March 31, 2020

VUMC Limited Submission Opportunity: 2021 Pew Biomedical Scholars Program; deadline is April 2

2021 Pew Biomedical Scholars Program applications are due April 2.

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

Overview:

VUMC may nominate one candidate for the Pew Charitable Trusts' 2021 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. 10, 2020, must hold full-time appointments at the rank of Assistant Professor. (Associate Professors are not eligible. Appointments such as Research Assistant Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor Research Track, Visiting Professor or Instructor are not eligible.)
  • Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 15, 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 note this on their internal application to make their eligibility clear.)  
  • 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. 

Scope of Research:

  • Public health projects and those that are solely clinical research are not within the scope of Pew-funded research
  • Candidates conducting original basic and/or translational research related to the biomedical sciences are encouraged to apply
    • This includes “traditional” fields like genetics, immunology, neuroscience, cancer biology etc. However, candidates from areas such as computational science, chemistry, engineering, and physics are also strongly encouraged to apply
    • 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).

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s nominee must submit the following (in PDF format) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu  by 5 p.m. on April 2: 

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

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 18 and complete application will be due September 10.

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