Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards 2018

Two-Year Awards for Female Junior Faculty Investigators in Fundamental and Clinical Research

Deadline – Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - 5:00pm

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE AWARDS

Applications are now being accepted for the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards from the Executive Committee On Research (ECOR) and the Office for Women’s Careers.  Each award includes funding of $50,000 per year in direct costs, plus 15% for indirect costs.  Funds may be used to support a technician, postdoctoral fellow or graduate student and supplies.  Funds cannot be used for support of the investigator’s salary, except with specific approval of ECOR.  Eligibility and other award information are provided below. 

BACKGROUND

Although women scientists are recruited to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) programs, their advancement to senior faculty positions is still far less frequent than that of their male counterparts.  In 1993, The Women in Academic Medicine Committee, originally chaired by Mrs. R. Morton Claflin, Honorary Trustee, was established to facilitate the academic careers of women in science at MGH.  Recognizing that a significant obstacle to career advancement is the difficulty of maintaining research productivity during the child-rearing years, this Committee, with the sponsorship of the Executive Committee on Research (ECOR), established the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards.  It is intended that this funding will increase opportunities for women to advance to senior positions in academic medicine.

 

AWARD EXPENDITURE AND START DATE

Awards are effective July 1, 2018 and will be for two years.  The awards are $50,000 in direct costs, plus 15% indirect costs per year.  Funds may be used for support of a technician, postdoctoral fellow or graduate student and supplies. Funds cannot be used for support of the investigator's salary.  All applicants will be notified of the results of the review process by e-mail.  If applicable, approved Human or Animal use protocols must be current prior to award of funds.

 

ELIGIBILITY

• The MGH ECOR Claflin Awards provide funding for female junior faculty to sustain research productivity during their child-rearing years
• Both fundamental (basic) and clinical MGH investigators are eligible to apply
• While current recipients of the Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship offered through HMS are not eligible to apply for this award, the Claflin review committee will consider applications from prior Shore recipients. The award period for the Shore Fellowship cannot overlap with the Claflin award period.  
• MD, PhD, or equivalent advanced degree
• Candidate must be within 10 years of her first full-time faculty appointment at the time the award is initiated, cumulative of all institutions, inside or outside the United States
• Candidates must have an academic appointment at the level of Instructor or Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. If the applicant's academic appointment or promotion is pending, a signed letter from the applicant's Chief must be included with the application. The letter should explain the status of the applicant's academic appointment. The Instructor or Assistant Professor appointment must be finalized before the Claflin review committee meeting. 
• Primary full-time appointment at MGH
• Conducting research at MGH
• Evidence of salary support from a grant or other funding source: Applicants must be a Principal Investigator/co-Principal Investigator with active federal or non-federal funding salary support, such as K award, R award, or foundation grant
• Submission of a project description which clearly states that the applicant is the principal investigator and that their academic progress would benefit from such funding support
• Evidence of strong research training, productivity, and a commitment to a career in fundamental (basic) and/or clinical research
• Upon application, the candidate must be responsible for the care of children 

 

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications will be evaluated and ranked for funding priority by the Subcommittee on Review of Research Proposals (SRRP), whose recommendations will be submitted to ECOR for final approval.

 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The application process requires the following seven items to be submitted:

1. Statement of independence:  the applicant should write a brief statement (no more than 3 paragraphs) which provides clear evidence of how the applicant’s research project is independent of their mentor.

2. Research plan (3-page limit, excluding references). The research plan should address the significance of the project.  This section should be readily understood by reviewers who may be outside of the research field of the applicant.  This section should include:    

• Specific aims
• Background and significance
• Preliminary data
• Experimental design and methods
• References    

3. NIH Biosketch of the applicant (not a CV). Please click here for a sample NIH Biosketch. If the candidate's Instructor or Assistant Professor appointment is pending, include a signed letter from the Department Chief explaining the status of the appointment. The Instructor or Assistant Professopr appointment must be finalized before the Claflin review committee meeting.

4. NIH formatted Other Support. Be sure to list all current and pending research support including dollar amounts. Please click here for a sample NIH formatted Other Support.

5. Proposed Budget ($50,000 direct costs per year for 2 years maximum, plus 15% for indirect costs)

6. Letters of support (one from each category, include with application):

• Unit, Service, or Department Chief.  This letter should include a clear statement of the applicant’s trajectory towards an independent research career.
• Research Colleague or Former Mentor.  This letter should be from an individual outside the applicant’s current department whenever possible. In the absence of training outside of MGH, this letter may be from a mentor within her department.

7. Briefly describe child-rearing responsibilities – no longer than 2 paragraphs.  Please note that the degree of “need” is not a primary criterion for selecting awardees.  

 

HOW TO APPLY

ECOR is now accepting applications online via the ECOR Online Grant Management Portal.

http://ecor.mgh.harvard.edu/GrantManager/Login.aspx

This user-friendly system allows MGH researchers to submit electronic applications to ECOR. The system has been designed to allow users to:

• Create a personal profile which will auto populate your future ECOR applications
• View current calls and apply to open opportunities
• Assign a delegate to submit an application to ECOR on behalf of the applicant (optional)
• Save and edit current applications in progress
• Submit completed applications
• View all your ECOR applications that have been submitted via the online grants system

Instructions for Applying Online

1. Create your account: Login using your Partners credentials and fill-out the profile information.
2. Complete the application: once your profile is complete, you will automatically progress through the online application. If you cannot complete the application at one time, “save” the application and return to it at a later time to finish. Before submitting your application, you will have the ability to make changes to the application.
3. Submit your application: once you have completed the application click on the “submit” button at the bottom of the page. Once you submit it, you will not be able to make further changes unless you send a request to ECOR (note that once the deadline passes, request to make changes will not be accepted).

Useful tips:

• To avoid losing your work, remember to save frequently
• You can only upload PDF documents. Limit characters to A-Z, a-z and 0-9 when naming PDF documents. Do not use periods, commas, or dashes in the file name.  
• If you previously created a profile, please ensure your information is current

 Click "Apply" below to begin the application.

QUESTIONS

Please visit the ECOR website http://ecor.mgh.harvard.edu/ and specifically the FAQ page for the Claflin awards under the Awards and Grants tab of the site. 

Click here to view a list of previous Claflin awardees.

If you still have questions remaining, please submit them via e-mail to ecor@mgh.harvard.edu