Purpose
The American Psychiatric Foundation is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the APF Early Academic Career Research Award to help support the research of a junior faculty member with an interest in schizophrenia research. An award will be made to a candidate who has completed a psychiatry residency, at least one year of a psychiatry research fellowship, and is seeking to make a commitment to a research career with the end goal of successfully transitioning to that of an independent investigator. The Award, through an unrestricted grant from Merck & Co., Inc., is intended to assist in this key transition period by providing one year of funding of $45,000. Salary support provided by this award will allow junior faculty in departments of psychiatry at U.S. and Canadian academic institutions to devote more time to research. The protection of at least 40% time for research should be assured by the department chair. Support is provided by Merck & Co., Inc.
Eligibility
Eligible candidates will be trained psychiatrists with an MD, MD/Ph.D. or DO degree who have completed residency training in general psychiatry or child psychiatry in the U.S. or Canada. Candidates also should have completed at least one year of a psychiatry research fellowship but are not 3 or more years post fellowship completion, and do not currently hold an academic rank higher than Assistant Professor. Individuals who have obtained K-awards or are considered an Independent Principal Investigator on R-01 or R-21 research grants from NIH are not eligible. The award could be used to either support the candidate's salary or expenses related to his or her research program. Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. or Canada and should also be APA members. A stipend of $45,000 will be paid to the institution for disbursement to the fellow. The institution must agree not to deduct indirect costs from this award, but may augment this award for further salary support for the faculty member. Applications will not be accepted from previous winners of APA administered fellowships or awards. This rule will not apply to persons who have been selected for the Resident Research Award or NIH funded fellowships and research training experiences.
Selection
The selection committee will consist of members of the APA Council on Research. Applications are evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
- Candidate's accomplishments and activities
- Need for the award
- Adequacy of institutional resources and facilities, including senior faculty with whom the young faculty award designate can collaborate
- Quality of a brief research plan for the coming academic year
- Letters of recommendation, three required
Nomination/Application Requirements
Each chairman of a department of psychiatry is invited to nominate one outstanding young faculty member for this Early Academic Career Research Award. The chairman is asked to send a letter of recommendation providing details about the candidate's previous accomplishments and activities that justify the nomination, and the institutional resources available to support the applicant in his or her research career. Accompanying this should be a copy of the nominee's curriculum vitae and a statement (not to exceed four pages) by the nominee describing his/her career goals and the specific objectives for the coming year in terms of a brief research plan. In addition, two other letters of recommendation should be provided for the applicant by senior faculty. At least one of these should come from an institution other than the applicant's institution.
For more information and to receive the printed announcement with additional details, please contact Ernesto Guerra by e-mail or at 1-800-852-1390.
An original and five collated copies of all materials are required.
Annual Deadline for Receipt of Application:
October 15
Submit All Materials To:
Ernesto Guerra
American Psychiatric Association
Division of Research
1000 Wilson Blvd, Suite 1825
Arlington, VA 22209-3901