Wu Tsai Postdoctoral Fellowships (2026-PD-001)

Opportunity

TheWu Tsai Institute (WTI) Postdoctoral Fellowships Program supports early-career researchers from a range of disciplines in their pursuit of interdisciplinary research that drives discoveries about the mind through the integrated study of the brain. Wu Tsai Postdoctoral Fellows work across traditional disciplinary boundaries using experimental computational or theoretical methods to investigate human cognition and explore human potential. All admitted Fellows benefit from structured programming shared research facilities internal funding and other resources to advance their scientific training and professional development.

Wu Tsai Postdoctoral Fellows design innovative projects that expand their expertise supported by mentorship tailored to their interdisciplinary goals. Successful applicants have demonstrated an interdisciplinary training plan through various approaches including (but not limited to):

• Co-mentoring across disciplines: Develop a co-mentoring team of two or more Wu Tsai Faculty Mentors from different disciplines one of which may overlap with the applicants PhD field.
• Transitioning to a new field: Work with a single Wu Tsai Faculty Mentor whose research area differs substantially from the applicants PhD (incremental transitions will not be considered).
• Open-ended computational/theoretical projects: Collaborate flexibly with multiple research groups to investigate human cognition through computational theory analysis and modeling of neuroscience data and concepts.

Proposals focused on disease mechanisms or that do not contribute to our understanding of non-disease states are not suitable for this call.

Applicants for mentored positions must have secured interest from one or more of the over 220 Wu Tsai Faculty Members. We encourage reaching out to faculty with enough time to complete the application. Faculty who are currently mentoring other Wu Tsai Postdoctoral Fellows are unable to serve as mentors to new applicants. Because faculty receive many such inquiries the most successful outreach is sincere and specific clearly indicating that the applicant has conducted their own advance research into potential areas of mutual interest related to the Institutes mission.

Benefits

• $80000 annual salary for up to three years
• Benefits as defined by Yales Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (Postdoctoral Associate category)
• $2000 in discretionary funds with opportunity to apply for additional internal funds
• Access to shared research facilities and high-performance computing
• Protected time and programmatic opportunities for professional development skill development and networking with a supportive cohort of peers
• Robust mentoring program to support career development featuring mentoring committees compacts and training

Expectations

• Begin appointment on or before September 1 2027
• Agree to the Institutes Code of Conduct
• Participate in WTI activities and devote effort toward professional development service and community-building (up to 10% of effort)
• Submit an annual progress report
• Follow all guidelines and requirements for postdocs at Yale

PhD degree or equivalent must be awarded by the beginning of the fellowship and within the last 3 years.

The fellowship is open to U.S. and non-U.S. citizens.

Because this fellowship is intended to build the number of researchers working in these areas at Yale current members of the Yale community (including postdocs and PhD students) are not eligible to apply.

Fellows are selected by a faculty committee based on their interdisciplinary scientific goals and track record of scientific achievements commitment to making a positive social impact and ability to make meaningful contributions to the WTI community.