Finding funds for research is among the steepest hurdles that young investigators must surmount as they grow from grad school students to postdocs to finally running their own laboratories.

Years of yo-yo budgeting has reduced the confidence young researchers once had of obtaining funding through NIH, and over the past 20 years, lowered the amount of money available. The success rate for all research project grants dipped to 15.3% in the sequestration-stymied federal fiscal year that ended September 30, 2013, about half the two-decade high 29.5% of FY 1999.

“Imagine yourself as a visionary young scientist at one of our nation’s research universities. You have many exciting ideas. You write up the most promising and send the grant application to NIH in hopes of being supported. But you find it increasingly difficult to remain optimistic or to see a future in this field when you look at the steep odds of being funded,” Sally Rockey, NIH’s deputy director for extramural research, wrote September 24, 2013, in her blog Rock Talk on NIH’s website.

A little bit of help is on the way, thanks to GEN’s list of 25 grant programs that direct funds to younger researchers. The list is unranked and listed in the alphabetical order of the sponsoring organizations, based on information furnished by these organizations on their websites and other publicly available material.

Each program is listed by its name, amount of funding available and types of costs covered, eligibility requirements of applicants, the purpose of the grant program, status of recent activity, and a link or links with more detailed program information.


American Diabetes Association

Career Development Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Up to $175,500 per year for up to five years, plus 15% allowable indirect costs; Applicants may request a $25,000 stipend for additional equipment for each of the first two years.

Eligibility: Applicants must be four to seven years out of their postdoctoral or clinical fellowship in order to apply. Applicants must hold an assistant professorship within his/her institution or will be promoted to this position upon receipt of the award. Applicant must have demonstrated the ability to conduct research independently of their former mentor by appearing as the senior or corresponding author on at least one previous publication relevant to the grant topic, preferably without mentor as co-author.

Purpose: Assist outstanding Assistant Professor level faculty investigators in conducting diabetes-related research. The award supports an individual’s salary and research project to enable the investigator to advance his/her career as an independent investigator.

Activity status: Closed for round of applications due January 15, for July 2014 funding.

More information: http://professional.diabetes.org/Diabetes_Research.aspx?typ=18&cid=89696

Junior Faculty Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Up to $138,000 per year for up to three years for direct costs, plus 15% allowable indirect costs. Applicants can additionally request up to $10,000 per year toward the repayment of the principal on loans for a doctoral degree (M.D., Ph.D., Pharm.D., D.P.M. or D.O.). There is no fixed limit for PI salary.

Eligibility: Either 1) senior postdoctoral or clinical fellows (more than three years of research experience since doctoral degree) and will receive their first full-time faculty/staff position by the start date of the award, or 2) junior faculty holding any level of faculty appointment up to and including Assistant Professor. Applicants with more than 10 years research experience beyond conferral of their doctoral degree are not eligible for this award.

Purpose: Support new investigators who are establishing their independence in diabetes research; Applicants can have any level of faculty appointment up through assistant professor.

Activity status: Closed for round of applications due January 15, for July 2014 funding.

More information: http://professional.diabetes.org/Diabetes_Research.aspx?typ=18&cid=89696

American Diabetes Association/Canadian Diabetes Association Joint Postdoctoral Fellowship

Amount of funding/Costs covered: $40,000 per year for two to three years, to be used exclusively for the applicant’s salary. There are no indirect costs associated with this award. In addition, each recipient will receive a $3,000 travel allowance per year to attend the ADA and CDA annual scientific meetings. The award recipients will be obligated to attend at least one of these meetings each year, and encouraged to submit and present their results at both meetings.

Eligibility: Postdoctoral candidates in the U.S. intending to train in Canada, and Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada intending to go the U.S. for training will be considered. No more than five applicants will be recommended as finalists. Two fellowship award recipients are selected, one each from Canada and the U.S.

Purpose: Support research training at the postdoctoral level, in the field of diabetes. Candidates are expected to pursue a career in diabetes-related research as an independent investigator upon completion of postdoctoral training.

Activity status: Closed for round of applications whose deadline was extended to February 17 for July 2014 funding.

More information: http://professional.diabetes.org/Diabetes_Research.aspx?typ=18&cid=89697

Mentor-Based Postdoctoral Minority Fellowship Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: $45,000 per year for two to three years; award is for the stipend support of a single Fellow in a given year, as well as laboratory supplies and travel costs. All award expenses, including supplies and publication expenses, should revolve around the Fellow. No indirect costs may be requested.

