Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2022-23 year.
We will be offering this program again in the future. To be notified of future calls for applications, fill out this form.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Research Fellows Program is an interdisciplinary, university-wide program that supports excellent doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows engaged in human performance research by providing a collaborative community, opportunities to share research, travel awards, resources for career development, and a one-year fellowship in human performance (with the option to renew for a second year). 

The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance is committed to discovering biological principles to optimize human performance and catalyze innovations in human health for all people at every stage of life. We are seeking individuals passionate about studying human performance to understand principles that can enable all people to achieve optimal health and well-being.

Research in human performance spans all areas of science, engineering, medicine, business, education, and law. Faculty affiliates of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance reflect this diversity. As such, it is important that your proposal is interdisciplinary (combines two or more separate fields of study) with at least two faculty mentors involved in your proposed research.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

We are looking for individuals who have demonstrated academic excellence and potential for innovation in human performance research. Human performance research includes physical and cognitive performance, and encompasses many research areas; thus, we welcome applications from across the university. We value those who have a demonstrated capacity for outreach and leadership. 

• Doctoral Students:  Doctoral students in their second year or later are eligible to apply. You must be active in a PhD program by Winter 2022. This must be reflected in your Stanford transcript.
• Postdoctoral Scholars: Postdoctoral scholars at Stanford within their first five years of postdoctoral research (at Stanford and elsewhere) are eligible to apply. 

FACULTY ADVISOR ELIGIBILITY

• In addition to your primary faculty advisor, you must identify at least one faculty co-advisor (or co-mentor) for your research. For the purposes of the application, this co-advisor does not have to be an officially recognized departmental co-advisor. However, this individual is a second faculty mentor who is integral to the proposed project. 
• Both faculty mentors must be Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Faculty Affiliates. Any faculty member can become a Faculty Affiliate.

APPLICATION MATERIALS

All of the following documents must be uploaded in Slideroom. All documents must use 11 pt Arial font, 1 inch margins, and be single-spaced. More information about each document is provided in the sections that follow.

• Human Performance Research Plan (up to 4 pages, including figures, but not including the title page or references)
• Diversity Statement (up to 300 words)
• Other Support and Leveraging (if relevant)
• Curriculum Vitae (up to 2 pages)
• Two Recommendation Letters (one from your faculty advisor and one from your co-advisor)
• Academic Transcript(s) (required of doctoral students only) 

1. Human Performance Research Plan (up to 4 pages, including figures, but not including the title page or references)

• Title Page should include the project title, applicant name, primary advisor and co-advisor, all team members’ home departments, and a brief (100 word max) summary of the project in lay language.
• We strongly encourage you to include images and figures in your proposal.
• The plan should consist of the following sections:
  • Background and motivation
  • Specific aims
  • Proposed approach
  • Significance (especially with regards to human performance)
  • References

2. Other Support and Leveraging (if relevant). Describe any sources of additional funding (present forms of tuition, stipend funding, grants etc.). Please let us know if you are applying for any other fellowships simultaneously.

3. Diversity Statement (maximum of 1800 characters or approximately 300 words)

The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance is committed to diversifying human performance research and supporting our community of diverse individuals.

• Describe your goals for increasing diversity, inclusion, belonging, equity, and justice (DIBEJ) in the area of human performance research and in the human performance research community, and how you plan to move toward those goals.
• To learn more about diversity and ways to advance it, we recommend the Anti-Racism toolkit.

An effective diversity statement might demonstrate:

• Knowledge about DIBEJ
• A track record in advancing DIBEJ
• Plans for advancing DIBEJ

4. Curriculum Vitae (up to 2 pages in length)

5. Two Recommendation Letters, one from your faculty advisor and one from your co-advisor. Both faculty must be Faculty Affiliates of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance.

• Letters must include a statement regarding how the work relates to human performance and the interdisciplinary nature of the proposal. 
• Asking faculty for references should be one of the first things you do for your application. For the application, you will need to provide the faculty mentor’s name and email. We will then contact the faculty mentor to provide a recommendation letter for you. We recommend giving your faculty a reminder for uploading their letters to the SlideRoom application portal to ensure you receive your letters on time.

6. Academic Transcript(s)

• Doctoral Students: We require an unofficial copy of your Stanford transcript including Winter 2022. The transcript must show that you are active in a PhD program by Winter 2022.
• Postdoctoral Scholars: We do not require transcripts for postdoctoral scholars.

FUNDING

Doctoral Students

• Annual stipend paid over 4 quarters for one year with the option to renew for a second year. The annual stipend amount is similar to that for other fellowships offered on-campus. For the 2021-22 year, the stipend is $12,410 per quarter.
• The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance pays tuition for 8-10 units for Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters, plus Summer tuition for 3 units.
• If the student is eligible for TGR, the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance pays TGR tuition for four quarters.

Postdoctoral Scholars

• Annual stipend paid over 4 quarters for one year with the option to renew for a second year. The annual stipend amount for the 2022-23 year will be $75,000 plus benefits.

Additional Support

• All fellows are eligible to apply for travel funds to present their research at a scientific conference (up to $2000). 
• All fellows are eligible to apply for funds to make their published work open-access (up to $2000).

Annual Progress Reports

• Annual progress reports are required. Annual progress reports are also necessary to renew for a second year of funding.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM

The Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Research Fellowship cultivates a community of outstanding scholars in human performance research across the university. Additional benefits of the program include:

• Opportunities to network and form collaborations with institutions in the wider Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance network 
• Support for travel to scientific conferences or partner institutions
• Support for making work open-access
• Opportunities to share scientific research (cohort meetings, seminars, symposia)
• Career development resources (career panels, professional development workshops from the Stanford Life Design, access to the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance network)
• Priority access to world-class facilities, resources, and expertise including the Stanford Human Performance Lab
• Opportunities for mentoring and mentorship 
• Outreach events to translate scientific discoveries to lay audiences

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Do I need to have joined a lab to apply?

Yes, applicants should be part of a lab and have a primary advisor.

• Can I get a visa sponsorship through this program?
  

The fellowship provides the funding described above. Any additional support, including visa sponsorship, would be the responsibility of your advisor.

• Is the research topic limited to the moonshot topics of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance?

The research topics are not limited to the moonshot topics, but a strong application will include a research plan that is impactful for and related to human performance research.

QUESTIONS?

Contact Johanna O’Day at human-performance@stanford.edu