The Robert Wenthold Fellowship supports NIDCD intramural research training of promising postdoctoral research fellows seeking to become independent investigators and leaders within the mission areas of the NIDCD. A Wenthold fellow is encouraged to design a research training and career development plan that takes advantage of the multidisciplinary training, dedicated core facilities, and breadth and depth of communication sciences expertise within the NIDCD intramural research program. NIDCD intramural research includes basic and clinical studies of normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language.
The Wenthold Fellowship is designed to maximize the probability of success for a long-term independent research career in the multidisciplinary field of communication sciences, with acquisition of new scientific approaches and methodologies being highly supported. Multidisciplinary training and/or scientific co-mentoring are greatly encouraged when applying to a more junior laboratory and required when applying to an established laboratory.
The fellowship includes an initial two-year commitment of salary, benefits, travel, and annual supplies, with the potential for performance-based salary increases and extension of the appointment beyond two years.
Eligible individuals will have an M.D. and/or Ph.D., or an equivalent doctoral degree, and up to two years of prior postdoctoral research experience at the time of initial appointment. Prior postdoctoral experience may be in an NIH intramural or extramural laboratory.
Please submit:
- A curriculum vitae with bibliography.
- Up to three publication reprints written as first or co-first author.
- A one-page research statement including summary of previous research training and accomplishments, research interests, training and career goals, and a proposal for multi-disciplinary mentorship and training to:
Elyssa Monzack, Ph.D., Deputy Scientific Director
Office of the Scientific Director, NIDCD, NIH
35A Convent Drive, Building 35A, Room GF102
Bethesda, MD 20892
Also arrange for three letters of reference to be sent directly to Dr. Monzack.
The application process is ongoing, with applications accepted throughout the year.
Wenthold Fellows
Sian Kitcher
The third recipient of the Robert Wenthold Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (awarded in 2019) is Sian Kitcher. Dr. Kitcher earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Sussex, with a focus on cisplatin and gentamicin ototoxicity. At the NIDCD, under the mentorship of Catherine Weisz, Ph.D., she will combine interests in neuronal signaling and cochlear physiology while investigating the physiological and genetic properties of neurons involved in the connectivity of the auditory system.
Qiuxiang Zhang
The second recipient of the Wenthold Fellowship (awarded in 2015), Qiuxiang Zhang, earned a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with a focus on functional imaging of the retina. At the NIDCD, she combines her previous experience in neuroimaging with molecular biology and auditory neuroscience while working on the spatio-temporal imaging of sub-cellular signals during hair cell development under the mentorship of Katie Kindt, Ph.D.
Angela Ballesteros
The first recipient of the Wenthold Fellowship (awarded in 2014), Angela Ballesteros, earned a Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in molecular biology from Autonoma University in Madrid, Spain. She arrived at the NIDCD with experience in structural biology and acquired new skills in cell biology and auditory neuroscience as a Wenthold fellow. She worked on the molecular biology of stereocilia proteins under the co-mentorship of Bechara Kachar, M.D., and Andrew Griffith, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Ballesteros continued to build on this multidisciplinary experience by joining the laboratory of Kenton Swartz, Ph.D., in 2016, and fusing her unique combination of skills, examining the structure of hair cell mechanotransduction channel proteins.
HHS, NIH, and NIDCD are Equal Opportunity Employers. NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs.