PROVIDES

The Provost’s Initiative for Diverse Emerging Scholars (PROVIDES) pursues a twofold mission to:

Increase diversity within the postdoctoral community at UT Southwestern.
Help postdoctoral fellows successfully transition into independent faculty positions.

Developing Scholars into Faculty

PROVIDES selects graduating Ph.D. students who plan to pursue an academic faculty position. This initiative encourages mentorship, scholarship, and recruitment of career scientists from minority groups underrepresented in biomedical science. PROVIDES Scholars start the program when their postdoctoral fellowship begins, and the initiative continues for the duration of their fellowship.

The program launched with its first two scholars in October 2020.

“This institution provides you with all the resources needed to perform excellent, novel, and relevant biomedical research. ”

Sergio CepedaDepartment of Immunology

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“Having the commodity of designing, synthesizing, elucidating the structure and testing your compounds all in one institution is a luxury that not all institutions and programs have. ”

Melanie RodriguezDepartment of Biochemistry

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“I chose UTSW for my studies because it is the mecca for metabolic research. Moreover, I immediately noticed the friendly and collaborative environment at UTSW that allows one to interact and learn from outstanding scientists.”

Genaro Hernandez, Ph.D.Molecular Biology Department

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Program Benefits

Mentoring

Biannual meetings with a Faculty Mentoring Committee offer students professional guidance and help them transition into independence.
Grants

Scholars receive assistance preparing competitive extramural fellowship grant applications and training in grant writing.
Seminar Series
PROVIDES Seminar Series features distinguished scientists from diverse backgrounds and workshops on topics such as “Communication Skills” and “How Search Committees Work"

Upcoming Speaker:
Víctor J. Torres, Ph.D.
Chairman, Department of Host-Microbe Interactions
Director, Center for Infectious Diseases Research
Albert and Rosemary Joseph Endowed Chair
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Title:
"Impact of prophages on the pathogenesis and outbreak potential of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus"

Schedule:
Nov. 21, 2024
T. Boone Pickens Auditorium (North Campus, NG3.112)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Previous speakers include:
- Breann L. Brown, Ph.D
  Assistant Professor
  Vanderbilt University School of Medicine - Department of Biochemistry
  "Structure-Based Insights into the Regulation of Heme Biosynthesis"
- Jennifer M. Heemstra, Ph.D.
  Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair
  Washington University, St. Louis - Department of Chemistry
  "A chemical biology toolbox for probing A-to-I RNA editing"
- Manu O. Platt, Ph.D.
  Director, Center for Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration (BETA)
  Senior Investigator, NIBIB
  National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
  National Institute of Health
- Kathryn E. Wellen, Ph.D.
  Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Cancer Biology
  Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute
  Penn Epigenetics Institute
  University of Pennsylvania
  "Acetyl-CoA metabolism in gene regulation and tissue homeostasis"
- Claudio J. Villanueva, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor
  Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology
  Co-director of IRACDA@UCLA Program
  Director Research Support Core for LIFT-UP
  College of Life Sciences
  University of California, Los Angeles
  "Adipose tissue plasticity and translational regulation"
- Josephine Thinwa, M.D., Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Microbiology
  Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine
  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
  "Turning on Autophagy to Fight Viruses"
- Harmit S. Malik, Ph.D.
  Professor and HHMI Investigator
  Division of Basic Sciences at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  "Evolution-guided Dissection and Enhancement of Antiviral Proteins"
- Cassandra Extavour, Ph.D.
  Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
  Timken Professor of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology and of Molecular & Cellular Biology
  Harvard University
  "Ovarian Construction in Drosophila and Beyond"
- Gustavo M. Silva, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor of Biology, Duke University
  "Redox Control of Translation by Ribosome Ubiquitintion"
- JoAnn Trejo, Ph.D.
  Professor, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine
  Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Faculty Affairs
  Director, San Diego IRACDA Scholars Program
  "Protease Receptor Signaling and Endothelial Function"
- Yvonne Fondufe-Mittendorf, Ph.D.
  Professor
  Van Andel Institute
  "Insights into 3D genome reprogramming in iAs-mediated carcinogenesis"
- Derek Applewhite, Ph.D.
  Professor of Biology at Reed College
  "Insights on the Regulation of Non-muscle Myosin II"
- Judith Simcox, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison
  "Regulation of energy expenditure by plasma lipid signaling"
- Fikadu G. Tafesse, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
  Oregon Health & Science University
  "Insights on the Regulation of Non-muscle Myosin II"
- Samuel Achilefu, Ph.D.
  Professor & Chair
  Department of Biomedical Engineering
  UT Southwestern Medical Center
  "Breaking Silos to See the Invisible and Treat the Incurable"
- Benjamin A. Garcia, Ph.D., FRSC.
  Raymond H. Wittcoff Distinguished Professor and Head
  Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
  "Quantitative Proteomics for Understanding Epigenetic Cancer Mechanisms"
- Natasha Corbitt, M.D., Ph.D.
  Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care
  Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center
- Chrystal Starbird, Ph.D.
  Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University Department of Pharmacology
  "Structural Basis of TAM Receptor Oligomerization"
- Antentor Othrell Hinton, Jr., Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt School of Medicine Basic Sciences
  "Activating Transcription Factor 4 Controls Mitochondrial Morphology and Metabolism in Skeletal Muscle"
Leadership Training

Scholars participate in practice sessions, journal clubs, and monthly works-in-progress.
Additional Support

Resources are provided through the Postdoctoral Affairs Office, Postdoctoral Association, and the Office of Career and Professional Development.
Access to Core Facilities
As PROVIDES fellows pursue research in their own area of interest, they gain access to top research tools at UT Southwestern, including:
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- DNA genotyping
- DNA microarray
- Electron microscopy
- Flow cytometry
- Genomics and microarray
- High-throughput screening
- Live-cell imaging
- Medicinal chemistry
- Metabolic phenotyping
- Next-generation sequencing
- Proteomics
- Transgenics
- Structural biology

Application Requirements

Submit Materials

Postdoctoral scholars must submit the following materials to be considered for the program:

Proof of U.S. citizenship or Permanent Resident status
One-page abstract of Ph.D. thesis
Research proposal (limited to 1,000 words, not including references)
- If a UT Southwestern mentor has been selected, proposal should focus on proposed postdoctoral research project.
- If a UT Southwestern mentor has not been selected, proposal should focus on applicant’s area of scientific interest.
Names and addresses of three references, one of whom is the principal predoctoral adviser
Letter of support from a UT Southwestern faculty mentor:
- If you have selected a UT Southwestern postdoctoral mentor, letter should come from this person.
- If UT Southwestern postdoctoral mentor has not been selected, please list up to three UT Southwestern faculty and describe your interest in that lab.
Curriculum vitae
Published or accepted manuscripts (in PDF format) plus a five-sentence summary of applicant’s role in each publication
Statement of career goals (limited to 250 words)
Statement of commitment to diversity and inclusion in basic science (limited to 250 words)

Scheduling

Applicants should be close to completing their Ph.D. degree or have completed their degree within 15 months of becoming a PROVIDES scholar, though later graduation dates may be considered.

Our admission period is ongoing, so you can submit your application at any time. To apply, please PROVIDES@utsouthwestern.edu PROVIDES and include the required materials.