CAIRE Fellowship Program

The Center for AI and REproductive health (CAIRE) is launching a fellowship program that aims to support the next generation of researchers applying AI and data science to advance maternal, child, and reproductive health. Fellows will engage in community-based research, receive mentorship from Emory Faculty, and participate in a cohort-based training experience and network designed to prepare them for impactful, interdisciplinary careers in this space. 

CAIRE Research Priorities

1. Hypertensive Disorders & Pregnancy Complications: Early detection, monitoring, and prevention of conditions such as preeclampsia and gestational hypertension.
2. Fetal, Neonatal, and Child Health: Improving monitoring of fetal and neonatal growth, movement, and well-being to prevent adverse outcomes. Monitoring early child health and supporting caregivers.
3. Mental Health & Psychosocial Well-being: Addressing behavioral health, trauma, and social and environmental determinants that affect women and child health, especially pregnancy and postpartum outcomes.
4. Global & Community-based Health: Health solutions targeting rural and low-resource settings worldwide.
5. Sexual and Reproductive Health Education: Improving public outreach and education on topics such as family planning and contraceptive use, menstrual health, adolescent health, menopause, etc.
6. Health Worker Training and Support: Supporting the training of health workers and clinicians for the delivery of appropriate adolescent, women, and child health.

For questions about the program, email Dr. Katebi (nkatebi@emory.edu) or Dr. Ismail (azra.ismail@emory.edu).

• Innovative: Tackle pressing challenges in reproductive and community health
• Learn: Training in community-based research on AI and open science
• Connect: Get valuable feedback on your research from an interdisciplinary group, and network with faculty, clinicians, and community partners
• Grow: Build your career through mentorship, workshops, and a cohort experience

• Duration: January 1st, 2026 – August 31st, 2026
• Support: Up to 5 fellows will be selected; each will receive funding covering up to 20% of their graduate stipend for up to 8 months
• Activities include: Cohort meetings, mentorship sessions, workshops on codesign and career development, and an end-of-fellowship showcase

• Applications due: October 10th, 2025
• Program start: January 1st, 2026
• Program end: August 31st, 2026 (8 months)
• In-person launch event with cohort & advisors: mid-November 2025 (date TBD)

Applicants must:

• Be a current PhD student at Emory University (BME students in the GT–Emory joint program are eligible).
• Have a mentor (does not have to be the primary faculty advisor) from the Department of Biomedical Informatics (BMI) at Emory University.
• Partner with a community health program.
• Commit to at least one CAIRE research priority.
• Commit to sharing results, code, and data under an open access license by the end of the program.
• Must be willing to commit 20% of their time to the program, and have support from their primary supervisor. 
• Students on an existing fellowship or grant are also eligible to apply, and indicate that they have funding available already in the application form.

All applications must upload the following as a single PDF. Please name the file LastName_CAIRE.pdf: 

• Project proposal (2-pages not including references, 11-point Arial, single-spaced, 1-inch margins), including:
  • Project summary & significance
  • Methods & data
  • Feasibility & timeline
  • Community/clinical relevance
  • Open science plan
• 1-page letter from the Primary Advisor confirming their support for the student’s engagement in the fellowship and willingness to participate in the fellowship activities.

Selection Criteria (equal weightage):

• Relevance to CAIRE priorities
• Scientific merit, innovation, and open science commitment
• Community/clinical relevance
• Feasibility within 8 months
• We will schedule interviews with shortlisted applicants around two weeks after applications close, and fellows will be announced by November 1st, 2025.

• End-of-fellowship talk
• Mid-Year and Final progress report (due in April and July)
• 1 submitted manuscript or equivalent research documentation
• Acknowledge funding in any publications

• For Fellows:

• • In-person Program Launch and Final Showcase events, and networking and speaking opportunities
  • 2-credit course in Spring 2026 (includes fellowship proposal writing) and Summer 2026 for training and mentorship on projects
  • Guest Speaker Sessions

• For Faculty Mentors (both Primary Advisor and BMI mentor):

• • Meeting with the fellow about their proposed project at least once a month. Providing them feedback on drafts of manuscripts, code repositories, and other outputs.
  • Participation in the fellowship launch event (November) and final Showcase (August)
  • Engagement in the mentorship network, and willingness to interact with other fellows and faculty advisors throughout the fellowship period

Q1. What are CAIRE’s main research priorities?
CAIRE’s work focuses on advancing women and child health through interdisciplinary research. For more details, please see the full list of research priorities and current projects on our Research Projects page.

Q2. Which academic backgrounds are eligible to apply?
CAIRE welcomes PhD students from diverse fields such as computer science, engineering, public health, social sciences, and policy. Interdisciplinary perspectives strengthen our research and are highly valued.

Q3. What do you mean by a “community health program”?
A community health program refers to initiatives that extend beyond traditional biomedical research and engage directly with communities to improve health outcomes. Projects must entail a community health partner—can be a community directly, with a nonprofit organization (local or international), partnership with local clinics or public health agencies, or a community-facing program through a university. The scope is intentionally broad, as we recognize that solutions to reproductive health challenges often emerge at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and community engagement.

Q4. Is the Morehouse School of Medicine part of CAIRE’s fellowship program?
Yes. Collaborators from Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) play an important role in CAIRE’s mission to advance equity in maternal health research. Applicants (PhD students at Emory) working with MSM collaborators are strongly encouraged to apply.

Q5. Can fellowship funds be used for activities like travel, conferences, or training?
No, the fellowship funds must go towards the PhD fellow’s stipend.

Q6. Does my primary advisor have to be at Emory? 
No. Fellows may work with advisors outside Emory; however, each project should have an Emory-based mentor or co-advisor to ensure strong institutional support and integration with CAIRE's ongoing research.