NITMB Visitor Program

The NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology invites researchers to apply to visit NITMB. The goal of this program is to enhance collaborations between biological and mathematical scientists and to stimulate creative thinking and interdisciplinary science.  The NITMB Visitor Program allows visitors from outside Northwestern University and the University of Chicago to engage deeply with NITMB.

NITMB is flexible in how it supports research at the interface between mathematics and biology.  Examples based upon past visitor participation are given below.  If these programs do not precisely fit your needs, please let us know how we can support you.

Example visitor scenarios:​​​​​​​​​​​

• Short- or long-term stays for faculty, from a few days to 6 months.

• Visits of postdoctoral scholars and PhD candidates for the purpose of embedding with NITMB researchers to learn new techniques and lasting anywhere between a week and a full quarter.

• Recurring local visitors for Chicagoland scholars wishing to engage in NITMB activities on a regular cadence, such as once a week, with a flexible approach that can meet the needs of faculty of teaching-intensive institutions.

• Post-workshop synthesis meetings, in which past NITMB workshop participants return to NITMB to continue work on a project catalyzed at the workshop or prepare, for example, a review article or perspective piece on a workshop topic. We envision such synthesis meetings taking place within the year following a workshop to continue an emerging research enterprise.

In addition, NITMB Focused Research Group Awards are available. This program welcomes small groups of participants (e.g., 3 to 6) scholars from multiple institutions to gather at NITMB for up to 9 days to focus intently on an independent, ambitious joint research project at the interface between mathematics/theory/computation and biology.   These teams may apply to return to continue their research.  Please see the NITMB Research page for more information about this program. 

Please note that non-U.S. citizens will need to obtain an appropriate visa or visa waiver and the purpose and duration of their visit will be limited to what the specific type of visa allows. Most international visitors will visit NITMB with a WB visa waiver or B-1 visa, which allows independent research or independent academic collaborations and durations of up to 3 or 6 months. In addition, it is very important for international visitors to be covered by health insurance while in the U.S. NITMB does not provide health insurance for visitors. More information is available as part of the application process. 

Please read the application information within the form for more details.