Postdoctoral Research Opportunities

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard provides postdoctoral training in genomics for underrepresented minorities through a grant funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute. The program matches postdoctoral researchers with mentors according to their research interests. The postdoctoral researchers will collaborate with their mentor to design a long-term research project or a series of shorter projects.

Each selected postdoctoral researcher will be provided with a stipend, travel allowances to attend scientific conferences and meetings, and retirement and health benefits provided by MIT. Funding is provided for up to three years. In addition, participants will receive mentoring and professional development opportunities.

Aspiring postdoctoral researchers should submit their C.V. and a statement of research and career interests indicating overlap with Broad research activities. The program is open to underrepresented minorities who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Scientists must have a PhD in the physical, biological, or computer sciences, engineering, or mathematics. Applications are reviewed throughout the year.

For more information, interested applicants should contact:

Diversity Initiative
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
7 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
T: 617-452-3000
F: 617-452-4588
E: diversity@broad.mit.edu

Annette M. Taberner, 2005-2006 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Broad Institute

"My experience as a postdoc in the diversity initiative program at the Broad Institute has been invaluable. I have been exposed to entirely new ways of thinking about human health and disease. I am confident that I will have the necessary skills to start my own lab when I return to Miami."

Annette Taberner, Ph.D., represents several "firsts" for her family of both South American and Caribbean descent: She is a first-generation American from the United States, the first to complete a college education, and the first to obtain a Ph.D.

Dr. Taberner joined Broad's Neuropsychiatric Genetics Group as a postdoctoral fellow in February 2005 and is currently involved in a number of projects dealing with both human DNA association studies and mouse models of human disease. Her first undertaking is the largest association study for bipolar disorder to date. For this project, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in patients and controls are being analyzed to determine if there are significant correlations between the disease and the presence of specific SNPs. Any SNPs that show significant association with the disease population are considered potential risk alleles for the disease. Dr. Taberner's second, longer range project, uses a behavioral mouse model to better understand the genetic basis of a known endophenotype for schizophrenia using a new technology called RNA interference (RNAi).
Read what Annette has to say >