Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health 2027–2028: A Paid One-Year Fellowship at Trinity College Dublin or UCSF for Emerging Dementia and Brain Health Leaders
The Global Brain Health Institute is accepting applications for its paid, year-long Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health program, based at Trinity College Dublin or UC San Francisco, with access to pilot awards of up to $25,000.
Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health 2027–2028: A Paid One-Year Fellowship at Trinity College Dublin or UCSF for Emerging Dementia and Brain Health Leaders
The Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) has opened applications for the 2027–2028 cohort of the Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health program. It is a paid, year-long fellowship for people who want to reduce the scale and impact of dementia and to make brain health fairer across communities and countries. Fellows train at one of two sites — Trinity College Dublin or the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) — and join a permanent, worldwide network of more than 300 Atlantic Fellows from over 65 countries.
This is not a conventional research grant or a degree program. It is a leadership fellowship that mixes clinical and scientific learning with the arts, policy, advocacy, and lived experience. If you already work on aging, brain health, or dementia, or you touch those issues from an adjacent field such as journalism, technology, economics, or community organizing, this program is designed to sharpen your ideas and give you the network and support to act on them.
Key Details at a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Program | Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health |
| Run by | Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) |
| Sites | Trinity College Dublin (full-time, in-person) or UCSF, San Francisco (part-time, global hybrid) |
| Length | One fellowship year, starting in late August 2027 |
| Cohort | 2027–2028 |
| Funding | Paid fellowship; salary matched to the cost of living in Dublin or San Francisco, confirmed at acceptance |
| Extra support | Access to competitive pilot awards of up to $25,000 for a community project |
| Trinity deadline | 18 September 2026 |
| UCSF deadline | 2 November 2026 |
| Who should apply | Emerging leaders from any discipline committed to equity in brain health |
| Apply at | https://www.gbhi.org/apply |
Note on amounts: GBHI describes the fellowship as paid and full-time, and previous cohort materials confirm fellows receive a basic salary matched to the cost of living at their site. The exact figure is shared with each candidate at the point of acceptance rather than published in advance, because it varies by site and personal circumstances. Treat the salary as confirmed in principle but individually set, and confirm the number for your situation before you commit.
What the Fellowship Offers
The core of the program is a structured fellowship year built around three things: an interdisciplinary curriculum, hands-on mentoring, and a lifelong network.
The curriculum develops an equity-informed understanding of brain health and dementia. It draws on clinical, scientific, and humanities expertise, and it is grounded in the lived experiences of people living with dementia and those who care for them. Rather than sitting through lectures alone, fellows take part in observational and case-based learning in clinical and community settings, and they build practical skills in communication, research design, leadership, and advocacy. The aim is to prepare people to become effective, credible leaders who can move ideas from a seminar room into policy, practice, and public conversation.
Mentoring runs alongside the curriculum. Fellows are supported by faculty and by local community mentors who help them define a goal and then pursue it. That mentoring is also the on-ramp to the program’s most tangible piece of funding: the Pilot Awards for Global Brain Health Leaders, competitive grants of up to $25,000 that let fellows launch an ambitious, small-scale project in their home community. The pilot awards are not automatic — they are competitive and applied for during and after the fellowship — but the program is explicitly built to help you become a strong candidate for one.
Fellows also receive academic recognition. Completing the year earns a Certificate in Equity in Brain Health, and the fellowship connects participants to world-class researchers, clinicians, artists, and policymakers for collaborations that can last well beyond the program.
The Two Sites: Trinity vs UCSF
One of the first real decisions you will make is which site to apply to. You apply to only one per cycle, and the two options are deliberately different in format even though they share the same mission, values, and core structure.
Trinity College Dublin runs a full-time, in-person fellowship based in Dublin. This is the right fit if you can relocate for the year and want the immersion of being physically present with your cohort, faculty, and clinical partners day to day. Full-time, in-person study tends to build the deepest peer bonds and the most hands-on clinical and community exposure.
UCSF (San Francisco) runs a part-time, global hybrid fellowship. It blends weekly online learning with international in-person sessions and optional visits to San Francisco. This model suits people who cannot step away from existing work or family commitments for a full year, or who are based outside the United States and want to keep a foot in their home setting while they train. It asks for strong self-discipline and reliable time each week, but it removes the need to fully relocate.
Choose the site that matches your professional goals, your availability, and your preferred way of learning — not simply the more famous name. Because the two sites have different deadlines (Trinity closes earlier, on 18 September 2026; UCSF closes 2 November 2026), your choice also affects how much time you have to prepare a strong application.
Who Should Apply
GBHI casts a wide net on discipline and a narrow one on purpose. The program actively seeks people from a broad range of fields — the arts, sciences, economics, policy, medicine, journalism, community-based practice, technology, public health, and education, among others. What ties applicants together is not a single credential but a shared focus: a genuine, demonstrated commitment to improving brain health and to reducing the unequal burden of dementia within and between communities.
The program describes its fellows as emerging leaders. In practice that means people who have enough experience and standing to lead change, and a concrete idea of what they want to change, but who are still early enough in their leadership arc to benefit from intensive development, mentoring, and a global network. If you can point to work you have already done on aging, brain health, dementia, care, or health equity — or a credible plan to bring your existing skills to bear on those problems — you are the kind of candidate the selection process is built to find.
