At a glance
Made possible through the generous support of Bristol Myers Squibb, the BMS Collaborative Research Fellowship will fund select Harvard Medical School postdoctoral fellows to pursue their boldest scientific ideas in collaboration with mentors at both institutions.
Up to three fellowships awarded each year will provide full salary and benefits plus up to $50,000 annually for research support. Two years of funding are guaranteed per fellow, with a third available upon review.
Applications are welcome by Sept. 28 from current and incoming postdoctoral fellows in any of the nine basic science departments in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS.
For postdoctoral research fellows in the United States, career paths have traditionally meant a choice between two distinct worlds — the academic research laboratory, with its emphasis on fundamental discovery, or the biopharmaceutical industry, with its focus on translating discoveries into new therapies.
A new fellowship program launched by Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Bristol Myers Squibb aims to lower barriers between the two sectors, offering HMS postdocs more comprehensive exposure to the biomedical ecosystem.
Made possible through the generous support of Bristol Myers Squibb, the BMS Collaborative Research Fellowship will fund HMS postdoctoral fellows to pursue their boldest scientific ideas while working in close collaboration with their mentors at the School and with senior scientists at Bristol Myers Squibb.
The program reflects a growing recognition at HMS that training the next generation of scientists requires preparing them for a research enterprise that extends well beyond the university laboratory. By pairing HMS postdoctoral fellows with senior scientists at one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, the fellowship aims to give trainees the scientific breadth, industry fluency, and professional networks they will need to succeed across the full range of careers available to them.
“This is an opportunity to train the scientists of the future and allow them to work on projects ranging from basic research through to new ideas in translation — the really new and exciting ideas,” said Mark Namchuk, executive director of therapeutics translation at HMS. “It just has to open your eyes to new possibilities.”
“This is an important part of HMS’ effort to refine its relationship with industry to encourage productive collaboration around our shared objective: to accelerate the pace at which fundamental science gets transformed into therapies that improve and save lives,” said HMS Dean George Q. Daley. “The BMS fellowship extends that mission by ensuring that trainees develop fluency in drug discovery science so that they, too, can become the inventors of future medicines.”
A distinctive training opportunity
The fellowship is open to current and incoming postdoctoral fellows at HMS conducting “wet” science or computational research in any of the nine basic science departments in the Blavatnik Institute: Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Biomedical Informatics, Cell Biology, Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Neurobiology, Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, and Systems Biology. Fellows must work with a faculty mentor holding a primary appointment at HMS with a laboratory on the Quad.
The program welcomes applicants at any stage of their postdoctoral training, as well as incoming fellows who have accepted a position at HMS and will begin their appointment no later than Feb. 1, 2027.
Projects should advance vital areas of scientific inquiry, such as new approaches to understanding cellular mechanisms or disease-related therapeutic targets, novel computational methods for analyzing large datasets, or advances in understanding protein structure in complex macromolecular systems. While not required, projects with links to cardiovascular disease, immunology, or oncology are preferred.
Bristol Myers Squibb will hold the right to license intellectual property arising from fellowship research.
Cross-training in the pharmaceutical industry
Central to the program is an unusual training model. Fellows will be mentored by their HMS faculty advisor but also work in collaboration with senior scientists at Bristol Myers Squibb, giving them exposure to the culture, resources, and ways of thinking that characterize global pharmaceutical research — an experience that complements traditional academic postdoctoral training.
“If you’re thinking about going into industry, getting the chance to be mentored by a Harvard Medical School faculty member and work with experienced industrial scientist is a rare training opportunity,” said Namchuk. “You’re still at HMS, working with a luminary faculty mentor, but you’re also getting an introduction to another way of thinking. It’s like having a copilot who really loves your idea and is helping you shape where you want to go.”
The value of that cross-training extends beyond postdocs who are planning industry careers, Namchuk added.
“Even if you’re headed toward an academic career and want to do something translational, this kind of exposure can provide that additional training” he said.
Preparing trainees for the careers ahead
The BMS Collaborative Research Fellowship is the latest in a series of initiatives through which HMS is working to weave drug discovery and translational science into graduate and postdoctoral education.
The fellowship joins a newly launched master’s program in therapeutic sciences and other training initiatives as part of the School’s broader commitment to ensuring its trainees are prepared for the full range of careers available to them in academia, industry, and beyond.
Application and selection process
Applications for the BMS Collaborative Research Fellowship will be evaluated through a two-stage process. Applicants first must submit a one-page letter of intent describing their proposed research. Those letters will be shared with scientists across Bristol Myers Squibb, who will identify researchers at the company who are best positioned to collaborate with and mentor each applicant.
A joint steering committee comprising senior leaders from both HMS and Bristol Myers Squibb will then invite a subset of applicants to submit full proposals, from which final recipients will be selected. Each application requires a letter of support from the applicant’s HMS faculty mentor.
For more information or to apply, view the Request for Proposals. Letters of intent are due Sept. 28, with full proposals due Dec. 1. Fellowship decisions will be announced in January 2027, with fellowships beginning Feb. 1, 2027.
