# University of Pennsylvania Postdoctoral Opportunities in Research and Teaching

> **NIH NIH K12** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $1,149,598

## Abstract

Project Summary
The University of Pennsylvania's Postdoctoral Opportunities in Research and Teaching (PENN-
PORT) Program aims to provide a combination of a traditional mentored postdoctoral research experience at
the University of Pennsylvania and an opportunity for postdoctoral appointees to develop teaching skills at one
of three partnering minority serving institutions. The dual objectives of the Penn-PORT program are: 1) to
develop a diverse group of highly trained biomedical and behavioral scientists who are both outstanding
researchers and highly qualified undergraduate educators, and 2) to strengthen undergraduate science
education at our partner schools and encourage undergraduate students, particularly those from under-
represented groups, to pursue further education leading to a career in the sciences. During the three-year
training program, fellows conduct cutting-edge, independent research under the direction of a PENN faculty
research mentors, who represent a broad array of NIGMS-related research areas and departments within
PENN's Schools of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dental Medicine, Nursing, Arts and Sciences, or
Engineering, or affiliated institutions including the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Wistar
Institute. Research mentors are selected for their outstanding training records, well-funded laboratories, and
commitment to the goals of the IRACDA program. In addition to research, training for PENN-PORT fellows
includes a formal semester-long course in pedagogical methods from the Graduate School of Education at
PENN as well as a mentored teaching experience, supervised by distinguished teaching faculty at one or more
of our partner institutions. Our three partner schools span the range of undergraduate education environments,
and include Delaware County Community College (an Associate degree institution with a constrained
curriculum), Lincoln University (a 4 year liberal arts college and the oldest Historically Black University in the
US), and Rutgers University - Camden (a graduate institution with collaborative research opportunities). After
completing the formal teaching course at Penn, PENN-PORT postdocs audit a course at the partner school,
and subsequently teach that course under the supervision of their teaching mentor at that institution. In their
second semester of teaching, fellows direct a course of their own design, typically in the area of their research
expertise. To supplement their training in research and teaching, Penn-PORT fellows develop other
professional skills through programs especially designed for postdocs by PENN's Biomedical Postdoctoral
Programs. For the partner schools, the Penn-PORT program provides new, exciting, research-oriented
courses. Penn-PORT fellows serve as important mentors and role models to undergraduates at our partner
schools, providing career programming and opportunities to engage in research in Penn labs, and fostering
collaboration in research and teaching betw...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10228016
- **Project number:** 5K12GM081259-15
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Janis K. Burkhardt
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,149,598
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-08-17 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10228016

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10228016, University of Pennsylvania Postdoctoral Opportunities in Research and Teaching (5K12GM081259-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10228016. Licensed CC0.

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