Global Science Scholars

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network (CZ Biohub Network) and the Stellar Science Foundation (SS-F) invite applications for the Global Science Scholars program, an up to two-year international postdoctoral fellowship program between the U.S. and Japan designed to advance excellence in bioengineering and biomedical research by supporting early-career researchers to advance their careers and conduct groundbreaking science in U.S. and Japanese research labs.

Learn more about the program in a Q&A with the Vice President of the CZ Biohub Network, Amy Herr, Head of Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Steve Quake, and Director of the Stellar Science Foundation, Takanori Takebe.

The Global Science Scholars program is a postdoctoral fellowship of up to two years designed to advance early-stage careers and catalyze groundbreaking science globally. We are seeking to support cutting-edge science in bioengineering and biomedical domains and, in particular, people who are committed to pursuing up to two years of research directed at creating a better future for all by conducting research outside of their degree granting country. We encourage applications from individuals who have recently earned a doctoral degree to conduct research in a world-class lab in Japan or the U.S., respectively. We welcome applicants whose postdoctoral research aspirations align with open positions within the CZ Biohub Network and SS-F research ecosystems, as described in the application details below.

Created and supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the CZ Biohub Network is a group of nonprofit research institutes that bring together scientists and engineers with the goal of pursuing grand scientific challenges on 10- to 15-year time horizons. The CZ Biohub Network and CZI partner together and with like-minded organizations to understand the mysteries of the cell toward a bold mission to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of the century.

The Stellar Science Foundation (SS-F) is a Japan-based organization aimed at building a system that promotes the sustainable generation of disruptive discoveries and inventions by focusing on the power of people in science. SS-F seeks to revitalize Japan’s scientific research, promoting freedom in research activities of scientists to enable them to create discoveries and inventions that will change the world and contribute to human society.

We encourage applications from researchers who have earned a doctoral degree on or after July 1, 2021 and are interested in pursuing interdisciplinary research at the forefront of biology and technology in a program that builds connections between the U.S. and Japan. The CZ Biohub Network in the U.S. and the SS-F in Japan aim to support scholars in residence for up to two years at a top research university outside of the candidate’s own degree granting country (i.e., Japan or the U.S.).

There are two types of fellowships:

1. Global Science Scholars in residence in Japan: The postdoctoral fellowship is open to early career applicants who have recently earned their doctoral degree and wish to conduct research activities at a Japanese research institution with selected research leaders (see list below). Candidates must have received their doctoral degree on or after July 1, 2021. For placement in Japan, the applicant must have received their undergraduate or doctoral degree from a U.S. degree granting institution, and eligibility for a Japanese visa is required. Funding for the Global Science Scholars in residence in Japan extends only until March 2027, thus the duration of support is up to two years, depending on start date.
2. Global Science Scholars in residence in the U.S.: The postdoctoral fellowship is open to early-career applicants who have recently earned their doctoral degree and wish to conduct research activities at a CZ Biohub Network partner university (in San Francisco, Chicago or New York areas) with selected research leaders (see list below). Candidates must have received their doctoral degree on or after July 1, 2021. For placement in the U.S., the applicant must have received their undergraduate or doctoral degree from a Japanese degree granting institution, and eligibility for a U.S. visa is required. Funding for the Global Science Scholars in residence in the CZ Biohub Network is available for a two-year fellowship.

We seek Global Science Scholars who will enthusiastically contribute to and benefit from a highly collaborative, dynamic, and interdisciplinary environment.

• We strive to create the opportunity to learn from, collaborate with, and interact with the community of Global Science Scholars and associated labs. We value empathy, collaboration, and diverse — including global — perspectives.
• Our mission is at the interface of technology and science. We work together to imagine and create solutions that drive science forward.
• We support open science values and principles. To accelerate scientific discovery and collaboration, we support a consent, sharing, and publication policy for open and rapid dissemination of research results and a policy for software development that maximizes accessibility, reuse, and shared development.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed at several points during the open application period that runs from December 17, 2024, to May 27, 2025. All application deadlines and dates are based on Pacific Time.

Important: All awards may be allocated well before the close of the application period on May 27, 2025. Once all fellowships are allocated, the application portal will close and no further applications will be accepted. The program reserves the right to stop accepting applications at any time. Applicants are encouraged to plan accordingly and submit their applications early during the open application period.

Funding is for up to two years for the fellowship in residence in Japan and for two years for the fellowship in residence in the U.S. Each Global Science Scholar fellowship includes:

• Stipend:
  • Each postdoctoral fellowship in the U.S. is supported by a stipend of $75,000 USD per year and up to $5,000 USD per year for reimbursable expenses (up to $10,000 in total over the course of two years) to offset the cost of relocation for the first and final year of the fellowship.
  • Each postdoctoral fellowship in Japan is supported by a stipend of 9,600,000 JPY per year and up to 749,000 JPY per year for reimbursable expenses (up to 1,498,000 JPY in total over the course of two years) to offset the cost of relocation for each the first and final year of the fellowship. Please note that funding for the fellowship in residence Japan program is available until March 2027, so the fellowship may be less than two years in duration, depending on start date.
• Institutional benefits (may vary by institution).
• Travel funds to participate in a required scientific convening associated with the fellowship program (approximately $4,000 USD or 600,000 JPY) per year.

