Skip to main content
Tyler Broussard, PhD, Haley Echlin, PhD, Valerie Cortez, PhD

Infectious Disease Therapeutics Training Program

A competitive NIH-funded postdoctoral training program focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics for infectious diseases.

Outstanding postdoctoral candidates are invited to apply for the Infectious Disease Therapeutics Training Program, a competitive fellowship offering comprehensive training and support. The program's goal is to develop an elite cohort of independent investigators with the skills and expertise to develop new therapeutics for infectious diseases.

This goal has become increasingly critical as outbreaks of new and drug-resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria and viruses emerge around the world, and the limitations of existing therapies are thrown into sharp relief. St. Jude has a longstanding commitment to pioneering research in infectious diseases, which remain the leading cause of childhood mortality worldwide and an ongoing threat to immunocompromised patients in our clinics.

 
 

At St. Jude, you will join a community of global leaders in infectious disease research. Trainees have access to exceptional on-campus resources for drug discovery and development, as well as a rich and collaborative training environment, excellent and innovative mentorship, and unique opportunities for clinical exposure, industry experience, and overseas training.

 
 

Program Overview

The program is flexible, allowing training to be tailored for your interests. Research is strongly multidisciplinary and is centered at the interface between the Departments of Infectious Diseases, Chemical Biology & Therapeutics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Structural Biology, and Immunology with frequent opportunities for collaboration with other groups across the institution. 

Training is available in diverse areas and approaches, such as:

  • Target identification, validation and characterization
  • Structure-based and computer-based drug design
  • High-throughput screening using conventional and biophysical approaches
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Vaccine development
  • Full microbiological assessment of new therapeutic candidates in vitro and in vivo
  • Immune responses to infection

Other core components of the program include a focused clinical training course and overseas research through St. Jude Global. You will also receive structured training in the key skills required for a successful academic career, including grant writing, problem solving and presentations. St. Jude offers postdoctoral fellows a diverse array of professional development opportunities.

Each trainee has a dedicated Scholarship Oversight Team (SOT) composed of Program Faculty members other than the primary Research Faculty mentor.

Funding for the program is provided by a T32 Institutional National Research Service Award from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and by ALSAC, the fundraising organization for St. Jude.

Program Timeline

Year 1

Orientation

Research

Select Scholarship Oversight Team (SOT)

Individual preceptor tutorials

Clinical training – part one

Specialized training sessions

Off campus training course

Scientific and grant writing course

Prepare and submit an F32 training grant or equivalent 

Year 2

Research

Overseas training OR Industry Experience

Specialized training and off-campus course

Year 3

Research

Transition to independent funding

Graduate from program

 
 

Core Departments and Teams

 

Success in developing new therapeutics for infectious diseases requires a multidisciplinary approach. A broad range of collaborative teams have been established at St. Jude to meet this challenge.

Learn more about core departments in the program.

 

St. Jude has also established three collaborative programs in infectious diseases that provide unique aspects of postdoctoral training: the Children’s Infection Defense Center, the Infectious Diseases Program of the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine, and the Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR).

 
 
Close