To:       School of Medicine Faculty 

From:  Katherine L. Nathanson, MD and Matthew D. Weitzman, PhD  

             Co-Chairs, PSOM Limited Applications Selection Committee

Re:       Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/program-details 

Date:   February 15, 2024

 

The University has been invited to nominate one candidate for the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) will oversee the final review and selection of the candidate; each school within the University may put forth one nominee. 

 

Purpose:

The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences provides funding to young investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health. The Program makes grants to selected academic institutions to support the independent research of outstanding individuals who are in the first few years of their appointment at the assistant professor level.

 

Eligibility for the 2025 award:     

• Candidates must have been awarded a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine or a related field, including engineering or the physical sciences.

• As of September 5, 2024, nominees must hold full-time appointments at the rank of assistant professor; tenure-track and CE-track faculty are eligible. (Appointments such as Research Assistant Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor Research Track, Visiting Professor or Instructor are not eligible.)

• Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 10, 2020, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this four-year limit. Candidates who need an exception to the four-year limit should contact Pew’s program office to ensure that application reviewers are aware that an exception has been given.

• Please note that eligibility criteria have been temporarily expanded to account for COVID-related lab shutdowns and research disruptions. Please direct any questions to the program office at scholarsapp@pewtrusts.org.

• Candidates may be nominated by their institution two times in total.

• If an applicant’s university has more than one eligible nominating institution or campus, that applicant may only apply from one institution; they may not reapply in a subsequent year from a different one. Faculty based at CHOP must apply through the hospital and may not apply through both CHOP and PSOM.

• May not be nominated for the Pew Scholars Program and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same year.

• Funding from the NIH, other government sources, and project grants from non-profit associations do not pose a conflict with the Pew Scholars Program.  If you have questions concerning eligibility, please contact Kara Coleman, project director, Pew Biomedical Programs at 215-575-4925 in advance of applying.

• For any sponsored research projects, the applicant must be eligible to serve as Principal Investigator for the project, unless otherwise noted in the LSO. Please see Penn’s PI Eligibility requirements to ensure you are eligible. 

 

Review Criteria:

• Based on their performance during their education and training, candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to human health. This program does not fund clinical trials research.

• Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and innovative approaches to basic, translational, and applied biomedical research.

• Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles, but brings in concepts and theories from more diverse fields, are encouraged to apply. 

• Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged.

• Selection of the successful candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards and publications. 

• In evaluating the candidates, the National Advisory Committee gives considerable weight to both the project proposal and the researcher, including evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has the skill set needed to carry out their high-impact proposal.

 

Award details:

• $75,000/year for 4 years ($300,000 total)

  • Grant agreements will be issued in August of the award year. The awarded funds may be used at the discretion of the Pew scholar, for personnel, equipment, supplies, or travel directly related to the scholar's research and as to best advance his or her research and career.

  • No more than $12,500 of the annual award may be used for the scholar’s salary (including benefits).

  • Not more than 8% ($24,000) of the total award value may be allocated for facilities and administration (F&A) charges or indirect costs (IDCs).

• Investigator effort: It is expected that Pew scholars will spend at least 80% of their time in work related to the accomplishment of their overall research goals. However, Pew provides flexible support to the overall research aims of the scholar and does not monitor or restrict percentage of effort or time of Pew scholars.

 

PSOM Review Process:

Candidates must submit the following in the order below:

• Cover Page: Candidate name, academic rank, track, school, department, month and year of appointment to the faculty, email address and phone number, and title of proposal

• Letter of nomination from department chair or division chief (maximum 1 page)

• Research proposal, no longer than 2 pages (references not included in the 2 page limit)

• CV (Using NIH format) (maximum 3 pages), which includes educational background, professional appointments, awards and honors. Include all current research support (start-up and external) and pending support, including dollar amounts and start/end dates.

 

Materials must be submitted in single pdf file in the following order: Cover page, letter of nomination, research proposal, CV.

 

Subject line should read: Pew Scholar_ Applicant’s surname_Applicant's first name. For example: PewScholar_Doe_Jane

 

Materials must be submitted to Kaitlyn Hagarty at kaitlyn.hagarty@pennmedicine.uepnn.edu by 9:00am on Monday, March 11, 2024.  

 

Below is a link to previous Penn Pew Scholars:

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/directory-of-pew-scholars/search?i=University%20of%20Pennsylvania