The OpenMS Fellowship is organized by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative foundation and the OpenMS team with the support of Females in Mass Spectrometry (FeMS) society. The OpenMS fellowship aims to increase diversity within the computational mass spectrometry field by recruiting scientists from underrepresented backgrounds to join an immersive in- person mentorship program. Priority will be given to scientists from underrepresented backgrounds.

Application open date: 1st April, 2024

Application close date: 19th April, 2024

Award Details:

  • In-person assignment to a computational mass spectrometry lab for 6-weeks

  • Applicants are expected to start their 6-week in-person training sometime in in May — July 2024. The exact start date is to be determined in coordination with your host lab.

  • Applicants MUST complete in-person training by the end of August 2024.

  • Receive $10,000 CAD to cover travel and living expenses while completing in-person training.

    Link to Application: https://airtable.com/appItu820YKeiWR9g/shrEJaSSS3zIvhlX4

Key Requirement/Eligibility to Enter Applications

  • Graduate students (masters and PhD) currently enrolled and engaged in research in biology, chemistry, computer science and other related fields are eligible to apply.
  • Early career scientists, such as post-docs and staff scientists are eligible to apply. We consider an early career role to be one held within 5 years of receiving the highest relevant qualification in the fields of biology, chemistry, computer science and other closely related fields. Career disruptions, such as pregnancy and major illness/injury can be deducted from the 5-year cutoff.
  • Applicants are expected to have at least a beginner knowledge in any programming language.

Application material:

  1. Applicant must choose one potential host lab to apply to:

    1. Dr. Laurent Gatto (De Duve Institute UCLouvain, Belgium) The lab is interested in statistical learning, high throughput biological data, and a notable focus on single-cell proteomics. The lab actively contribute to the Bioconductor project and prefers R programming language but open to other languages including Python, Rust, Julia or C/C++.

      For more information, visit: https://lgatto.github.io/cbio-lab/

    2. Dr. Mathias Wilhelm (Technical University of Munich, Germany) The lab is interested in deep learning, computational proteomics and big data analysis. The preferred programming language is Python.

      For more information, visit https://www.mls.ls.tum.de/en/compms/home/

    3. Dr. Viktoria Dorfer (University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Austria) The lab focuses on the development of algorithms for peptide identification in bottom-up mass spectrometry data. The preferred programming language is C# and Python.

      For more information, visit: https://protrein.eu/supervisor/viktoria-dorfer/ and https://bioinformatics.fh-hagenberg.at

  2. Describe your research motivation and how it aligns with the host lab you have selected (150 words max).

  3. How have you and/or will you contribute to advocating and uplifting underrepresented groups in the field of computational mass spectrometry (100 words max).

  4. Name one individual to submit a recommendation letter on your behalf. The individual could be your research advisor, a professor, an employer or anyone that can speak about your character and research contributions. The individual will receive an email asking them to upload a letter and will receive a confirmation email after we receive it.

If you have questions — please email us at edi@openms.org

Payment of Award

The payment of the award to the recipient will be processed through the University of Toronto. The recipient is expected to sign a letter confirming their acceptance of the award and an attestation form indicating that the funds have been received. The recipient will have the choice of receiving funds via wire transfer or by cheque.

Sponsors

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing needs for our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone. OpenMS offers an open-source C++ library (+ Python binding) for LC-MS data management, analysis, and visualization. It empowers rapid development of mass spectrometry related software. OpenMS is freely available under the three clause BSD license and runs under Windows, MacOS and Linux. The OpenMS members have a strong commitment to creating an open, inclusive, and positive community in the computational mass spectrometry field.

OpenMS         CZI

Supporting Society

Females in Mass Spectrometry (FeMS) is a community-led initiative to create a network of support for women in the field of mass spectrometry. Our goal is to bring together, encourage, empower and facilitate viability of women in mass spectrometry - and to create connectivity between all members of the mass spectrometry community. We strive to engage our entire community: women in mass spectrometry and their supporters - to hear and learn from all perspectives. As a global initiative FeMS support all related events where women working the MS field gather.