• Degree:
  • Candidates must have a doctoral degree conferred by July 1, 2025.
  • Candidates must be eligible to start their fellowship position (including providing proof of doctoral degree conferral) by July 1, 2025. Candidates may apply while their doctoral degree is in progress. If selected, and a candidate’s start is delayed due to visa processing, their start date may be postponed accordingly beyond July 1, 2025.
  • Because the Global Science Scholars program is an early-career fellowship, candidates must not have received their doctoral degree before July 1, 2021. CZI and SS-F will make exceptions to these criteria in cases of institutionally approved career breaks, e.g., family or medical leave, etc. (if this applies to you, please contact sciencegrants@chanzuckerberg.com).
• Engagement and Language Proficiency: Applicants must be available to participate in program activities. Applicants must have a level of English proficiency sufficient to conduct research and communicate effectively in English.
• Country of Degree: For placement in the U.S., the applicant must hold an undergraduate or doctoral degree from a Japanese degree-granting institution. For placement in Japan, the applicant must have received their undergraduate or doctoral degree from a U.S. degree-granting institution.
• Visa and Employment: For placement in the U.S., the applicant must be eligible to receive a U.S. visa. For placement in Japan, the applicant must be eligible to receive a Japanese visa. In the U.S., successful candidates will be hired by the relevant partner university within the U.S., and the international visitor/postdoc office of the partner university will assist each successful applicant with the visa process. In Japan, SS-F and program partners will provide the program funds and visa assistance to successful candidates.

All applications must be completed and submitted through the online grants management portal. All application materials must be submitted in English. Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with this portal well in advance of the application deadline.

To complete and submit an application:

1. Go to https://apply.chanzuckerberg.com.
2. Register and/or log in.
3. Click on the Programs link in the upper right corner.
4. Find the Global Science Scholars Program RFA and click More.
5. Click the green Apply button in the upper right corner.
6. Enter the title of your application, after which you will have access to the application tasks to complete. Please enter your name (first name last name) as the application title.
7. Complete the sections below and submit by no later than 3 p.m. Pacific Time on May 27, 2025. Please note that applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, and all awards may be allocated before the final deadline of May 27, 2025.

The application consists of the following sections (called tasks in the grants portal): Applicant Details, Lab/Project Selection, Research Summary, Full Curriculum Vitae (CV), Letters of Recommendation, and Confirmation for the Handling of Personal Information.

• Applicant Details:
  • Name and email (auto-filled): To edit your name or email, please do so in your account information by clicking your name in the upper right corner and clicking My Account in the dropdown menu.
  • Conferral date of doctoral degree (actual or anticipated): format MM/DD/YYYY
  • Degree-granting institution for doctoral degree
  • Country location for doctoral degree institution
  • Degree-granting institution for undergraduate degree
  • Country location for undergraduate degree institution
  • Current title
  • Current institutional affiliation
  • Professional goals and career plans after the Fellowship (200 words maximum)
  • ORCID iD: Enter in format XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. (ORCID iDs are unique, digital identifiers that distinguish individual scientists and unambiguously connect their contributions to science over time and across changes of name, location, and institutional affiliation. For more information and to register, please visit https://orcid.org/register.)
• Lab/Project Selection:
  • Which fellowship are you applying to?
    • Postdoctoral fellowship in residence in United States (Japan -> U.S.)
    • Postdoctoral fellowship in residence in Japan (U.S. -> Japan)
  • Lab Selection: Please select your first, second, and third choice labs using the dropdown menu. Do not select the same PI / lab for more than one dropdown. Please find the list of labs here.
• Research Summary
  • Research Summary: List your three most important scientific contributions to date (e.g., peer-reviewed publication citations) and impact statement for each (150 words maximum).
    • Include Authors, Title, Journal Title, Date, Vol(no), Page Numbers.
    • Link/URL if available (optional). Use format https://example.org.
    • Describe the impact of the contribution (150 words maximum)
• Full Curriculum Vitae (CV): Upload your full CV in PDF format; font must be 11 point or larger and margins must be at least one-half inch (top, bottom, left, and right) for all pages (letter size). No page limit. The CV should include: Education, Relevant Experience (research and teaching, including institution and supervisor), Publications, Presentations (oral or poster), Honors/Awards.
• Letters of Recommendation: Two separate letters of recommendation are required from different individuals. Letters must be uploaded directly by each recommender. A physical signature is required on each. Recommenders may be current or former advisors, supervisors, or collaborators and should comment on their association with the candidate (how they know the candidate), the candidate’s track record of scholarly contributions to date, and the potential of the candidate to make a lasting positive impact through research. Applicants will invite a recommender to submit a letter via the application portal. Once you submit a name and contact, the recommender will receive an invitation. We would recommend you also communicate with your recommender separately to ensure they are aware of the invitation and the process for submitting their letter. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure recommenders submit their letters on time and according to format. CZI/SS-F will not be following up on invitations sent where no letter is submitted.
  • Select the “Request a Recommendation”. (Note: this process will need to be done twice- once for each recommender):
    • Enter first name, last name, and email address of the person you would like to request the recommendation from. In the message section, enter the date by which you would like them to submit their recommendation. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure recommenders submit their letters on time and according to format. You will get an e-mail confirmation when a reference submits their recommendation and can track the status in the portal as well. You will be unable to submit your application until both letters of recommendation are received so please plan ahead.
    • Click send request.
    • To withdraw or delete your request, select the three dots on the right-hand side and select withdraw request. Once you have selected the withdrawal request, click the three dots on the right-hand side and select delete request. You can then request another recommendation after one has been deleted.
• Confirmation for the Handling of Personal Information: We may share your application materials with our affiliates and partners for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for the fellowship program. These include the CZ Biohub Network, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Stellar Science Foundation, members of the selection committees, and principal investigators who may host Global Science Scholars at partner universities. We will require all recipients to maintain the confidentiality of your materials and to handle them in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

