↩ Research
INSPIRE Fellows are mentored by faculty who have strong records of funding, mentoring, and publishing. Our Fellows receive mentoring and support for their teaching at our partner, minority-serving institutions in NJ and NY. INSPIRE fellows are diverse themselves. Finally, INSPIRE has had outstanding success placing our Fellows in tenure-track faculty positions (70%).
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, ideally with no more that 0-3 years of prior postdoctoral experience.
We like to see evidence that you care about teaching. We do not expect extensive teaching experience, since the program will provide this.
No, we are open to all applicants, including members of underrepresented groups. We particularly look for individuals who have shown an interest in improving science education for all. We very much welcome Fellows from all groups underrepresented in STEM, including disabled students.
This is first and foremost a research program, so it matters which lab you plan to join, especially since our application involves writing the equivalent of a short (1 page) grant. If you need our advice finding the right research lab for your interests, please reach out to us.
We meet at least once a month with the larger Fellows group, and support additional smaller groups, for example, writing groups.
We pay based on the NIH Postdoctoral pay scale.
All applicants give a 5-minute presentation with 2 slides that introduce and show the main findings of their thesis. This is directly followed by a 5-minute talk with 1 slide to introduce the proposed postdoc project. Applicants present to the INSPIRE Leadership, Admissions Committee, and selected current Fellows.
We pay the healthcare costs for the Fellow, and we give each Fellow travel and supply funds.
Yes, all postdocs with 0-3 years’ experience and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are allowed into the program.
What are the teaching requirements for the program?
Year 1: Participation in a comprehensive Scientific Teaching Workshop in the spring.
Year 2: Suggested minimum of 8 hours of independent in-class teaching with supervision and feedback by the Teaching Mentor.
Year 3: Suggested 16 hours of independent in-class teaching with supervision and feedback by the Teaching Mentor.
Fellows can work with research mentors at Rutgers who do biomedical research. If you are not sure, please check with us, and we are happy to point you in the right direction.