The Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science is pleased to host the Kathryn A. Day Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. This award, established in 2019, was started through a major pledge to the Institute by Professor Randy Schekman (Miller Senior Fellow 2008-2013) and Professor Sabeeha Merchant in honor of retired Chief Administrative Officer Kathy Day's dedicated service to the Institute over her 30 year career.
This award is intended to support an outstanding early career scientist through a 3-year Miller Fellowship. Eligible recipients are considered annually and are selected through the established Miller Fellowship program competition. Priority consideration will be granted to candidates who have demonstrated efforts towards community building and outreach in support of science. The Institute intends to make a new award each year. The first Kathryn A. Day award was made in 2022 to neuroscientist Raul Ramos (Miller Fellow 2022-2025).
Kathy Day began her University of California career at UC Santa Barbara where she simultaneously obtained her Master’s Degree in Education. Following her 5 years in Southern California, she moved to the Bay Area with her family and was hired by Professor Fred Wilt to be the administrative head of the Miller Institute. Over the three decades of her service to the University and the Institute, she helped foster the overall growth of the program. Miller Fellowships expanded from 2 to 3 year terms, the Miller Senior Fellowship Program began, and the Annual Interdisciplinary Symposium was created. Kathy was dedicated to building a sense of community, particularly among the Miller Fellows. Picnics, hikes, field trips and social gatherings were key to developing these long-lasting relationships.
Randy Schekman, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2013, was appointed the first Miller Senior Fellow in 2008. He has long been associated with the Miller Institute as a host to both Miller Fellows and Visiting Miller Professors.
Professor Sabeeha Merchant, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Plant and Microbial Biology, was a Miller Institute invited speaker at the 2019 annual symposium.
Through their generosity, this new fellowship program has been established to continue their desire to support scientific research at the highest levels.
Nominations for the Kathryn A. Day Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship award will be accepted during the Fall competition cycle for awards in the following Academic Year. Complete instructions will be made available on the Miller Institute website at: https://miller.berkeley.edu/fellowship.
