Pursuing a competitive fellowship during or after your graduate degree in biomedicine is an excellent step towards a successful career in research, teaching, or biotechnology.  In preparation for my upcoming seminar at the Tufts Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, we’ve found a number of fellowships for students in biomedical sciences.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) sponsors the Medical Research Fellows Program, which provides medical, dental, and veterinary students fellowships for a year of full-time biomedical research training.

The Smithsonian Institute (SI) has a wide-range of undergraduate to postdoctoral research fellowships. I previously wrote about funding for the new David M. Rubenstein Fellowship, which allows Fellows to conduct research with giant pandas at The National Zoo in Washington, DC. SI also recently announced the Smithsonian Institution Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biodiversity Genomics and Bioinformatics. Fellows are funded for 12-24 months to conduct collaborative research in these fields, as well as build a network of genomics experts in the greater Smithsonian research community.

There are a number of postdoctoral fellowships focused on research in specific diseases, such as the International Rett Syndrome Foundation’s (IRSF) postdoctoral fellowship. IRSF Fellows receive up to $100,000 over 2 years to research relevant to Rett syndrome.

The AAAS Science & Technology Fellowships provide opportunities for accomplished postdoctoral to mid-career scientists and engineers to contribute to the public policymaking process. Jay Grahm won an AAAS Science & Technology Fellowship and went to Haiti to help build hand washing stations and provide other sanitation needs for growing camps full of displaced people.

For graduate students and professionals seeking something different than a career in research and academia, several organizations lure scientists into K-12 teaching through competitive fellowships. The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation supports scientists and engineers who commit to teach math, science, engineering and technology for at least 3 years in rural and urban schools.

I’ll be speaking of these fellowships and others in more detail at the Tufts seminar on February 27, 2012.  Hope to see you there!

ProFellow Seminar at Tufts University, Boston, MA

Monday, February 27, 4:00 – 5:00pm

Location: Room 316, Sackler Building, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 

Map: http://sackler.tufts.edu/Campus-and-Community/Directions