Applications for this grant are no longer being accepted.

Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards 2023

Two-Year Awards for Junior Faculty Women Investigators

Deadline – Thursday, November 10, 2022, 5pm

 

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.  ECOR accepts applications once a year every fall. Each award includes funding of $60,000 per year in direct costs, plus 20% 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. Jane D. 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, 2023 and will be for two years.  The awards are $60,000 in direct costs, plus 20% 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 principal investigator's salary, food, parking, or travel expenses. Equipment, capital and non-capital, may not be purchased with the award funds. Exceptions require prior written approval from ECOR.

All applicants will be notified of the results of the review process by e-mail. Our goal is to have these emails sent out before the HMS Shore deadline (typically early February).

 

 

ELIGIBILITY

  • The MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards provide funding for junior faculty women to sustain research productivity during their child-rearing years
  • Current MGH recipients of awards provided under the Eleanor and Miles Shore Faculty Development Awards Program (Shore Fellowship) are not eligible to apply for the MGH Claflin Distinguished Scholars award, unless the Shore Fellowship award period ends before the Claflin start date. The Claflin review committee will consider applications from prior MGH award recipients, but not prior Claflin recipients.
  • MD, PhD, or equivalent advanced degree
  • Applicant must have a primary full-time appointment at MGH, and have an MGH job title indicating that you are conducting research (Instructor in Investigation, Assistant Investigator, Physician Investigator, PhD Investigator, etc.)
  • 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. 
  • 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
  • Applicants should have evidence of salary support from a grant or other research funding source; for example, the applicant may be a principal investigator or co-investigator with active federal or non-federal funding salary support, such as a K award, R award, or a foundation grant. Note: Claflin funds are not intended to support the principal investigator's salary
  • 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 a child or children
  • At Mass General Hospital we believe that because of diversity we excel.  Therefore, UIM (underrepresented in medicine) candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

 

 

CLAFLIN PANEL DISCUSSION

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE?

Click here to watch the Claflin Panel Discussion from September 19, 2022. 

This discussion covered:

  • Information about how the award can help advance your career
  • Advice from recent Claflin Scholars
  • Tips on putting together your best application
  • Resources to help you apply

Panelists:

  • Shannon Stott, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine; 2017 Claflin Award Winner
  • Andrea Edlow, MD, MSc, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology; 2019 Claflin Award Winner
  • Karen Miller, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine; 1999 Claflin Award Winner

 

 

 

CLAFLIN CONSULTATION INITIATIVE

If you are applying for a Claflin Award, and would like help preparing your application, ECOR and the Office for Women’s Careers (OWC) encourages you to take advantage of the pre-award Claflin Consultation Initiative (CCI) for applicants.

The CCI is designed to help eligible faculty prepare their best application for the 2023 Claflin Distinguished Scholar Awards. Many prior Claflin winners have volunteered their time to answer questions and offer guidance and encouragement to potential applicants. Coaches may give advice on all aspects of the application, including the research plan, budget, description of child-rearing responsibilities, and advice for repeat applicants.

Please click here to register for the Claflin Consultation Initiative. The deadline to register for the CCI is Friday, September 23.

 

 

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.  Our goal is to have these emails sent out before the HMS Shore deadline (typically early February).

 
 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

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

1. Title of Research Project

2. Month and year of the applicant's first faculty appointment.

3. Indicate if you have applied for a Claflin Distinguished Scholars Award previously and if so, the year of the application(s).

4. Attestation of salary support from a grant or other research funding source; for example, the applicant may be a principal investigator or co-investigator with active federal or non-federal funding salary support, such as a K award, R award, or a foundation grant. Is your salary supported from a grant or other federal or non-federal source, e.g. federal grant or foundation grant? Are you the Principal investigator (PI) or PI on a multi-PI award? Please click yes or no in the application form. If you select no, please explain why you need the Claflin for your salary support. Note: Claflin funds are not intended to support the principal investigator's salary.

5. 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.

6. Specific Aim/Layman’s summary of your research plan (300 words). This summary should be compelling and readily understood by reviewers who may be outside of the research field of the applicant.

7. 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    

8. 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 Professor appointment must be finalized before the Claflin review committee meeting.

9. Full List of Publications – List original publications from “my bibliography” only. Do not include abstracts or articles that are in press. A link to the applicant’s publication should not be provided. 

10. NIH formatted Other Support. Be sure to list all current and pending research support including percent effort and dollar amounts. List any sundry accounts as well as any limitations on these sundry funds. Please list any start up funding if applicable and the fund balance. if the funds have been spent down, please indicate a balance of $0. Include the project start date, initial balance and current balance. Please click here for a sample NIH formatted Other Support.

11. Proposed Budget ($60,000 direct costs per year for 2 years maximum, plus 20% for indirect costs)

12. 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.

13. Briefly describe child-rearing responsibilities – no longer than 150 words.  Please note that the degree of “need” is not a primary criterion for selecting awardees.  

 

 

FORMAT GUIDELINES

 

  • Use margins of 0.5 inch or greater and 12pt font size or greater for the Statement of Independence, Research Plan, Full list of publications, Letters of Support, and Description of child-rearing responsibilities.
  • Upload PDF documents only.  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.

 

HOW TO APPLY

ECOR is now accepting applications online via the MGRI 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