Eligibility: Awards are granted to established diabetes investigators to support a minority postdoctoral fellow. Applications must be initiated and submitted by the mentor. Eligible minorities include: African American or Black; Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino; American Indian or Alaskan Native; and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

Purpose: Support the training of minority scientists in the field of diabetes research. In order to apply, the fellow must identify as an eligible minority (See Eligibility).

Activity status: Closed for round of applications due January 15, for July 2014 funding.

More information: http://professional.diabetes.org/Diabetes_Research.aspx?typ=18&cid=89697#MI_Award


American Heart Association

Beginning Grant-In-Aid

Amount of funding/Costs covered: SouthWest affiliate: Maximum $70,000 a year over two years, for a total award amount of $140,000, including up to $35,000 per year for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator. Collaborating investigator(s) and others with faculty appointments may not receive salary from these funds. Also pays 10% of indirect costs ($6,364) and project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, computer/electronics, travel, volunteer subject costs, and publication costs, within the following limits: Travel—$3,000 per year. Computer purchase—SouthWest affiliate has no limit for purchase of computer equipment/electronics.

Western States affiliate: Maximum $70,000 a year over two years, for a total award amount of $140,000, including up to$35,000 per year for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator. Collaborating investigator(s) and others with faculty appointments may not receive salary from these funds. Also pays 10% of indirect costs ($6,364) and project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, computer/electronics, travel, volunteer subject costs, and publication costs, within the following limits: Travel—$3,000 per year. Computer purchase—Western States affiliate has no limit for purchase of computer equipment/electronics.

Eligibility: At the time of application, the applicant must hold an M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.V.M. or equivalent post-baccalaureate doctoral degree initiating an independent research career. At the time of award activation, applicants must hold a faculty/staff position up to and including assistant professor (or equivalent), but may not have more than seven years of experience at the assistant professor level (or equivalent) for Great Rivers, Mid-Atlantic, SouthWest, and Western States affiliates.

Purpose: Promote the independent status of promising beginning scientists.

Activity status: Application deadline is July 22, 5 PM CDT for SouthWest Affiliate; July 23, 5 PM, CDT for Western States Affiliate. Award activation date is January 1, 2015. Check back in early May for finalized supporting information documents.

More information: http://bit.ly/RibwHb

Mentored Clinical and Population Research Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Founders affiliate: $75,000 maximum annual award over two years, for a total award amount of $150,000, including up to $34,091 per year for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator, collaborating investigator(s) and others with faculty appointments, including an allowance of up to $5,000 for the mentor. Maximum annual award includes $6,818 for indirect expenses; institution may supplement stipend. Also pays project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, computer/electronics, travel, volunteer subject costs, publication costs, within the following limits: Travel—$3,000 per year; international travel must have prior AHA approval. Computer purchase—Founders affiliate allows $5,000 for computer equipment/electronics. Printing/Publications—$2,000 per year.

National office: $77,000 maximum annual award  over two years, for a total award amount of $154,000, including up to $35,000 per year for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator, collaborating investigator(s) and others with faculty appointments including an allowance of up to $5,000 for the sponsor; institution may supplement stipend. Also pays 10% of indirect costs ($7,000) and project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, computer/electronics, travel, volunteer subject costs, publication costs, within the following limits: Travel—$3,000 per year; international travel must have prior AHA approval. Computer purchase—National allows $5,000 for computer equipment/electronics.

SouthWest and Western States affiliates: $70,000 maximum annual award over two years, for a total award amount of $140,000, including up to $35,000 per year for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator, collaborating investigator(s), and other participants with faculty appointments, including an allowance of up to $5,000 for the sponsor. Also pays 10% of indirect expenses ($6,364; institution may supplement stipend) as well as project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, computer/electronics, travel, volunteer subject costs, publication costs, within the following limits: Travel—$3,000 per year. Computer purchase—The SouthWest and Western States affiliates have no limit.

Eligibility: Healthcare professional with a masters or post-baccalaureate doctoral degree, including M.P.H., R.N., Pharm.D., M.D., D.O. or Ph.D.; Interdisciplinary research teams are eligible. However, Individuals are not eligible to be the principal investigator if they hold or have held certain NIH awards (such as RO1, R21, PO1); certain AHA awards (BGIA, SDG, EIA, GIA); or an award equivalent to any of the above (an independent investigator award)

Purpose: Encourage early career investigators who have appropriate and supportive mentoring relationships to engage in high-quality introductory and pilot clinical studies that will guide future strategies for reducing cardiovascular disease and stroke while fostering new research in clinical and translational science, and encouraging community- and population-based activities. Grant does not fund basic science or support senior researchers, but encourages mentoring of early career investigators.

Activity status: Application deadline is July 25, 5 PM CDT, for Founders affiliate; July 24, 5 PM CDT, for National; July 22, 5 PM CDT for SouthWest affiliate; and July 23, 5 PM CDT for Western States affiliate.

More information: http://bit.ly/1iBUeL1

National Fellow-to-Faculty Transition Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: $65,000 maximum award amount in training stage, including up to $50,000 for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator; institution may supplement. $132,000 maximum award amount over five years in faculty stage, including up to $90,000 for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator; institution may supplement salary. Offered by AHA’s National office.

Eligibility: At time of application, applicants must hold a M.D., M.D./Ph.D., D.O. or equivalent doctoral degree and seeking additional research training under the supervision of a sponsor/mentor prior to embarking on a career of independent research. Applicants should be enrolled in or have completed an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-approved residency or a clinical fellowship program associated with an ACGME-approved residency. Applicants must have completed the clinical portion of their training program by the time of award activation; applicants are responsible for identifying and working with a sponsor/mentor to develop the application. Applicants must not have more than five years of postdoctoral research training (beyond clinical training), and not have faculty/staff rank.

At time of award activation, applicants may not hold a faculty/staff appointment.  (Exceptions: M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. with clinical responsibilities who hold a title of instructor or similar due to their patient care responsibilities but who devote at least 80 percent full-time effort to research training.). The sponsor may hold a M.D., Ph.D., D.O. or other equivalent degree. An individual sponsor may sponsor only one applicant to the program per year “because of the strong sponsoring component of this award and the importance of developing a meaningful relationship between awardee and sponsor.”

Purpose: Provide funding for trainees with outstanding potential for careers as physician-scientists in cardiovascular or stroke research during the crucial period of career development that spans the completion of research training through the early years of the first faculty/staff position

Activity status: Closed for round of applications due January 17, for July 2014 funding.

More information: http://bit.ly/1ncYu7Z

Scientist Development Grant

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Founders affiliate: $77,000 maximum annual award over three years, for a total award amount of $231,000; Includes up to $35,000 per year for salary and fringe of the principal investigator, collaborating investigator(s), and others with faculty appointments. Also pays 10% of indirect costs ($7,000) and project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, travel, volunteer subject costs, and publication costs, within the following limits: Minimum $35,000 per year; Travel—$3,000 per year; international travel must have prior AHA approval.

Great Rivers affiliate: $77,000 maximum annual award over three years, for a total award amount of $231,000; Includes up to $35,000 per year for salary and fringe of the principal investigator, collaborating investigator(s), and others with faculty appointments. Also pays 10% of indirect costs ($7,000) and project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, travel, volunteer subject costs, publication costs, within the following limits: Minimum $35,000 per year; travel—$3,000 per year; international travel must have prior AHA approval.

National office: $77,000 maximum annual award over four years, for a total award amount of $308,000; Includes up to $35,000 per year for salary and fringe of the principal investigator, collaborating investigator(s), and others with faculty appointments. Also pays 10% of indirect costs ($7,000) and project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel, consultative services, supplies, equipment, computer/electronics, volunteer subject costs, publication costs, within the following limits: Minimum—$35,000 per year. Travel—$3,000 per year; international travel must have prior AHA approval. Computer purchase—National allows $5,000 for computer equipment/electronics.

Eligibility: At the time of application, the applicant must hold an M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.V.M. or equivalent post-baccalaureate doctoral degree. At the time of award activation, applicants must hold a faculty/staff position up to and including the rank of assistant professor (or equivalent). Applications may be submitted for review in the final year of a postdoctoral research fellowship or in the initial years of the first faculty/staff appointment. Applicants also must have no more than four years since his/her first faculty/staff appointment after receipt of doctoral degree) at the assistant professor level or its equivalent (including, but not limited to, research assistant professor, research scientist, staff scientist, etc.)

Purpose: Support highly promising beginning scientists in their progress toward independence by encouraging and adequately funding research projects that can bridge the gap between completion of research training and readiness for successful competition as an independent investigator.
Activity status: Application deadline is July 25, 5 PM CDT, for Founders affiliate; July 23, 5 PM CDT for Great Rivers affiliate; and July 24, 5 PM CDT, for National.

More information: http://bit.ly/1lQFXOO


Arthritis Foundation

Innovative Research Grant

Amount of funding/Costs covered: $100,000 per year for up to two years. Award amount includes indirect costs not to exceed 8% per year. Grants typically cover the cost of salaries, consumable supplies, equipment, travel and other items to conduct the proposed research. Grants are not renewable.

