Becoming a BBS Faculty Member

The BBS Membership Committee strongly encourages new applicants to meet with David Van Vactor, BBS Program Director, prior to submitting an application.  To facilitate this meeting, please get in touch with Deirdre Duckett at deirdre_duckett@hms.harvard.edu.

We are now accepting applications for the 2024 cycle. Please submit your completed application, CV, and portrait photo (TIF or JPEG) by 12pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 to Danny Gonzalez at danny@hms.harvard.edu.  The Faculty Membership Committee will meet in late June 2024 to review all applications for membership. Applicants will receive an official decision shortly after the conclusion of this meeting.

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BBS Faculty Membership Criteria and Forms of Service

a. Eligibility for membership in BBS requires a full-time, tenure-track faculty appointment (Assistant, Associate, or full Professor) at Harvard Medical School.

b. Maintenance of membership as a BBS Thesis Advisor requires each faculty member to participate as an attendee or facilitator in a Harvard Integrated Life Sciences (HILS)/Harvard Griffin GSAS Advising Project-sponsored mentorship program (a CIMER curriculum-based workshop or equivalent program such as training for the HHMI Gilliam and Hanna Gray fellowships) prior to or within one year of accepting any new BBS PhD student for thesis research. Information and scheduling options for upcoming mentorship programs will be sent to all BBS faculty multiple times each year.  You can view current and future CIMER training opportunites here.

c. All BBS Faculty agree to participate annually in BBS program events and recruiting activities.

d. All BBS Faculty agree to serve on our advising and governance committees (e.g. Admissions, Program Advising, Preliminary Qualifying Examination, and Dissertation Advisory Committees) when requested by the program heads or committee chairs.

e. All BBS Faculty must agree to support our graduate curriculum via teaching in one of our core courses, such as BCMP200, BBS230, BBS330, CB201, or GEN201.  We also expect each BBS Member to make additional contributions to other core and advanced courses by acting as course director, lecturer, or discussion leader. Other contributions to DMS educational resources are welcome.

f. Maintenance of membership as a BBS Thesis Advisor requires thesis project sponsorship within 9 years of initial membership approval. Exceptions can be made for faculty that make extraordinary contributions to graduate education in BBS. If faculty members lose membership status due to this rule, they may reapply to be reinstated if a BBS student requests a research rotation in their lab.

g. Maintenance of membership as a BBS Thesis Advisor requires annual submission or update of a specialized NIH training biosketch that outlines content required for T32 applications.  In addition, we require that faculty members supply additional trainee data for T32 applications when requested.

h. Maintenance of membership as a BBS Thesis Advisor also assumes financial means and infrastructure to support thesis research for new students.

Thank you for your continued service to our BBS students.  You are the key to the high quality of the educational resources that BBS offers.