Drafting Postdoc Inquiry Follow-up About 3 months ago I emailed a professor asking if there were any postdoc positions open in his lab. The professor emailed back relatively quickly and thanked me for being interested in his lab, but that currently there were no openings available. However, he was waiting to hear back at the end of the year from some funding he had applied for, and that he would keep me posted. 

I haven't heard back from him, yet. I understand he's probably busy or maybe forgotten about me, which is why I wanted to email him again and follow-up. I don't know what to say. Mostly because I'm afraid that if he didn't get funded, maybe my email will be like rubbing salt to his wounds. I guess I won't know until I email again. Therefore, what would be the best approach?
Extreme timidity is not the best approach in Academia. You have to take initiative, which sometimes involves some risk.

In this case, there isn't really any risk. The Professor expected to communicate with you at the end of the year; otherwise he would not have told you specifically that he would keep you posted. So do remind him, but make it not-salt-rubbing, e.g.:


  Hello Professor HIS_NAME,
  
  We talked several months ago about post-doc position openings at FACULTY_NAME, and you suggested some might become available at the end of the year, provided funding becomes available. I'm writing to ask whether it is now possible for you to say with more certainty whether a position is available.
  
  Respectfully,
  YOUR_NAME
  
  [Quote his original message here]


... and make sure not to send it right on January 1st; wait another week or so. That's really not rubbing salt on the wounds; at most you are gently touching them :-\