Prospective Postdoctoral Researchers

I take enquiries from postdoctoral researchers working on ecosystem ecology, microbial ecology, conservation genomics, or environmental DNA.

Almost everything below is a fellowship you bring with you rather than a position I advertise. If I have a funded line open I will say so in reply. Because most routes need a host, a jointly written proposal, and letters, start the conversation several months before any deadline, and ask me for a letter at least three weeks out with your draft and the prompt attached.

Fellowship deadlines at a glance

These are the windows fellowships usually fall in, checked July 2026. Confirm the actual date on the linked page.

When Fellowship Who Rough amount
Early Sep Marie Sklodowska-Curie Moving country; mobility rule applies Living and mobility allowances
Early Sep Miller Research Fellowship PhD 2025 to 2027; under 2 yrs postdoc elsewhere About $378,000 over 3 yrs
Mid Sep Fulbright US Scholar US citizens Varies by country
Mid Sep Fogarty Global Health US or Kenyan citizens and PRs $10,000 research funding
Late Sep NSF PRFB US citizens and PRs; under 15 months post-PhD $110,000/yr for 2 yrs
Late Sep Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Applied conservation About $75,000/yr plus $45,000
Late Sep AAUW American Postdoctoral Research Leave Women who are US citizens or PRs $50,000
Early Oct Life Sciences Research Foundation Check field fit $255,000 over 3 yrs
Mid Oct Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Ecology and conservation $57,000 plus benefits
Mid Oct Smithsonian Biodiversity Genomics Genomics $62,000/yr
Early Nov AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship US citizens $80,000 to $105,000
Feb, Jun, Oct NIH K99/R00 Under 4 yrs postdoc R00 up to $249,000/yr
Apr, Aug, Dec NIH F32 US citizens, nationals, PRs Stipend plus allowances
Feb L’Oreal USA For Women in Science Women who are US citizens or PRs; postdoc started $75,000
Apr USDA NIFA AFRI Postdoctoral US citizens and PRs Up to $244,000
Mid Dec HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows Basic bio only; under 7 yrs postdoc Salary plus support
May (LOI) Human Frontier Science Program Mobility rule; excludes conservation 3 years
May (nomination) Schmidt Science Fellows PhD-completion stage; nomination required $110,000/yr
Confirm with UF Ewel Fellowship UF postdocs $70,000 plus $20,000/yr

Research Focus Areas

  • Ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry
  • Microbial ecology and metagenomics
  • Wildlife conservation and zoogeochemistry
  • Environmental DNA and molecular ecology
  • Water quality monitoring and aquatic ecosystems
  • Conservation genomics and community ecology

We work in Kenya and South Africa, in Florida, and in other systems, combining field ecology with laboratory automation, nanopore sequencing, and bioinformatics.

If your project involves Kenya fieldwork, read the International Research Partnership Policy first. Research licensing, access permits, and export agreements run on annual cycles and are not transferable, so they belong in your proposal timeline.

What the lab commits to on the mentoring side, including protected time for independent work and support for fellowship and faculty applications, is in the Laboratory Code of Conduct.

Fellowships

Federal

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology

This programme changed in 2026. Read the current solicitation.

Award: $110,000/yr ($85,000 stipend plus $25,000 research and training allowance) for 24 months. Deadline: Late September, annually. Eligibility: US citizens, nationals, or permanent residents at submission, with no more than 15 full-time months in a position requiring a doctorate before the deadline. Scope: Solicitation NSF 26-504 replaced NSF 24-593 and narrowed the competition to the intersection of AI and the biological sciences. The earlier Broadening Participation and Rules of Life tracks existed only under the archived solicitation. If your project is ecology-first rather than AI-first, read the current solicitation before investing time.

NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship

Award: Stipend, institutional allowance, and tuition support, up to 3 years. Deadlines: 8 April, 8 August, 8 December. Eligibility: US citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.

This is the postdoctoral equivalent of the F31.

NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence

Award: K99 phase varies by institute; the R00 phase is capped at $249,000/yr. Deadlines: 12 February, 12 June, 12 October. Eligibility: No more than 4 years of postdoctoral research experience at the due date.

