Target Research Training (TRT)

 Targeted Research Training (TRT) Program

​The Targeted Research Training Fellowships are intended to promote interdisciplinary research training in occupational health and safety. The program supports both doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. Trainees receive a stipend for living expenses, tuition and fees, as well as support towards research expenses.

• Doctoral students in the program may be from OSH or allied disciplines.
• Postdoctoral fellows supported in the program are expected to have interested and background in an OSH or closely allied program area, such as epidemiology, engineering, bioinformatics, and social/behavioral sciences.

Trainees’ research is directed by faculty mentor/mentors with strong research experience in OSH or faculty in an allied discipline. Doctoral and postdoctoral trainees will have a mentoring committee with faculty from different disciplines.

The TRT Program allows trainees from various disciplines to acquire strong skills in:

• research design and development
• quantitative methods (biostatistics, bioinformatics)
• exposure science (including biomarkers of exposure)
• proposal development
• core OHS areas (including Industrial Hygiene, Safety, Nursing, Ergonomics, and Epidemiology)
• impact assessment and health communication
• responsible conduct of research, ethics, and regulatory principles

Application Procedure

Predoctoral Fellowships

Applications for predoctoral fellowships are accepted from predoctoral students enrolled in a doctoral training program of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences.

Eligible applicants are identified during the review of applications. Applicants who wish to be considered for these fellowships are encouraged to express this desire in their applications.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

Applicants are strongly encouraged to have a faculty mentor/mentors and contact those whose research is of interest. If the applicant has not identified a faculty mentor, we will match an appropriate faculty member with the applicant. Postdoctoral fellowships are awarded only to candidates with an identified mentor.

Applications for training grant postdoctoral fellowships are accepted throughout the year and reviewed as fellowships become available.

Postdoctoral applications should include:

• A cover letter from the applicant addressed to the program director (Dr. Stuart A. Batterman). The applicant should describe how the proposed research training will contribute to the applicant’s career plans with specific reference to occupational health and safety.
• A curriculum vitae.
• A copy of graduate transcripts.
• Two-three letters of recommendation.
• A supporting letter from the proposed postdoctoral research training mentor that includes: a brief description of current research projects of interest and relevance to the applicant’s postdoctoral training; relevance of the applicant’s proposed research training to the objectives of NIOSH, and how the applicant’s participation in this research is consistent with the training program objectives.