PAMT is designed for early career researchers who are interested in launching a successful academic or research career by developing a research program with an integrated focus on substance use prevention science and quantitative methods.

PAMT is funded by a training grant (T32 DA017629; MPIs: Maggs, Lanza) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and by funds from Penn State.

PAMT was established to train researchers in the development and application of cutting-edge research methods for the design and evaluation of drug use and related prevention programs for children, adolescents, families, and communities. PAMT links two existing “research cultures”— substance abuse preventionists and methodologists—into one fluid community of substance abuse preventionists who are comfortable with cutting-edge methods. These linkages, combined with Penn State’s strengths in substance use etiology, methods, statistics, evaluation, and program development and testing, provide a high-quality training environment for the development of future leaders of multidisciplinary research teams.

Faculty affiliated with PAMT include researchers with training in psychology, biobehavioral health, human development and family studies, statistics, kinesiology, sociology, criminology, education, family and child ecology, information sciences and technology, and engineering, among other disciplines.

Jennifer Maggs, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, and Stephanie Lanza, Professor of Biobehavioral Health, direct the grant as training directors/multiple principal investigators. Our leadership team includes faculty from Psychology, Sociology/Criminology, and other disciplines.

Instructions can be found on the PAMT applicants page. Questions are welcome at any time and can be addressed either to prospective mentors or to Carol Masullo at cam83@psu.edu.

Post-doctoral fellows: New opportunities for a PAMT Fellowship will be announced when available. Email Carol Masullo if you would like to be added to our notification list. The PAMT home page will have a notice when we are accepting applications, including an announcement with a link to apply. Pre-doctoral fellows: Applications are due in early March, and selection of new pre-doctoral fellows occurs in late March; selected pre-doctoral fellows start their fellowships on July 1st.

Application steps are listed on the PAMT applicants page.

Questions about specific Penn State faculty members can be addressed to Carol Masullo at cam83@psu.edu.

Graduate students typically apply for PAMT pre-doctoral fellowships during their second or third year of doctoral studies. These fellowships are available to Penn State graduate students from any department that has at least one faculty member affiliated with the program. Recruitment of applicants begins with a general announcement about the availability of pre-doctoral fellowships; this announcement is sent out in January to all affiliated faculty members and relevant academic departments. Applications are due in early March, and selection of new pre-doctoral fellows occurs in late March; selected pre-doctoral fellows start their fellowships on July 1st.

Interested graduate students are encouraged to speak to any of the faculty members affiliated with the program or to contact Carol Masullo at cam83@psu.edu with any questions they may have.

To be eligible, an individual must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. at the time the fellowship is to start. Due to NIH requirements, fellows must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residency at the time of appointment. (We occasionally have a fellowship available for a non-resident through Penn State funding, but we do not anticipate any openings in this category through mid-2025.)

Interested graduate students are encouraged to speak to any of the faculty members affiliated with the program or to contact Carol Masullo at cam83@psu.edu with any questions they may have. The backgrounds of incoming PAMT post-docs vary widely. What you have done to date matters less than what you plan to do in the future. In other words, if you are committed to establishing a career focusing on research that integrates prevention science and innovative methods as related to substance use and addiction, you may be a good candidate even if you have no previous background in prevention.

We have found that some prior background and demonstrated interest in methodology is necessary for fellows to be successful in PAMT. Most successful applicants have, at a minimum, taken several methodology or statistics courses during their graduate training.

We are looking for fellows who wish to establish a line of research that has both a substance use prevention and a methodology focus. Although some of our fellows may need to improve their methodological background in certain areas to accomplish this, remedial education in methodology is not a goal of PAMT. Please feel free to contact us with a list of the statistics courses you’ve taken, and we can discuss your specific situation further.

PAMT post-docs are usually two years long. The second year is contingent upon a successful first year.

Post-docs are eligible to participate in Penn State’s medical, vision, dental, and age-graded life insurance plans. Further benefits information is available from Penn State’s Office of Postdoctoral Affairs on their Benefits for Postdoctoral Scholars web page.

Each PAMT post-doc has two mentors that together comprise expertise in both prevention science and innovative methods. Well-established senior investigators are available for mentoring. Fellows are immediately involved in ongoing projects with opportunities to publish. Fellows are encouraged to develop their own lines of research, are mentored on how to do so, and have protected time to make progress on their research. Fellows are strongly encouraged to write a grant proposal; training and mentoring in this area are provided. Penn State is the location of many exciting research projects in both prevention and methodology. There are special professional development activities for post-docs, including a grant proposal writing “boot camp” in the Spring semester.

Stipends are fixed by NIH and are based on the fiscal year during which an individual’s appointment starts. Visit the NIH training funding page for more information.

The PAMT program offers many opportunities for collaboration and training. Post-docs participate in several regular groups and meetings to encourage their professional growth and the free exchange of ideas. These include bi-weekly goal updates to discuss research progress, professional development meetings to plan for the launch of an independent research career, and Prevention Research Center seminars to learn about and explore other research in the field. Early on, PAMT post-docs establish a training plan, and then they have regular meetings with mentors to discuss progress and solicit advice. PAMT post-docs also meet with NIH program staff and attend annual meetings of the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) to present, learn, and network.

Each PAMT post-doc has a prevention mentor and a methodology mentor. Prospective post-docs identify their mentors—at least one from prevention and one from methodology—before applying to the program. See the list of faculty members affiliated with the program for mentors’ research interests, links to their websites, and contact information. Applicants who are invited to visit Penn State will have the opportunity to meet with their prospective mentors at that time. Upon acceptance to the program, the post-doc and their mentoring team work together to map out an individualized program of research and professional development for the post-doc, and thereafter discuss progress at regularly scheduled meetings.

A post-doctoral fellow submits several articles to high-level peer-reviewed journals, writes a grant proposal and submits it before the end of his/her post-doc, and presents at professional conferences. Mentoring is provided in all of these areas so that fellows are positioned for success in the next phase of their planned careers.

We have four post-doctoral slots, so sometimes we have no openings. We encourage you to contact the faculty you would like to work with and inquire about whether they have any entry-level positions funded by sources other than the PAMT program.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Direct your questions to Carol Masullo at cam83@psu.edu.

To be eligible for a PAMT post-doctoral fellowship, an individual must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. (or equivalent) by the start date of the fellowship. In accordance with NRSA guidelines, NIH-funded post-doctoral fellows must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The College of Health and Human Development will also support one training fellowship in PAMT, for which both U.S. and non-U.S. persons are eligible, but we do not anticipate this fellowship being available until 2025.

PAMT could be a great post-doctoral experience for you. A career that focuses on the integration of methodological research and prevention research would be a shift in emphasis for you. It will require you to learn about prevention and about behavioral science more generally. If you are interested in making this shift, a PAMT fellowship can help you to do it effectively and enjoyably.