Postdoctoral Program

Center postdoctoral fellowships provide up to 3 years of support for individuals engaged in postdoctoral study after the attainment of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or Doctor of Science (ScD) degree.  The purpose of the Center's postdoctoral research training program is to enhance the research training of promising postdoctoral candidates who have the potential to become productive, independent investigators in scientific health-related research fields. 

Postdoctoral Program Components

EXPOSE - Postdoctoral scholars to intensive career development in research and training

ELEVATE - Grantsmanship and pedagogic skills

ENGAGE - The wider VCU community in biomedical research and professional training

Current Postdoctoral Research Training Opportunities

VCU Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA)

The future of biomedical research depends on a diverse pool of well-trained scientists who are equipped to investigate the priority health issues of the 21st century.  In addition, it is necessary to nurture a cadre of enthusiastic, ambitious, and creative educators who have the capacity to inspire their students to pursue careers in research.  Because postdoctoral training typically focuses on research, future educators face the challenge of developing both the teaching skills and the research portfolio necessary to be competitive for faculty positions.  The VCU IRACDA program is designed to address these issues and has two major goals. 

The first is to prepare postdoctoral fellows for faculty positions through career development in both cutting edge research and pedagogy.  VCU IRACDA scholars perform research under the guidance of experienced mentors and participate in hands-on mentored teaching at one of our partner historically black universities, Virginia Union University (VUU) and Virginia State University (VSU). 

The second goal of VCU IRACDA is to enhance teaching and research collaborations between VCU and our partner institutions, by expanding the curriculum and providing research opportunities for students and faculty.  To date, 80% of former VCU IRACDA trainees are in tenure-eligible faculty positions (all who have applied), and 100% are in rewarding jobs in biomedical sciences.

Contact:

Daniel Bullard, PhD, Co-Director, VCU IRACDA

John J. Ryan, PhD, Co -Director, VCU IRACDA