Eligibility: Individuals with doctoral degrees (M.D., Ph.D., D.O. or equivalent) at the assistant professor level or higher at any nonprofit U.S. institution are eligible to apply. Applicants must be independent, self-directed researchers for whom the institution provides space and other resources. Evidence of independence is required. IRGs are for the support of research projects that can be accomplished within a period of up to two years. Project duration and funding levels should be appropriate to the research described but should not exceed these limits. The applicant may hold an NIH R01, K08, K23, NSF Grant, Howard Hughes, VA Merit, or equivalent award at the time of application. Individuals employed by the NIH and CDC are not eligible to apply. Although applicants may apply for both an Innovative Research Grant and an Arthritis Foundation Investigator Award, an awardee may not be the principal investigator on more than one Arthritis Foundation Grant at any time.

Purpose: Broaden the base of inquiry in fundamental biomedical science, clinical science and bio-behavioral research with relevance to osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and juvenile arthritis (JA). The ultimate goal of the program is to improve the lives of people touched by these diseases. Foundation says it encourages applications for research proposals that involve an especially high degree of innovation and novelty and therefore, require a preliminary test of feasibility.

Activity status: Closed for applications due August 30, 2013, for 2014 funding. Funded grants may begin on the first of any month between January 2014 and March 2014. The grant may not begin before January 1, 2014.

More information: http://www.arthritis.org/files/images/research/2013-IRG-Program-Guidelines.pdf

Investigator Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Up to $100,000 per year for up to five years. Award amount includes indirect costs not to exceed 8% per year. Grants can cover the salary and fringe benefits for the principal investigator or other essential personnel, consumable supplies, equipment, travel and other items to conduct the proposed research. No more than three grants will be awarded per year.

Eligibility: Applicants must hold an M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.V.M., or equivalent degree and a university faculty position at the associate professor level or above. Evidence of independence is required. The applicant must hold or have held in the past 12 months an NIH R01 or equivalent award (such as VA Merit, DOD, etc.) at the time of application. Individuals employed by the NIH and CDC are not eligible to apply. The most important criteria for selection are the productivity of the PI and potential of the project to yield groundbreaking results that impact the direction of research toward arthritis treatment, prevention or cure. Although applicants may apply for both an Innovative Research Grant and an Arthritis Foundation Investigator Award, an awardee may not be the principal investigator on more than one Arthritis Foundation Grant at any time.

Purpose: Provide support for an outstanding established investigator with innovative, creative ideas that have the potential to move arthritis research toward better treatments and a cure. These AFI awards are for the support of research investigations that can be accomplished within a period of up to five years. The awards may provide salary and/or research support. This support is available to sustain individuals committed to a pioneering career dedicated to finding better treatments and a cure for arthritis.

Activity status: Closed for applications due August 30, 2013, for 2014 funding. Funded grants may begin on the first of any month between January 2014 and March 2014. The grant may not begin before January 1, 2014.

More information: http://www.arthritis.org/files/images/research/AFI-Award-Program-Guidelines.pdf 


National MS Society

Career Transition Fellowship

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Approximately $550,000 over five years to support a two-year period of advanced postdoctoral training in MS research and the first three years of research support in a new faculty appointment. Annual salary for training period ranges from $44,100 for less than one year of relevant postdoctoral experience, to $58.036 for seven or more years. No additional costs for fringe benefits are allowed. Fellows may spend up to 10% of their time in teaching or clinical duties, if appropriate. Allowance of no more than $7,850 per year may be made to help institutions defray the costs of providing the fellow’s training, but only when such funds are requested in the original application and approved by the Society. These funds should be used primarily to help underwrite the costs of individual medical insurance for the fellow.

Eligibility: Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (M.D., Ph.D. or equivalent) and must be in a research-oriented postdoctoral training program at an academic, government, or nonprofit research institution. Individuals with less than two or more than five years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of application are ineligible for this award. Clinically related training periods such as medical residencies or subspecialty fellowships will not be counted towards postdoctoral research experience.

Purpose: Foster the development and productivity of young scientists who have potential to make significant contributions to MS research and help ensure the future and stability of MS research.

Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Awards

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Salary: Capped at $199, 700. Candidate must spend at least 20% of his or her time working on the research award in order to request salary support. Up to 75% of annual salary support may be requested (but in no case exceed $75,000 in the first year), with a 3% annual increase in each of the remaining 4 years.

Salary for Postdoctoral Research Associates: Scale starting at $42,000 for less than one year’s experience, climbing each year to $55,272 for seven or more years’ experience.

