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Graduate Research Assistantship

aerial view of desk with two people working together on laptopsThe Northwestern Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences (DevSci) offers support for a graduate student engaged in collaborative research in the developmental sciences. The assistantship is designed to provide exceptional candidates with the opportunity and protected research time to build scientific bridges across their home laboratory to another developmentally-focused laboratory as a means of bringing new methods/approaches to bear on critical questions. A goal for the assistantship year is for students to develop an in-depth understanding of the developmental emergence and course of the mechanisms and processes related to their field, through investigation, training and/or coursework (include approach in Training Plan).

Successful candidates will have outstanding scientific and leadership promise, have a strong collaborative orientation, and have enthusiasm for working at the intersection of multiple disciplines. This one-year assistantship funded by TGS is awarded competitively, based on the candidates’ qualifications and quality of proposed research. 

Applicants must be a DevSci Cluster member in good standing. This includes attendance to at least two DevSci sponsored events per year. If you have questions about your cluster status, please contact devsci@northwestern.edu

Application Information

For the 2027-2028 Assistantship, Applications Open Spring 2027

How to Submit Application

Proposals, CV, supporting letter(s) and training plan should be sent to the assistantship committee c/o DevSci Director of Training, Dr. Sarah Pila-Leiderman. Please send your application for the assistantship as one PDF file. Faculty sponsors can send their letter directly via email if they prefer. Please contact Sarah with any questions or for more information about the assistantship or application:

Sarah Pila-Leiderman, PhD
Director of Training, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences
625 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 2700
Chicago, IL 60611
sarah.pila@northwestern.edu