Damon Runyon Fellowship Award-due August 16, 2010

[Debra L Martin]

Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are granted for a three-year term with second- and third-year funding contingent upon satisfactory progress reports.
http://www.damonrunyon.org/for_scientists/more/fellowship_award_overview

There are NO restrictions on the number of applications submitted from MIT.  Please check the Foundation website for application details and guidelines.

Deadlines

(Please note: completed applications and CDs or DVDs must be in our office by 4:30 pm (ET) on the deadline—NOT simply postmarked by the due date.)

Application due on or before:    Degree conferred between*:    Joined Sponsor’s Lab on or after:    Selection meeting date:    Award begins first day of:
August 16, 2010                 October 15, 2009 - August 16, 2010      October 15, 2009                                November 12, 2010    January, February, March, or April 2011
*Include a copy of the diploma to confirm date of conferral.

Program Description

The Foundation encourages all theoretical and experimental research relevant to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies and prevention.

Candidates must apply for the fellowship under the guidance of a Sponsor—a scientist (tenured, tenure-track or equivalent position) capable of providing mentorship to the Fellow.  In addition to aiding in the planning, execution and supervision of the proposed research, the Sponsor’s role is to foster the development of the Fellow’s overall knowledge, technical and analytical skills, and capacity for scientific inquiry.  The Sponsor is also expected to assist the Fellow in attaining his/her career goals.

Awards are made to institutions for the support of the Fellow under direct supervision of the Sponsor.  Candidates who have already accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship award are not eligible.

The primary criteria used to evaluate applicants are:
the quality of the research proposal (importance of the problem, originality of approach, appropriateness of techniques and clarity of presentation)
the qualifications, experience and productivity of both the candidate and the Sponsor
the quality of the research training environment in which the proposed research is to be conducted and its potential for broadening and strengthening the candidate's ability to conduct innovative and substantive research.  The proposed research and training environment should represent a new opportunity for the candidate to expand his/her scientific skill set.  Direct extensions of the candidate's graduate work (in approach, technique or exact area of study) will not be funded.
Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are granted for a three-year term with second- and third-year funding contingent upon satisfactory progress reports.  Fellows in their first- and third-years of funding will attend Damon Runyon Fellows' Retreats designed to foster collaboration and interaction between scientists working in different fields relevant to cancer.

Eligibility

Applicants must have completed one or more of the following degrees or its equivalent: MD, PhD, MD/PhD, DDS, DVM.  The applicant must include a copy of his/her diploma to confirm date of conferral.
(If an applicant has not yet received his/her PhD diploma but has successfully completed all PhD requirements, including PhD defense, he/she may submit a letter from the graduate school explicitly stating such, with the date of the successful PhD defense and date of degree conferral.)
Level 1 Funding: Basic and physician-scientists must have received their degrees no more than one year prior to the FAC meeting at which their applications are to be considered.*  Applicants must not have been in their Sponsors' labs for more than one year prior to the date of the FAC meeting at which their applications are to be considered* and are expected to devote 100% of their time and effort to Damon Runyon-supported research activities.
Level 2 Funding: Physician-scientist applicants (MD, MD/PhD, DDS, DVM or the equivalent) must have completed their residencies and clinical training no more than three years prior to the FAC meeting at which their applications are to be considered.  They also must be board eligible** at the start date of the Damon Runyon Fellowship and be able to devote at least 80% of their time and effort to Damon Runyon-supported research activities.
*The cut-off date is day 15 of the month immediately preceding the month FAC meets.  The applicant must include a copy of his/her diploma to confirm date of conferral.  (See chart in Deadlines section.)

**For foreign-trained physicians, equivalency will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The proposed research must be conducted at a university, hospital or research institution.
No more than two Damon Runyon Fellows will be funded to work with the same Sponsor at any given time.
Only one fellowship application will be accepted from a Sponsor or Fellow per review session; there is no limit, however, to the number of applications from an institution.
Postdoctoral training in the same institution in which the applicant received his/her degree is discouraged, particularly if it is in the same department.  (If either situation applies, the applicant must address the reason(s) in his/her application.)  Proposals to continue training in the laboratory where the applicant received his/her PhD will not be considered.  Proposals that are direct extensions of graduate work will not be funded.
Candidates who have already accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship award are not eligible.
Candidates who are pursuing a degree are not eligible.
Candidates applying to work in foreign-based or United States government laboratories may be awarded a fellowship if they are considered to be especially meritorious or if the program represents an unusual opportunity for postdoctoral training.
Foreign candidates may apply to do their research only in the United States.
Funding

The award may not be used for institutional overhead or indirect costs.

Award Stipends
[The stipend levels below are only applicable to fellowships starting on or after January 1, 2010.]

Year of Award    Level 1 Stipend    Level 2 Stipend*    Expenses
1st Year                  $50,000    $60,000    $2,000
2nd Year                $50,000    $60,000    $2,000
3rd Year                $50,000    $60,000    $2,000
*Physician-scientists who have completed their residencies, clinical training and are board eligible will receive Level 2 funding.

Expense Allowance
The $2,000 expense allowance is awarded to the laboratory in which the Fellow is working and can be used by the Fellow for his/her educational and scientific expenses.  With a written request to the Foundation from the Fellow, the expense allowance may be used to defray the cost of health benefits.  The Fellow determines how he/she would like to spend the money with approval from his/her mentor.  It is not an allowance for institutional overhead, postdoctoral scholar registration fees or postdoctoral fellowship taxes.  Institutions may not automatically deduct any fees from this allowance without the Fellow’s approval.  If you have any questions on how the money may be spent, please contact the Foundation (212.455.0520 or awards at damonrunyon.org).

Dependent Child Allowance
[Effective for Awards beginning or renewing on and after July 1, 2007.]
The Foundation also provides a Dependent Child Allowance of $1,000 per child per year.  (There is no allowance for a spouse.)  Eligible Fellows must provide a copy of the birth or adoption certificate for each child.

*****************************************
Debra L. Martin, Programs Manager
MIT
Vice President for Research Office, Room 11-268
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02139
617-258-0310, 617-252-1003 (fax)
debra at mit.edu
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