Stanford Postdoctoral Initiative Fund (SPIF)
About SPIF
SPIF was created to recognize and support project proposals from within the Stanford postdoc community in an effort to encourage and enrich postdoc experiences. We have a proven record of backing projects from inception onwards and watching them grow. Since 2010, SPIF has successfully funded diverse projects including multi-disciplinary journal clubs, seminar series, social gatherings, professional development workshops and so on.
SPIF-Funded Groups
We’re proud to have funded the diverse set of groups and events below over the past years. All of the groups we fund are open to all Stanford Postdocs and designed for the benefit the Stanford Postdoctoral Community. We’re always looking to fund new initiatives, so if you have an idea then please do submit a letter of intent using the form above.
2021
- Networking event for Biosciences minicourse
- Postdoc Wine Appreciation Club (PWAC)
- Stanford Polymer Collective Lunch–and–Learn
- Stanford Chinese Postdoc Journal Club (already financed in previous years)
2020
2019
Stanford Polymer Collective Lunch-and-Learn
Academic Careers in Europe (ACE)
Postdoc soccer
Postdoc volley ball
Postdoc basket ball
Seminars from Korean postdocs (KOLIS)
2018
ACSSS Presentation Workshop I
ACSSS Presentation Workshop II
ACSSS Presentation Workshop III
Postdoc soccer
Postdoc volley ball
Postdoc basket ball
2017
Stanford Biosciences Grant Writing Retreat
Interdisciplinary Microbiome Perspectives
Weekly Post-Doc soccer pick-up (ongoing) | every Friday 5:00pm at Sand Hill Field
E-wear trainee journal club
E-wear student symposium
2016
Autophagy Interest Group
Stanford Bitoech Group
VA Postdoc BBQ event
Computational People United career day
Microbiome/Population-Genetics Cross-Disciplinary Journal Club
2015
GoFish! – Discussion group for Zebrafish research
Stanford Autophagy Interest Group
Mindfulness mediation workshop for postdoctoral fellows
Stanford Biotechnology Business and Finance Group (SBBFG)
VA Postdoc BBQ
2013
OBR Launch Event – Opportunities and Volatility of Biotech Startups
Mindfullness Mediation Workshop for Postdoc Fellows
CPUs: Computational People United at Stanford
LGBTQ Group for Stanford Postdocs
International Security and Cooperation Movie Series
VA postdoc BBQ event
EBAE (neurophysiology discussion group)
Stanford Symposium on the Biology of Hunter-Gatherers
Postdoc Tennis Tournament
2012
LGBTQ Group for Stanford Postdocs
International Security and Cooperation Movie Series
VA postdoc BBQ event
EBAE (neurophysiology discussion group)
Stanford Symposium on the Biology of Hunter-Gatherers
2010 / 2011
South Bay Crowdsourcing Meetup
Enriching Experiences for Postdocs within the School of Earth Sciences
Enriching Experiences for Postdocs within the School of Earth Sciences
Apply for Funding
We’re always keen to hear of new initiatives from the Stanford Postdoctoral community. If you have an idea for a project just complete the forms below
New Proposals
Not quite sure whether your proposal is suitable? Submit a Letter of Intent first! The SPIF committee will review your idea before going to the full application.
You can also skip the above process and directly submit a full proposal:
We review all submitted proposals and consider all letters of intent. Proposals are assessed based on the following criteria:
Does the proposal fill a need/gap in the Postdoctoral experience at Stanford?
Does the proposal attract a general Postdoc group?
Does the proposal fit the budget of SPIF?
If you’ve submitted a proposal or letter of intent we will be in contact with you to discuss the proposal. We may ask for adjustments prior to acceptance, but will work with you to help alter your proposal.
Reimbursement Procedure
Funded groups can follow the refund procedure described here.
Renewal Procedure
If you are seeking renewal of funding, you must first complete the follow-up questionnaire below for your previous round of funding before consideration of the new application. Once completed, the SPIF team will then be in touch to discuss the renewal process with you.
SPIF Committee Members and Chairs (Present or Past)
Committee Chairs
Marco F. Herrera (present)
Silvia Natale (2021-2022)
Marios Georgiadis (2020-2021)
Edgar A. Rios Piedra (2018-2020)
Christian La (2015-2017)
Jun Yan (2013-2014)
Ives Levesque (2010-2012)
Committee Members
Silvia Natale (present)
Alexander Fieguth (2021-2022)
Shan Jiang (2021-2022)
Edgar Rios Piedra (2018-2020)
John Hegarty (2017-2020)
Ioana Marin (2017-2020)
Daniel Joyce (2017-2020)
Christian La (2016-2019)
Ives Levesque (2010 – 2012)
Viswanathan Rajagopalan (2011 – 2012)
Irfan Ali-Khan (2011)
Kevin McIntire (2010 – 2012)
Heather Kulik (2011 – 2012)
Min Song (2012)
Santosh Kumar Gupta (2012)
Pam Ng (2012)
Tatsinda Spears (2012)
Eldi Schonfeld Dado (2012)
Alexandra Esteras Chopo (2012)
Yoan Konto (2012)
Nancy Rodriguez (2012)
Lewis John McGibbney
Sylvia Nurnberg
Jun Yan
Katie Martucci
Kelly Storek
Contact Us
If you have an idea that will enrich the postdoctoral experience at Stanford then SPIF may be able to help. We’d love to hear your ideas, whatever stage they’re at. Just get in touch using the letter of intent form above.
If you’re a current Stanford postdoc and interested in joining the SPIF team, or for all other enquires, you can use the form below to contact us:
