Fellowship Programs and Opportunities at the Schaeffer Center

The Schaeffer Center is committed to training the next generation of health economists and researchers.  A variety of fellowships and training opportunities are available for researchers at various stages in their careers.  Learn about current staff and faculty openings on this page.

Funding for Pilot Programs

• USC Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Health Economics Research | The USC Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (USC AD-RCMAR), funding by the NIH, was established to increase the number, diversity and academic success of junior faculty focusing their research on the health and economic wellbeing of minority elderly populations. The program provides mentorship to USC AD-RCMAR scholars in multidisciplinary training, launching new lines of research, and tracking and evaluating success of pilot investigations. More information about the application process is here.
• Center for Advancing Sociodemographic and Economic Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (CeASES-ADRD) | The USC Center for Advancing Sociodemographic and Economic Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (CeASES-ADRD), accepts applications annually to fund one-year research pilot projects. Applications from scholars at all stages of their research careers interested in social science research related to ADRD are invited to apply. More information can be found here.
• USC-Yale Roybal Center for Behavioral Interventions in Aging | The USC-Yale Roybal Center for Behavioral Interventions in Aging accepts proposals annually for research projects that study mechanisms of behavior change and involve randomized controlled trials (RCTs). If approved for funding by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the projects would receive support for one year. Participants are encouraged to propose trials at their own institutions or coordinate with our Roybal Implementation Network partners. Letter of intent for the 2025-2026 funding period is due January 10, 2025 — more information can be found here.

Fellowship Opportunities

• Postdoctoral Fellowships
  Postdoctoral researchers at the Schaeffer Center focus completely on collaborative research, with no teaching requirement. Postdocs are considered full members of the Schaeffer Center community, receive one-on-one mentoring and also have access to all faculty associated with the Center.  For more information and to apply, click here.
• Clinical Fellowships
  The Clinical Fellows program fosters collaboration between Schaeffer Center faculty and exceptional junior scholars or prominent researchers and thought leaders in health policy, economics and medicine.
  For more information and to apply to the clinical fellows program, email Briana Taylor at Brianawh@usc.edu, or Sarah Axeen, PhD, at axeen@usc.edu.

Additional Opportunities

• Research Assistantships
  Students from relevant disciplines such as economics, public policy, health policy, statistics, medicine and psychology work directly with Schaeffer Center faculty on specific research projects, garnering invaluable experience and skills to further their research prowess. Any USC student without a fellowship is eligible to apply for a research assistantship.

For more information and to apply to the research assistant position, email Briana Taylor at Brianawh@usc.edu or Erin Duffy at Erin.Duffy@usc.edu.