As part of the Yale Ciencia Academy for Career Development, the 2016 class of fellows led and implemented a series of science outreach projects to put into practice the communication, teaching and leadership skills they learned during their year in the program. Through these projects, these young scientists also had the opportunity to broaden their impact on society and their communities.

We are proud to welcome the 2017 Yale Ciencia Academy Fellows. These 40 young scientists come from 23 institutions in Puerto Rico and throughout the US, they represent a wide variety of research interests, and each brings diverse experiences and perspectives. Just two months into the new class, we are already blown away by the talent, creativity, and drive of the students.

We invite you to get to know our 2017 Yale Ciencia Academy Fellows!

For around 10,000 years since the origin of agriculture in the Neolithic, modern humans had been using artificial selection for the improvement of crops and livestock. Previous to that period of time, humans had to live on what they found in the wild by hunting, fishing, and collecting seeds and roots to eat. In this context, Neolithic represents to human history the shift from a hunting-gathering economy to the direct production of food. 

During this conversation, panelists with experience obtaining grants, fellowships and other funds shared practical strategies to get funding from diverse sources (federal and state government, foundations, private industry, etc.), particularly graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. Panelists also provided general advice for successful fundraising in or outside academia, for example, making sure you have an organized, solid narrative; reading the call for proposals carefully; seeking feedback from mentors and peers; anticipating reviewer questions, etc.