K99/R00 projects require a health framing.

USDA NIFA AFRI Postdoctoral Fellowships

Award: Up to $244,000 including institutional allowance, up to 24 months. Deadline: April. Eligibility: US citizens and permanent residents.

Conservation and ecology

David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship

Award: About $75,000/yr for 2 years, plus a $45,000 research and travel budget and benefits. Deadline: Late September.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Award: $57,000 plus health, relocation, and research support. One year, often extended to two. Deadline: Mid October.

Smithsonian Biodiversity Genomics Fellowship

Award: $62,000/yr plus up to $5,000 research funds, 12 to 24 months. Deadline: Mid October.

Open competitions

Life Sciences Research Foundation

Award: $255,000 total, $85,000/yr for 3 years. Deadline: Early October, with reference letters about a month later. Eligibility: All areas of basic life sciences. Apply within 5 years of the PhD (or MD/DVM, whichever is later) as of 1 October. Non-US citizens must work in a US laboratory. Postdocs in HHMI labs are not eligible, and you may not hold another postdoctoral fellowship concurrently.

Miller Research Fellowship, UC Berkeley

Award: About $378,000 over 3 years, salary plus research funds. Deadline: Nominations in early September, full materials about a month later. Eligibility: PhD received between 1 January 2025 and 31 August 2027, and no more than 2 years of postdoctoral experience from other institutions.

HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows

Award: Salary on the HHMI scale plus support, covering a postdoc phase and then a faculty phase. Deadline: Mid December. Eligibility: No more than 7 years of postdoctoral experience at the deadline, at an HHMI-eligible institution. Restricted to basic biological and biomedical sciences; applied research and epidemiology are excluded. Mechanistic host-microbe work qualifies, applied conservation does not.

Schmidt Science Fellows

Award: $110,000/yr for up to 2 years. Deadline: Institutional nomination in May, full application in July. Eligibility: This is a PhD-completion fellowship and you must be nominated by your PhD institution, and only Schmidt’s nominating partner institutions can nominate. Confirm your institution is one before planning around it.

Human Frontier Science Program

Award: 3 years, non-renewable. Deadline: Letter of intent in May. The September full-proposal date is by invitation only, reachable only if you filed the LOI. Eligibility: A country-mobility rule applies, alongside a limit of roughly 3 years post-PhD. HFSP also excludes projects directed at agricultural, forestry, environmental, or conservation problems.

Women in science

AAUW American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship

Award: $50,000. Deadline: Late September. Eligibility: Women who are US citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.

L’Oreal USA For Women in Science

Award: $75,000 for one fellowship year. Deadline: February. Eligibility: US citizens or permanent residents, at a US institution, not holding a faculty position. PhD conferred and a postdoctoral position already started by the date the current cycle specifies.

International and policy

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships

Award: Living, mobility, and family allowances at country-specific rates. Deadline: Early September. Eligibility: A mobility rule governs where you may have lived before applying. Check it first.

Fulbright US Scholar Awards

Award: Country-specific stipend, travel, and health benefits. Deadline: Mid September. Eligibility: US citizens.

Fogarty Global Health Fellowship

Award: $10,000 research funding over a 12-month placement. Deadline: Mid September. Eligibility: Citizens or permanent residents of the US, Kenya, and several other countries. Kenyan sites include the University of Nairobi, KEMRI, and Moi University.

AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship

Award: About $80,000 to $105,000/yr, plus at least $4,000 travel and training and up to $4,000 relocation. Base term is 12 months. Deadline: Early November, with applications opening in the summer. Eligibility: US citizens.

University of Florida

Ewel Postdoctoral Fellowship

Award: $70,000 stipend plus a $20,000 annual allowance, 2 years. Deadline: Not currently posted. Confirm the current cycle with postdoc-affairs@ufl.edu.

Status unconfirmed

NatureNet Science Fellows (The Nature Conservancy). The programme is no longer taking applications; the last listed cohort was 2019.

Additional Resources

Sources last verified July 2026. Confirm every deadline against the linked page.