Award Description
It takes 17 years to turn 14% of original research into services that are routinely provided in community service settings. This research-to-practice gap fuels treatment disparities and reduces access to quality services in community settings. Traditionally, academic researchers have not been effective at partnering with communities to support the adoption and sustained use of evidence-based care in a manner that is feasible, acceptable, and useful to communities.
In response to this challenge, the ACCESS (Advancing Community Care, Equity, and Service Sustainability) Fellowship in Implementation Science provides recent college graduates with the opportunity to spend two years learning to use implementation science methods to tackle the following issues:
(1) Examining and addressing structural and systemic barriers to engagement and quality care delivery
(2) Implementing early intervention and mental health services in community settings that are naturally positioned to serve children and families
(3) Increasing the cultural responsiveness of mental health services and systems
ACCESS Fellows will also learn about common evidence-based services for autism and how these services are implemented and adapted across settings in order to meet the needs of families, providers, and healthcare systems. This will include learning how community-partnered, mixed-methods and qualitative research can be used to empower the voices of autistic individuals, families, and community partners to support meaningful research questions and processes.
Fellows, who are directly mentored by faculty, will gain experience working alongside key community stakeholders and will be involved in a highly active and productive community of interdisciplinary students, clinicians, and researchers committed to community engagement, inclusivity, and service access. This fellowship aims to serve as a stepping stone for doctoral programs in clinical psychology, community psychology, school psychology, medical school and for students interested in public health.
ACCESS Fellows will guide a research project, from data collection through analysis and publication of results. Over two years, fellows will gain in-depth research experience through active engagement in community training and implementation efforts. Fellows also complete an intensive summer training seminar covering clinical research in autism, exposure to a variety of autism clinical services, grand rounds meetings (twice a month), ACCESS Lab meetings (weekly), community advisory board meetings, and ongoing didactic practica.
Award Amount
$38,000 in the first year, $39,000 in the second year (with full healthcare coverage across both years)
Sponsor Institution
Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Emory University School of Medicine
Program Directors
Ami Klin, Warren Jones, Katherine Pickard, Jocelyn Kuhn
For more information on the Faculty at the Marcus Autism Center, visit our website.
Eligibility Requirements
College graduates who will have received a bachelor's degree by the start of the fellowship are eligible to apply.
For the ACCESS Fellowship, research experience with psychology, community engagement, public health, and education is valued. A key feature of this fellowship is interest in studying strategies that support the translation of therapeutic practices into community systems. There is an emphasis on community systems that serve marginalized and minoritized autistic individuals and their families.
We strongly value diversity and encourage candidates of all backgrounds and all career routes to apply, including autistic and neurodiverse applicants. Please note that this fellowship is not offered concurrently with graduate studies. However, for fellows leaving the program, we do hope that the fellowship will serve as an important stepping-stone towards future graduate studies or careers in autism health services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please refer to the FAQ page for questions regarding this fellowship and the How to Apply page for more information on application.
For additional questions, please contact the Marcus Fellowship Committee at marcus.predoc-fellowships@emory.edu or (404) 785-9554.