Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Program Description

The Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program draws on the rich research environment and intellectual resources of one of the world’s premier public health training institutions, The Harvard School of Public Health.

Named for Dr. Alonzo Smythe Yerby, an African-American pioneer in public health, this initiative is geared toward expanding the diversity of those entering academic public health. The program creates a bridge between academic training in health-related disciplines and entry-level faculty positions at institutions throughout the United States.

The goal of the program is to advance the intellectual and professional development of each Yerby fellow. Under the guidance of a senior HSPH faculty member with compatible interests, fellows develop their research agendas, gain experience in publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals and obtaining grant support, participate in a variety of professional development workshops, and increase their teaching expertise.

Yerby fellows receive a competitive salary with benefits for one year, renewable for a second year. Up to five new fellowships are awarded annually.  The fellowship begins on September 1 of each year.

Areas of Training

Fellowship training is available throughout the broad range of the school’s activities—laboratory sciences, population sciences, and social and policy sciences. Fellows have a home within one of the school’s nine academic departments:

•   Biostatistics
•   Environmental Health 
•   Epidemiology
•   Genetics and Complex Diseases
•   Global Health and Population
•   Health Policy and Management
•   Immunology and Infectious Diseases
•   Nutrition
•   Society, Human Development, and Health

A complete listing of faculty research interests can be found at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/ .  To learn more about our current fellows, click here.

Each year our fellows are encouraged to participate in workshops designed to advance their progress as independent researchers and scholars.

Eligibility and Application Information

The Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program seeks highly qualified candidates with established research interests and a doctoral degree in public health-related fields.  Of special interest are applicants who will contribute to academic diversity–e.g. those from groups historically underrepresented in U.S. health-related sciences (defined by the National Institutes of Health as American Indians or Alaska Natives, Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) and others whose background will contribute to academic diversity, including individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.  For more information, please see How to Apply.

Please direct any inquiries to:

Christina Burkot
Academic Appointments Specialist
Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Office of Faculty Affairs
Harvard School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
Email: cburkot@hsph.harvard.edu