Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine Research Mini-Fellowship Program
Objectives
· Provide additional research training opportunities for young investigators in the field of free radical biology that are not available at their home institution.
· Cultivate collaborative relationships between established scientists and development of novel techniques or methodologies at applicant’s home institution.
· Promote career development and research opportunities for young investigators.
Eligibility
1. Applicant must be a current member of the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
2. Applicant must be one (1) of the following:
a. Student, enrolled in in a Ph.D. graduate school training program
b. Post-doctoral fellow
c. Clinical fellow/medical trainee
d. Investigator within five (5) years of obtaining their Ph.D.
e. Junior faculty within two (2) years of their initial appointment as Assistant Professor.
3. Only one application per young investigator in each funding cycle (February-July and August through January) will be considered.
Application and Program Details
Applicants should submit a 3 page proposal that specifies:
i) a brief description of the applicant’s current research program and justification of use of technical expertise that is not available at the applicant’s institution.
ii) description of the new methodology that will be used and its application to the applicant’s research project; as well as the research site where training will be obtained, and the mentor who will supervise research training.
iii) whether this new methodology will be applied to other ongoing research activities at the applicant’s home institution, and whether resources are available at home institution to implement the desired new methodology.
The project should focus on training of a specific analytical technique or methodology that relates directly to free radical biology, and is not available or developed at the trainee’s institution, and should describe how this technology/methodology supports the applicant’s current research program and her/his future career objectives. Examples include: specific analytical methods for analysis of biomarkers of oxidative stress, the use of EPR or radiolytic techniques for studying free radical reactions, molecular biology or cell culture techniques relevant to free radical research, in vivo techniques of oxygen tension or delivery, training in chemical synthesis of relevant molecules, etc.
The application should include CV that describes the applicant’s areas of expertise, as well as support letters from the current mentor/supervision and from the research mentor at the host institution. The proposed mentor must be a member of SFRBM.
The duration of the project at the mentor’s site should be up to 4 weeks, but may in some cases consist of multiple 1- or 2-week visits.
Grant Amount and Budget: The maximum individual grant amount to be awarded is $2,500. Awards can be used to cover travel expenses, accommodations and related costs near the host’s institution, and specific reagents/supplies. These awards are not intended to supplement other funding sources for ongoing research projects.
Application Deadline: March 15, 2010 and September 15, 2010
Complete applications should be submitted electronically to SFRBM at info@sfrbm.org as a single pdf document and should consist of: 1) a completed SFRBM Research Mini-Fellowship Application form (use template form); 2) a 3-page proposal description; 3) a detailed budget; 4) applicant’s CV; and 5) letters of support from both the current research mentor as well as the mentor at the host institution.
Proposal Review and Announcement
Proposals will be reviewed by the SFRBM Young Investigator Committee within one month of the application deadline. All applicants will be informed in May and November 2010 as to whether their proposal will be funded. Announcement of SFRBM Research Fellowship recipients will also be made at the Annual SFRBM Meeting (November).
Awards to be Funded in 2010
SFRBM intends to fund two (2) awards for each of the cycles described above (4 total). One of these four fellowships in 2010 will be given for an outstanding proposal in the area of aging research (sponsored by the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research).
Final evaluation and report
All Research Mini-Fellowship rotations must be completed within six months of receiving the award. The awardee should complete a brief evaluation form co-signed by the hosting mentor within 2 weeks of completion of the fellowship. Also, the awardee is requested to provide a 2-page summary (and potential publications or abstracts) describing the application of the new technique or methodology to her/his research program within 6 months after the completion of the program, and submit these materials to the SFRBM office.
If you have any questions, please contact SFRBM at (317) 205-9483 or via email at
info@sfrbm.org.
