Sponsored Projects Office, University of California, Berkeley
Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Biological Sciences

This page provides information on some fellowships for postdoctoral researchers in the biological sciences. To search for other postdoctoral funding, see the IRIS Database for funding opportunities or the COS Pivot funding opportunities database (accessible from berkeley.edu computers).
National Institutes of Health
Program Deadline Program Synopsis
New and Early Stage Investigators Resources for new investigators, including postdoctoral researchers.
Extramural Training Mechanisms
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA)
Standard Due Dates The Kirschstein NRSA for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows provides support to promising applicants with the potential to become productive, independent investigators in scientific health-related research fields relevant to the missions of participating NIH Institutes and Centers. Applicant fellows must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States or permanent residents.
Fogarty International Center Research Training Grants varies A list of training programs at the Fogarty International Center. Some are open to postdoctoral investigators.
Pathway to Independence Award Standard Due Dates Provides up to 5 years of support consisting of two phases. The initial phase will provide 1-2 years of mentored support for postdoctoral research scientists. This phase will be followed by up to 3 years of independent support contingent on securing an independent tenure-track or equivalent research position.
National Science Foundation
Program Deadline Program Synopsis
Specialized Information for Postdoctoral Fellows
NSF FastLane Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Resources for postdoctoral researchers seeking funding from NSF.
International Research Fellowship Program second Tuesday in September Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and have been awarded a Ph.D. within two years of the application deadline or expect to receive the doctoral degree by the start of the project. Support may be requested for residence abroad for nine to 24 months in any field of science and engineering research or education supported by NSF.
NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships second Wednesday in October Fellows may engage in observational, instrumental, theoretical, laboratory or archival data research in any area of astronomy or astrophysics, in combination with a coherent educational plan for the duration of the fellowship. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology second Tuesday in October Fellowships support recent recipients of the doctoral degree for research and training in selected areas supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
NSF Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowships July 1 The Division of Earth Sciences awards fellowships to highly qualified investigators within 3 years of obtaining their PhD to carry out an integrated program of independent research and education. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
Postdoctoral Fellowships in Polar Regions Research October for fellowship; open for travel grant The program supports training and research for recent doctoral degree recipients in any aspect of scientific study of the Antarctic and/or the Arctic within the Office of Polar Program program areas. The program also provides travel grants to those eligible for fellowships. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Nonprofit Agencies
Program Deadline Program Synopsis
American Association of University Women
Fellowships
varies AAUW offers five grant programs for women, including American and International Fellowships.
American Brain Tumor Association
ABTA Basic Research Fellowships
January Two-year training awards support the salaries of young researchers entering the field of brain tumor research.
American Cancer Society
Postdoctoral Fellowships
April 1, October 15 Supports postdoctoral training in cancer research, including basic, preclinical, clinical, cancer control, psychosocial, behavioral, epidemiology, health services and health policy research. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, or permanent residents.
American Diabetes Association
Current Grant Opportunities
January 15 for most postdoctoral programs Multiple award mechanisms available for postdoctoral research. Applicant generally must be U.S. citizen or have (or have applied for) permanent resident status.
American Federation for Aging Research
Grant Programs
December AFAR offers several grant programs that support postdoctoral research in aging.
American Heart Association
Research
Western States Affiliate Postdoctoral Fellowship
January Supports research related to cardiovascular function and disease and stroke, or to related basic science, clinical, bioengineering or biotechnology, and public health problems. Applicant must have less than six years of postdoctoral experience and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or have a specified visa type.
American Institute for Cancer Research
Grant Application
January for letter of intent Supports research on cancer prevention and cancer treatment. Applicants must have a Ph.D., or equivalent degree, or M.D. degree that was awarded no more than four years prior to the date of application. Applicants working at an institution in the U.S. must be a U.S. citizen, or foreign national with either permanent residence status or a visa that is valid for the duration of the grant award.
American Lung Association
Grants
October Senior Research Training Fellowships offer postdoctoral support for M.D.s and/or Ph.D.s. Research areas of particular interest are: adult pulmonary medicine, pediatric pulmonary medicine and lung biology. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals holding a specified visa type.
