Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Only applicants meeting these criteria will be considered:
– Have earned a PhD in the past 10 years, or plan to complete a PhD within six (6) months of application

– Complete and submit application by the deadline. The application consists of the application form, curriculum vita, three names who can provide letters of recommendation, two-page research proposal, representative paper or extended dissertation abstract, and faculty support letters. Application procedures can be found below.

– QCB postdocs must collaborate with the Center.

– Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident (Green Card holder), or non-U.S. citizen eligible for a visa. QCB will sponsor visa applications.

– Propose research in one of the core QCB areas. Applicants with closely aligned research areas will be considered. Core QCB research areas are:

1. Whole Cell Modeling: – improve WCMs for bacteria, yeast and eukaryotic cells and connections to established MD (e.g., Martini, Gromacs, NAMD) and analysis programs (e.g., VMD)
2. Subcellular Dynamics using MINFLUX: data acquisition and new data/analysis tools
3. Spatial Chemical Composition using label-free imaging
4. Converting cryo-electron tomograms into images for WCMs and Minecraft
5. Studies of synthetic biology and organelles in selected organisms (e.g., yeast).
6. Development of high-throughput machine learning models and tools for multi-omics and novel microscopy data, spanning methodological development, scalable computation, and scientific inference.

Please note: The online application form must be completed all in one sitting, be sure to have all your information gathered and all your documents ready to upload before you complete and submit your application.

Fill out application form (required)

Applicants must fill out the online application form. The form also allows for the electronic submission of your supporting documents in PDF format, including curriculum vitae, proposal, representative paper or abstract, and faculty statements of support.

Curriculum vitae (required)

The curriculum vitae must be submitted as a PDF file and uploaded with the application form as described above. There is no limit as to the length of your CV.

References (required) 

Please list the first name, last name, institution / organization and email address of three people we can contact for a letter of recommendation / reference. We are not asking for an actual letter at this time, just the contact information. If you are not currently part of the QCB Center, it must be different people than the two QCB faculty sponsors for your proposed research, who are required to write and sign a brief statement of support. (See faculty support statement, below). Reference writers will only be contacted if you are under consideration for a postdoc position.

Broader Impacts / Knowledge Transfer plan (required)

One (1) paragraph discussing your plans for broader impacts and knowledge transfer, such as teaching in QCB Summer School or workshops. Email us after you have your two or more research mentors and are developing your proposal to have Broader Impacts Team Leader Sharlene Denos review your broader impacts / knowledge transfer plans prior to submission. Review by Dr. Denos is required prior to submission.

Proposal (required, 2 pages maximum)

Applicants should prepare and upload a PDF file that describes your proposed research. Proposals are limited to two pages in length. You may use any format you prefer as long as you include a title and do not exceed two (2) pages in length, including any references (references may be in small font at the bottom of page 2). We are looking at how concisely you can summarize and successfully communicate your research.

QCB faculty support statements(< 1 page in length, at least 2 statements required)

All STC QCB faculty who will advise you as a postdoc must write and sign a brief (2-3 sentences) statement of support. You may combine these signed statements into a one (1)-page PDF document to upload with your application as a single document or submit them as separate documents. You must have support statements from at least two (2) QCB faculty. If you have a third faculty sponsor, you must also have a support statement from them. A third sponsor can be either QCB faculty or non-QCB faculty. A third sponsor is optional.

Representative paper or extended dissertation abstract (required)

If you have published, select one (1) paper and upload a PDF file. If you have not published, submit an extended abstract of your dissertation (not to exceed five pages).

We anticipate strong competition for these fellowships. Here are some tips to help your application stand out.

1. Start preparing your application well in advance of the application deadline. Review the application procedures above as well as the online application form to make sure you understand the information you will need to provide.
2. Find your STB QCB faculty supporters by reading the brief descriptions of faculty research interests on the Members page to narrow your search to those who study topics in your area of interest. You are welcome to work only with U.S. faculty / collaborators or have both a U.S. and international advisor. At least one of your advisors must be an STB QCB faculty member at the University of Illinois. Send the faculty member an email stating your interest in their research and asking if they are willing to sponsor you as a QCB Postdoctoral Fellow. If they agree, have them write, sign and email to you a 2-3 sentence statement of support. Be sure to inform each advisor the name of your other advisor(s). You must have at least two (2) STB QCB faculty statements of support to be considered for a fellowship. Without these statements, your proposal will fail and your application will not be considered. Be sure to inform each advisor the name of your other advisor(s).
3. Email us after you have your two or more research mentors and are developing your proposal to have Broader Impact Team Leader Sharlene Denos review your plans prior to submission. to discuss your broader impact / knowlege transfer plans prior to submission. Without Dr. Denos’ review, your proposal will fail and your application will not be considered.
4. PROOFREAD EVERYTHING. Remember, you are trying to convince the evaluators that you would be a valuable contributor to the QCB mission. Have someone else (a trusted colleague or advisor) read your proposal and give you feedback prior to submission.
5. If you have any questions about the QCB Postdoctoral Fellowships or the application process, please email us: qcb_postdocs@beckman.illinois.edu