DIRECT Program

• DIRECT trainees receive an annual stipend of a minimum of $32,500 for the first three years, fully paid tuition, health insurance, yearly conference travel support (up to $1,000), and yearly reimbursement for childcare costs (up to $3,000). After the completion of the DIRECT Program, the admitting department will provide a stipend at the existing NIH recommended rates, with full tuition support, until degree completion.
• A supportive community of scholars and advisors focused on cohort building, mentoring, and networking.
• Development of academic, scientific rigor, presentation, communication, leadership, and social integration skills through various activities, including five program-specific didactic courses, weekly professional development seminar series, experiential learning, and workshops.
• A paid summer bridge program prior to the first semester of graduate school that focuses on supporting a successful transition into graduate school and the University of Mississippi.
• Exploration of career pathways in the biomedical fields through career development programming.
• Independent research with dedicated mentors.

Applicants must be a citizen or a noncitizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment.

Applications from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged. These groups include but are not limited to Black/African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos, Vietnamese; individuals with disabilities, from rural communities, or disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds; first generation college students, and individuals who may be underrepresented based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

How to apply to the DIRECT Program:

All applicants interested in applying to the DIRECT Program must apply to the participating PhD Program as well as the DIRECT Program. Please follow the steps and note the deadlines outlined below:

Step 1: Apply to a participating PhD program

All applicants interested in applying to the DIRECT Program must first complete an application to the PhD program they are interested in through the University of Mississippi’s Graduate School online application portal found at https://www.olemiss.edu/depts/graduate_school/.

To learn more about the application procedure to the Graduate School, please visit https://gradschool.olemiss.edu/prospective-students/overview-of-application-process/

Step 2: Apply to the DIRECT Program

Once your application to the PhD program of choice is completed, you can complete the application to the DIRECT Program here https://uofmississippi.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8HRutOASJacJJCC .

Note: Deadline for the DIRECT Program application is February 1^st.

Please note that the DIRECT Program application will not be reviewed unless the applicant has also completed an application to one of our participating PhD programs.

Please email DIRECT@olemiss.edu if you have any questions about the DIRECT Program application.

Deadlines and Program Contact Information for the Participating Programs:

Note that although each participating program has a different application deadline, the deadline for application to the DIRECT Program (STEP 2) is February 1. You will need to complete your application to the Participating Program prior to the February 1 deadline.

If you have further questions, please complete this contact form.

DIRECT Required Didactic Courses:

• Research Methodology & Techniques
• Ethics I
• Navigating Your Research Experience
• Scientific Writing
• Ethics II

In addition to the above-mentioned courses, students must fulfill all graduate program requirements of the admitting department for degree completion.

DIRECT Required activities include:

• Summer Bridge Program & Research/Lab Group Rotation
• Weekly DIRECT Program Seminar Series
• Workshops
• Presentation of research at national and local conferences
• Participation in experiential learning (internships, internships, or site visits)
• Completion of an Original Research Proposal
• Developing and submitting an NIH F31 Fellowship Application by year 3 in the DIRECT Program
• Publishing at least one first-author manuscript prior to graduation

Ph.D. Biological Science

Ph.D. Chemistry

Ph.D. Health & Kinesiology

Emphasis areas: Exercise Science

Ph.D. Nutrition & Hospitality Management

Emphasis area: Nutrition

Ph.D. Pharmaceutical Sciences

Emphasis areas: Environmental Toxicology, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology, Pharmacy Administration

Ph.D. Psychology

Emphasis area: Experimental Psychology

Ph.D. Biological Science

Dr. Joshua Bloomekatz - josh@olemiss.edu

Dr. Sixue Chen - schen8@olemiss.edu

Dr. Patrick Curtis - pdcurtis@olemiss.edu

Dr. Erik Hom - erik@olemiss.edu

Dr. Yongjian Qiu - yqiu@olemiss.edu

Ph.D. Chemistry

Dr. Saumen Chakraborty - saumenc@olemiss.edu

Dr. Penghao Li - penghao@olemiss.edu

Dr. Eden Tanner - eetanner@olemiss.edu

Ph.D. Health & Kinesiology

Dr. Jeremy Loenneke - jploenne@olemiss.edu

Dr. Lloyd Wade - cwade@olemiss.edu

Ph.D. Nutrition & Hospitality Management

Dr. Yunhee Chang - chang@olemiss.edu

Dr. Georgianna Mann Schroeder - grmann@olemiss.edu

Dr. Melinda Valliant - valliant@olemiss.edu

Dr. Nadeeja Wijayatunga - nadeejaw@olemiss.edu

Ph.D. Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Eman Ashour - eashour@olemiss.edu

Dr. Marie Barnard - mbarnard@olemiss.edu

Dr. David Colby - dacolby@olemiss.edu

Dr. Robert Doerksen - rjd@olemiss.edu

Dr. Vitor Pomin - vpomin@olemiss.edu

Dr. Gregg Roman - groman@olemiss.edu

Dr. Courtney Roper - clroper@olemiss.edu

Dr. Joshua Sharp - jsharp@olemiss.edu

Dr. James Stewart - jastewa7@olemiss.edu

Dr. Kristine Willett - kwillett@olemiss.edu

Dr. Yi Yang - yiyang@olemiss.edu

Ph.D. Psychology

Dr. Sarah Bilsky - sabilsky@olemiss.edu

Dr. Stephanie Miller - semille5@olemiss.edu

Dr. Erica O’Brien - elobrie1@olemiss.edu

Dr. Joseph Wellman - wellman@olemiss.edu