>

For Alumni, Faculty, and Employers

For Alumni

BRET Career and Professional Development serves as the main contact for biomedical Ph.D. and postdoctoral trainees once they leave Vanderbilt. Beyond asking alumni to volunteer their time at career exploration or professional development events, the office facilitates connections to current trainees. Furthermore, access to alumni helps us better understand career outcomes and informs our career programs and advice to current trainees.

  • Get involved with our office

    Hire a Student or Postdoc for a Job, Internship, or Externship: let our office assist you in finding the right hire for your school or business. We can advertise your opportunity, develop an externship and internship partnership, and even provide an information session depending on your needs.

    Post a job for biomedical sciences Ph.D.s: after completing the online form, your opportunity will appear on the BRET Office of Career Development bi-weekly newsletter. It will stay online until you tell us to remove it. Please allow 24 hours for your job to post.

    Serve as a Guest Speaker for a Career Program: throughout the year, we host numerous career and professional development events for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Speak at a seminar, attend our day-long symposia, be interviewed for a Beyond the Lab video or podcast, and meet with students.

  • Attend one of our alumni events

    Do you live outside of  Nashville? Help us coordinate an ASPIRE on the Road event in your city. Contact ashley.brady@vanderbilt.edu for more details.

    Find out what our alumni are doing now

    Check out our alumni outcomes, updated annually.

  • Give to the ASPIRE Scholar Fund

    Give to the ASPIRE Scholar Fund to support additional training resources for trainees career planning and management

    Generous philanthropic support from our alumni and community can make a tremendous impact on the training opportunities afforded our Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows.  The Office of Career Development have used funds from the NIH BEST award to implement didactic programming to assist and prepare trainees in jump starting their career planning and management. With your help, they will have increased access to the skills training, real-life experiences and important networking opportunities that directly help them transition to a fulfilling and rewarding career path. We are committed to helping our trainees attain the support needed to make valuable contributions to our world.  We welcome your gifts, large and small, to the ASPIRE Scholar Fund.

For Faculty

BRET Career and Professional Development will help advertise your postdoc position, share a colleague’s job posting, and assist with training grant text. We also have many opportunities for your graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

  • I need resources for the grant I'm writing.

    The Office of Career Development maintains a repository for grants by providing program lists of Career and Professional Development events. Please visit the BRET Training Grant Support page for the resources you may need.

    For more information, please contact kim.petrie@vanderbilt.edu.

  • How can I advertise my open Postdoc Position?

    How can I advertise my open Postdoc Position?

    To advertise an open postdoc opportunity in your lab through BRET Career Development social media, email bret.career.development@vanderbilt.edu Current postdocs and graduate students will see the opening on the Office of Career Development bi-weekly e-newsletter, blog, and LinkedIn page.

  • A colleague at another university or organization is looking to hire our students or postdocs. Where do I send that job?

    Has a colleague or university partner submitted a job opening to you to share with trainees? We are happy to advertise this position on our website and in our bimonthly newsletter.

    A submitted position will post on the the Office of Career Development bi-weekly e-newsletter.

    Please forward the posting to bret.career.development@vanderbilt.edu  to submit the job opening to our office. Contact kate.stuart@vanderbilt.edu for questions. 

    Note: the Office of Career Development does not guarantee that it will post each submitted opportunity and has the right to deny postings they deem inappropriate or inapplicable. 

For Employers

BRET Career and Professional Development invites employers to take advantage of opportunities for your organization to connect with our graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the biomedical and life sciences. We can put you in touch with bright, talented, self-motivated people who will have an immediate impact on your organization. Contact Kate Stuart, Assistant Director, (kate.stuart@vanderbilt.edu) for more information on any of these opportunities.

  • About BRET

    Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are leaders in medical education, research, and patient care throughout the Southeast and the nation. The Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training (BRET) coordinates graduate education, postdoctoral training, minority affairs, and training grant initiatives for the Vanderbilt biomedical research community. For more information on the office, please visit the BRET page.

  • Our Trainees

    Nearly 1,500 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students conduct biomedical research in seven basic science departments and 20 clinical divisions at Vanderbilt University and VUMC. The Graduate School awards Ph.D. degrees in Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, Cancer Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Chemical and Physical Biology, Epidemiology, Hearing & Speech Science, Human Genetics, Microbe-Host Interactions, Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Neuroscience, and Pharmacology.

    Our graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are broadly trained scientists who are accustomed to teamwork and cross-disciplinary research. Upon completion of their training at VU or VUMC, our postdoctoral fellows and graduate students have pursued careers in academia, government, nonprofits, and the private sector. Our alumni are employed as scientists at academic institutions, government laboratories, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world. In addition, many alumni pursue careers in diverse fields such as medical and science writing, clinical research management, regulatory affairs, business development, product and project management, science policy, consulting, and patent law. They are employed at medical communications companies, contract research organization, consulting firms, law practices, nonprofits, and government agencies.

  • Hire a Student or Postdoc for a Job, Internship, or Externship

    Let our office assist you in finding the right hire for your business. BRET Career and Professional  Development can help you advertise your opportunity, develop an externship and internship partnership, and even provide an information session depending on your needs. We are happy to facilitate your visit in whatever way fits your organization’s needs. Contact ashley.brady@vanderbilt.edu for more information.

  • Post a job for biomedical sciences Ph.D.s

    After emailing your job to bret.career.development@vanderbilt.edu, your opportunity will appear on the BRET Office of Career Development bi-weekly newsletter. It will stay online until you tell us to remove it. Please allow 24 hours for your job to post.

  • Host Information Sessions

    If you would like to brand your company on our campus, please allow us to host you for an Information Session. This is a great way to get the word out about what your company does and why you would like to hire Vanderbilt-trained scientists. Contact Kate Stuart for more info. 

  • Serve as a Guest Speaker for a Career Event

    Throughout the year, the BRET Office of Career Development hosts numerous career and professional development events for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Industry-specific panels and career fairs are two venues available for employers to present career information. Numerous sponsorship opportunities are available for companies who wish to raise their visibility with our graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

  • Conduct On-Campus Interviews

    On-campus interviewing gives employers and students opportunities to connect through on-site interviews in the BRET Office of Career Development. Interviews are scheduled Monday through Friday during normal business hours (8:00 am – 5:00 pm) in Light Hall.

  • Connect Virtually

    Can't make it to campus? Reach out to students virtually! BRETCareer Development can facilitate Zoom or video conference calls with trainees for long distance interviewing.