Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS)
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**Limited funding opportunity for advanced postdoctoral felllows and Instructors (see eligibility). An internal selection process is required.**
Eligibility clarification for Instructors:
CORRECTION: your Instructor appointment must have begun no earlier than July 1, 2010 (see eligibility >>)
The 2012 internal selection process has been completed. This webpage is for your reference only. It will be updated in 2013.
[ Note: this is the second of two BWF postdoc-to-faculty transition awards offered by BWF. The other program, for candidates who hold a Ph.D. degree in one of the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, statistics, or engineering,
the $500K BWF Career Awards at the Scientific Interface >> , permits unlimited pre-proposals for it's Sept. 4, 2012 deadline.]
Timeline:
Internal Deadline: Monday, July 30, 2012, 4 p.m. (see internal guidelines below)
Sponsor: Oct. 1, 2012
NOTE: Before you review the sponsor's website, please read the eligibility guidelines on this webpage because they include special Stanford eligibility clarification.
Grant recipients:
Includes two 2012 Stanford recipients:
http://www.bwfund.org/pages/198/Grant-Recipients/
# of applicants: up to 5 (or 6*)
*BWF encourages institutions to nominate women and underrepresented minorities. If a woman or underrepresented minority is nominated within the initial five candidates, a sixth candidate may be nominated provided that candidate is a woman or underrepresented minority (i.e., African American, Hispanic, or Native American).
Amount of funding: $700,000 over 5 years to bridge advanced postdoctoral/fellowship training (a maximum of two years) and the early years of faculty service. Indirect costs may not be charged against BWF grants. Overview of funding:
http://www.bwfund.org/page.php?mode=privateview&pageID=310
Program Background
The Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) program is the result of the reformulation of the Career Awards in the Biomedical Sciences (CABS) by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF). In response to the NIH's Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00) awards, BWF has shifted the focus of the CABS program to address the on-going problem of increasing the number of physician scientists and keeping clinician/scientist trainees in research. BWF believes that this bridging award, supporting the last year(s) of a mentored position in addition to supporting the beginning years of an independent position, will facilitate the transition to a career in research and buy time from service commitments typically required in early investigator years.
The Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) program provides $700,000 over five years to bridge advanced postdoctoral/fellowship training and the early years of faculty service.
Eligibility:
The ideal candidate will be two years away from becoming an independent investigator, have at least two years or more of postdoctoral research experience, and have a significant publication record.
- Candidates must hold an M.D., D.D.S. or D.V.M. degree. (M.D./Ph.D.s are eligible.)
- Proposals must be in the area of basic biomedical, disease-oriented, or translational research. Proposals in health services research or involving large-scale clinical trials are ineligible.
- BWF encourages nominations from candidates who work in reproductive science.
- Award recipients are required to devote at least 75 percent of their time to research-related activities.
- Candidates must be a clinical fellow, resident, or a postdoctoral researcher and have at least two years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of application**.
- **STANFORD ELIGIBILITY CLARIFICATION: for registered postdoctoral fellows in research or clinical years, 90/10 or 80/20 postdoc/Instructors and Instructors with established mentors and two years of research experience, who can devote 75 percent of their time to research related activities and who meet all of the other eligibility criteria may be considered.
- Per BWF program officer, CORRECTION: your Instructor appointment must have begun no earlier than July 1, 2010.
- STANFORD CLARIFICATION: this is a career transition award open to postdocs and Instructors as stated above. Per the FAQs: "This award cannot be made to a faculty member, because it is a transition award. If you are planning to start a faculty position before the award begins you are not eligible to apply."
Per a discussion with the BWF program officer, the spirit of the award is reflected by their statement of the ideal candidate: "The ideal candidate will be two years away from becoming an independent investigator, have at least two years or more of research experience, and have a significant publication record."
- Candidates must not be more than 10 years past their most recent doctorate degree [by Oct. 1, 2012 application deadline]. No exceptions will be made.
- Candidates with a clinical degree not awarded in the U.S. or Canada must be fully licensed to practice in the U.S. or Canada or have completed a residency in the U.S. or Canada.
- Candidates must be committed to a full-time career in research as an independent investigator at a North American degree-granting institution.
- Candidates must be nominated by accredited, degree-granting institutions in the U.S. or Canada.
- Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. or Canada at the time of application. Persons who have applied for permanent resident status but have not received their government documentation by the time of application are not eligible.
- Permanent residents of the U.S. must provide a copy of their Permanent Resident Card with the application.
- Permanent residents of Canada must provide a copy of their Landed Immigrant Status form with the application.
- Other funding: You are not eligible if you have NIH K99/R00 or R01 award. You are, however, are eligible if you have an NIH K08, K12, K21, or K23 award.)
- Important---please read all of terms, conditions and information on the program guidelines available on the sponsor's website.
Internal Submission Guidelines
By Monday, July 30, 2012, 4 p.m., please submit one PDF file containing the following in the order listed below to:
Jeanne Heschele
Research Management Group
jheschele@stanford.edu.
650-245-2351
Format: Proposals must be single-spaced and single-sided. Do not include copies of articles, abstracts or any documents not requested in #1-5 below.
- Title page
Title of this RFA: Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS)
Project title
Name of candidate, title, department, address, email and phone number
Citizenship status:
- Nomination letter printed on your department letterhead and addressed to Dr. Peter Sarnow and the School of Medicine Awards Committee, prepared by and signed by candidate's mentor, and co-signed by the division chief or your department chair. The letter must address that you will be permitted to devote 75 percent of your time to research-related activities. (This letter is for the Stanford internal selection use only, and will not part of final application.)
NOTE--Please initiate your request for your nomination letter as soon as possible given the demanding schedules of your mentor, division chief and department chair. Last minute requests will cause undo stress and risk your not meeting the deadline.
- Personal statement (one page)
Describe your activities and interests outside of science to give the internal review committee and ultimately, if you are selected, the CAMS review committee, a sense of your individuality beyond your scientific accomplishments - Research plan (no more than six pages, including figures, tables, graphs). The references are not part of the six-page limit
In the order listed below, the plan should describe:
A. Specific Aims
B. Scope and significance of the postdoctoral research
C. Work you plan for the faculty years.
D. Career objectives, including how the award will help achieve these objectives - CV (no more than 3 pages) (please include the exact month/day/year of your most recent doctoral degree so that we can determine you are no more that 10 past that degree or the end of your medical residency.)
Instructors: provide the exact month, day and year of your Instructor appointment [your Instructor appointment must have begun no earlier than July 1, 2010] - Other support (list both current and pending grants with sponsor, term, amount of funding)
(*Please do not complete a full application for the internal deadline. Only the final candidates ultimately selected to represent the university will have to complete full applications for the sponsor's Oct. 1, 2012 deadline. FYI: the personal statement and research plan internal submission requirements are identical to the sponsor's guidelines.)
Selection process:
Your packets will be distributed to the School of Medicine Awards Committee members who will select the 5 or 6 applicants to represent the university by the sponsor's Oct. 1, 2012 deadline.