Research support: The maximal direct costs that may be requested in the grant budget of the award is $30,000 in the first year, increasing incrementally each year up to $40,000 in the last year. Research budget may include laboratory personnel costs (excluding applicant’s salary which is requested separately), fringe benefits at the rate current in the sponsoring institution and proportional to that part of the salary contributed by the Society, patient costs directly relevant to the research and not obtainable from other sources, equipment and consumable supplies (including any type of laboratory supplies and purchase and maintenance of experimental animals), limited travel funds and occasionally other costs. The grantee institution holds title to equipment purchased with award funds.

Eligibility: Candidates are eligible who hold a doctoral degree (M.D., Ph.D. or equivalent) and have received sufficient research training at the postdoctoral level to be capable of independent research. Individuals who have already conducted independent research for more than five years after postdoctoral training are ineligible. Candidates must hold or have been offered an academic appointment at the assistant professor (or equivalent) level at an approved university, professional school or research institute in the United States at the initiation of the award.

Purpose: The awards are designed to provide salary and grant support for a five year period, thus permitting the awardee to establish competence in his/her chosen research area.

Activity status: Deadline August 13, with earliest possible start date July 1, 2015. Application must be made jointly by a candidate and the institution in which an appointment is held.

More information: http://bit.ly/1hyQT4a (then click link for application information)

Postdoctoral Fellows

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Salary: Ranges from $44,100 for less than one year of relevant postdoctoral experience, to $58.036 for seven or more years. Fellowship support will not be provided for more than three years. Fellows may spend up to 10% of their time in teaching or clinical duties, if appropriate. Allowance of no more than $7,850 per year may be made to help institutions defray the costs of providing the fellow’s training, but only when such funds are requested in the original application and approved by the Society. These funds should be used primarily to help underwrite the costs of individual medical insurance for the fellow.

Eligibility: Applicants with 0–36 months of previous postdoctoral training may apply for this award. Applicants must hold, or be candidates for, an M.D., Ph.D. or equivalent degree. However, a fellowship will not be activated for a doctoral candidate until the Society has received written notification from a university or professional school that an appropriate doctoral degree has been awarded. The Society will consider applications from individuals with more than 36 months experience on a case-by-case basis.

Purpose: Fund unusually promising recipients of M.D., Ph.D. or equivalent degrees when it appears that the program of training to be supported by the grant will enhance the likelihood that the trainee will: (a) perform meaningful and independent research relevant to multiple sclerosis in the future, and (b) obtain a suitable position which will enable them to do so. Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards are not made to applicants seeking continuing support for the completion of an ongoing research project or to those in a training program leading to a degree.

Activity status: Deadline August 13, with earliest possible start date July 1, 2015. Application must be made jointly by a candidate and the institution in which an appointment is held.

More information: http://bit.ly/1n1nJgn (then click link for application information)


National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Brain Foundation (ABF)

Clinician Scientist Development Awards

Amount of funding/Costs covered: The Society will provide a base salary for each year dependent on the postgraduate year (PGY) level of the applicant; starting at $51,584 for PGY3, rising to $58,036 for PGY7 or more. The Society will also provide $7,850 as an institutional allowance, while ABF will provide an additional $25,000 to supplement the base salary in each year. No additional funds for fringe benefits or indirect costs are allowed. Allowance of no more than $7,850 per year will be provided to institutions, primarily to help underwrite the costs of individual medical insurance for the fellow. Supplementation of the award with other grants or by the fellowship institution is permissible, but fellows may not accept other fellowships, similar awards, or have another source of support for more than 50% of their research salary while holding this award.

Eligibility: Applicants must hold an M.D., D.O. or equivalent clinical degree from an accredited institution, and must be licensed to practice medicine in the United States. Applicants must be at the PGY4 or PGY5 stage of an accredited residency program in the United States at the time of application. Fellowships will initiate upon completion of residency training. Applicants must arrange a proposed training program with an appropriate mentor at a U.S. institution prior to submitting an application. Training may occur with the applicant’s current institution or may take place at a new institution. A plan of training must be formulated and agreed on by the mentor and the applicant, and described in detail in the application.

Purpose: Support the training of young clinicians committed to careers in academic medicine with an emphasis on MS clinical research. The intent of this program is to support three years of research training in an environment where talented young clinicians address problems in multiple sclerosis with the most current scientific tools.

Activity status: Deadline August 13, with earliest possible start date July 1, 2015. Application must be made jointly by a candidate and the institution in which an appointment is held.

More information: http://bit.ly/OQEEmZ (then click link for application information)


NIH1

Pathway to Independence Awards (PI; K99/R00 or “Kangaroo”)

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Five-year, two-phase program: Mentored Phase (K99), which provides one to two years of mentored support for promising postdoctoral researchers; and Independent Phase (R00), which provides up to three years of additional independent support if the PI has secured an independent research position. Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses.

