Navigating the Postdoc Funding Landscape
Rachel and Joseph discuss how dynamic and individualized the postdoc funding landscape is. Rachel further shares some simple habits she uses as a proposal developer to not only stay informed about the funding landscape but also approach crafting a proposal with intentionality and purpose.
Organized in collaboration with the Proposal Development Office
Navigating the Postdoc Funding Landscape
Rachel Noble-Varney
Rachel has a master’s in fine arts in creative writing from The Ohio State University and a bachelor of science degree in anthropology and sociology from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She began her career working in nonprofit management at the Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force in Portland, Oregon, a city she still loves. After returning to central Kentucky, Rachel served as the assistant director for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in downtown Lexington, managing networks of AmeriCorps members and supervising literacy and literary arts programming.
Upon completing her MFA, in 2008, Rachel entered the world of higher education, working at Berea College as associate director of grant services. She also continued to work as an adjunct instructor, teaching poetry, business writing, composition, and interdisciplinary social science courses. Prior to joining the Kentucky Geological Survey, Rachel worked as a Proposal Development Officer at the University of Kentucky, helping researchers to create and manage proposals for grants and research projects.
Joseph Lutz, PhD
Dr. Lutz received his Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Bath, United Kingdom, and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Kentucky. His predoctoral research focused on studying neuroprotective natural products targeted at nicotinic receptors against alcohol induced neurotoxicity. He subsequently joined the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he completed his postdoctoral training in the Human Addiction Psychopharmacology lab, where he investigated various aspects of human subjective responses to alcohol. During his postdoc, he was an active member of the UIC Postdoctoral Association allowing him to find his passion for postdoc career & professional development and helping the next generation of scientists and scholars. He became the Associate Director of Postdoctoral Affairs at UIC where he ran the UIC postdoc office for a year before returning to his alma mater to become the inaugural Director of Postdoctoral Affairs at the University of Kentucky and establish the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
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