
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Unit II: Empathic Communication to Build Trust in Relationships
Effective mentoring and leadership depend on the ability to communicate with clarity and understanding without triggering defensiveness or fear. In this webinar we will explore barriers to open communication in hierarchical environments and discuss strategies for lowering risk and establishing expectations. Topics covered include active listening, perspective-taking, styles differences, communicating expectations, and referrals for outside support.
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Unit III: High-Stakes Conversations
Ongoing bi-directional feedback is critical for trainee growth, productivity and accountability. In this webinar, we will build on prior information to provide a framework for approaching these conversations with confidence and compassion. Topics covered include psychological safety, getting past first responses, best practices for following up, and dealing with on-going concerns.
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Unit IV: Cultivating Belonging and Inclusion
People do their best work when they feel welcomed, respected, and seen as a whole person with many important and meaningful identities. This session explores strategies for creating welcoming, inclusive, and collegial groups where all members of the group contribute and succeed. Topics covered include the role of identity in group participation, trust in teams, integrating staff, forming teams, and promoting belonging within the group.
The Resilient Scientist Series
The Resilient Scientist: Tools for Thriving in Academic and Research Environments
Science and healthcare careers are filled with challenges, failed projects, critical feedback, disappointing outcomes, difficult relationships, and uncertainty about the future. Because we care so much, these experiences can lead to stress, persistent self-doubt, and burn-out turning our dream career into a nightmare.
Science is hard. You don’t have to figure it alone.
This series is designed to address these realities by focusing on building resilience, adopting healthy mindsets, supporting well-being, and fostering professional growth. Participants will learn evidence-based tools to respond effectively to stress, uncertainty, and change, with the goal of developing a productive and fulfilling career. The content is tailored for modern research and academic environments and provides practical strategies that can be applied immediately and over the long term.
The series is suitable for senior undergraduate students, postbaccalaureate students, graduate students, professional school students, and postdoctoral fellows. While focused on school and work, the realities of current events and applying these skills to our lives, will be also be addressed.
The recordings from the 2026 spring series are featured below. Another online series for students and postdocs will be offered in 2027.
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Unit I: Resilience and Well-being: The Real Survival Skills
Setback and disappointments are inevitable in school, work and life. While what happens matters – how we respond matters more. In this webinar we will explore key elements of our response to stress, setback and disappointment, with a focus on resilience and professional well-being. We will explore practical habits that can support well-being and promote healthier ways to respond to challenges in educational and workplace environments.
Session Recording:
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Unit II: Mind Games: Imposter Fears and Other Unhelpful Stories We Tell
The narratives we create about ourselves, and our situations, shape our self-perception, confidence, and resilience. In this webinar we will define cognitive distortions and imposter fears and explore how they can undermine our confidence and success. We will explore reframing and other helpful strategies for finding meaning and for telling more helpful stories that drive persistence and resilience as we work through setback to achieve important goals.
Session Recording:
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Unit III: Assertiveness 2.0: Speaking Up, Even When Power Dynamics Make It Hard
Developing assertiveness is a crucial skill, even more so in hierarchical environments where there may be concerns about damaging relationships or missing out on opportunities. In this webinar we will explore how our views of assertiveness are set and ask whether our approaches are helpful or unhelpful in various situations. We will also discuss practical tools for setting boundaries, articulating expectations, requesting feedback, and navigating difficult conversations with colleagues, mentors, and supervisors. The realities of speaking truth to power will be addressed with the goal of helping you decide when and how to address issues that are important to you.
Session Recording:
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Unit IV: Feedback: We Need It, Even (Especially?) When We Don’t Like It
While feedback is required for us grow, it can trigger defensiveness, hurt feelings, and toxic stories that undermine our ability to respond and learn. In this webinar, we will explore how our views of feedback are shaped and why it is hard to hear, (or give) especially in some circumstances and from some individuals. We will discuss feedback models with a focus on staying calm, grounded, open, and engaged throughout and beyond the experience.
Session Recording:
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Unit V: You Can’t Sing a Duet Alone: Mentoring Relationships for Long-Term Success
Without mentors you may miss out on receiving critical support, especially when it matters most; however, strong mentoring relationships do not happen by chance. In this webinar we will explore the benefits of professional and personal benefits of mentoring networks and the principles of managing up. We will also explore ways to improve communication with principal investigators and other mentors, ensuring you receive support to thrive academically and professionally. Finally, we will talk about options when important mentors let you down with a framework for addressing concerns as needed.
Session Recording:
