Odyssey Fellowship Program

The Odyssey Fellowship Program achieves its goal by appointing Odyssey Fellows and supporting their salary and research efforts. Fellows are appointed following a competitive peer-review of written proposals, performed by the Odyssey Program Advisory Committee once a year.

Odyssey fellows will receive salary support and benefits from the Odyssey Program at a minimum of the NIH NRSA rates. When sufficient funds are available, salary will be provided at a rate of 20% above NIH NRSA rates and a research allowance of up to $5,000 per year will be provided for the purchase of supplies and small equipment, as well as for travel to scientific meetings in the continental United States.

Fellows are appointed for one year, with two one-year renewals possible, depending on satisfactory progress as assessed by an annual progress report. All fellowship years start Sept. 1 and end Aug. 31 of the following year.

Eligibility

Odyssey Fellows must have a doctoral degree (Ph.D., M.D., D.Phil. or equivalent).  Must have postdoctoral appointment less than two (2) years before funding starts (September 1st) if the postdoctoral time has always been at MD Anderson or less than three (3) years total at any combination of institutions. Must also not be supported by any fellowships at the time funding starts or agree to forfeit the current funding. Applicants must either have an appointment at MD Anderson,  or have been provided an official offer letter from MD Anderson, and plan to take the position before or at the time funding starts (September 1st), in order to be eligible to apply. A maximum of two Odyssey fellowships per lab at any time will be awarded.

Application Dates

• Request for applications: issued in January
  
• Deadline for applications: February 29, 2024
  
• Awarded applicants notified: May-June
  
• Funding begins: September 1

Application Process

All Odyssey Fellowship application materials must be submitted through the REDCap system here and will close by 11:59 p.m. (central time) at the end of February. To apply for the Odyssey Program fellowship, please do the following:

1. Download and read the Odyssey Program Application Guidelines (pdf) and the Odyssey Program Guidelines (pdf).
2. Download the Odyssey Fellowship Application Form (pdf). This application form is for your reference only. All information included in it will be submitted via the online application linked above.
   
3. Download the Odyssey Fellowship Application Reference Letter Form (pdf).  This form will be provided to each referee via the REDCap application. As soon as your enter your referees' information, the request for the letter will be automatically sent to them. It will then be uploaded with each letter of recommendation as a single document by the referee.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure that all materials are submitted on time, including the two recommendation letters that must be uploaded directly by the mentors into the REDCap system.

*Please note: Recommendation letters will be accepted until March 7, 2024. All other application components must be submitted by Feb. 29, 2024.*

The REDCap system will automatically close on the deadline and incomplete submissions will be disqualified. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Contact Information

Questions regarding the Odyssey Fellowship Program may be directed to:

Briana Mohan
Program Manager
832-817-9913
blshay@mdanderson.org

Nicole Love
Program Coordinator
713-745-2684
Nplove@mdanderson.org

Keri Schadler, Ph.D.
Director, Odyssey Program
713-794-1035
klschadl@mdanderson.org