PROVIDES

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

• Recruit talented scientists to the postdoctoral community at UT Southwestern
• Help postdoctoral fellows successfully transition into independent faculty positions

Developing Scholars into Faculty

The Provost’s Initiative for Development of Emerging Scholars (PROVIDES) program was conceived as an effort to recruit talented postdoctoral scientists who are committed to pursuing independent faculty positions in the biomedical sciences. The program provides a comprehensive curriculum, including workshops on grant writing, faculty-job search strategies, and network development. The curriculum complements the PROVIDES Scholar's scientific training and individualized mentorship to assist them toward independent academic careers. The program also hosts the prostegious PROVIDES Seminar Series, which highlights the research of scientific leaders across the nation who can serves as role models for our PROVIDES Scholars. PROVIDES Scholars are eligible for a competitive financial award contingent on active participation in program events and mentorshipactivities, documented evidence of research productivity, and continued commitmentto academic careers. The PROVIDES Postdoctoral Award is a one-year appointment. An additional year is contingent on a performance evaluation. 

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:
  TBA

  Previous speakers include:

  • Sonya Neal, Ph.D.
    Associate Professor
    HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar
    Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
    University of California, San Diego
    “The role of rhomboid superfamily Guardians of membrane-related processes and homeostasis”
    
  • 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
    "Impact of prophages on the pathogenesis and outbreak potential of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus"
    
  • 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

Eligibility for PROVIDES

To be eligible to participate in PROVIDES, candidates must satisfy the following requirements:

Application Requirements

• UT Southwestern postdoctoral scholars
• Completed no more than three years of cumulative postdoctoral training (including at prior institutions)
• U.S. citizens or permanent residents
• Evidence of commitment to faculty career, such as extramural predoctoral or postdoctoral fellowship application or award

To be considered, postdoctoral scholars must submit the following materials:

• 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.
• A one-page statement detailing career objectives, research interests and accomplishments, and commitment to transition into an independent faculty in the biomedical scieces. Please explain how the mentorship and resources from PROVIDES will help you achive your career goals.
• 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)

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.

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