Fellowship in Skin of Color Application Information

Postdoctoral Fellowship for Skin of Color Research

Application Requirements

• Project title
• A description of your training and career goals
• A description of program eligibility, indicate how your research qualifies as SOC
• One to two page Research plan
• NIH Fellowship Biosketch
• Mentor letter of support
• Two letters of recommendation

Application Deadline: Rolling

Anticipated Notification of Final Decision: Rolling

Program Requirements

• Post-doctoral fellowships require a minimum of an MD, PhD or equivalent degree
• Appointees must be fully committed to conducting a minimum of 1 year of research. Requests for less than 12 months appointment will not be considered.
• Appointees are required to participate in Dermatology Training Program activities, including:
  • Trainee seminars
  • Mentoring meetings with the program directors
  • Professional development workshops (eg. grant-writing)
  • Present their research at Dermatology Tuesday Research Seminar Series and the annual Dermatology Research Day
  • Submit annual progress reports

• Important note: the SOC Postdoctoral Fellowship and T32 Fellowship applications are submitted using a common application form, but the requirements and funding details are specific to each program. Some important difference include:
  • Postdoctoral Fellows in SOC Research do need to be conducting research under the direction of a Penn Faculty member who is also a Penn Dermatology T32 Trainer.  If your PI is not a Trainer on the Penn Dermatology Training Grant, please have your mentor reach out to the program to inquire about becoming a trainer. Mentors must be a Trainer at the time of the Fellowship appointment.
  • Postdoctoral Fellows in SOC Research do need to provide a justification for how their research is applicable as “Skin of Color” research as described in the program information.
  • Postdoctoral Fellows in SOC Research do not need to be US residents as they are not funded by the NIH.
  • Postdoctoral Fellows in SOC Research do not have the payback obligation of NRSA fellows appointed to the T32 Training grant.
  • Funding for postdoctoral Fellows in SOC Research funding is limited to salary support and does not cover benefits or research related expenses.
  • Applicants may apply for both a T32 and postdoctoral fellowship in SOC, and if awarded both the funding for the SOC fellowship will support the salary difference between the NRSA stipend and Penn postdoc stipend allowances.
  • Please contact the Penn Derm T32 Training program directly with specific questions about program eligibility and funding details.

Additional Information

Questions can be sent to PennDermSOCFellowships@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.