American Physiological Society
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Physiological Genomics
January Postdoctoral Fellowship in Physiological Genomics recognizes that many advances in genomics ultimately require a functional understanding in the context of the organism, and special training is needed to conduct this type of research.
American Society for Microbiology
Postdoctoral Fellowships
ASM/CDC Program in Infectious Disease and Public Health Microbiology
January The ASM/CDC Fellowship supports postdocs for up to two years to perform research in residence headquartered at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention location.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association
Research Grant Program
January The investigator-initiated grant program is now offering an annual postdoctoral fellowship award. The maximum amount awarded is $35,000-$40,000 annually for 2 years.
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Grant Programs
Limited Submission Programs at UC Berkeley
varies BWF makes grants within six focus areas: Biomedical Sciences, Infectious Disease, Interfaces in Science, Population and Laboratory Based Sciences, Reproductive Sciences, Science Education.
California HIV/AIDS Research Program
Applicants
July for letter of intent Basic Biomedial Sciences Postdoctoral Research Training Awards support training under a designated mentor/advisor in a basic biomedical field related to HIV/AIDS. Training award applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or hold a J1, H1-B, or other valid U.S. visa appropriate for study or conducting research.
Cancer Research Institute
Irvington Institute Fellowship Program of the Cancer Research Institute
April 1, October 1 Supports qualified young scientists at leading universities and research centers around the world who wish to receive training in cancer immunology or general immunology.
Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research
Postdoctoral Fellowship
February 1 Supports full time postdoctoral studies in the medical and related sciences bearing on cancer. Applicants should not have more than one year of postdoctoral experience.
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
first Wednesday in September These awards are offered to MDs, PhDs and MD/PhDs interested in conducting basic or clinical research related to CF. U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status is required.
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Fellowship Award
August 15, March 15 The Foundation encourages all theoretical and experimental research relevant to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies and prevention. Candidates who have already accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship award are not eligible.
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry
August Provides an award to a principal investigator of $120,000 over two years to appoint a Postdoctoral Fellow in environmental chemistry.
Dystonia Foundation
Fellowships
December A two-year fellowship of $50,000 per year is designed to assist post-doctoral fellows establish careers in research relevant to dystonia.
Earth Institute, Columbia University
Fellows Program
December Provides the opportunity to build a foundation in one of the core disciplines represented within the Earth Institute (social sciences, earth sciences, biological sciences, engineering sciences and health sciences), while acquiring the cross-disciplinary expertise and breadth needed to address critical issues related to sustainable development and reducing environmental degradation, poverty, hunger and disease.
Epilepsy Foundation of America
Grant and Fellowship Opportunities
varies Offers several postdoctoral fellowships: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Behavioral Sciences Post-Doctoral Fellowship, and Research and Training Fellowship for Clinicians.
Fondation Fyssen
Post Doctoral Study Grants
March 31 Supports postdoctoral researchers under 35 years of age working in ethology, paleontology, archaeology, anthropology, psychology, epistemology, logic and the neurosciences. The award funds work at a French laboratory.
FRAXA Research Foundation
Grants and Postdoctoral Fellowships
February 1 FRAXA's grants and fellowships program aims to encourage research aimed at finding a specific treatment for fragile X syndrome.
Grass Foundation
Grass Fellowship
December Provides an opportunity for neuroscientists during late stages of predoctoral training or during postdoctoral years to conduct independent research at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA each summer. Open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and J-1 visa holders.
National Hemophilia Foundation
Research Grants Program
December for letter of intent The Judith Graham Pool Postdoctoral Research Fellowship supports basic science and pre-clinical research in bleeding disorders.
