Applications for this grant are no longer being accepted.

Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) Clinical Fellowship Awards 2016 (16-1)

One-Year MGH ECOR Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards

Application Deadline: Monday, February 1, 2016 – 5:00 PM


DESCRIPTION OF THE AWARDS
The Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) is now accepting applications for the Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) Clinical Fellowship Awards for MD, PhD Fellows/Post Docs and Instructors within 5 years of the start of their fellowship training who are working full time at MGH and who are pursuing clinical investigation at any MGH location.  Please note: while applications for this call are due February 1, 2016, ECOR has three selections of FMD awards per year with deadlines February 1, June 1 and October 1.  The Tosteson and FMD call for proposals due in June and October do not have any areas of research restriction, whereas the FMD call for proposals due in February are restricted to Clinical research applications only.  Click here for a summary of the FMD fellowship awards and deadlines.  

As a reminder, ECOR will accept only one application per applicant for MGH ECOR Fellowhip Awards per calendar year (two general calls and one additional call focused on clinical research are posted each year as noted)

The following definition for Clinical Research (from the NIH Grants Policy Statement Glossary) will be used to assess eligibility:

  1. Patient-oriented research: Research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator directly interacts with human subjects.  In vitro studies that utilize human tissues that cannot be linked to a living individual are therefore not eligible for this award.

    Patient-oriented research includes:

  • mechanisms of human disease
  • therapeutic intervention  
  • clinical trials
  • development of new technologies
  1. Epidemiological and behavioral studies.
  2. Outcomes and health services research.


AWARD EXPENDITURES AND AWARD START DATE
 

  • Awards are not transferable to any other institution
  • The funds may be used only for salary and fringe benefits
  • The awards are restricted to clinical research as defined above and by the NIH Grants Policy Statement
  • The awards are for $40,000 plus applicable fringe benefits and 15% indirect costs
  • Awards will begin July 1, 2016

 

ELIGIBILITY

  • Applicants and their Supervisors/Mentors must both have full-time primary appointments at MGH during the entire award period. 
  • These Fellowships are only for MD, PhD Fellows/Post Docs and Instructors within 5 years of the start of their fellowship training who are working full time at MGH and who are pursuing clinical investigation at any MGH location.
  • No more than two fellows from the same laboratory may apply in the same cycle, and no more than one applicant from the same laboratory will be funded in a given cycle.  
  • If you have other fellowship funding, you are welcome to apply if the other fellowship allows it.
  • If you have other fellowship funding and the fellowship allows you to apply, your total stipend for the fellowship cannot exceed the total annual salary set by the department or division.  These funds cannot be used to exceed the salary set by the department or division.
  • Internal MGH departmental/sundry funds may be used to supplement the stipend.
  • Previous Tosteson/FMD Award recipients are not eligible.
     

REVIEW PROCESS
Applicants are reviewed by the ECOR Subcommittee on Review of Research Proposals (SRRP), including a panel of diverse reviewers from across the institution.  The SRRP recommendations are reviewed for final approval by ECOR Leadership. In evaluating applications, SRRP will consider the candidate, the training environment, and the quality and relevance of the proposed study. Candidates will not be provided with critiques for their application.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applications must include the following 8 items:


1. Title of the Research Proposal

2. Summary of research project (500 word limit)

3. Research plan (5-page limit, excluding references), including:

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

4. Applicant’s description of long-term career plans (1 page limit).  Include a statement of why/how this  Award will contribute to the applicant’s achievement of these goals. 

5. Biosketches of both the applicant and the research supervisor, in NIH format. Click here for a sample NIH biosketch.

6. Listing of current and pending other support (with amounts) for both the applicant and the research supervisor, in NIH format. Click here for a sample list of Other Support in the NIH format.

7. Two letters of support, one from each category, (address letters to ECOR Review Committee and include with grant application):
 
i) Research Supervisor.  This letter should specify why this candidate should receive this award, including the applicants’ potential for an independent research career. Please include a training plan for the applicant that you have developed specifically for the Fellowship applicant. Include items such as classes, seminars, and opportunities for interaction with other groups and scientists. Indicate the relationship of the proposed research training to the applicant's career goals. Describe the skills and techniques that the applicant will learn. Relate these to the applicant's career goals.

 ii) Previous supervisor or colleague preferably someone who is familiar with the applicant’s prior research.  This individual must be from outside the applicant’s current laboratory.

8. Unit, Service/Department Chief signed statement. Please click here to obtain the form.


HOW TO APPLY
ECOR is now accepting applications online via the ECOR Online Grant Management Portal. This user-friendly system will allow 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
  • 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
• If you previously created a profile, please ensure your information is current

Click here to begin the application.


QUESTIONS

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

If you still have questions remaining, please submit them via e-mail to ECOR.