Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine Postdoctoral Training

The Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine (CBPM) hosts a well-established and highly regarded postdoctoral training program, which operates according to the apprenticeship model. Fellows are matched with a primary research scientist mentor based on shared research interests. The mentor provides close supervision during regular meetings and guides the fellow in a systematic plan of research. Fellows typically collaborate with their mentor on their ongoing projects and are encouraged to develop their own research as well. They adhere to the model of successful academic researchers by preparing scientific manuscripts based on their own or collaborative research projects, presenting research at national meetings, and preparing applications for external funding.

Although not all fellows are psychologists, fellowships in the center are offered under the umbrella of the Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium. The consortium provides many opportunities for didactic training, including, for example, seminars focused on research methods (e.g., biostatistics, research design, qualitative methods), research ethics, grantsmanship, and other career development research topics. Postdoctoral fellowships are one year in duration and are renewable for one or two additional years. Two-year commitments are typical.

Funding

Postdoctoral fellowships are funded through three mechanisms.

• Stress, Trauma, and Resilience T32: The Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine (CBPM) was awarded a T32 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in June 2020. The Childhood Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) T32 training program is an intensive research fellowship designed to prepare PhD and MD postdoctoral fellows to conduct cutting-edge, translational, developmentally-informed research on stress, trauma and resilience.
  More information about the STAR T32 (Brown.edu)
• Behavioral Medicine T32: This research training program in cardiovascular behavioral medicine is based within the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center and the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine with the primary goal to train postdoctoral fellows to become researchers who address behavioral problems related to cardiovascular disease. This T32, which is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), develops researchers who have the expertise to a.) advance the scientific understanding of the etiology of behaviors associated with cardiovascular disease and b.) develop effective interventions targeting these behaviors in order to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease.
• Adolescent/Young Adult Biobehavioral HIV Research T32: The Research Training Program in Adolescent/Young Adult Biobehavioral HIV Research prepares post-residency psychiatrists, postdoctoral psychologists, and behavioral scientists to conduct independent research in the area of biobehavioral HIV as full-time University faculty members. The program is a two-year fellowship in which research fellows train under the guidance of experienced mentors. It includes didactic work, participation in ongoing funded projects, and independent research.

The Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University also offer postdoctoral fellowships funded through the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Applicants with an interest in substance abuse may want to consider these fellowships.

Research Grant-funded Fellowships

These fellowships are funded by research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), foundations, or hospital funds. The area of training depends on the grant that is funding the position so these can vary each year. Past positions have focused on nicotine dependence, physical activity, weight management, cancer survivorship, maternal/child stress response, behavioral cardiology, and HIV prevention and care.

Individual Fellowships

Postdoctoral fellows are also funded through individual F32 grants from the NIH. These are National Research Service Awards funded by NIH for individual postdoctoral fellows. The applicant must identify a sponsoring institution and a research mentor.

Learn more about the application process »

For more information about the postdoctoral training program at Brown University please email [email protected].