Immuno-Informatics Postdoctoral Fellowship

There is a burgeoning need in cancer immunology for scientists with expertise and understanding in both quantitative and biological sciences. The combination of these two areas of research is seen as critical next steps to fuel the discovery of new immunotherapies.

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Immuno-Informatics Postdoctoral Fellowship Program aims to support qualified young scientists at academic research institutions around the world who wish to receive dual training in immunology and data science. The fellowships will support both computational biologists who seek to strengthen their knowledge of immunology and cancer immunologists who seek training in computational biology, data science, and/or genomics under the mentorship of world-renowned scientists in these disciplines. We will also consider applicants from diverse PhD fields who will train at the interface of cancer immunology and computational biology. The program is designed to train and equip the next generation of scientists with the knowledge and practical tools to pursue novel research ideas bridging immunology and computational biology.

Financial Information

Fellowships are for three years. An allowance of $5,000 per year is allotted to the host institution for use at the sponsor’s discretion to help pay for the fellow’s research supplies, travel to scientific meetings, health insurance, and/or childcare. CRI provides additional support for fellows to attend CRI’s annual International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference (CICON), and to participate in CRI’s soon-to-be-launched Bioinformatics Bootcamp.

Deductions for administrative overhead are not allowed from either the stipend or the institutional allowance. Payments are made monthly in U.S. currency to the host institution.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• Applicant Eligibility
  • Applicants for the CRI Immuno-Informatics Postdoctoral Fellowship must be working in areas directly related to immunology or cancer immunology. An eligible project must fall into the broad field of immunology with relevance to solving the cancer problem.
  • Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation and must conduct their proposed research under a sponsor who holds a formal appointment as an assistant professor or higher rank at the host institution.
  • Applicants with 5 or more years of relevant postdoctoral experience at the time of award activation are not eligible, with the exception of MD applicants, who should not include years of residency in this calculation.
  • Only in exceptional circumstances will applicants who have already spent 3 or more years in a sponsor’s laboratory by the start date of fellowship be considered for a fellowship award.
  • The fellowship must be performed at a non-profit institution in the United States or abroad. There are no citizenship restrictions.
  • Only one fellow per sponsor may apply per application round, and faculty sponsors may not have more than three CRI-supported fellows at any time.
• Project Criteria
• Project must be hypothesis-driven in basic or translational cancer immunology or immunology. The applicant should make every effort to demonstrate the potential of the proposed study to directly impact our understanding of the immune system’s role in cancer by leveraging the use of innovative technologies and/or computational methods including high throughput “omic” methods and data analyses. A successful proposal will include how the project intends to address the current gaps in cancer immunology.
• The application should also address new skills expected to be gained by the applicant in either immunology and/or computational biology including theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Applicants are encouraged to identify a secondary co-mentor in addition to their primary sponsor that addresses the gaps in their knowledge of either immunology or computational biology.