Become a fellow in our postdoctoral rehabilitation research training community at VCU and Central Virginia VA Health Care System. As a member of this community, you will build a foundation for your career with Richmond’s wealth of multidisciplinary rehabilitation research training and expertise. At least four postdoctoral scholars will train simultaneously in rehabilitation research, creating a robust mentor and peer network, and shared training resources.
Richmond is a uniquely rich environment for rehabilitation research and training. The Center for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering (CERSE) is a VCU-wide research center. CERSE/ARRT faculty have 65 grants/contracts with $94M in total awards, which fund a robust scientific mentoring network and research operations infrastructure to support high quality research fellow training. CERSE/ARRT research faculty lead the V.A.-funded, Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium (LIMBIC, $33M/5 years). Richmond hosts a U.S. Academic-Veterans-Civilian partnership that is awarded a NIDILRR TBI Model System grant as well as a V.A. TBI Model System grant. CERSE partners with three core clinical institutions: (1) VCUHealth (Virginia’s primary safety net health system of care), (2) Sheltering Arms Institute (SAI, a 144-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility), and (3) the Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System (CVHCS, which houses one of five V.A. Polytrauma Centers of Excellence and the V.A. system’s largest SCI rehabilitation program). These clinical partnerships provide ARRT fellows with access to a broad spectrum of clinician collaborators and research participants. We also have extensive, long-term collaborations with Commonwealth of Virginia Agencies and Community Organizations that provide fellows with access to participatory action research collaborators who have lived experience of disability.
T32 Postdoctoral Training Program in Translational Population Health and Data Science Using Service Member, Veteran and Civilian Healthcare Datasets
The NIH-funded T32 Big Data Analytics (BDA T32) postdoctoral training program at VCU Center for Rehabilitation Science and VCU Wright Center trains fellows in the use of Veteran and civilian mega-datasets to improve health and outcomes.
Fellows will work with a combination of mentors from different health domains and those with methodological expertise from the VCU schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Public Health; the College of Engineering; the College of Health Professions; and Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Together, program mentors hold $20 million in active annual research funding. Learn more about the T32 Big Data Program.
NIDILRR Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) Program in Neurorehabilitation
Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), the VCU ARRT is one of five prestigious research training programs on the rehabilitation of health and function. The VCU ARRT focuses on neurorehabilitation and provides rich research training with the opportunity to: (1) grow an independent line of research with a publication record of achievement; and (2) develop expertise in intervention development, participatory action research, clinical trial design, and grant writing. The VCU ARRT provides an evidence-informed, independent development plan (IDP)-driven, multiple-mentor training environment for fellows to build the skills and record of achievement needed to obtain a research faculty position. At least two ARRT-funded fellows will train concurrently, and have access to a cohort of postdoctoral research fellows and early career faculty across VCU and CVHCS. The VCU ARRT provides a supportive research mentoring environment that includes people with lived experience of disability. Core program features include didactic and hands-on research training, a broad local and national mentorship network, large national research and health claims data registries for secondary data analyses, finance, regulatory and pre-award grant support, biostatistical training and resources, and leadership and communication training. Applications for the ARRT program are currently closed.
Richmond VISN 6 Mid-Atlantic MIRECC
The Central Virginia VA Health Care System’s (CVHCS) Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment (MIRT) in Richmond, VA (“MIRECC Fellowship”) anticipates two openings for two-year, research-oriented (75% research, 25% clinical), clinical or counseling psychology postdoctoral Fellows to begin between July 1st and September 30th, 2025. The MIRECC fellowship is led by a VCU CERSE affiliate faculty member in the VA system and provides access to CERSE’s robust scientific mentoring network and research operations infrastructure to further support high quality research fellow training. This fellowship is ideal for candidates interested in Veterans’ research and obtaining a VA OR&D research career development award. Apply for the MIRECC.
Apply for Postdoctoral Rehabilitation Research Fellowships
Each program has different eligibility requirements, application components and recruitment timelines.
Apply through our VCU jobs portal and the affiliate VA portal. Applicants are encouraged to apply for multiple programs concurrently.
Learn more and Apply for the MIRECC.
