Nominations for the 2024 W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship is now closed.

For FY2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025), three 1-year fellowships will be awarded with a $64,000 salary and up to $4,000 for research support.

The Fellowship is open to scholars from different scientific disciplines, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.

Application deadline: March 18, 2024, 5:00 pm CT.

Established with a generous endowment from the W.M. Keck Foundation, the W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biomedical Research is a hallmark of Washington University. It provides one-year support to outstanding scientists in the early phase of their postdoctoral training who demonstrate exceptional potential for becoming leading experts in biomedical research.

Each W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship consists of a competitive salary and additional research support funds. It is open to early-career scientists from different scientific disciplines in the biomedical sciences, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.

Every year, nominations are open in February and are due in March. The W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship Selection Committee meets in April and notifications are sent no later than May 1st. The starting date of the W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship is July 1st.

The W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship uses a single-blind evaluation system. The members of the W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship Selection Committee are all Washington University faculty conducting world-class research in biomedical fields. The W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship is administered by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.

Guidelines for the 2024 cycle

Applications are now closed.

  • Nominations for the 2024 W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellowship are open from February 12 through March 18, 2024.
  • Three 1-year fellowships will be awarded with a salary of $64,000 and up to $4,000 for research support.
  • We welcome nominations for outstanding early-career researchers from different scientific disciplines in the biomedical sciences, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. We especially encourage nominations of those from underrepresented groups, including international researchers.
  • The Selection Committee will release decisions by May 1, 2024.
  • Eligibility guidelines appear below. Specific information about the selection and the fellow commitments can be found on the side menu.
  • Application deadline: March 18, 2024, 5:00 pm CT.

Faculty Mentor Eligibility

  • Nominations are limited to one per faculty mentor.
  • Priority will be given to mentors without a recently awarded W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Fellow in their lab.
  • Consideration will be given to those with limited funding sources.

Postdoc Nominee Eligibility

  • Nominee must have less than two years of postdoctoral training as of the start date of the fellowship (July 1st). Postdoctoral training experience includes time as a WashU postdoctoral appointee as well as previous postdoctoral or on-the-job training and experience in other institutions, but excludes clinical training.
  • Nominee should hold a PhD, MD/PhD, or MD degree, and show considerable promise for a career in biomedical science.
  • Nominee cannot hold other internal or external funds (e.g. fellowships, grants) at the time of or at any point during their fellowship appointment. Priority will be given to applicants who do not have pending fellowship awards from other sources.
  • Nominee must be scheduled to continue or begin their appointment as a postdoctoral associate by July 1, 2024 in a primary appointment at Washington University in order to receive the fellowship award.
  • There are no citizenship requirements for eligibility.

Nomination process

Faculty mentors can nominate an incoming or current postdoctoral appointee following these steps:

  • Complete the application form
  • Collect and submit nominee’s CV
  • Collect and submit a 1-page research statement prepared by the nominee (not the faculty nominator) describing the proposed project to be carried out during the tenure of the fellowship. Do not include figures or references.
  • Submit a letter of recommendation describing the nominee’s qualifications, the value of the nominee’s research project, and the training and mentorship plan for the duration of the fellowship.
  • All documents should be submitted as PDF files.

Direct questions to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, at postdoc@wustl.edu.