The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute announces the opening of an exciting opportunity to apply for postdoctoral fellowships. We have at least two open positions: two funded by Smith-Kettlewell fellowship funds, and potentially another two funded by an NEI training grant.

 

The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute announces the opening of an exciting opportunity to apply for postdoctoral fellowships. We have two open positions: one funded by an NIH training grant and the other funded by Smith-Kettlewell funds.

We are seeking individuals interested in vision and vision loss in humans, with emphasis in one or more of the following areas: visual development, strabismus and amblyopia, eye movements, visual attention, brain plasticity, mobility, low vision/blindness rehabilitation and aceessibility technologies, using approaches such as psychophysics, eye and head tracking, clinical assessment, computational modeling, EEG, fMRI, computer vision and sensor technologies.

Smith-Kettlewell is a uniquely attractive place to receive postdoctoral training in vision research and related fields. Our program offers the flexibility to design an individualized training plan tailored to achieve each fellow’s specific career goals. We train fellows to become independent scientists, with strong support and encouragement for fellows to propose and pursue their own research in close collaboration and mentorship with one or more of our experienced principal investigators. Many of our fellows have successfully established their own funded research programs with fruitful and fulfilling careers.

The fellowships require a Ph.D. or M.D. and are normally awarded for two years, with our most successful fellows often being invited to continue as sponsored investigators. Applications from individuals with disabilities or other underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged.

There are two openings for 2026 with separate deadlines. The first is through a National Eye Institute training grant to Smith-Kettlewell that requires fellows be US citizens or permanent residents.  This fellowship will be awarded for 1 year, with further support contingent on grant funding. Applications for the training grant fellowship will be accepted until December 10, 2025, and fellows will need to start by March 31, 2026.

The second opening is supported by Smith-Kettlewell funds and is open to fellows of all nationalities. The deadline for the Smith-Kettlewell application is January 31, 2026, with fellows starting in summer or fall of 2026.

Details of the program can be found here. Details about the application process can be found here. To begin the application process, please contact one of the mentors. If you have further questions, please email Dr. Preeti Verghese or Beatriz St. John at fellowships@ski.org.