2026 PhD Fellowships

The Duke Institute for Brain Sciences is initiating a new PhD Fellowship program to help alleviate the recent financial difficulties faced by labs and graduate training programs at Duke.  

The PhD Fellowships provided by DIBS will assist students conducting interdisciplinary research in the brain sciences who show exceptional promise and have acute need. The goal is retention of the next generation of brain scientists to promote continuity and growth of the field. 

We plan to award 15 PhD Fellowships during calendar year 2026, with start dates tailored to each awardee’s situation to have the greatest benefit. Twelve DIBS Fellowships will be for students who study any topic in the brain sciences. Three additional Wrenn Fellowships will be for students focused on Alzheimer’s disease research, made possible by the generous support of the Karen L. Wrenn Trust. All Fellowships have the potential to be renewed for a 2nd year in 2027 upon determination of continued need and progress in research and professional development. 

Awards

The funds provided by each Fellowship include partial support of a student’s stipend and fringe benefits, plus a training allowance for professional development and research supplies. All remaining costs including tuition will be the responsibility of the student’s advisor(s) and training program.

  • DIBS Fellowships: $20,000 total per year, distributed as $18,000 for stipend + fringe plus $2,000 training allowance.
  • Wrenn Alzheimer’s Fellowships: $21,500 total per year, distributed as $19,000 for stipend + fringe plus $2,500 training allowance.

At least half of the training allowance must be spent on professional development opportunities such as participation in national conferences to communicate results or in workshops to learn grant writing, teaching, or other career-oriented skills. The rest may be spent on supplies for the dissertation project. A budget plan for the allowance will be required at the application stage.

DIBS will provide exclusive opportunities to the Fellows to improve their communications skills, including feedback sessions for practice talks and invitations to speak at DIBS-sponsored events. All Fellows will be required to participate in the 3-Minute Thesis Competition held at Duke.

Selection process

The selection of Fellows will proceed in two phases. In Phase 1, candidates will be identified on the basis of financial need. In Phase 2, those candidates will be notified and invited to submit a Fellowship application.

Phase 1, Need: A preliminary, internal process will identify candidates in brain science-related labs who lack financial support for their training. This process will involve discussions between DIBS Leadership and the leaders of brain science-related graduate training programs across Schools at Duke (e.g. Directors of Graduate Studies and Chairs). Priority will be given to students who are not currently funded by their lab due to terminations or delays in federal funding, or who are projected to lose funding from grants in calendar year 2026. For each student identified as having sufficient need, DIBS will contact their PhD advisor(s) to ensure that the dissertation project will be related to interdisciplinary brain science. The outcome will be a final “short list” of candidates for Phase 2 consideration. 

Phase 2, Merit: Candidates on the short list will be notified and encouraged to submit a Fellowship application. Applications for DIBS Fellowships will be evaluated on the basis of scientific merit, fit to the DIBS mission of promoting interdisciplinary brain science, and plans for professional development. A separate letter of support from the candidate’s PhD advisor(s) will be required. Criteria for Wrenn Fellowships will be the same, but restricted to projects focused on Alzheimer’s disease. 

Timeline:

  • Feb. 18-March 9: Phase 1, need-based screening. Short-list candidates notified on Monday, March 9. 
  • March 9-April 6: Phase 2, the short-list candidates prepare and submit application. Due on Monday, April 6.  
  • April 13: Letters of support from PhD advisor(s) due 
  • April 24: Awardees notified 
  • May 1-Dec 31: Range of start dates, depending on each awardee’s situation 
  • 11 months after start date: Progress reports due and financial need re-assessed 
  • 12 months after start date: If renewed, start of second and final year of Fellowship. 
Application details

Eligibility: All PhD students conducting brain science-related dissertation projects at Duke are eligible, except for those who currently have a DIBS Germinator Award.

Nominations (optional): We expect that the internal Phase 1 review will include all eligible students. However, if a student is concerned they might be overlooked, for example if they conduct brain research in a lab or department not generally known for such research, they may nominate themselves. PIs of labs may also nominate one or more of their PhD students. Nominations should be sent as a brief email by February 25 using the Subject line “PhD Fellowship Nomination” to DIBS Associate Director Nicole Schramm-Sapyta. The body of the email should simply state who is being nominated (your name or your student’s name). Self- or PI-nominated students will then undergo the same Phase 1 screening as other students.

Applications: The Phase 2 application will be brief, approximately two pages. It will ask for a brief narrative on the candidate’s scientific background and goals, a description of the proposed dissertation research, the interdisciplinary nature of the training, and a plan for professional development. Full instructions and a link to the application will be sent to candidates when they are notified on March 9.

What do I do now? Nominate yourself or your student before February 25 or simply wait until March 9 when short-list candidates will be notified. Notified candidates may then work on their applications and submit them by April 6.

Questions? Please see FAQ or contact DIBS Director Marc Sommer.