News

Otis Williams Postdoctoral Fellowship Application, 

Santa Barbara Foundation

2025

 

Overall Description

The Otis Williams Fund at the Santa Barbara Foundation will provide a year of support for post-doctoral research training at the interface of biology and engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This fellowship is intended to support traditional biomedical fields such as biochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology coupled with UCSB’s unique strengths in materials, computing, and mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering. The highest priority applications would be interdisciplinary bioengineering projects, potentially in partnership with other members of the medical research, education and delivery field in Santa Barbara. The Deans of the College of Engineering and the Division of Mathematics, Life and Physical Science at UCSB will administer application, solicitation, and review of proposals.

 

  1. Eligibility Citizens or permanent residents of the United States, holding a Ph.D. or M.D. degree at the time of activation of the fellowship are eligible to apply for support. Foreign applicants must demonstrate that they hold the appropriate visa for the tenure of their proposed program. Applicants should be about to begin year 1-3 of their post-doctoral career to qualify.
  2. Review Criteria
    • Candidate – the candidate’s previous research and academic performance and their potential to develop into a productive, high-quality researcher
    • Sponsor – a willing sponsor from the UCSB faculty, including laboratory facilities
    • Research Proposal – the scientific merit of the proposal
    • Training Potential – the value of the proposed research project as it relates to the candidate’s needs in preparation for a career in research. 
    • Relationship/Relevance to bioengineering
    • Synergy - priority given to applicants who can demonstrate collaboration or potential for collaboration with Santa Barbara County-based health, medical and bio-engineering organizations (ie: Cottage Hospital, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Cancer Center)
  3. Review Procedures

The Deans will evaluate the fellowship applications with the assistance of a committee comprised of faculty from both Engineering and the Sciences in addition to representatives from organizations in the Santa Barbara community engaged in medical research activity. Applications will be reviewed by the members of the Research Committee, with members excusing themselves from review of any application in which they are involved as investigator or co-investigator, or when their participation in the review would constitute a conflict of interest. In reviewing applications, outside opinions may be solicited if the Committee deems it appropriate. Applications that are incomplete, insufficiently documented or which do not follow the instructions will not be reviewed.

  1. Salary given will be commensurate with experience. Award will be a two-year postdoctoral appointment with a starting salary of $64,480 annual plus benefits and a small supply budget.
  2. Submission Deadline Please visit http://www.science.ucsb.edu for the announcement of the fellowship and additional application materials. Fully complete applications are due June 2, 2025 by 8:00 AM.  LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Final applications should be submitted, in PDF form, via email to MLPSDean@ltsc.ucsb.edu. Funding decisions are anticipated in June 2025. Anticipated start date is July 1, 2025. Alternate start dates may be requested but approvals are not guaranteed.
  3. For additional information, contact MLPSDean@ltsc.ucsb.edu. (Communication with the Santa Barbara Foundation must be coordinated through the Office of Engineering and Science Development, UCSB 805-893-8406)

Application Instructions

What to submit –

A pdf of the complete application should be submitted via email to MLPSDean@ltsc.ucsb.edu.

References – Three references are required. The faculty sponsor may be one of them.

Format - Margins must be at least 0.75 inch on all sides and the text must be in a 12-point font throughout the application

Sponsor - The sponsor must be a UCSB faculty member. Only one sponsor may be listed for each proposal. The sponsor is responsible for and must be directly involved in carrying out and overseeing the proposed research, and guarantee laboratory facilities to carry out the research. Any number of co-investigators are permitted.

  1. Specific Instructions for Completing Fellowship Application – Research Proposal:
  • Summary of Proposed Project – Provide a brief summary of the overall project
  • Background – Provide a brief description of the relevant literature and previous experience of both the applicant and the sponsor. Provide references as appropriate.
  • Specific Aims – Include the scope, objectives and significance of the proposed project, the rationale behind the proposal and the specific goals to be achieved during the grant period.
  • Research design and methods – This section should provide, in detail, the methodology, experimental format, and rationale for the proposed work (including a description of relevant controls). Please include information on what techniques will be used and the scientific basis for their choice, what data will be obtained, organized and analyzed. Also, discuss likely outcomes and possible alternatives that might arise, and the implications of both. Sufficient information must be provided to allow a thorough assessment of the proposal by the review committee. A time estimate for completion of the work should also be included.
  • References – Provide complete references, including titles of cited papers.
  • Formatting requirements for Item 7, the Research Proposal:
  • Sections 1-4 must be double-spaced. 
  • Section 1 must not exceed one page.
  • Section 2 must not exceed two pages.
  • Section 3 must not exceed one page.
  • Section 4 must not exceed eight pages.
  • Section 5 must not exceed three pages, but should be single-spaced.