Announcement of Agilent Fellows Program
The Agilent Fellows Program is now accepting postdoctoral applications for 2024.
Agilent Technologies, a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets, and the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience have entered into a broad partnership that includes the Agilent Center of Excellence in Biomolecular Characterization featuring first-in-class research instruments ranging from advanced mass spectrometry, chromatography, robotic high-throughput reaction screening, genomics, and optical characterization.
Agilent Fellows will be immersed in the ground-breaking research being conducted at the USC Michelson Center and affiliated faculty labs across the University Park Campus. Selected Fellows will work with a primary mentor at USC and also have a unique mentoring experience with the Agilent University Relations Program Manager, who can connect you with Agilent scientists. This program will help advance the fellows individual research interests and provide avenues for distinctive career growth. You can read about the current Agilent Fellows and their research here.
One Agilent Fellow will be selected each year for a non-renewable two-year postdoctoral fellowship. Strong preference will be given to recent or eminent Ph.D. graduates who are coming to or within their first year as a postdoctoral scholar at USC. Applicants should discuss the development of a proposal with their faculty mentor and secure their sponsorship before applying. A list of USC faculty who are eligible to sponsor Agilent Fellow applications can be found at michelson.usc.edu/research/agilent/fellows. USC faculty who wish to gain eligibility should contact Dr. Yasaman Dayani for further information.
Award Details
One fellowship will be awarded each year for a two-year term. We expect a new round of selection each Fall for the next two years through 2025. Agilent Fellows will receive annually a $81,000 stipend as well as university postdoctoral benefits.
Eligibility
Applicants to the Agilent Fellows Program must:
- have received their Ph.D. in a relevant science or engineering field before January 31, 2024, or be within the first year of their postdoc career at USC.
- have eligible USC faculty sponsor their application
Research Proposal Guidelines
Applicants to the Agilent Fellows Program should be broadly interested in research that will advance life science measurement technologies that are of interest to USC, Agilent, and the broader scientific community. Proposals should address how their research project will leverage the biomolecular and genomic characterization tools at the Agilent Center of Excellence at USC -or- is aligned with other areas of Agilent research interests. Agilent research interests include, but are not limited to, chemical and molecular analysis; genomic tools and analysis; to cell and gene therapy; live cell analysis; clinical pathology, diagnostics and cancer biology; pharmaceutical and drug discovery; and biomanufacturing process analytical technologies. USC faculty who agreed to sponsor an Agilent Fellow application may reach out to Chong Wing Yung (Agilent University Research program manager) to discuss how their proposal can maximize alignment with Agilent interests.
Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated on four main criteria:
- a track record of research productivity and impact,
- evidence of growing independence as demonstrated in the research proposal,
- alignment with Agilent research interests,
- record of Service/Mentorship and importantly the potential to collaborate
Submission Guidelines
Applicants should submit the following:
- Online application, here:
- Cover letter stating the applicant’s background, motivation and career interest.
- CV (2 pages max; with a list of publications and presentations).
- Research Proposal (5-pages max; 12-point Times Roman, single-spaced, standard margins). The proposal should name their sponsoring USC advisor and detail an independent research project, with appropriate citation to the scientific literature. (An additional page may be used for references.) In addition, the proposal should describe resources required for the proposed project and how these are met either in the host PI’s laboratory or through the shared core facilities in the USC Michelson Center.
- Letter of Support from their eligible USC faculty advisor, indicating the advisor’s commitment to provide the required equipment and supplies for the described research project.
- Three academic letters of recommendation, including one from the candidate’s Ph.D. advisor, sent directly to us.
The application deadline is November 22, 2023 and the selection committee will meet soon thereafter. Submissions received after midnight Pacific Time of 11/22/2023 will not be accepted.
All candidate materials should be submitted as a single PDF to agilentfellows@usc.edu.
Confidential letters of recommendations should be transmitted directly from each referee and sent to agilentfellows@usc.edu.
For questions related to this fellowship, please contact program coordinator, Dr. Yasaman Dayani, at agilentfellows@usc.edu.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global leader in life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. With more than 50 years of insight and innovation, Agilent instruments, software, services, solutions, and people provide trusted answers to its customers’ most challenging questions. The company generated revenues of $6.85 billion in fiscal 2022 and employs approximately 18,000 people worldwide. Information about Agilent and Agilent Labs is available at www.agilent.com.
About the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience
The USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience brings together a diverse network of scientists and engineers from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering as well as partners in the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the USC School of Pharmacy and the USC School of Cinematic Arts, to solve some of the intractable problems of the 21stcentury. With a generous $50 million gift from Gary K. Michelson, a retired orthopedic spinal surgeon, and his wife, Alya Michelson, the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience occupies the largest building on campus, a state-of-the-art facility for USC to transform and influence the course of scientific discovery and biomedicine for generations to come. Information about the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience is available at michelson.usc.edu.
Eligible USC Principal Investigators Who May Serve as Agilent Fellow Mentors
Don Arnold
Stephen Bradforth
Richard Brutchey
Mark Chaisson
Lin Chen
Yong Chen
Vadim Cherezov
Irene Chiolo
Eun-Ji Chung
Jahan Dawlaty
Dion Dickman
Ian Ehrenreich
Moh El-Naggar
Sarah Feakins
Stacey Finley
Valery Fokin
Scott Fraser
Geoffrey Fudenberg
Nick Graham
Justin Haldar
Andrew Hires
Steve Kay
Vsevolod Katritch
Carl Kesselman
Emily Liman
Adam MacLean
Noah Malmstadt
Charles McKenna
Ellis Meng
Shannon Mumenthaler
Stefanos Nikolaidis
Nicos Petasis
Matt Pratt
Rich Roberts
Remo Rohs
Andrew Smith
Travis Williams
Cristina Zaveleta
Chao Zhang
Hangbo Zhao