Early Career Professionals

ACE Membership

Associate membership is open to current students in any health sciences program, including those in Bachelor’s, Master’s, or doctoral programs. Postdoctoral fellows are also eligible for Associate membership. Affiliate membership is open to individuals who practice epidemiology, but do not meet the minimum criteria for Member status. Typically, these individuals come from disciplines where epidemiology is not a central part of their training or practice. Finally, many early career professionals are eligible for full Membership in the College. These individuals hold either a doctoral degree from an accredited program of epidemiology or related study, or a Master’s degree in epidemiology or related study in addition to 3-5 years of professional employment. Associate and full Members of the College have the opportunity to apply for leadership positions, and all ranks can serve as committee members. Membership is particularly beneficial to early career professionals through career development and educational opportunities, such as participation in seminars and workshops, mentoring by senior ACE members to supplement any existing mentorship, professional networking through collaboration on committees, enhancing leadership skills as committee chair or vice chair, and providing input on the direction of ACE and the discipline.

Career Mentoring Committee

The Career Mentoring Committee facilities educational opportunities, networking events, and mentor-mentee pairing for ACE members of all levels year-round.

ACE Scholars Program

The ACE Scholar Program is intended to foster the leadership development of early career investigators and practitioners in epidemiology, helping build the next generation of ACE leaders to fulfill its mission and goals. This one-year program is designed with programmatic elements including mentorship, networking, project management, and training. Scholars will have the opportunity to work with senior epidemiologists from the ACE community, including members of the ACE Foundation and ACE Board of Directors, to advance their career and professional goals.

Eligibility criteria:

Prospective Scholars must be current or recent graduates (less than 5 years since graduation) of a graduate-level epidemiology degree program. Due to the expectation of attending the ACE Annual Meeting as part of the program, applicants must currently reside or be employed in the U.S., although applicants are not required to be U.S. citizens. Applicants who are existing ACE members will need to complete an ACE Scholar Application; non-members will need to complete an ACE Scholar Application and simultaneously apply for membership to the College.

Key Programmatic Elements:

  • Peer-to-peer networking with other ACE Scholars
  • One-on-one mentorship pairing with an ACE Fellow
  • Opportunity to meet ACE Board of Directors and ACE Foundation leaders
  • 4 training modules (webinars) focused on career development topics
  • Opportunity to assist with ACE Annual Meeting planning or on-site conference activities
  • Travel award support to attend the ACE Annual Meeting
  • Implementation of a project to be determined in conjunction with ACE leadership based upon their priorities and needs
  • Opportunity to present project findings at ACE Annual Meeting, monthly ACE in Action webinar, and/or publish an article in the Annals of Epidemiology

Application Timeline:

Applications will be accepted annually. The ACE Executive Committee will select a subset of candidates for additional review. Virtual interviews will be conducted with all candidates at this stage, and final selections will be determined by the ACE Board of Directors in late September each year.