We adhere to the core values of CZI and the core values of SS-F in both proposal selection and evaluation of progress.

We will evaluate all applications for scientific merit and will seek independent expert review. ​Final decisions will be made by program staff in consultation with our scientific advisors. There is no expectation of any specific number of awards, and we reserve the sole right not to recommend the funding of any applications. Unfortunately, we cannot provide feedback on decisions for unfunded proposals.

The selection of awardees will be based on:

• The potential of the candidate to contribute to building research networks between Japan and the United States.
• The potential of the candidate to contribute to the promotion of excellent research with translational and societal impact, as determined by the potential host Principal Investigator (PI).
• The potential of the awardee to contribute to and benefit from a collaborative interdisciplinary network.
• The approval of the candidate by the potential host PI.
• The balance of research fields, institutions, and PI labs.

United States Labs

• Alana Schepartz Lab, University of California, Berkeley
• Alice Ting Lab, Stanford University
• Donna Farber Lab, Columbia University
• James Zou Lab, Stanford University
• John Tsang Lab, Yale University
• Margaret Gardel Lab, University of Chicago
• Markita Landry Lab, University of California, Berkeley
• Martha Gillette Lab, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Mei Shen Lab, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Noah Palm Lab, Yale University
• Peter Sims Lab, Columbia University
• Ruslan Medzhitov Lab, Yale University
• Savas Tay Lab, University of Chicago
• M Taher Saif Lab, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Japan Labs

• Ayuko Hoshino Lab, The University of Tokyo
• Cantas Alev Lab, Kyoto University
• Emi Nishimura Lab, The University of Tokyo
• Hideaki Kato Lab, The University of Tokyo
• Hiroshi Tsugawa Lab, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
• Hayashi Lab, Osaka University
• Kazutoshi Takahashi Lab, Kyoto University
• Masato Kanemaki Lab, National Institute of Genetics
• Naoji Matsuhisa Lab, The University of Tokyo
• Naoko Irie Lab, Central Institute for Experimental Medicine and Life Science
• Nozomu Yachie Lab, Osaka University
• Sadao Ota Lab, The University of Tokyo
• Sam Reiter Lab, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
• Seiya Yamayoshi Lab, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, and University of Tokyo
• Yu Hayashi Lab, The University of Tokyo
• Yuka Iwasaki Lab, RIKEN

All submitted applications that are not selected for funding will be kept confidential, except (1) as necessary for our evaluation or to comply with any applicable laws; and (2) to the extent that the application is made public or available to others without a duty of confidentiality through no fault of CZI, SS-F or our partner organizations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, certain information, including brief summaries of the proposed projects, project metrics, and types of organizations that have applied for funding, may be made publicly available in aggregate form. Proposals that are selected for funding may be made publicly available and/or shared with other grantees or collaborators. Application materials will not be returned to applicants.

Personal data: Where we ask for personal data of individuals in grant applications, please only submit personal data that you have a right to provide. We will use and store any personal data collected through the application process for grant-related purposes (e.g., administering the grant, analyzing and improving our grant practices). The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, LLC (collectively “CZI”), and SS-F will be the “data controllers” for any such personal information, and the data may be stored on servers outside of your home country, including within the United States. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our privacy practices or the collection or use of personal data, you can contact us at privacy@chanzuckerberg.com.

For administrative and programmatic inquiries, or other questions pertaining to this RFA, please contact sciencegrants@chanzuckerberg.com.

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