Research

Research is an essential part of a scientific degree. Our faculty collaborates with colleagues locally and abroad to tackle the global challenges facing health, security, and sustainability. Designated an R1 National Research University, our portfolio boasts major funding from grants, philanthropy, and industry partners.

Mental Health Research Consortium

Understanding and improving mental health is a multi-scale, multi-partner endeavor. By engaging with interdisciplinary research at all levels – across departments, colleges, institutions, cities, and regions – we are tackling some of the most important societal challenges.

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Join the INVEST Junior Faculty Program

Our innovative INVEST program is a new approach to faculty hiring. If you are completing your PhD or at an early stage of your postdoctoral training, you may be interested in this accelerated pathway to tenure-track faculty appointments.

Find out more about this program and how to apply.

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Postdoctoral Training Program

Postdoctoral researchers drive discovery in fundamental and use-inspired research in each of the six departments in the College of Science at Northeastern University.

The COS Postdoctoral Research Program is personalized for each postdoctoral researcher’s needs and aspirations. In addition to rich research experiences with our faculty members, our postdocs have comprehensive professional development support for a variety of career paths.

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Science Fellows Program

The Northeastern Science Fellows Program offers exceptional junior scientists the opportunity to develop independent research programs, as an alternative to traditional postdoctoral training.

The Fellows Program thus provides a powerful pathway to an independent faculty career. Newly qualified PhD recipients with an outstanding track record of high-impact research, and with ideas and potential for an independent research program will be considered. Candidates may have a history of successful fellowship funding.

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Center for Research Innovation

The Center for Research Innovation serves as the nexus of inspiration and invention, empowering Northeastern innovators and entrepreneurs to transform their boldest ideas into societal impact. Agile and responsive, the CRI protects, accelerates, and translates university innovations into tangible solutions through licensing, venture creation, and industry collaboration.

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CRI Spark Fund

The CRI Spark Fund helps Northeastern researchers bridge the gap between promising lab results and demonstrating a commercially viable prototype. Our grants and programs catalyze state-of-the-art technologies, advancing Northeastern inventions through prototyping, validation, and industry input.

Awards support commercially valuable inventions (from any field) in earlier stages of development. Recipients are awarded $50,000 for one year towards their research.

Validation Awards
Technology Readiness Levels 2-3

For inventions at Technology Levels 2-3, successful applicants will have formulated novel concepts, applications, methods or compositions and partially validated their theories. In the life sciences, experimental proof-of-concept has been established via in vitro results. In all other fields, laboratory-based studies and validating strategies should be underway.

Commerical Prototype Awards
Technology Readiness Levels 4-5

For inventions at Technology Levels 4-5, successful life science applicants will have validated the invention in vitro with in vivo testing underway or complete. For all other fields, technologies are approaching near final commercial performance and will use the Spark Fund to complete minimum viable commercial products.