Washington Research Foundation accepting applications for next cohort of WRF Postdoctoral Fellows

Up to 12 Fellows will be selected for three years of support while carrying out research projects with high potential for real-world impact in natural sciences and engineering-related disciplines

SEATTLE, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Washington Research Foundation (WRF) is accepting applications for WRF Postdoctoral Fellowships to begin in 2025. Up to 12 Fellows will be selected to carry out research projects of their own design that have the potential for significant real-world public impact. Fellows receive three years of salary, benefits and research expense support as they carry out transformative research in the natural sciences and engineering-related fields at nonprofit research institutions in Washington state.

Washington Research Foundation has awarded 78 WRF Postdoctoral Fellowships since the program began in 2018. In addition to receiving financial support, Fellows participate in networking and professional development events, including an annual symposium at which they present their research and learn more about the work and progress of other WRF-funded Fellows.

The 2025 Fellows will be chosen by a national selection committee with expertise spanning multiple scientific fields. Candidates do not yet have to have completed their Ph.D. program to apply, but must do so in time to begin the fellowship, with possible start dates being January, April, July or October 1, 2025.

Clarisse Benson, WRF's manager of student and postdoctoral programs, said, "We're thrilled to announce the opening of applications for our eighth cohort of WRF Postdoctoral Fellows and look forward to supporting scientists at this critical juncture of their career. We hope to see applicants proposing bold ideas with substantial real-world impact, thereby furthering our mission to advance breakthrough technologies in Washington state."

Eva Nichols, Ph.D., began her WRF fellowship in 2022. She is conducting her research in the labs of Brian Beliveau, Ph.D., and Jay Shendure, MD, Ph.D., at the University of Washington's Department of Genome Sciences, where she is working on a scalable spatial transcriptomics approach that can be used to improve 3D pathology efforts. 3D scans present a more complete image of cell and tissue health than traditional 2D methods, with the added advantage that they are nondestructive and enable samples to be reexamined if needed.

"The WRF Postdoctoral Fellowship has been transformative in enabling me to pursue a high-risk but potentially high-reward research direction in my mentors' labs," Nichols said. "WRF's?and my mentors'?support has been invaluable in allowing me to test my scientific creativity and independence before my next career stage."

Applications and letters of recommendation are due by June 26, 2024.

Media Contact

Dale Wadman, Washington Research Foundation, (206) 336-5600, [email protected], https://www.wrfseattle.org/

SOURCE Washington Research Foundation