Critical Care Grants

The Parker B. Francis Fellowship in Pulmonary Research is intended to support the development of outstanding investigators who plan careers in pulmonary research. We seek to help them as they make the transition to independent, self-supporting, faculty members.

Parker B. Francis Fellowship grants are awarded to institutions for the purpose of providing stipends, fringe benefits, and modest travel expenses in support of qualified post-doctoral fellows or newly appointed assistant professors. Award recipients will thereby be enabled to devote the major part of their professional effort to research related to pulmonary disease and lung biology.

Grants are made for three years of support. It is permissible to maintain support for the awardee as he or she moves from fellowship to faculty status. Awards are made to institutions on behalf of the fellows and can be transferred to other institutions only under special circumstances with prior approval from the Director of the Fellowship Program.

Fellows supported by a Parker B. Francis Fellowship must be assured of having at least 75 percent of their time available for research. This means that a total of no more than three months per year may be spent in clinical or other non-research activities.

GENERAL INFORMATION

APPLICANTS
The ideal candidate is one with evidence of strong aptitude in research and who is in transition from post-doctoral trainee to independent investigator. It is essential that there be evidence of accomplishment and proficiency in research. Few applicants who are just beginning research training and have only one or two research publications are funded. Candidates with greater than seven years since the doctoral degree should include reasons for continued training. Candidates may hold any relevant doctoral degree (e.g., M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D., D.V.M., Dr. P.H.). Fellowships are restricted to US, Canadian and Mexican citizens or permanent residents. However, foreign nationals who document their initial steps toward permanent residence in the US, Canada or Mexico will also be considered. Documentation should include a description of steps already taken toward application for long-term residency or citizenship.

MENTORS
Mentorship of the fellow by an established investigator is required. Any established faculty scientist at a university or a not-for-profit research institution may mentor a candidate for fellowship. Mentors at government or corporate laboratories are not eligible. The mentor should be in a position to guarantee that 75 percent of a fellow's time is available for research. The mentor should be committed to fostering the candidate's career advancement and should be the primary scientific advisor. Secondary scientific mentors at the same or a different institution are encouraged but not required. Their roles should be described in the body of the application. Many fellows spend some portion of their fellowship years working with a secondary mentor at another institution.

INSTITUTIONS
There are no restrictions regarding discipline or department. Clinical or basic science departments are suitable; however, it is expected that the proposed research will focus on lung biology or lung disease. Awards are limited to institutions located in the US, Canada and Mexico. Each department may submit only one application annually and is limited to a maximum of two active fellowships at any one time.

NOTES ABOUT OTHER GRANT SUPPORT

Having an NIH K series or similar award at the time of application makes one ineligible for a PBF Fellowship. However, once awarded, a PBF Fellow may accept such a grant, as long as the basic requirements of the PBF Fellowship are met (75 percent of time available for research and PBF funds used only for salary and travel). Most importantly, the area of lung research pursued should remain the same.
Previous individual or institutional NIH or MRC training grants do not make one ineligible, although they must be relinquished if a PBF Fellowship is awarded.
Individuals are ineligible for a PBF Fellowship if they are the principal investigator on an NIH RO1 or similar research grant when applying for a PBF Fellowship. But Fellows in their second or third year may have their own NIH RO1 or similar grant. In fact, obtaining research grants is an appropriate goal for PBF Fellows. Since fellowship funds are restricted to the Fellow's salary and travel, in some cases it may not be possible to utilize the full level of PBF Fellowship support.
Awards will not be given if either the fellow or mentor currently holds funding from the tobacco industry, even if the tobacco monies will not be used to support the PBF sponsored research.
APPROPRIATE TOPICS
A broad array of approaches to lung biology and respiratory medicine, ranging from cell and molecular studies, to those involving epidemiologic and clinical aspects of human subjects are appropriate. We also encourage applications from pulmonary medicine specialists interested in pursuing research in bioethical aspects of pulmonary medicine or critical care. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the ethics of clinical trials in critical care, end-of-life decisions and resource allocation. The context of all these topics should be pulmonary biology and lung disease. Applicants must meet all the eligibility standards. Mentors and/or applicants considering whether a particular area is appropriate are encouraged to discuss potential projects with the Director of the PBF Fellowship Program in Seattle, Washington (trmartin@u.washington.edu).

MAILING ADDRESS

Thomas R. Martin, M.D.
Director
Parker B. Francis Fellowship Program
Pulmonary Research Laboratories
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
1660 S. Columbian Way, 151L
Seattle, WA 98108

DEADLINE

Applications must be received no later than Friday, October 17, 2008.

American College of Surgeons Faculty Research Fellowships
July 1, 2009—June 30, 2011

The American College of Surgeons is offering two-year faculty research fellowships, through the generosity of Fellows, Chapters, and friends of the College, to surgeons entering academic careers in surgery or a surgical specialty. The fellowship is to assist a surgeon in the establishment of a new and independent research program. Applicants should have demonstrated their potential to work as independent investigators. The fellowship award is $40,000 per year for each of two years, to support the research.

Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS, Faculty Research Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons

One of the fellowships is named to honor Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS, founder of the American College of Surgeons.

C. James Carrico, MD, FACS, Faculty Research Fellowship for the Study of Trauma and Critical Care

The other fellowship is named to honor C. James Carrico, MD, FACS, and is designated for research in trauma and critical care.

General policies covering the granting of the American College of Surgeons Faculty Research Fellowships are:

The fellowship is open to Fellows or Associate Fellows of the College who have: (1) completed the chief residency year or accredited fellowship training within the preceding three years; and (2) received a full-time faculty appointment in a department of surgery or a surgical specialty at a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in the United States or by the Committee for Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools in Canada. Preference will be given to applicants who directly enter academic surgery following residency or fellowship.
This award may be used by the recipient for support of his/her research or academic enrichment in any fashion that the recipient deems maximally supportive of his/her investigations. The fellowship grant is to support the research of the recipient and is not to diminish or replace the usual, expected compensation or benefits. Indirect costs are not paid to the recipient or to the recipient’s institution.
Application for this fellowship may be submitted even if comparable application has been made to organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or industry sources. If the recipient is offered a scholarship, fellowship, or research career development award from such an agency or organization, it is the responsibility of the recipient to contact the College’s Scholarships Administrator to request approval of the additional award.
The College encourages the applicant to leverage the funds provided by this fellowship with time and monies provided by the applicant’s department. Formal statements of matching funds and time from the applicant’s department will promote favorable review by the College.
Supporting letters from the head of the department of surgery (or the surgical specialty) and from the mentor supervising the applicant’s research effort must be submitted. This approval would involve a commitment to continuation of the academic position and of facilities for research. Only in exceptional circumstances will more than one fellowship be granted in a single year to applicants from the same institution.
The applicant must submit a research plan and budget for the two-year period of fellowship, even though renewed approval by the Scholarships Committee of the College is required for the second year.
A minimum of 50 percent of the Fellow’s time must be spent in the research proposed in the application. This percentage may run concurrently with the time requirements of NIH or other accepted funding.
The Fellow is expected to attend the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in 2011 to present a report to the Surgical Forum and to receive a certificate at the annual meeting of the Scholarships Committee.
The closing date for receipt of applications is November 1, 2008. Application forms may be obtained upon request from:

SCHOLARSHIPS SECTION
American College of Surgeons
633 N. Saint Clair St.
Chicago, IL 60611-3211