February 25, 2021

VUMC Limited Submission Opportunity: 2022 Pew Biomedical Scholars Program; deadline is March 4

These instructions are for VUMC investigators. VU investigators should apply through InfoReady and address any questions to VU-LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

 

Applications due March 4

 

VUMC may nominate one candidate for the Pew Charitable Trusts' 2022 Pew Biomedical Scholars Award. The award supports Assistant Professors of outstanding promise in science relevant to human health. The award provides $300,000 in flexible support—$75,000 per year for a four-year period. Not more than 8 percent of the total award may be allocated for overhead costs.

Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles, but brings in concepts and theories from more diverse fields, are encouraged to apply.  Risk-taking is encouraged. Successful applications should not look like typical R01 grant applications with incremental research steps and safe hypotheses supported by existing data.

Selection of candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards, and publications. The Committee gives considerable weight to evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has published significant work.

This program is distinct from the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program, but candidates may apply to both internal competitions.

Eligibility:

  • Must have doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine or a related field
  • As of Sept. 1, 2021, must hold full-time appointments at the rank of Assistant Professor. (Appointments such as Research Assistant Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor Research Track, Visiting Professor or Instructor are not eligible. Associate Professors are not eligible.)
  • Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 14, 2017, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track.
    • Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this three-year limit. Candidates who took parental leave should indicate this in their internal application.
    • Please note that eligibility criteria have been temporarily expanded to account for COVID-related lab shutdowns and research disruptions. Please direct any questions to the program office at scholarsapp@pewtrusts.org.

 

  • It is expected that Pew scholars will spend at least 80 percent of their time in work or activities related to the accomplishment of their overall research goals (which are not restricted to the specific aims proposed for this award).
  • The selected candidate may not be nominated more than two times in total, regardless of institution. 
  • Funding from the NIH, other government sources, and project grants from nonprofit associations do not pose a conflict with the Pew Scholars program.

 

Scope of Research:

  • Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational, and applied biomedical research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply.
    • Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged.
    • For examples of Pew scholar projects, a directory of past scholars can be found here, including previous Vanderbilt awardees (John Karijolich ’18, Lauren Parker Jackson ‘16; Ethan Lee ‘04; David Cortez ‘03).
  • Projects that are solely clinical research are not within the scope of Pew-funded research

 

See the program details for more information.

 

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s nominee must submit the following (in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on March 4: 

  1. Brief research plan including summary budget (2 page max);
  2. Letter of support from department chair/center director;
  3. NIH Biosketch or abbreviated CV (5 page max)

Submissions should reference "PEW BIOMEDICAL SCHOLARS" in the subject line of the email. 

Following the internal review, the nominee’s name will be submitted to the Pew Charitable Trusts by May 17 and complete application will be due September 1, 2021.

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.