Postdoc Recruitment Event

The Postdoc Recruitment Event will not be held in 2025.

We encourage you to sign up for the Train at NCI Listserv to stay up to date on events and training opportunities. If you are actively seeking a postdoc position, please view open fellowship postings or contact investigators directly.

Guidelines

How to Apply

You must apply through our online application process, and complete and submit an application before the deadline, Feb 7, 2024.

You will be asked to provide:

  • Personal Information – name, current/permanent address, phone, email, optional demographic information
  • Citizenship/immigration status
  • Education – degrees awarded or expected
  • Research Interests
  • 2 Letters of Reference – address and e-mail of your dissertation advisor or committee member who will provide a current and original reference letter and prospective defense date

Additionally, you will need to upload several documents. These documents should be saved as PDFs and uploaded to your application.

Document Description
Curriculum Vitae

General

Applicants are encouraged to use their current curriculum vitae and to add any necessary information.

  • Please include your name and a page number on each page of the curriculum vitae.
  • Some of the information requested below will not be applicable to all individuals.

Please do not include any personal information beyond what is requested below. In particular, please do not provide your social security number, date of birth, USCIAS number (alien resident number on your green card), student ID, or home address.

Personal Information

  • Name (First middle last)
  • Preferred Telephone Number
  • Preferred E-mail

Education

Please list all colleges and universities attended and any other relevant training. Include the following information for each institution:

  • School, department, city and state, country
  • Dates attended, academic major degree(s), minor degree(s), year degree(s) awarded/expected

Work Experience

Please list current and past employment. Include the following information for each position:

  • Position title, employer's name, city and state, country, and telephone
  • Dates of employment, hours per week
  • Brief description of duties and accomplishments

Bibliography

Please list all publications and indicate whether they are "published," "in press," "submitted," or "in preparation."

Other Information

Please note that the items requested below may not be relevant to all applicants:

  • Board certification
  • Committee memberships
  • Grants awarded
  • Honors and awards
  • Patents
  • Peer-review service
  • Professional licenses
  • Professional society memberships
  • Scientific presentations
  • Teaching
  • Mentoring
Diversity Statement

Reflect on your personal experiences with diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Consider the various dimensions of diversity, such as culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic background, and other relevant identities. Think about how your experiences and background have shaped your understanding of diversity and why it is important to you. (250 words or less)

Personal Statement

300 words or less per prompt:

  • Describe your interest in cancer research. Discuss how your experiences and background have influenced your research interests. Please include examples of your motivation, excitement, and drive for research.
  • Please describe your career aspirations. How will training at NCI help you achieve your career goals?
  • The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Abstract Provide an abstract detailing your dissertation research. (one page limit)
Transcripts Official transcripts are not required at this point in the application process.

You may complete the application at your own pace and in multiple sessions. Once you submit your application, a request will be e-mailed to your referee. We recommend that you contact your referee prior to submitting your application so they are prepared to receive and respond to your request. Referees will have a separate deadline for submitting their letters. All applications and requests for Letters of Reference must be completed through your application account.

Tips for Applying

General Information

  1. Talk to your graduate advisor to make sure you meet the eligibility requirements.
  2. Please list the email address to which you wish to receive updates about your application status. If there are any issues with your application, we will contact you via email regarding your application and a lack of response may prevent your application from being reviewed.

Personal Statement

Use the personal statement prompts listed in the table above.

  1. You do not need to have a cancer research background to apply. However, you may want to describe how your research background is relevant to the cancer field.
  2. Make sure your document is free of all spelling and grammatical errors.
  3. Have a colleague or friend proofread and edit your work to make sure you provide complete answers to the prompts and that there is a logical flow. If English is not your first language, also have a native English speaker review your document.

Curriculum Vitae

Use the CV Format provided.

  1. Make sure all your information is up to date on your CV.
  2. The document should be a concise summary of your educational and professional history. Be prudent about the information that you provide, sticking to experiences that are most relevant to your scientific and leadership experience.
  3. You may wish to list the skills you acquired during your scientific training experiences and any mentoring/supervising you were asked to provide.
  4. Use formatting or spacing to make your CV easy to read.

Reference Letter

  1. Secure your referees as soon as possible. Also, inform them of the deadlines and to expect an email requesting that they upload the reference letter to the Train at NCI system. They will receive the email request when you submit your application.
  2. Be sure to ask someone who knows both you and your work well and will write a supportive reference letter. Applications are very competitive, and what often sets them apart are the reference letters.