The Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute (ZMBBI) Research Development Fellows Program will give Columbia graduate students and postdocs hands-on experience in administrative project management, supporting proposal development, grant data analytics, and other research development skills. The Zuckerman Institute's Associate Director and Executive Director of Strategic Research Development will manage and train the participants.
Fellows will gain experience in:
- Assisting principal investigators and trainees in strategic planning, preparation, and submission of individual grants, fellowships, career development awards, and multi-investigator team grant proposals
- Identifying funding opportunities for individual labs and trainees, as well as potential collaborations within and beyond the Zuckerman Institute
- Implementing robust methods for grant data analytics
- Developing educational content for proposal development and grantsmanship training
Fellows work closely with the Zuckerman Institute's Research Development and Pre-Award Team on a part-time, hybrid basis. The program is intended to build the fellows' understanding of grantsmanship and research development careers.
To be eligible for the ZMBBI Research Development Fellows Program, you must:
- Be a Columbia graduate student or postdoc in the biomedical sciences
- Have submitted at least one NIH application or have experience with other major funding mechanisms
- Be able to commit up to eight (8) hours per week; most assignments can be completed remotely
- Have approval from your PI
- The Research Development Fellows Program is a new pilot initiative, and we can only accept one candidate in 2025.
- We anticipate that selected fellows will be in a more advanced stage of their career phase (4+ year graduate students; 3+ year postdocs).
- Fellows will be paid $30 per hour.
- If you have any questions about the program or application process, please e-mail us at [email protected].
Candidates are evaluated on the following criteria:
- Strong scientific / technical background
- Exceptional organizational skills
- Experience with fellowship, career development, and/or research grant applications
- Enthusiasm and willingness to take on new challenges
- Demonstrated interest in research development
- Commitment and availability for up to 8 hours per week (for a minimum of one calendar year)
- Relevant prior experience