The Katherine McCormick Committee to Support Women in Academic Medicine
Advanced Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowships
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Eligibility Criteria |
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Applications are now being accepted for a new fellowship program for advanced postdoctoral scholars who are pursuing faculty careers in academic medicine: the Katherine McCormick Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowships. The new pilot program aims to provide a bridge of the gap of support for advanced postdoctoral trainees who are competitive, yet have not yet been selected, for faculty positions. The program is a two-year pilot that complements the School of Medicine’s postdoctoral funding mechanisms of support for postdoctoral preparation for faculty career tracks.
Two fellowships may be awarded in 2012-2013 to competitive applicants who possess a PhD and/or an MD, who are women or men pursuing careers in academic medicine. Applicants must be already appointed as postdoctoral Scholars at the time of the application, whose faculty sponsors are appointed in the School of Medicine, and who are on the academic job market and hope to start Assistant Professor positions in the coming 12 months.
Each fellowship is $35,000 plus up to $20,000 as an allowance to be used towards coverage of benefits expenses (or in the presence of funds to cover benefits, research expenses including travel of conferences or to offer additional stipend).
- Only individuals who are currently appointed as Postdoctoral Scholars are eligible to apply.
- The applicant may be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or foreign national. Foreign scholars must be holders of J1 visas; holders of H1B, TN, O-1 or other visas are ineligible.
- The scholar's faculty mentor must have a primary appointment in the School of Medicine. Acting, consulting and courtesy faculty are not eligible.
- Commitment on the part of the applicant and his/her faculty mentor to hold monthly mentorship meetings with focus on topics related to the job search process and starting out as an assistant professor.
- Candidate’s willingness to make a presentation of their work to a large scientific audience. A progress report is required at the end of the fellowship.
Selection Criteria
The Selection committee will review applications based on a number of criteria:
1. The candidate’s academic qualifications: scientific track record, including record of publication, presentation, and mentoring of others such as undergraduate or graduate students (for male applicants, this includes the mentoring of women in academic medicine).
2. The candidate’s readiness for an academic faculty position: number of years in postdoctoral training, past participation and future plan towards job preparation: courses and workshops attended; informal and formal meetings and networking; teaching statement for candidates interested in teaching careers.
3. The quality of the research proposal: does the proposal present a research direction that the scholar may take with her/him after departure from Stanford; what is the progress made on the proposal to-date and what are two aims to be achieved during the fellowship year.
4. Evidence of support of women in academic medicine: how has the candidate supported (through professional association) the advancement of women in medicine and/or medical research.
5. The letters of reference: do the letters of reference support the application and the research proposal. Key elements in the letters should address the candidate’s quality of research work to-date and productivity; readiness to be a successful candidate for assistant professor positions in the coming 12-18 months; the candidate’s personal qualities that lend themselves to potential for leadership in academic medicine. The letter from the Stanford faculty mentor should address how the mentor plans to work with the candidate towards independence and in the job selection process.
6. Additional selection criteria include the applicant’s track record of successfully receiving competitive fellowships or grants at Stanford and elsewhere, the faculty mentor’s record of other trainees in faculty positions; and personal or professional circumstances that were obstacles or hindrances that the candidate has overcome during his or her graduate studies or postdoctoral training.
Funding Guidelines
Each fellowship is $35,000 plus up to $20,000 as an allowance to be used towards coverage of benefits expenses (or in the presence of funds to cover benefits, research expenses including travel of conferences or to offer additional stipend). Funding must be distributed in equal installment over no less than a 10 month period and no more than a 12-month period. Awards start October 1, 2012.
The fellowship award must be made as stipend to support the applicant’s research proposal. The fellowship may not be used to support faculty sponsor’s research; the fellowship aims to facilitate the recipient’s development of her/his research agenda with the goal of preparing the recipients of their move towards their independent labs. There is no citizenship requirement, but only scholars who are in J1 status re eligible to apply. No salary payments are allowed, and scholars with H1-B, TN, and O-1 visas are therefore ineligible.
The recipient must be in active postdoctoral scholar status at the School of Medicine through the duration of the award.
If the proposed research will involve animal and/or human subjects/protocols, the applicant should apply for the required protocols at the time of submission and not wait to be funded. Funding of the fellowship cannot begin until all protocols are approved. The protocols need to list the School of Medicine Katherine McCormick Committee to Support Women in Medical Careers Postdoctoral Fellowship as a possible funding source.
The Katherine McCormick Fellowship is intended to offset existing support from other sources rather than add to existing support.
In accepting this award, the postdoctoral scholar’s home department is responsible for adhering to the funding requirements and guidelines. If guidelines are not met, the postdoctoral scholar may be asked to return all or part of the fellowship, if any
- overspending occurs above award amount
- incorrect expenditure code(s) are used, or
- falsified or misrepresented information is later determined that effects eligibility
Other Concurrent Fellowship Support and Combination of Awards
If a Katherine McCormick Postdoctoral Fellow receives another fellowship award from Stanford or from an outside agency, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs must be notified. If the two awards combined do not exceed the total support committed to the scholar as part of the terms of appointment, the Katherine McCormick Fellowship may be retained. If the two awards combined exceed the agreed-upon support for the scholar at the time of reviewing the Katherine McCormick Fellowship application, the Katherine McCormick Fellowship award should be adjusted accordingly, up to a complete forfeiture of the award. The Fellowship Committee expects postdoctoral recipients of the award and their faculty mentors to report in writing the receipt of additional external support to the scholar during the award period or towards the same research proposal or conference trip, via e-mail to postdocaffairs@stanford.edu.
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HOW TO APPLY - Application Materials
A complete application must be submitted online by the deadline.
Please carefully read the selection criteria, eligibility criteria and funding guidelines before starting the application process.
A complete application consists of:
- Online and complete application form
- Applicant’s NIH Biosketch (uploaded by applicant online)
- Applicant’s complete curriculum vitae (uploaded by applicant online)
- Research proposal: (uploaded by applicant online): Two page limit, including any graphics or charts. The research proposal must be written by the fellow and reviewed by the faculty sponsor. These two pages should include a brief statement of proposed investigation in the following sections: Background, Goals, Hypothesis, and Experimental methods). References can be added to your two-page proposal as a third page.
- Three letters of reference. One letter is required from the faculty sponsor (mentor) at Stanford. Two letters are required from other faculty, at Stanford or elsewhere, who are familiar with the candidate’s work and will likely serve as references for the candidate’s anticipated job search. Letters will be submitted online by the reference writer directly to the application.
For questions regarding this fellowship, please contact:
Annelies Ransome |