Applying to Tufts IRACDA
Citizenship and Prior Postdoctoral Experience Requirements
Applicants must be American citizens or permanent residents and have no more than two years of postdoctoral experience at the time of their appointment to the program.
Deadlines
The application deadline for positions beginning Fall 2026 is March 15, 2026. Later applications will be considered on a rolling basis if positions are available.
The NIH and Tufts IRACDA encourage applications from those under-represented in biomedical research as defined by the NIH. Currently, these include, but are not limited to, African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, people with disabilities and members of groups that are economically or socially disadvantaged.
Choosing a Mentor
We strongly encourage you to identify a research mentor prior to the application process. The Program Directors are glad to work with you to select someone appropriate for your research interests. Mentors need to be tenured or tenure-track faculty and can come from any department at Tufts as long as the research addresses a relevant biomedical question.
We have included links to appropriate departments and schools at Tufts on our Research Training and Mentors page. Please take a look at the faculty and their research in these participating schools and departments to help you narrow down your search. Please remember you are very welcome to to contact the program directors to help identify an appropriate mentor. Candidates may also apply to Tufts IRACDA without having designated a mentor, but these applications will be reviewed only if a mentor has been finalized before our Review Committee meeting, which is typically at the end of February.
Our scholars and alumni would also be glad to answer your questions about the program. You can find our current scholars, their research areas and contact information here and our alumni here.
Important criteria used in the scholar selection process include:
- Commitment to the goals of the program
- Strong academic and research credentials
- Interest in teaching, mentoring and active citizenship
- The research and training experience of the research mentor
Contact the IRACDA program if you have additional questions.
How to Apply
Completed application packets should be emailed to IRACDA@tufts.edu and must contain the following:
- Application Face Page (see below link)
- Your CV
- 1 page summary of your PhD Dissertation Research (additional pages allowed for citations)
- 1 page summary of your proposed postdoctoral research in the IRACDA program (additional pages allowed for citations)
- 1 page personal statement regarding your background and academic career aspirations
- Your Mentor’s NIH Biosketch in latest NIH format (SciENcv exported or latest NIH template)
- Mentors should be advised their Biosketch’s personal statement should speak to mentorship.
- Your Mentor’s list of trainees for the past 5 years (any format)
- Your Mentor’s signed agreement for the support of the goals of the IRACDA program and scholar funding (see below link).
- 3 letters of recommendation, one from your PhD mentor and two others but not from your proposed Tufts mentor.
- Letters of recommendation should be emailed from the letter writer directly to IRACDA@tufts.edu with the subject “Recommendation for [your name]”