In the K99 Phase, salary and research costs may be requested up to the level provided by the awarding Institute or Center. Requested salary must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members with equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned. Extramural sponsoring institution may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution’s salary scale. Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs.

In the R00 Phase, total costs may not exceed $249,000 per year. This amount includes salary, fringe benefits, research costs, and applicable indirect costs. Indirect costs will be reimbursed at the extramural sponsoring institution’s indirect cost rate. Indirect costs requested by consortium participants are included in the total cost limitation.

Costs “generally should not exceed” $90,000 per year at either an NIH intramural or an extramural sponsoring institution site in Phase I, which provides one to two years of mentored support for promising postdoctoral researchers; cost  may be higher in the case of individuals with exceptional salary needs. In Phase II, which provides up to three years of additional independent support if the PI has secured an independent research position, costs may not exceed $249,000 per year. This amount includes salary, fringe benefits, research support allowance and applicable indirect costs.

Eligibility: Principal Investigators, including “outstanding” postdoctoral candidates with clinical or research doctorates (including Ph.D., M.D., D.O., D.C., N.D., D.D.S., D.M.D., D.V.M., Sc.D., D.N.S., Pharm.D. or equivalent doctoral degrees), and no more than four years of postdoctoral research training (recently reduced from five years). PI not required to be a U.S. citizen. Foreign institutions are ineligible.

Purpose: Increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented, NIH-supported, independent investigators. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions, and to provide independent NIH research support during the transition that will help these individuals launch competitive, independent research careers.

Activity status: Support goal: Deadlines are February 12, June 12, and October 12 annually for new applications; and March 12, July 12, and November 12 annually for renewal, resubmission, and revision applications. NIH says the actual number and distribution of awards made by the NIH Institutes and Centers will depend upon the quality of the applications received, the results of the scientific peer review process, the availability of funds, and the program priorities of awarding components. Program renewed through January 8, 2017.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-14-042.html

NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program (DP2)

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Up to $300,000 in direct costs each year, with a maximum project period of five years, plus applicable Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs to be determined at the time of award. Funds may be requested for personnel (including collaborators), supplies, equipment, subcontracts, and other allowable costs. Awardees are required to commit at least 25% of their research effort each year to activities supported by the New Innovator Award.

Eligibility: Applicants must meet the definition of an Early Stage Investigator (ESI), a new investigator (defined as a PD/PI who has not competed successfully for a significant NIH independent research award) who is within 10 years of completing his/her terminal research degree or is within 10 years of completing medical residency (or the equivalent). An extension to the 10-year period may be granted under special circumstances (e.g., family care responsibilities, extended periods of clinical training, disability or illness, etc.). Applicants also must hold an independent research position at a domestic (U.S.) institution as of September 1 of the fiscal year of the competition. For the purpose of this FOA, “independent research position” means a position that automatically confers eligibility, by the applicant’s institutional policy, for an investigator to apply for R01 grants, with an appropriate commitment of facilities to be used for the conduct of the propose research.

Investigators still in training or mentored status (postdoctoral fellows) are not eligible to apply unless they have a written commitment of an independent faculty position as of September 1 of the fiscal year of the competition that is certified by submission of the application from that institution. Applicants may submit or have an R01 (or other equivalent) grant application pending concurrently with their New Innovator Award application. However, if that pending grant is awarded in the fiscal year of the competition with a start date of September 30 or earlier in that fiscal year, then the applicant is no longer eligible to receive the New Innovator Award.

Purpose: Created in 2007 to support a small number of early stage investigators of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative new research approaches that have the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important problems in biomedical and behavioral research. The New Innovator Awards are designed to complement ongoing efforts by NIH and its Institutes and Centers to fund early stage investigators through R01 grants, which continue to be the major sources of NIH support for early stage investigators.

Activity status: Submission deadlines of September 17, 2014, and September 16, 2015, both by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

More information: Funding opportunity announcement: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-13-007.html
Program’s web page: http://commonfund.nih.gov/newinnovator/index.aspx


NSF

Alan T. Waterman Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: $1 million grant over five years, in addition to a medal, for scientific research or advanced study in the Mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, social, or other sciences at the institution of the recipient’s choice.

Eligibility: Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must be 35 years of age or younger or not more than seven years beyond receipt of the Ph.D. degree by December 31 of the year in which they are nominated. Candidates should have demonstrated exceptional individual achievements in scientific or engineering research of sufficient quality to place them at the forefront of their peers.

Purpose: Recognize outstanding researchers under age 35 in any field of science or engineering supported by NSF.

