Overview of the Fellowship Program
The Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing (CBB) administers both its own competitive fellowships as well as NIH supported T32 fellowships, aimed at fostering interdisciplinary research and professional development in the biocatalytic and bioprocessing sciences.
These fellowship programs are designed to support predoctoral graduate students at the University of Iowa who are pursuing research at the intersection of biological, medicinal, and pharmaceutical sciences. The training emphasizes real-world applications in biotechnology, with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and translational research.
Fellowships are awarded annually only to graduate students at The University of Iowa and provide support for a duration of up to two years. Successful renewal following year one is contingent upon a satisfactory evaluation conducted by the CBB Executive Committee. Awardees must apply for said renewal prior to the start of their second year.
Priority is given to predoctoral graduate students in their first or second year of graduate study. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to initiate discussions with their faculty advisor early in the academic year to determine eligibility and to prepare materials for submission.
Contact Information
For questions related to coursework or training requirements, please contact:
Dr. Maria Spies, Training Program Director
maria-spies@uiowa.edu
For general inquiries regarding the fellowship application process, please contact:
Ms. Debbie Ross, CBB Director of Finance and Training Program Support
Fellowship Eligibility & Requirements
To be eligible for CBB fellowship, graduate students must be:
- Admitted to a Ph.D. program in one of our participating departments.
- Nominated by a faculty member.
To be eligible for NIH fellowship, graduate students must be:
- Admitted to a Ph.D. program in one of our participating departments.
- Nominated by a faculty member.
- US citizens or permanent residents (green card holders)
Once awarded a fellowship, students must meet all of the requirements listed below.
Coursework
- In addition to required coursework by their home departments, fellows are required to take at least 3 credits of coursework in 4 of the 5 core areas of biotechnology: Biocatalytic Sciences, Bioprocessing, Molecular and Synthetic Biology, Data Handling and Computational Analysis, and Professional Development.
- Completion of one university-wide Responsible Conduct of Research course offered each fall semester and a Mastering Reproducible Science course
- Participation in the Perspectives in Biotechnology course every semester. This course is cross-listed as CHEM:5875, PHAR:5875, BIOC:5875, CEE:5875, MICR:5875, and CBE:5875. Fellows are expected to participate in this course every semester until graduation.
- Participation in TP’s seminars
Conference & Symposium
- Presentation of research progress at the CBB's Annual Conference, either in the form of a keynote presentation or a poster presentation. Students must submit an abstract outlining their presentation during conference registration.
- Presentation of research progress at the annual Iowa Biotech-TP Spring Symposium
Internship
- Complete a 3-month internship with one of CBB’s industry partners
Other requirements
- Participate in various trainee cohort career building and networking activities, which can vary every year.