The Translational Science Interagency Fellowship (TSIF) is a new postdoctoral fellowship opportunity developed by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Fellows will be jointly mentored by NCATS and FDA scientists on a research project of mutual interest to both organizations. Fellows in this program will develop skills of value to future careers in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and government.

At the FDA, fellows will receive formal training and mentoring in:

• Relevant federal statutes, and
• Regulations, principles and practices of FDA medical product review.

At NCATS, fellows will receive formal training and mentoring in:

• The early stages of technology development, and
• Preclinical and clinical translational science.

Currently there are seven mentor pairs/projects for this first class, and we hope to expand this over time.  These first projects are in the areas of:

1. The use antisense oligonucleotides for treatment of rare diseases
2. Development of in vitro 3D models (i.e., kidney organoids for examining drug metabolism and toxicity and models of atopic dermatitis)
3. Informatics projects related to drug repurposing, prediction of drug safety and adverse events, and determining the scope of unapproved products in the marketplace

Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents and have two years or less of postdoctoral training.  More information about potential projects, mentors, and the application process can be found here.

Questions about the fellowship and application process are welcome.  Applications are due February 15, 2021. Please contact us at TSIFellowship@nih.gov.