UCLA Bio-Launch Application

You must fall into one of these three categories:
- Advanced PhD student (will graduate in the next 12 months)
- Recent PhD graduate (graduated in the last 2-3 years)
- Early-career postdoc scholar (have no more than 1 year of postdoctoral experience in a Bioscience field)
Prospective postdocs from groups traditionally marginalized in the biosciences and/or from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
There is no citizenship requirement to apply.

Applicants Submit an Application by Sunday, February 11, 2024: As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide basic information about yourself, and your research interests. You will be asked to upload your CV.
A selection committee will review complete applications. Decisions will be sent out late-February 2024.
Accepted applicants will be notified and then be asked to:
- Confirm their participation in the virtual programs on March 14-15, 2024.
- List 3-5 Bio-Launch Mentors that you would like to be matched with for informational interviews.
Faculty Matches will be announced on March 15, 2024: The committee will match you with 1-3 mentors based on your research interests. Although the committee will strive to match participants and faculty with similar research interests, we are not able to guarantee this will be possible.
You will be expected to schedule meetings with your assigned mentors for informational interviews during the post-event recruitment period (March 15-29).
All accepted participants will receive a contact list of all participating faculty mentors after the conclusion of the recruitment period, at which time you are encouraged to reach out to any potential mentors of interest you weren’t matched with.
Likewise, all participating faculty mentors will receive a booklet of all prospective postdoc profiles with contact information for their individual recruiting efforts.

Application Opens October 1, 2023
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 11:59PM PST
Mid February 2024 – Committee reviews applications
Late February 2024 – Applicants are notified of committee decision
March 14-15, 2024 – Virtual Events (see tentative agenda below)
March 15-29, 2024 – Recruitment Period (Zoom-based Informational Interviews)

Tentative Agenda for March 14-15 Virtual Events*:

*All times listed below are in Pacific Standard Time and all events are hosted on Zoom.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Friday. March 15, 2024

9:00-10:00 am – Panel: “Ask a UCLA Postdoc”
10:15-11:30 am – Workshop: Effective Informational Interviewing & Networking
1:00-2:30 pm – Networking: Speed Friending w/ Faculty
How it works: Speed Friending is a guided networking activity. Prospective postdocs will be placed in breakout rooms with faculty and the groups will be switched every 8-10 minutes. We will be providing ice breaker questions per round to guide the conversation in the breakout rooms. Questions will involve faculty sharing their career journeys and reflecting on their best practices as scientists.