Human Frontier Science Program
Research Grants and Fellowships
August for initializing application The aim of the HFSP is to support basic research focused on complex mechanisms of living organisms; fields supported range from molecular and cellular approaches to biological functions to systems and cognitive neuroscience. Long-Term Fellowships and Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships support postdoctoral research training in a laboratory in another country.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
Information for Applicants
July, January JDRF supports researchers interested in solving the clinical and scientific problems associated with type 1 diabetes. Funding opportunities include postdoctoral and advanced postdoctoral fellowships.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Funding Opportunities
September for preapplication Postdoctoral fellowships support breast cancer research with four categories of grants: basic research, translational research, clinical research, and disparities research.
Lalor Foundation
Postdoctoral Fellowships
January 15 Fellowships support basic research in mammalian reproductive biology as related to the regulation of fertility. Potential fellows should not have held the doctoral degree more than two years.
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Career Development Program
September 15 for letter of intent Funding supports research on leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. Program categories include Fellows (less than two years postdoctoral experience) and Special Fellows (two or more years postdoctoral experience).
Life Sciences Research Foundation
Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
October 1 LSRF awards three-year fellowships across the spectrum of the life sciences: biochemistry; cell, developmental, molecular, plant, structural, organismic population and evolutionary biology; endocrinology; immunology; microbiology; neurobiology; physiology; virology. There can be no more than one LSRF fellow in any one laboratory at a time.
Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America
Research Fellowships
October 1 This twelve-month postdoctoral fellowship is awarded for clinical or basic research related to MG or related neuromuscular disorders.
National Academies
Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships
November Seeks to increase the diversity of the nation's college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. Only U.S. citizens or nationals are eligible to apply.
National Kidney Foundation
Research Grants
March The purpose of the Research Fellowships is to foster training of young and new investigators with the potential of making contributions to the understanding and cure of kidney diseases, to foster kidney-related research that is of high merit, and to encourage who want to make a career change into academic nephrology.
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Funding
August Training grants and fellowships include Postdoctoral Fellowships that support training in studies related to MS. The Society supports fundamental as well as applied studies, non-clinical or clinical in nature, including projects in patient management, care and rehabilitation.
Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Foundation September 1 Grants offered include fellowships for postdoctoral scientists, clinicians and engineers to encourage training and specialization in the field of spinal cord research. Postdoctoral individuals are eligible to apply within four years of receiving a Ph.D. or completing M.D. residency.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation
September 1 for Informatics and Pharmacology/Toxicology; October 1 for Health Outcomes and Pharmaceutics Grants support research and education related to drug discovery. Offers Postdoctoral Fellowships in four areas: Health Outcomes, Informatics, Pharmaceutics, and Pharmacology/Toxicology.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Research Fellowship Program
April 1 Fellows will promote alternatives to animal research by reviewing animal models in diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease, or other fields, and will use those findings to advocate for changes in public policy and research funding priorities.
RAND Corporation
Postdoctoral Training Program in the Study of Aging
February Supports junior scholars in demographic and aging research. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
Research Application and Guidelines
December 15 The foundation is committed to the goal of developing treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. Postdoctoral fellowships of up to $60,000 per year for up to two years are available.
Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, UCOP
Call for Applications
January TRDRP supports research on the prevention, causes, and treatment of tobacco-related disease and the reduction of the human and economic costs of tobacco use in California. Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards are for individuals to obtain research training under a designated mentor.
Tourette Syndrome Association
Research and Training Grants
October 1 for preproposal Funds research that has the potential to contribute to the understanding of Tourette Syndrome, including animal models, behavioral neurosciences, clinical trials, neurochemistry, neuroimaging, neuropathology, neurophysiology, epidemiology, genetics, molecular biology and pharmacology. Postdoctoral fellowships provide up to $40,000 for one year.
United Negro College Fund
UNCF/Merck Postdoctoral Science Research Fellowship
December 15 Fellowships are intended to provide support to African American post-graduates to obtain postdoctoral training or continue to conduct postdoctoral, pre-professional research projects. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
Research Fellowships
July Supports early postdoctoral research training in all basic biomedical sciences. Fellowships may be awarded to U.S. citizens planning to work in laboratories either in the U.S., Canada, or abroad and also to foreign citizens for research in laboratories in the U.S. only. Will not support more than two fellows per laboratory at one time.

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