Postbaccalaureate fellowships
Over fifty students each year join the laboratories of intramural NICHD for one- or two-year training experiences. The time spent working alongside mentors and members of their research teams allows you to have a full-time, in-depth research experience, to learn new techniques, to function as an active member of an investigative group, to formulate research questions and design experiments, and in some cases to publish your results.Postbac fellows use this time not only to gain new experience and knowledge, but also to refine their decisions about their academic careers. Many fellows continue on to medical school, a good number pursue graduate studies in a wide range of disciplines from physics to biology to interdisciplinary programs. Still others pursue a combined degree like the MD/PhD. The time in NICHD allows you the opportunity to reflect on your choices, to take the GRE or MCAT, to seek guidance from many role models, and also time to travel to interviews.
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Activities
To complement the research experience in your particular labs, the NICHD Office of Education offers programs in support of your academic growth. Individual help writing your useral statement and secondary essays is provided. You can also rehearse questions in a mock interview before you go to a medical or graduate school interview.Our postdoctoral fellows direct a course for postbacs each year called Becoming an Effective Scientist, which starts with sessions on experimental design, keeping lab notebooks, and public speaking, then transitions into a critical analysis series where you learn to critique journal articles across a range of scientific topics, both basic and clinical.
We have two postbacs selected each year to represent NICHD in the development of NIH- wide activities, such as the annual poster day every May and workshops on how to prepare for the MCAT and the GRE. We also organize NICHD-specific social and educational activities, such as:
- Life as a Physician
- International Medical Opportunities
- Speaking about Science
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Applying
A good time to submit your application is between January and March of your senior year, if you are hoping to begin your fellowship over the summer. Students are selected in spring, during the summer, and sometimes in early fall. Our investigators review applications on a continuous basis. You are also eligible to begin a postbac up to 24 months after you graduate from your bachelor's degree program.When your application is complete and your reference letters are submitted, then you should look closely at the research in specific laboratories to see which research programs are the closest fit with your own interests and experiences. Look at the most recent NICHD annual report to obtain details about the wide range of laboratories within our intramural programs. At that point, you can write to our investigators to see if they anticipate having an opening in their group.
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Summer Internship Program
Whatever your level of education, from graduate school to undergraduate to high school, you can benefit from a summer rotation through one of our intramural laboratories. Apply to SIP beginning mid-November, at the following site. As always, it's best to apply early - before the end of January will allow the greatest number of investigators to view your application. Note that applications are reviewed, and selections are made, on a continuous basis. The individual investigator makes the decision about who to hire.
