The George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University last year named 10 Future Faculty Fellows from eight departments to support Ph.D. and postdoctoral researchers who plan to apply for tenure-track faculty positions.
The fellows attended faculty panels, workshops, one-on-one coaching sessions and a mock interview designed to support them as they prepare for faculty interviews. A monetary award of $1,000 supported each fellow for attending conferences and university seminars. Meet one of the fellows:
Evan Kwiatkowski
Post-doctoral researcher in statistics
What position have you accepted?
I am working as an instructor in biostatistics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Tell us about your research interests.
My research is devoted to Bayesian adaptive clinical trial designs, such as dose-finding trials, platform trials and trials utilizing external controls.
What would you like to accomplish in your career?
My career goals are to be an independently funded primary investigator, to publish high-impact papers on statistical methodology and applications, and to teach and advise graduate students.
What impact has the Future Faculty Fellowship had on your career plans?
The Future Faculty Fellowship provided invaluable guidance on the faculty application process, and provided mentoring on how to successfully transition into the responsibilities of a faculty member.
Who were your advisers?
I was co-advised by Marek Kimmel, professor of statistics at Rice, and Ying Yuan, professor of biostatistics at MD Anderson Cancer Center.