CRI Immuno-Informatics Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Immuno-Informatics Postdoctoral Fellowship is a specialized three-year training initiative designed to cultivate scientific leaders at the intersection of immunology and data science. As the field of cancer immunotherapy evolves, the integration of biological and computational expertise becomes increasingly critical. This fellowship program addresses that demand by supporting early-career researchers from around the world who aim to develop dual competencies in both domains. The CRI, a globally recognized nonprofit organization committed to advancing cancer immunotherapy research, is the sole administrator and funder of this private fellowship program. Focused on fostering multidisciplinary skill sets, the fellowship provides targeted support to individuals from a variety of doctoral backgrounds. Applicants may include computational biologists seeking to deepen their understanding of immunology, cancer immunologists who aim to acquire computational or data science expertise, and other researchers whose work is situated at the interface of cancer immunology and quantitative sciences. To be considered eligible, research proposals must be hypothesis-driven and fall within the broad domain of cancer immunology, with a clear intention to advance understanding of the immune system’s role in cancer. Projects are expected to leverage innovative technologies or computational tools such as genomics, high-throughput omics, or advanced analytics to address critical knowledge gaps. The financial support includes an annual stipend that increases across the three-year term: $74,000 in the first year, $76,000 in the second, and $78,000 in the third. In addition, the host institution receives a $5,000 per year allowance to be used at the discretion of the sponsor for research-related expenses, conference travel, health insurance, or childcare. Importantly, the fellowship prohibits any deductions for administrative overhead from either the stipend or institutional allowance. CRI also supports fellows in attending the CRI Bioinformatics Bootcamp, enhancing their professional development. Applicants must possess a doctoral degree by the award activation date and must perform their research under a sponsor with an official faculty appointment (assistant professor or higher). Projects must be rooted in immunology and must be relevant to cancer. Candidates with five or more years of mentored postdoctoral research at the start date are ineligible, except for M.D. applicants (whose residency years are not counted). Furthermore, those who have already spent three or more years in their sponsor’s lab are generally ineligible unless under exceptional circumstances. The program is open to both U.S. and international applicants, provided the host institution is a nonprofit. Each faculty sponsor may only support one fellow per application cycle and no more than three concurrently. Fellowship applications are due annually on March 1 and September 1 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. If the deadline falls on a weekend or U.S. holiday, applications are accepted the next business day. Applicants are notified of funding decisions within 10–12 weeks of the deadline. Award activation must occur no sooner than four months and no later than one year following the application deadline. Activation always begins on the first of a month. The application process is completed through CRI’s online portal and includes a series of required components. These include a project summary, specific aims, a detailed proposal, background information about the applicant, and descriptions of the knowledge gaps the applicant intends to fill. Additional documentation includes the sponsor and co-sponsor letters, their respective CVs or biosketches, a list of external funding applications, and two letters of recommendation. All supporting materials must be submitted as PDFs. The application is considered complete only after all necessary signatures are obtained via DocuSign. Strict formatting and submission guidelines apply, and incomplete or non-compliant applications will not be reviewed.