What does a doctoral fellow do?
A doctoral fellow is a physician that has completed studies and receives a fellowship to cover his/her or her expenses while completing his/her or her medical dissertation. A doctor fellow undergoes this fellowship to get additional training for their chosen sub-specialty. During the fellowship period, a fellow can act as an attending physician or consultant physician with other physicians' direct supervision in the sub-specialty field.
Doctoral fellow responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real doctoral fellow resumes:
- Lead the in-vitro biophysical and biochemical characterization of homologous recombination and investigate structure-function effects of mutant enzymes.
- Attend courses in drug discovery, python programming, and next-generation sequencing analyses.
- Coordinate the validation of data aquisition algorithms (C++, python) for all real and simulate data.
- Conduct custom synthesis of organic molecules, key intermediates and building blocks for medicinal chemistry applications.
- Design PCL/PLCL drug delivery system for DC immunotherapy.
- Succeed in using CRISPR to genetically correct diseas iPSCs.
- Design and cloned several CRISPR sgRNA constructs with innovative reporters for tracking expression.
- Used mouse tumor model to begin to define an immunotherapy model for EBV associate malignancies.
- Complete CITI and iStar training to receive project approval from IRB to carry out study.
- Develop a bioinformatics tool (BLogo, written by Perl) for visualization of bias in biological sequences.
- Study m-RNA and micro RNA profile of patient thymus samples and identify several target genes and deregulate micro RNAs.
- Create a cancer analysis pipeline that integrates exome resequencing and transcriptome (RNA-seq) data to find biomarkers (e.g.
- Build and set up of experimentation framework allowing batch and schedule tests (Java) base on a distribute file system.
- Develop novel methodologies for examining brain physiology.
- Research developmental and reproductive physiology of mosquitoes.
Doctoral fellow skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Doctoral Fellows are proficient in Patients, Cell Culture, and Data Analysis.
We break down the percentage of Doctoral Fellows that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 8%
Conducted individual therapy and group counseling sessions as well as case management with a diverse population of severely mentally ill patients.
- Cell Culture, 6%
Acquired expertise in analyzing biochemical processes with kinetic resolution, localization of binding sites and primary cell culture.
- Data Analysis, 5%
Designed and executed experiments relevant to the project, analyzed and interpreted data using a range of scientific data analysis software.
- Research Projects, 5%
Lead several research projects to develop novel vaccine platforms and technologies to induce protective immunity specific to influenza virus.
- Cell Biology, 5%
Conducted independent research using molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry methods.
- Immunology, 5%
Provided consultation and liaison to various medical clinics including: Special Immunology, Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Primary Care/Gynecology.
Most doctoral fellows use their skills in "patients," "cell culture," and "data analysis" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential doctoral fellow responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a doctoral fellow to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "medical scientists must be able to explain their research in nontechnical ways." Additionally, a doctoral fellow resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "developed a telemedicine health communication tool of pediatrics nephrology for patients in russia"
Observation skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling doctoral fellow duties is observation skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "medical scientists conduct experiments that require monitoring samples and other health-related data." According to a doctoral fellow resume, here's how doctoral fellows can utilize observation skills in their job responsibilities: "direct observation of e-cadherin in live mammalian cells gfp and confocal microscopy recombinant adenovirus and retrovirus for expression of marker proteins. "
The three companies that hire the most doctoral fellows are:
- Mount Sinai Health System465 doctoral fellows jobs
- Houston Methodist58 doctoral fellows jobs
- Harvard University54 doctoral fellows jobs
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Compare different doctoral fellows
Doctoral fellow vs. Assistant research scientist
An Assistant Research Scientist assists in planning, conducting, and analyzing various research projects. They also order and manage lab inventory, materials, and equipment.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a doctoral fellow are more likely to require skills like "patients," "cell biology," "immunology," and "veterans." On the other hand, a job as an assistant research scientist requires skills like "lab equipment," "laboratory equipment," "extraction," and "analyze data." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Assistant research scientists really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $71,080. Comparatively, doctoral fellows tend to make the most money in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $67,423.The education levels that assistant research scientists earn slightly differ from doctoral fellows. In particular, assistant research scientists are 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a doctoral fellow. Additionally, they're 31.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Doctoral fellow vs. Research scientist
The job of research scientists is to design, undertake, and analyze information from experiments, trials, and laboratory-based investigations. They usually perform experiments in different areas, including medical research, pharmacology, and geoscience. They have varied duties and responsibilities that include planning and carrying out experiments, conducting fieldwork, and overseeing junior staff members like the technicians. They are typically working for a government laboratory, an environmental agency, and other organizations. Many of these scientists also work in teams and support staff.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that doctoral fellow responsibilities requires skills like "cell biology," "immunology," "veterans," and "physiology." But a research scientist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "java," "molecular biology," "tensorflow," and "visualization."
In general, research scientists achieve similar levels of education than doctoral fellows. They're 3.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 31.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for doctoral fellows in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Betsy Smith
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College
Doctoral fellow vs. Staff scientist
The primary role of a Staff Scientist is to develop and manage scientific research projects with minimal supervision. They are also responsible for the technical and budgetary aspects of scientific research projects.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, doctoral fellows are more likely to have skills like "patients," "cell biology," "immunology," and "veterans." But a staff scientist is more likely to have skills like "molecular biology," "rna," "project management," and "product development."
Staff scientists make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $102,260. On the other hand, doctoral fellows are paid the highest salary in the pharmaceutical industry, with average annual pay of $67,423.Most staff scientists achieve a similar degree level compared to doctoral fellows. For example, they're 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 22.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Doctoral fellow vs. Researcher
A researcher is responsible for collating, organizing, and verifying necessary information for a specific subject. Researchers' duties include analyzing data, gathering and comparing resources, ensuring facts, sharing findings with the whole research team, adhering to required methodologies, performing fieldwork as needed, and keeping critical information confidential. Researchers must be knowledgeable about the current market trends and align findings with the research goals. A researcher must show strong communication skills, as well as strong attention to detail and time-management skills to meet deadlines under minimal supervision.
Types of doctoral fellow
Updated January 8, 2025
