Media contacts:
Holly Korschun, 404/727-3990, hkorsch@emory.edu

August 7, 2003

 

Emory University School Of Medicine Establishes Cottrell Fellowships Program

The Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation has awarded Emory University School of Medicine a four-year grant of $263,560 to establish a new postdoctoral fellowship program for outstanding biomedical graduates. The Cottrell Fellowships not only will provide highly competitive stipend support for postgraduate research training, but also will provide additional support for personal research expenses as well as unique opportunities for professional and career development.

The Cottrell fellowships program will fund at least six fellows for two years each, with an optional third year of funding provided by the Emory faculty adviser or arranged through extramural fellowship funding. In addition, Emory School of Medicine will fund two additional Cottrell Fellows. The fellowships program will include professional skills training through a personal advisory committee, advanced training and travel opportunities, mentored grant preparation and job search guidance, career workshops, and participation in the NIH-funded FIRST program (Fellowships in Research and Science Teaching).

The Tucson, Arizona technology development company, Research Corporation Technologies (RCT), formed the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation in 2001. The foundation recognizes the founder of Research Corporation, the first organization to facilitate commercialization of promising technologies from U.S. colleges, universities and other research institutions.

"The Cottrell Fellowships recognize the unique contributions of postdoctoral fellows to our research programs and to the overall advancement of science," said Thomas J. Lawley, MD, dean of Emory University School of Medicine. "It is imperative that we provide appropriate funding and support to these scientists and educators who contribute leadership, technological skills, and new knowledge that can further discovery and also attract additional research funding."

Emory University School of Medicine currently trains approximately 430 postdoctoral fellows within 26 basic and clinical departments. The number of fellows has increased 69 percent since 1999, when the School’s Office of Postdoctoral Education was established to provide increased support of postdoctoral recruitment and training as a stimulus to research growth.

"The Cottrell Foundation has created an innovative postdoctoral award program and we are very excited to be part of it," said Susan Rich, PhD, assistant dean for postdoctoral education in Emory School of Medicine, who along with Emory professors Timothy Greenamyre, MD, PhD and Jeremy Boss, PhD, will oversee the program. "The Cottrell Fellow awards will enhance the capacity of our faculty to recruit postdoctoral fellows with exceptional promise," Dean Rich said. "Moreover, the Cottrell Fellows will benefit greatly, not only from excellent financial support, but also from tailored professional development guidance that should prepare them to achieve outstanding positions in biomedical research. We are very grateful for the support of the Cottrell Foundation, and for the interest and support of the Dean in creation of this program."

Scott Pyron, Ph, RCT’s business development director for the southeastern and southwestern United States, said the Cottrell postdoctoral funds are well placed at Emory.

"Emory’s outstanding commitment to its postdoctoral community is evident in the enthusiasm with which the university developed the Cottrell Fellowship program," he said. "The Cottrell Foundation is pleased to be a partner in an endeavor that promises to be a great success."


Return to August Index

Press Release Archives Page


For more general information on The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center
call Health Sciences Communication's Office at 404-727-5686,
or send e-mail to hsnews@emory.edu


DIRECTORY | SEARCH | WEB INFO |
EMORY | WHSC |

Copyright © Emory University, 2001. All Rights Reserved.