Explore MD Anderson Postdoc Recruitment Event
Nov. 12, 2025—Announcing a call for applications for Explore MD Anderson, a new, two-day, in-person recruitment event at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Explore MD Anderson Postdoctoral Recruitment Event February 26-27, 2026 | Houston, TX Explore MD Anderson introduces a small group of motivated prospective postdoctoral candidates to our institution. Participants will have opportunities to: Learn about MD Anderson’s...
Round-table Coffee Chat with Zaid Temrikar, PhD
Nov. 11, 2025—Coffee Chat with Zaid Temrikar, MS, PhDFriday, December 510:00AM–11:00AMLight Hall 415 Curious about careers in industry drug development? Join us for a casual, round-table coffee chat with: Zaid Temrikar, PhD (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zaidtemrikar/)Associate Director, Quantitative Clinical PharmacologyEMD Serono (Merck KGaA) Dr. Temrikar has built his career across several major biopharma companies, including Gilead, AstraZeneca, AbbVie, and Boehringer...
PhD Career Stories: Careers in Clinical Trials
Nov. 11, 2025—Careers in Clinical Trials Thursday, December 1110:00 AM (CT) | Virtual Event Curious about career opportunities in clinical trials, quality assurance, or regulatory compliance? Join us for a conversation with two Vanderbilt alumni who have built dynamic careers in clinical research. Featured Speakers: Barry Crawford, PhDSenior Director, Quality Assurance and ComplianceThermo Fisher Scientific Trenis Palmer,...
ASPIRE Up: Negotiating your Faculty Startup
Nov. 11, 2025—Negotiating Your Faculty Startup Thinking about applying for faculty positions? Already interviewing? One of the most critical—and often most intimidating—steps is negotiating your offer. Join Kathy Gould, PhD, Louise B. McGavock Chair, Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, for a practical and supportive workshop that breaks down the negotiation process for new faculty hires....
Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity in Trauma Research – UTHealth Houston
Nov. 7, 2025—The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) is now accepting applications for its prestigious T32 Trauma Research Fellowship, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). This two-year, full-time fellowship offers exceptional postdoctoral scholars the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge clinical and translational research in the following high-impact areas:...
ASPIRE Down the Road- Inotiv Site visit December 3, 2025, 11am-1pm, Nashville, TN
Nov. 6, 2025— ASPIRE on on the Road is keeping it local this December and heading down the road to visit Inotiv, located nearby on the edge of the Green Hills neighborhood on the David Lipscomb college campus! As a leading contract research organization (CRO), Inotiv supports discovery and nonclinical development through investigational new drug (IND) and beyond. By...
Flow Chart of NIH Fellowship Submission Process
Oct. 31, 2025—The flow chart below provides a high-level overview of the fellowship submission process for Vanderbilt and VUMC applications. You will need to work closely with your Grant Manager throughout this process. Click here to go back to the main Fellowship Project Management blog series.
Job Opportunity: Adjunct teaching, Biology Department, Belmont
Oct. 28, 2025—The Belmont Biology department is looking for an adjunct for the spring. If you are interested in teaching experience you can contact the chair, Dr. Chris Barton (chris.barton@belmont.edu). More about Belmont can be found here https://www.belmont.edu/about/ The classes looking to be filled are below (to help with knowing the teaching time commitments) Biological Science Lecture:...
Job Opportunity: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pharmaceutical Law and Policy Research (2026)
Oct. 28, 2025—The Program On Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics within the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School invites applications for its Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pharmaceutical Law and Policy Research About PORTAL Established in 2012, PORTAL is one of the nation’s largest non-industry-funded academic...
NIH Fellowship Grant Pacing Project Management Trello Board
Oct. 24, 2025—How to use and customize the ASPIRE Grant Planner Trello Board Applying for an NIH fellowship can feel like you are juggling dozens of moving parts at once. The ASPIRE grant planning Trello board helps you manage these tasks in one visual, flexible workspace. Throughout this blog, we will walk through how the board is...
Tickets for Life Science TN conference (LST|CON), Tuesday Nov 18, Nashville
Oct. 24, 2025—The annual Life Science TN conference (LST|CON) will be Tuesday Nov 18 in Nashville at the Westin Hotel downtown. This conference is a great way to network with life sciences professionals from across the state and beyond. If you are interested in attending, the Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization has offered to cover...
Effective Strategies for Working with your Sponsor
Oct. 24, 2025—Your fellowship sponsor (your PI) plays an important role in your fellowship application, especially for fellowship applications to the NIH. Beyond supporting you as a scientist, they are responsible for writing key sections of the application to demonstrate their commitment to your training and career development. Sections of an NIH NRSA application written by the...
Understanding the NIH Alphabet Soup
Oct. 24, 2025—Applying for NIH fellowships comes with a whole new set of acronyms. Here’s a quick guide to the ones you’re most likely to encounter: Funding Announcements FOA – Funding Opportunity Announcement The official notice that describes eligibility, objectives, requirements, and deadlines for a grant or fellowship. NOFO – Notice of Funding Opportunity The newer term...
Resubmission (if needed) and Next Steps
Oct. 24, 2025—Not all fellowship applications are funded on the first try, but many successful fellows are awarded after resubmission! If you plan to resubmit your application, consider the following: Read your summary statement carefully. The reviewer comments highlight strengths and weaknesses, so look for common themes across reviewers. These will be important to address in your...
Contacting your NIH Program Officer (PO)
Oct. 24, 2025—After you have figured out which FOA to apply to, verified your eligibility, and decided which institute to apply to, the next step is to contact your target institute to verify their institute is a good fit for your proposal. The “Program Officer” (PO) is your main NIH point of contact for questions about the...
Contacting your Vanderbilt Grant Manager
Oct. 24, 2025—A VU or VUMC Grant Manager is your primary institutional contact for submission requirements, internal deadlines, and routing. They manage the submission of your fellowship application to the NIH and will need to begin working with you weeks in advance of the NIH deadline to meet VU’s or VUMC’s internal deadlines. They will also assist...
Common pitfalls in NIH fellowship applications (and how to avoid them)
Oct. 24, 2025—Fellowship applications are complex. Not only do you have to have a strong scientific proposal and training plan, you also have to manage multiple documents and deadlines. Here are some strategies to help you avoid some common mistakes. Contact your Vanderbilt grant manager early in the process. Your Vanderbilt grant manager will “route” your grant...
Guide to NIH Fellowship Reference Letters
Oct. 24, 2025—Reference Letters are a required component of NIH fellowship applications (and they are different than Letters of Support!) Key points about Reference Letters: You must have at least 3 reference letters, but up to 5 can be submitted. You may want to request more than the minimum number in case one of your recommenders does...
Understanding the NIH Peer Review Process
Oct. 24, 2025—After you submit your application, the review process may seem mysterious. Here is a step-by-step guide to understand what is going on behind the scenes. Cycle Due Date (F Series) Scientific Review Council Round Earliest Start Date I April 8 June – July August or October September or December II August 8 October –...
Identifying the “right” NIH fellowship opportunity
Oct. 24, 2025—Before you start writing a fellowship application to the NIH, it is important to identify the right funding opportunity and connect with the institute staff who manage that funding opportunity to ensure your project aligns with the institute’s priorities. Understand the different types of NIH NRSA fellowships that support research training (a.k.a. “mechanisms”). F30: For...