Applications
Download the documents at the bottom of this page.
Eligibility
The OSCB program is offering postdoctoral fellowships to individuals holding PhD, MD, or MD/PhD degrees. Applicants will have had zero, one, two, three, or four years of prior fellowship experience. MD only applicants should demonstrate research experience and associated publications. Applicants must be US citizens, US non-citizen nationals (pertains only to residents of American Samoa or Swains Islands), or permanent residents. Individuals with temporary or student visas are not eligible to apply.
Fellowship Availability, Salary, and Duration
The NCI/NSRA grant for OSCB provides for four fellowships annually with a budget for one fellow with no prior fellowship experience (zero years experience), two fellows with one year of prior fellowship experience, one fellow with two years of prior fellowship experience. Salary is stipulated annually by the National Service Research Administration (NSRA) based on years of fellowship experience. Those with additional post-doctoral experience will receive supplemental salary from their Mentor. Fellows are appointed for one year with a possibility of one extension for a second year if effort to seek other external funding is shown and progress is satisfactory.
Application Timetable
Applications are accepted at any time, but are reviewed only when a vacancy arises or is anticipated. Applicants should first contact a trainer associated with the program before applying, in order to request a statement endorsing their candidacy. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply with appropriate revisions to their applications based on reviewer comments and are, on occasion, selected.
Application Address
All application materials should be sent via email to Olivia Gilbertson <ogilbertson@ucdavis.edu>.
Applicant Review Criteria
The principal review criteria include (1) scientific qualifications of the applicant, (2) commitment to and viability of a long-term career in cancer biology, and (3) suitability of the training environment provided by the Mentor. Preference will be given to applicants not currently appointed at UC Davis although applications from UC Davis appointees are welcome. However, proposals to continue postdoctoral research in the same laboratory after receiving a Ph.D. are strongly discouraged.
Application Review Process
Upon receipt, the application will be reviewed for completeness (including references and Mentor statement, see Application Instructions) and eligibility as explained above. Complete and eligible applications will be processed for review. Incomplete or ineligible applications will be returned to the applicant. It is the applicant's responsibility to assure that the submission has all of the required components. The applications will be assigned to a panel of reviewers, drawn primarily from the pool of Mentors, (excluding any Mentor sponsoring a fellowship application in that particular round). If necessary, advice from outside reviewers may be sought. The review consists of a general summary statement with a priority score of each application as follows: 1=Outstanding, 2=Excellent, 3=Good, 4=Acceptable, 5=Not Recommended. The review criteria are listed above. Applicants receiving the lowest scores, averaged among those voting, will be awarded fellowships. Applicants will be notified within two weeks of receipt the decision regarding their applications. The initial notification will be by e-mail followed up by a written letter of appointment. Applicants and the mentors must then accept the appointment and its terms and conditions in writing before the applicant can be appointed a postdoctoral fellow. The fellowship start date will be negotiated with the fellow and Mentor.