Visiting Scholars Program

The NITMB invites scholars to apply to its Visiting Scholars Program. The goal of this program is to enhance collaborations between biological and mathematical scientists and to stimulate creative thinking and interdisciplinary science.

The NITMB Visiting Scholars program supports both short-term and long-term visitors.

1. Short-term visitors can participate in the program for up to 9 days.
2. Longer-term visitors can participate in the program from 10 days to up to 6 months. Anyone staying 10 days or longer is required to have an official Visiting Scholar appointment at either Northwestern University or The University of Chicago.

Note that after acceptance the processing time for an official Visiting Scholar appointment may take up to six months for international or non-resident visitors and up to two months for domestic visitors. Please consider this timing when submitting your application.

The Visiting Scholars Program allows visitors from outside Northwestern University and the University of Chicago to engage deeply with the NITMB. This can take a number of different forms, with examples including (but not limited to):

• Concentrated research teams, in which 3-6 scholars from multiple institutions gather at the NITMB for up to 9 days to focus intently on an ambitious joint research project. These teams may apply to return in subsequent years to continue their collaborations.
• Longer-term sabbatical stays for faculty, inclusive of any stay that is 10 days or more.
• Visiting collaborations for postdoctoral scholars or PhD candidates, in which they would embed with NITMB researchers and work on a joint project, lasting anywhere between a week and a full quarter (3 months).
• Recurring local visitors are local Chicagoland scholars wishing to engage in NITMB activities on a regular cadence, such as once a week, with a flexible approach intended to meet the needs of faculty of teaching-intensive institutions.
• Post-workshop synthesis meetings, in which past NITMB workshop participants return to the NITMB to continue work on a project catalyzed at the workshop or prepare, for example, a review article or perspective piece on a workshop topic. We envision such synthesis workshops taking place within the year following a workshop to develop an emerging research direction.​

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. The formatting of all documents should be in 11-point font, single-spaced, with minimum 0.5-inch margins.

Materials required for submission:

• Curriculum Vitae (5-page limit)
• Statement of Purpose (instructions below)
• (For postdoctoral scholars or PhD candidates only) Letter of Institutional Support from a principal investigator, department chair, or direct supervisor.

Additional materials will be required post acceptance for long-term stays as part of the application process for an official Visiting Scholar Appointment.

Statement of Purpose:

Please provide a statement of purpose for participating in the selected visiting scholars program mechanism by answering the following questions. Limit of 2 pages. Embedded figures are acceptable. If a concentrated research team or post-workshop synthesis meeting, a single individual may submit the statement on behalf of the group, but a CV for each person participating is required.

• What are your research interests at the interface of mathematics and biology?
• What length(s) of time would you like to stay?
• What is it you would like to achieve while at the NITMB?
• What expertise and knowledge do you provide to enrich the NITMB?
• Are you requesting financial assistance for housing? If so, please describe your housing needs.

Additional guidance:

• Medical and/or clinical sciences research are not supported by the NITMB.
• For long-term visits, priority will be given to applications describing specific research projects that support, enhance or expand the NITMB’s research portfolio. It is recommended that individuals desiring general exposure to NITMB activities should first apply for a short-term visit to attend a workshop or other activity in order to become more familiar with ongoing work at the NITMB, and to facilitate development of a more specific research project or collaboration.
• It is helpful for proposed research projects involving a collaboration with one or more complementary NITMB researchers to include a statement from these individuals verifying their willingness to participate.
• Postdoctoral scholars or PhD candidates wishing to embed at the NITMB to learn a new skill or work on a joint project should include a statement from the relevant NITMB researcher(s) verifying their willingness to act as host and a letter of Institutional Support from the applicant’s principal investigator, department chair, or direct supervisor. Housing support for such visits will typically be limited to a maximum of three months.

Expectations: Visiting Scholars should...

• Participate in NITMB activities while in residence
• Engage in cross-disciplinary research, engaging both math and biology or both theory and experiments.
• Acknowledge NITMB support in relevant publications:

            Author Affiliation:

NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology, Northwestern University and The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA