Wu Tsai Postdoctoral Fellowships (math, CS, eng, physics, neuro, cognitive sciences)

The Wu Tsai Institute (WTI) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program attracts scientists from a broad range of disciplines interested in ambitious and innovative research as they prepare for careers across academia, industry, and beyond. Wu Tsai Postdoctoral Fellows pursue collaborative research that drives discoveries about the mind through an integrated study of the brain. Fellows are selected based on their scientific record, interest in inter-disciplinary research, and their understanding and contributions to advancing diversity and equity in science.  

Fellows receive:

• Postdoctoral associate appointment at Yale for up to three years 
• Generous salary ($85K for computational track) with annual increases
• Funding to assist with relocation costs
• Discretionary funds for professional development 
• Protected time and programmatic opportunities for professional development, skill development, and networking with a supportive cohort of peers
• Robust mentoring program to support career development, featuring mentoring committees, compacts, and training
• Access to cutting-edge space, equipment, facilities, and services at the Institute

This year, the program is only recruiting fellows for its Computational track.

Computational Track

This track welcomes applications from early-career researchers interested in understanding human cognition and exploring human potential through computational theory, analysis, and modeling of neuroscience data and concepts. Applicants should have expertise in computer science, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, engineering, applied math, applied physics, or related fields.

Applicants for the Computational track do not need to pre-identify a faculty advisor. Instead, once accepted, Fellows establish a mentoring committee that includes the Director of the Institute’s Center for Neurocomputation and Machine Intelligence as well as additional Wu Tsai Faculty Members of interest. This committee guides the professional development of the Fellow, advising and facilitating connections with research groups across Yale. This allows the Fellow to develop one or more collaborative projects in pursuit of their goals and interests. As these projects emerge, Fellows establish more traditional research mentoring relationships with individual faculty in their chosen field(s). Fellows also benefit from structured programming, shared research facilities, internal research funding opportunities, and other resources offered by the Institute to advance their scientific training and professional development.

Applications must include:

• Research statement - Summarize prior research experiences, skills, and achievements. Describe how your postdoctoral research interests advance the WTI mission — to understand human cognition and explore human potential by sparking interdisciplinary inquiry. Explain how the envisioned research is interdisciplinary and how it will benefit from your expertise and the resources and researchers in WTI (two pages, inclusive of figures but not references).
• Diversity and inclusion in science statement - Please describe how your unique background, identity, or life experiences have prepared you for this opportunity and how you envision contributing to making science more accessible and inclusive at WTI and in your career (one page).
• Curriculum vitae - Please provide a current CV, including papers that are published, in press, or deposited in preprint server (e.g., bioRxiv or arXiv). 
• Two letters of recommendation - One letter must be from your thesis advisor(s). The letters should address the quality, originality, and independence of your research and potential. Letters must be received via Interfolio by the submission deadline. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. 

The deadline for applications is October 15, 3:00 PM EST. Find more information and application instructions here: https://wti.yale.edu/initiatives/postdoctoral  

Eligibility and Evaluation:

• PhD degree or equivalent must be awarded by the beginning of the fellowship and within the last 3 years.
• The fellowship is open to U.S. and non-U.S. citizens.
• Because this fellowship is intended to build the number of researchers working in these areas at Yale, current members of the Yale community (including postdocs and PhD students) are not eligible to apply.
• Fellows are selected by a faculty committee based on their interdisciplinary scientific goals and track record of scientific achievements, commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and ability to make meaningful contributions to the community.
• Scientists who represent a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and identities, including those historically underrepresented in the sciences, as defined by the NIH, are especially encouraged to apply.

WTI Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to:

• Begin appointment on or before September 1, 2025
• Agree to the WTI code of conduct
• Participate in WTI activities and devote effort toward professional development, service, and community-building (up to 10% of effort)
• Submit an annual progress report
• Follow all guidelines and requirements for postdocs at Yale