Training Opportunities
NINDS SUMMER PROGRAM
The NINDS Summer Program in the Neurological Sciences offers a unique opportunity for academically talented high school, undergraduate, graduate, and medical students to receive first-rate training in neuroscience research. The objective is to provide students with a highly stimulating and rewarding summer research experience, with a view toward encouraging students to pursue advanced education and training in the biomedical sciences and future careers in scientific investigation, particularly basic and clinical research in the neurological sciences.
POSTBACCALAUREATE FELLOWSHIPS
Postbaccalaureate Fellowships provide opportunities for recent college graduates to spend a year engaged in biomedical investigation at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland, and selected off-campus locations. During their tenure in the program, postbaccalaureate fellows are expected to initiate the application process for graduate or medical school. Most postbaccalaureate fellows in the TNS spend 2 years, but 1-year positions are sometimes available, and some fellows have stayed for 3 years.
PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
Predoctoral Fellowships are designed to support a period of research training in laboratories at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. Successful candidates conduct their doctoral thesis research in an NIH laboratory under the guidance and direction of an investigator who serves as the trainee's mentor. The program is available to students who are enrolled in doctoral programs in the biomedical sciences in accredited U.S. universities, but partnerships with foreign universities also exist (e.g., the NIH—Oxford/Cambridge Partnership Program). The research experience is undertaken as an integral part of the student's academic preparation and involves close cooperation and planning between NIH and the candidate's academic institution.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
Postdoctoral Fellowships provide advanced training and research experience to postdoctoral scientists who are in the early stages of their professional research careers. Postdoctoral fellowships can be in both basic and clinical research. The emphasis of the program is to prepare young scientists for independent careers in the basic or clinical neurosciences.
CLINICAL FELLOWSHIPS
Clinical Fellowships provide additional training in translational or clinical neuroscience research to physicians who are in or have completed residency training. This position may have both clinical and laboratory components, with varying amounts of time spent in direct patient contact (supporting pre-existing clinical protocols or developing new clinical protocols) or in laboratory research. In some cases, Clinical Fellows may receive approved credit towards residency training, advanced subspecialty training, or Board certification. Training in neurology or radiology is most appropriate for a Clinical Fellowship in the TNS.