Offers and Negotiations
Nov. 11, 2025—Offers and Negotiations Receiving a job offer is exciting, but it’s also the time to think carefully about your next steps. An offer is more than just a salary. It may also include benefits, professional development opportunities, work-life balance, and growth potential. Negotiation is a normal part of the hiring process and is often expected....
Professional Documents and Marketing Yourself
Nov. 11, 2025—Professional Documents and Marketing Yourself Your professional documents, like your CV, resume, and cover letter, are often the first impression you make on a potential employer. Think of them as your professional marketing tools – they tell a story, highlight your strengths, and show how your skills align with the position. A strong CV or...
Applying
Nov. 11, 2025—Applying Once your professional documents are polished and your preparation is underway, it’s time to begin applying for jobs. The application process can feel overwhelming at first, but breaking it down into manageable steps and staying organized can make it much more approachable. Where Can You Find Biomedical Sciences-Focused Jobs? Before you are actively...
Interviewing
Nov. 11, 2025—Interviewing An interview is your chance to bring your application to life and show an employer why you are the right fit for the role. Beyond reviewing your skills and experience, interviews give employers a sense of your personality, communication style, and enthusiasm for the position. But it also gives you the opportunity to learn...
Networking
Nov. 11, 2025—Networking Networking is a great way to learn about different careers and build connections. The saying “it’s not about what you know, but rather who you know” is especially true when you are searching for a job. In fact, it is estimated that up to 80% of jobs are filled through a professional network connection,...
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...
Richard M. Caprioli Award for Technology Education
Nov. 5, 2025—Richard Caprioli, Ph.D., Stanford Moore Chair in Biochemistry and Director Emeritus of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center, pioneered technological advances that enabled research in diverse fields. For more than 50 years, Dr. Caprioli mentored and trained the next generation of scientists to apply state-of-the-art methodologies and instrumentation to their research. To honor and continue this...
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...
Conquer Your Fellowship: A Project Management Tool and Guide for Your NIH Fellowship
Oct. 24, 2025—Applying for an NIH fellowship can feel overwhelming, but the right guidance makes all the difference. This collection of resources walks you through every stage of the process – from identifying the right funding opportunity to preparing your application and understanding what happens after review. Whether you’re just getting started or refining a resubmission, these...
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...