Activity status: 2014 award winners yet to be named; deadline for nominations was November 15. The last winner, announced last year, was Mung Chiang, Ph.D., an electrical engineering professor at Princeton University. The last winner in the biological sciences was Casey Dunn, Ph.D., a biologist at Brown University and winner of the 2011 Waterman award; his work involves genome analyses to better understand relationships between groups of animals.

More information: http://www.nsf.gov/od/waterman/waterman.jsp

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Minimum $500,000 for five years for grants from candidates submitting grant proposals to the Directorate of Biological Sciences (BIO) or the Office of Polar Programs (OPP); support for senior personnel is allowed only for the PI’s salary. Support for other senior personnel is not permitted, either in the primary budget or in any subawards. All other allowable costs, as described in the Grant Proposal Guide, are permitted. Allowable costs include funds for postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students, summer salary, education or outreach activities, support for an evaluator, travel, and subsistence expenses for the PI and U.S. participants when working abroad with foreign collaborators, and consultant expenses.

Eligibility: Candidates must hold a doctoral degree, by the deadline date, in a field supported by NSF; be untenured until October 1 following the deadline; and have not previously received a CAREER award. They must be employed in a tenure-track (or tenure-track-equivalent) position as an assistant professor (or equivalent title) at an accredited institution or nonprofit, nondegree-granting organization such as a museum, observatory, or research lab located in the U.S., its territories, or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, that awards degrees in a field supported by NSF.

Purpose: NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.

Activity status: Full proposal due July 21 by 5 PM proposer’s local time to NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences.

More information: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14532/nsf14532.htm#summary
Program page: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214


Rockland Immunochemicals

Joy Cappel Young Investigator Awards

Amount of funding/Costs covered: $4,000 award, with a total $100,000 to be awarded to 25 qualified candidates each of the next 10 years. Recipient investigators will be given access to Rockland’s antibody development team and products. Rockland scientists will work with recipients toward shared goals with open sharing of information and data. Successful award winners will be able to develop and characterize an antibody which meets their research objectives and includes: antigen design, peptide synthesis, antibody production, antibody purification and antibody analysis by ELISA and/or Western Blotting or similar immunoassay. Selected scientists will work with Rockland professionals to initiate polyclonal antibody development activities

Eligibility: Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, or recipients of advanced degrees (M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent) within the last five years.

Purpose: Help young investigators establish themselves in the areas of oncology, nuclear signaling, developmental biology, epigenetics, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, signal transduction or stem cell technology.

Activity status: The program’s first three award recipients were announced April 7. Deadline for award submissions is August 31. Awards may be made throughout the year.  All awards will be honored prior to December 31, 2014.

More information: http://www.rockland-inc.com/young-investigators


Swedish Research Council

Grant for Distinguished Young Researchers

Amount of funding/Costs covered: SEK 3 million ($459,000) per year, including indirect costs, over six years starting in 2015. Grant may cover all kinds of research-related costs, such as salaries (including applicant’s salary), travel (including visits to research facilities), publication costs, minor equipment, and depreciation costs. The grant may not be used for scholarships/fellowships. If a doctoral student participates, funding may not be used for to pay salary for teaching done by the doctoral student.

Eligibility: Applicants must have completed their doctoral degree during the period January 1, 2002, through January 1, 2008. Some applicants who completed their doctorates prior to 2002 may still be considered eligible if there are special reasons for deductible time.

Purpose: Fund positions and provide research financing for the most distinguished young researchers, giving them a long-term opportunity to establish independent research. Funding will be granted to those applicants that demonstrate the greatest potential.

Activity status: Call for applications opens and closes during spring, at dates yet to be determined at deadline. In late October or early November 2014, the Swedish Research Council will publish its decisions on grant funding on its website. Notification of decisions and comments will be sent to all applicants. First disbursement of awarded funds will normally begin in January 2015, at the earliest.

More information: http://bit.ly/1hyUlMa


Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research

Ingvar Carlsson Award

Amount of funding/Costs covered: SEK 3 million ($459,000) per researcher over three to six years, with a total 12 grants to be awarded from a total SEK 36 million ($5.5 million) set aside by the Foundation. Grants include a personal scholarship of SEK 50,000 ($7,650) awarded to each recipient. Up to one-third of the grant may be used to cover the recipient’s own salary.

Eligibility: Applicant must have received his or her Ph.D. at a Swedish or foreign university not earlier than January 1, 2008; must have conducted continuous postdoctoral studies outside Sweden, at a university different from the one where he or she graduated, for at least 12 months prior to the application deadline; and must become permanently active at a university in Sweden. His or her work in Sweden should have started not earlier than September 1, 2011 and not later than August 31, 2013. Applicants with a Ph.D. from a university outside Sweden must have completed a basic academic degree within the Swedish higher education system, achieving a qualification equivalent to both of a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree. Must not apply for Future Research Leaders grant.

