Yuet Mei Chin PhD Research Fellowship Program

The Yale Center on Climate Change and Health (YCCCH) seeks applications from current YSPH doctoral students for the Yuet Mei Chin PhD Research Fellowship Program. This program is designed to encourage YSPH doctoral students to engage in climate change and health research, as defined in the section entitled YCCCH Research Vision. We plan to award two Yuet Mei Chin PhD Research Fellowships for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be current YSPH doctoral students who meet both of the following criteria at the time of application:

• At least at the end of their first year in their doctoral program
• No more than one-year post-candidacy

This fellowship is well-suited for students who are working towards a climate change-focused thesis prospectus or who have recently completed one. We encourage applicants from all YSPH departments.

What we will fund:

Each fellowship award includes partial stipend support for a one-year period (with the student's department responsible for the remainder of the stipend and tuition) and $4,000 to support research, travel or publication costs. Research, travel, and publication funds may be used for expenses such as research materials, data acquisition, conference travel directly related to the project, or article processing charges for open-access publication.

Fellowship renewal:

Each fellowship may be renewed for a second year, contingent upon satisfactory progress and continued eligibility, subject to available funding.

Supplemental research awards:

YCCCH will provide up to 3 additional supplemental research awards of $4,000 each to applicants who are not selected for a full fellowship but demonstrate strong merit. These awards may be used for research, travel, or publication costs as described above.

Application format:

Please use Arial font size 11, with one-half-inch margins on all sides. Line spacing should be single-spaced. The application should include the following sections:

1. Cover Page

• Project title
• Applicant name and department
• Name(s) and department(s) of faculty mentor(s) and/or advisor(s)
• Candidacy status (date of qualifying examination or expected examination date)
• Project summary (≤ 75 words) suitable for use in announcements and communications

2. Research Proposal

(select one of the following formats)

Option A: Project Summary (3 pages maximum)

Applicants should provide a structured summary including:

• Climate change and health focus: Describe how the proposed work engages with climate change and health. Applicants should clearly situate their research within the YCCCH Research Vision (see attached).
• Specific aims and significance: State the objectives of the research and explain its scientific and public health importance.
• Research approach: Provide an overview of research design, data sources, and analytical methods.
• Timeline

Option B: Prospectus & Targeted Statement

Applicants who have developed a thesis prospectus may submit their full prospectus along with a 1-page targeted statement. The targeted statement should describe how the proposed work aligns with the fellowship and the YCCCH Research Vision (see attached), and the timeline.

3. References

Include a reference list for any citations in the research proposal.

Letter of recommendation

Applicant’s primary faculty advisor/mentor at YSPH should submit their letter of recommendation via a separate email to Drs. Kai Chen and Siqi Zhang, no later than May 31, 2026.

Fellow Expectations

Yuet Mei Chin PhD fellows will be expected to:

• Actively engage with YCCCH research and education activities, including attending YCCCH Fellow social events and the annual Yale Forum on Climate Change and Health
• Join the YCCCH PhD Fellows cohort, which builds a community of climate-focused scholars through networking, training, and career development events

Application process:

Please email your application as a single PDF file to YCCCH Faculty Director, Dr. Kai Chen, and YCCCH Research Capacity Building Lead, Dr. Siqi Zhang, by May 31, 2026.

This program is funded by the Yuet Mei Chin Innovation Fund.