Carnegie Mellon University

Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

The Neuroscience Institute (NI) of Carnegie Mellon University seeks diverse, creative, and collaborative early-career applicants for its Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Interested applicants are encouraged to reach out to relevant NI faculty to develop competitive proposals. Beginning in 2024, applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

NI Fellows will receive an annual stipend of $65,000, full benefits, and a professional development fund of up to $5000 per year. The program seeks to bring new perspectives and voices to our community; researchers from CMU laboratories are ineligible. This is a one-year fellowship program with the opportunity to extend participation for an additional year upon successful completion of the first year and review.

We are looking for fellows who demonstrate:

  • a commitment to promoting diverse ideas, perspectives, and voices in our research community,
  • a creative, interdisciplinary approach to solving modern problems in neuroscience,
  • the skills to develop new methods to study brain, behavior, and their relationship,
  • the promise of seeding or promoting sustainable, collaborative links between NI faculty research programs, and
  • proposed research with potential for competitive external funding.

To apply, submit a single PDF file containing (in order):

  • A cover letter describing your career goals, how the proposed work would prepare you for this path, and how past experiences qualify you for the project (1 page)
  • Your proposed research plan (2 pages)
  • A statement on your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and potential to contribute to a welcoming and open research community (1 page)
  • A current CV (2 pages)
  • Letters of support from two current NI faculty who will co-mentor your proposed research. These letters should describe how your background qualifies you for the proposed work, the co-sponsor’s role on the project, and how the proposed work relates to, enables, and expands the co-sponsor’s research program (1 page, each)

Please identify and contact potential NI faculty co-mentors before submitting your application.

Application materials can be submitted to Melissa Stupka.

Selection process

A selection committee comprising at least two current NI faculty and the NI director or executive director will review applications.

The Neuroscience Institute of Carnegie Mellon brings together researchers from across the University to conduct multi-disciplinary work to advance the state of brain science. The Neuroscience Institute comprises faculty from five of CMU’s seven schools and colleges, harnessing the university’s core strengths in cognitive science, computation, data science, biology, and engineering. NI strives to be a community that is academically and intellectually rigorous, as well as being diverse, inclusive, and respectful to all of its members. We aspire to promote a collegial professional environment in which all individuals can thrive and do their best work with community support and free from harassment, intimidation, or disrespect.

This program is made possible through the generosity of Henry L. Hillman and Kris Gopalakrishnan.