Purpose: Give homecoming postdocs an opportunity to launch their own independent and creative research careers in Sweden; Program includes leadership training

Activity status: 12 recipients were named in the award’s third round last year. The recipients’ research projects are to be implemented from September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2017.

More information: Release: http://www.stratresearch.se/Global/utlysning_pdf/ICA12_en.pdf

Future Research Leaders

Amount of funding/Costs covered: SEK 10 million ($1.5 million) per researcher over five years. Grant is primarily intended for building a research group and maximum 20 % of the grant may be used to cover the recipient’s own salary. Out of each grant, SEK 300,000 (about $46,000) will be withheld for use by the grantee toward commercialization of results from the project.

Eligibility: Applicants must be born in 1973 or later; must have obtained their Ph.D. degree between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2008; and must not apply for Ingvar Carlsson Award. Applicants currently working outside Sweden must be prepared to work full-time at a Swedish research organization.

Purpose: Support and promote young scientists who have the potential and the ambition to become future leaders of academic and/or industrial research in Sweden. Grantees will participate in a mandatory leadership training program.

Activity status: Twenty recipients of Future Research Leaders grants were named for the time frame of 2014–2018 on November 11, 2013.

More information: http://www.stratresearch.se/global/utlysning_pdf/FFL12_en.pdf


Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)

Postdoctoral fellowships in Japan

Amount of funding/Costs covered: Covers one to two-year stay in Japan at an academic institution funded by JSPS. The work in Japan should be focused on research within some of the prioritized areas of SSF (which include life sciences, life science technologies and bioengineering) and conducted at a Japanese host institution that is approved by JSPS.

Eligibility: Doctoral students or Ph.D. holders who have a background in the life sciences, engineering or the natural sciences. Applicants must have received their doctoral degree prior to the start of the stay in Japan. The degree may not be more than six years old, counting from April 1, 2014. Applicants must be a Swedish citizen or have a permanent residence permit in Sweden. In the latter case the applicants should have a permanent position in Sweden or have been active at a Swedish research institution during their Ph.D. studies or otherwise for three to four years. Applicant must, in advance, arrange a research plan together with the Japanese host.

Purpose: Encouraging young Swedish researchers to conduct cooperative research activities with leading Japanese research groups. The purpose of the stay in Japan is to receive qualified research training in an international environment where scientists of different backgrounds address topics with the potential to contribute to progress in several dimensions of the selected research theme. Multidisciplinary applications are prioritized.

Activity status: Deadline for applications was March 6. SSF will select and nominate maximum five candidates to JSPS, which will decide the recipients of the fellowships. Decisions expected by June 30. Fellows must start their fellowship in Japan between July 1 and November 30.

More information: Call for proposals: http://bit.ly/1ndCwBG
Program announcement: http://bit.ly/1i9urxo


Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (with five royal academies and sixteen universities)

Wallenberg Academy Fellows

Amount of funding/Costs covered: SEK 5 million to 9 million (about $765,000 to about $1.4 million) per researcher over five years. Fellows can apply for an additional five years of funding. Goal is to support up to 125 young researchers between 2012 and 2016 with a potential total of SEK 1.2 billion (about $184 million).

Eligibility: Swedish and foreign researchers from all academic disciplines; engineering sciences, humanities, medicine, natural sciences and social science, as well as interdisciplinary approaches. Researchers eligible for nomination this year must have received their doctoral degree after January 1, 2005. Researchers who have defended their thesis before that date and who since have been absent for an extended period of time due to illness or parental leave, may have the date adjusted by the duration of said absence.

Activity status: Evaluation of candidates has begun following deadline of March 1. Evaluation groups present what they deem the most promising candidates to the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, which selects a group of researchers in November.  Thirteen grant winners in natural sciences and eight in medicine were among 33 winners named on November 29, 2013 from 120 nominees.

Purpose: Provide the most prominent, young researchers long-term funding, thus enabling them to concentrate on their research. The program is also designed to contribute to greater internationalization of the Swedish research community.

More information: http://www.wallenbergacademyfellows.org/
More nomination information, with details on participating academies and universities: http://www.wallenbergacademyfellows.org/Nomination/
Announcement of 2013 winners: http://bit.ly/1gSpgxb


 

The grant programs listed are among programs as established from Internet searches or publicly available online lists of younger researcher grant opportunities, but do not constitute a list of all programs for younger researchers.

Notes:
1 Each of NIH’s 27 institutes and centers maintains separate periodic funding opportunities for young investigators, and separate policies governing those programs.
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