African Academy of Sciences (AAS) APTI Fellowship Program for PhD Students

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be citizens of an African country, currently employed in an academic, research, or government position in an African country
• Must have a relevant doctoral degree (e.g., PhD, MD, MBBS) awarded no more than 7 years before the application submission deadline. Applicants whose doctoral degrees were awarded earlier may be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to justification (e.g., where one took a career break for family-related reasons or to seek asylum due to political instability). Such applicants should submit a request (with justification) for consideration
• Must have less than 5 years of relevant research experience after the award of their doctoral degree, by their start date at the NIH. Brief periods of clinical work and/or teaching, that does not include research, may be allowable, but cannot exceed 2-3 years total.
• Must be fluent in English – reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Offered Benefits

Years 1 and 2

• During the first two years of the fellowship at the NIH, APTI fellows shall be engaged as a Postdoctoral Fellow under the NIH Intramural Visiting Fellow Programme (VFP):
  • Stipend support will follow NIH guidelines based on experience, outlined  here
  • Insurance will be provided to the fellow and dependents that are living in the US
  • Training support will include Leadership, Management, Mentoring, Grant Writing, Resilience and Wellness workshops and courses through the Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE).

Years 3 and 4

• After successfully completing the two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH, the APTI fellows shall be supported to transition into being independent researchers as follows. APTI fellows shall be provided with a grant of up to USD 226,800 to support years 3 and 4 of the APTI fellowship as detailed below:
  • Salary support of up-to USD 38,400 per year subject to the home institution’s HR provisions. The salary support is aimed at ensuring that APTI fellows spend at least 50% of their personnel time on their APTI fellowship
  • Research support of up to USD $50,000 per year
  • Equipment purchase support of up to USD $50,000 (total)

Application Process

Go to African Academy of Sciences on bit.ly to apply

All applications and their supporting documents must be submitted in English. Supporting documents issued in a language other than English should be accompanied by their English translation.