GBHI’s public materials do not publish a fixed age limit, a required degree, or a minimum number of years of experience. Because those specifics can vary by site and by year, confirm the current requirements on the official application pages for Trinity and UCSF before you invest time in the application.
How to Apply
Applications run through the official GBHI site. From the main apply page you choose your site and follow the dedicated link — “Apply to GBHI at UCSF” or “Apply to GBHI at Trinity” — each of which opens that site’s application portal and its own instructions.
While GBHI does not publish a single universal checklist on the overview page, fellowship applications of this kind typically ask for a combination of the following, so prepare them early:
- A statement or set of essays explaining your commitment to equity in brain health, the change you want to make, and why this fellowship, at this site, fits your goals.
- A CV or résumé showing your experience and leadership to date.
- Evidence of leadership potential and community connection — the concrete work, roles, or initiatives that back up your statement.
- References or recommendations from people who can speak to your ability and character.
Read the requirements on your chosen site’s portal carefully and follow them exactly, including word limits, file formats, and reference instructions. Because the two sites are administered separately, do not assume the UCSF checklist matches Trinity’s.
Timeline and Deadlines
The 2027–2028 cycle has two hard dates, and they are different by site:
- Trinity College Dublin: applications close 18 September 2026.
- UCSF: applications close 2 November 2026.
The fellowship year begins in late August 2027. That gives selected fellows roughly nine to ten months between deadline and start to arrange leave, relocation (for Trinity), or the weekly commitment (for UCSF). Work backward from your site’s deadline: if you are aiming at Trinity, you have the tighter runway and should be drafting essays and lining up references now. If you are aiming at UCSF, you have a little more room, but strong references and thoughtful essays still take weeks to assemble well.
Preparation Strategy
Treat this as a leadership application, not a job application. Reviewers are looking for a clear, specific vision for change and evidence that you can carry it out — not a generic interest in “brain health.”
- Name the problem you want to solve. Vague ambition reads as weak. A sharp, local, and honest problem statement — who is affected, why the current situation is unfair, and what you would do about it — is far more compelling.
- Show, don’t assert, your leadership. Point to concrete work: a program you built, a campaign you ran, patients or communities you served, research you moved forward. Specifics beat adjectives.
- Connect your discipline to brain health. If you come from outside medicine, make the bridge explicit. A journalist, economist, artist, or technologist can be exactly what a cohort needs — but only if you explain how your skills reduce inequity in brain health.
- Pick the right site and say why. A reviewer can tell when someone chose Trinity or UCSF thoughtfully versus by default. Tie your choice to your availability, your goals, and the learning format that suits you.
- Line up strong references early. The best recommenders are busy. Ask now, give them your draft materials, and make it easy for them to write something specific.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Applying to both sites or the wrong one. You apply to a single site per cycle. Decide deliberately.
- Missing the earlier Trinity deadline. If Trinity is your target, 18 September 2026 comes fast. Do not pace yourself to the later UCSF date by mistake.
- Treating the pilot award as guaranteed money. The up-to-$25,000 pilot awards are competitive and applied for separately. Present them as an opportunity you intend to pursue, not a sum you are owed.
- Writing a generic statement. Reusable, buzzword-heavy essays are easy to spot. Ground everything in your own work and your own community.
- Ignoring the format reality. The UCSF hybrid demands consistent weekly time; Trinity demands a year in Dublin. Be honest with yourself about which you can actually deliver.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the fellowship really paid? Yes. GBHI describes it as a paid, full-time fellowship, and prior cohort materials confirm fellows receive a basic salary matched to the cost of living at their site. The exact figure is confirmed with you at acceptance.
Can I apply from outside the US or Ireland? The Atlantic Fellows network spans more than 65 countries, and the UCSF hybrid model is built partly to include people who cannot relocate. Confirm any nationality or visa specifics on the official application pages.
Do I need to be a doctor or scientist? No. The program actively recruits from the arts, policy, journalism, economics, community practice, and technology, among other fields. The common thread is commitment to equity in brain health, not a specific credential.
What happens after the year ends? Becoming an Atlantic Fellow is described as the start of a lifelong fellowship. Graduates join a permanent, engaged alumni community and can keep collaborating across the global network and pursuing pilot awards.
How many fellows are selected? GBHI does not publish a fixed cohort number on the overview page. Assume the program is selective and build a strong, specific application accordingly.
Official Links and Next Steps
Start at the official application hub: https://www.gbhi.org/apply. From there, choose Trinity College Dublin or UCSF and open that site’s dedicated application portal for the exact requirements, materials, and instructions. Verify your chosen site’s deadline (18 September 2026 for Trinity, 2 November 2026 for UCSF), confirm the current eligibility details, and, if you are targeting Trinity, begin drafting now — the earlier deadline leaves the least room to spare.
If you have a real commitment to fairer brain health and a concrete idea for change, this fellowship offers something rare: a paid year of interdisciplinary training, hands-on mentoring, access to pilot funding, and a permanent seat in a global community working on one of the defining health challenges of an aging world.