Research and Training Opportunities
Application window:
Applications open.
Program dates:
July 14 – 25, 2025
Audience: PhD Students
Salk Edge Summer Program
The Salk Edge is a two-week summer program that equips graduate students for competitive careers in academic science. Students are trained on cutting-edge techniques while also supporting the use of these new techniques in their home labs through pilot grants to be used in their PhD labs to implement these new technologies. The Salk Edge is a fully funded competitive program that helps prepare students for postdoctoral positions in top-tier labs across the country.
Application window:
Oct 7 – Nov 17, 2024
Program dates:
Jun 2 – Aug 8, 2025
Audience: Undergraduate Students
Salk Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Salk SURF)
The Salk Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Salk SURF) is a 10-week fully paid internship that provides students with exposure to and experience in biomedical research, access to world-class research facilities, and a network of mentors. This program is open to students with limited or no research experience. Applicants must be entering their junior or senior year at the time of participating in the program. Salk SURF aims to build and sustain a quality STEM pipeline to advance the Salk Institute’s mission for training the next generation of bold, innovative scientists. It encourages applications from students of all backgrounds in STEM.
Application window:
Dec 19, 2024
Program dates:
Feb 28, 2025
Audience: Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows
DISCOVER Symposium
DISCOVER is designed to identify talent and build a supportive, collaborative, and welcoming community.
Through the DISCOVER Symposium, future postdocs will have the opportunity to meet faculty mentors who could become future postdoctoral advisors, facilitating new mentor-mentee pairing opportunities and holding space for collaborative/co-mentorship opportunities to form across disciplines of biology, not typically found in traditional postdoctoral interview formats. Postdocs will also present their research, participate in discussion groups and professional development workshops, informally network with Salk faculty, and tour Salk.
Application window:
Nov 1, 2024 – Jan 10, 2025
Program dates:
May 13 – 14, 2025
Audience: Postdoctoral Fellows
Rising Stars Symposium
Every year, Salk brings exceptional postdoctoral researchers to the Institute for the Rising Stars Symposium. Postdocs are typically nominated or self-nominate in years 3-4 of their training, prior to their formal entry into the job market. A selected number of nominated trainees receive the Rising Stars Award and an invitation to the Rising Star Symposium where they present their research and meet with faculty one-on-one and over dinner. Rising Stars are also paired with a Salk faculty mentor and are maintained informed of relevant Salk recruitment opportunities.
Application window:
Dec 12, 2024 – Mar 5, 2025
Program dates:
Jun 16 – Aug 8, 2025
Audience: High School Students
Heithoff-Brody High School Scholars Program
The Heithoff-Brody High School Summers Scholars program is an eight-week paid internship opportunity for high school students to gain real-life experience performing scientific research while developing skill sets needed for careers in a STEM field while being mentored by Salk scientists. Founded more than 40 years ago, the Heithoff-Brody High School Summer Scholars program fulfills Jonas Salk’s vision of introducing high school students to laboratory life and the possibility of a career in science.