Previously sponsored by the Yale University School of Medicine, the Donald J. Cohen Fellowship in Developmental Social Neuroscience provides recent college graduates with the opportunity to spend two years engaged in cutting-edge autism research at the Marcus Autism Center.

Cohen fellows are directly mentored by the program directors and are involved in a highly active and productive community of clinical research scientists. Previous Cohen Fellows have participated in a wide range of research projects, and have gone on to clinical and developmental Ph.D., Master’s, M.D., and M.D./Ph.D. programs.

Cohen Fellows guide a pre-determined research project from the point of data collection through analysis and publication of results. Over the course of two years, Fellows gain both research and clinical experiences through a large longitudinal study following children from birth until 36 months of age and through work with toddlers and school-age children spanning the full autism spectrum. Fellows also complete an intensive summer training seminar covering clinical research in autism (one week), autism grand rounds meetings (twice a month), social neuroscience lab meetings (weekly), and ongoing didactic practica.

Donald J. Cohen (1940-2001) was a nationally and internationally renowned child psychiatrist who positively impacted the lives of children and families all over the world. More information about his life and work can be found here.

Sponsor Institution: Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory University School of Medicine.

Program Directors: Ami Klin, Warren Jones, Gordon Ramsay, Sarah Shultz.

For more information on the Faculty at the Marcus Autism Center, visit our website.

Award Amount: $32,000 per year (plus full healthcare coverage)

Term of Award: 2 years

Submission Deadline: January 8, 2016

Eligibility Requirements

College graduates who will have received a bachelor’s degree by June 2016 are eligible to apply.

The Cohen Fellowship provides an opportunity to engage in translational research within a clinical setting. Candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds with a keen interest in translational research, autism, and child development are encouraged to apply. Research experience and experience with infants and toddlers or children with autism are valued by the selection committee.

Please note that this fellowship is not offered concurrently with graduate studies. However we do hope that for fellows leaving the program, the fellowship will serve as an important stepping-stone towards future career goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please refer to the FAQ page for questions regarding this fellowship and application.

Research at the Marcus Autism Center

The Marcus Autism Center, a leading institution for clinical care and clinical research of autism and related social disabilities, sits at the center of a close collaboration between Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). The Marcus Autism Center also works in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Behavioral Neuroscience Division of the Yerkes National Primate Center, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. These varied institutions enable a multidisciplinary and translational approach to autism research, spanning projects in behavioral neuroscience, neuroimaging, molecular and population genetics, and treatment.

The directors of the fellowship program lead the social neuroscience, neuroimaging, and spoken communication research cores within the Marcus Autism Center. These research cores use eye-tracking technology, neuroimaging, computational modeling, and behavioral methods to understand the causes and developmental mechanisms underlying ASD and to improve early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of ASD.

Application Requirements

A complete application requires the following:

A resume, highlighting relevant experience

A personal statement containing biographic material, relevant experience, and career goals (2 pages, single or double spaced)

Two letters of recommendation that speak directly to your potential

Transcripts for each post-secondary institution you have attended, present school included.

All materials must be submitted by January 8, 2016.

Application Instructions

All applications must be submitted electronically. The online application portal will open in October 2015. You may access it here.

To complete your online application, you will need a resume/cv, a statement of purpose, one or more scanned transcript(s). You can upload .pdf, .doc, .docx, .txt, .rtf, .jpg and .tif files.

Transcripts

Your transcripts must be issued by the registrar’s office, but unofficial copies issued to you are fine.

If you want to upload an electronic transcript issued by your registrar’s office, make sure we can open that document without passwords or other security information. Please do not mail paper transcripts with your application. If you are admitted to the fellowship program and accept, then you will need to submit official copies (sealed or sent to us directly from a university registrar).

Transcripts must be in English, or be accompanied by notarized translations.

Letters of Recommendation

Contact your recommenders well ahead of time, to make sure they are aware of and can meet your application deadline. Your application is not complete until the letters have been submitted.

You request the letters as part of the online application process, and recommenders can submit them online. You can send requests for letters of recommendations before you submit the final application.

For additional questions, please contact the Cohen Fellowship Committee atcohen.fellowship@emory.edu or (404) 785-9554