VP&S Fund to Retain Clinician Scientists

Faculty must already have submitted a letter of intent prior to applying, and been notified of their eligibility to submit a full proposal by the VP&S Office of Academic Affairs.

Eligible applicants must meet ALL four criteria listed below:

• Full-time physician-scientist (MD, DO or non-U.S. equivalent) performing clinical and/or translational research, employing human subjects and/or human tissue or cell lines; AND
• Faculty at the academic rank of assistant professor or within one year of appointment to associate professor; AND
• Currently funded for research through external and/or internal funding mechanisms for >50% effort; AND
• Demonstrate a compelling, time-sensitive need for the supplement to regain research momentum because of increased family caregiving responsibilities caused by COVID-19

Note: We acknowledge the sensitivity of sharing need-based criteria. All information provided by applicants on their caregiving responsibilities will be treated with sensitivity. Applicant information about caregiving will be reviewed separately by an independent non-faculty administrative group having no affiliation with any VP&S Department. (Information provided for Packet 2 below.)

Applications should be submitted in two separate PDF packets and should include the following:

Packet 1:

• Application Cover Sheet (1/2 page) – Must include:  applicant name, UNI, department of primary appointment, academic rank, contact information, and research project title.
• NIH biosketch (5-page limit) - Either current NIH biosketch or the new 2022 NIH biosketch version will be accepted.
• Research statement (2 pages) outlining short and long-term research goals, research plan, impact, significance and innovation in their field. Research supported by this award could be new or already funded. No award preference on this aspect is implied or intended.
• Budget and budget justification (1 page) for the proposed use of award funds. Requests for staff salary support must include fringe benefits. Please include in-kind contributions as well. (Guidance and examples of potential use of funds are provided below.)
• Letter of Support (LOS) from Chair or Center/Institute Director, to include the applicant’s progress toward their research goals, identification of their primary research mentor(s). In addition, the LOS  must indicate the department’s (or center/institute) plans to match the funds from the award or provide in-kind support such as reduced time for clinical obligations or contributions to salary for research staff, as well as any additional resources and programs available to support the applicant such as “extra hands.”

** Note: while departmental (or center/institute) support is required, the amounts and type of support may vary.

Packet 2:

• Statement of need for funding based on their caregiving responsibilities (1 page);
• Statement of individual need should include a description of personal circumstances of family caregiving responsibilities and the ways in which these funds would help improve the achievement of professional research goals. Details in the statement of need should have sufficient information for the reviewers to be able to understand the caregiving burden, but need not include information that would be otherwise considered protected.

**Note: Because the statement of need may include personal information, the information will be reviewed by a separate non-faculty administrative group who will review applications with the utmost sensitivity. This group will submit only scoring sheets of caregiver need to the review committee. 

Funds from this award can be used in a variety of ways to support awardee research. Funds cannot be used to support clinical activities, salary, caregiving or non-research. Applicants can propose budget for one or more research-related needs. Some examples are listed below:

• Clinical research coordinator
• Laboratory technician
• Research administrative support
• Data/biostatistical support or analysis
• Support for grant-writing or writing of other research documents
• Other “extra hands” research support as proposed by the applicant
• Direct or in-kind support from department Chairs (or center/institute Directors) can consist of support for research through direct funding or in-kind contributions (e.g. departmentally covered reduction in clinical activities, providing extra hands research support)

Note: Funds must be used directly for research needs. Funds cannot be used for awardee salary, support for clinical staff, caregiving costs or other costs that are not directly supporting the awardee’s research.

Awardees will also have access to services provided by the VP&S Office of Research as well as the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.  Awardees are encouraged to utilize the advisory services of the Faculty Advisory Deans for Basic Science and/or Clinical Science, as well as the Associate Dean for Clinical Research Development.

Applications will be reviewed in two separate components.

Review committee of the research application, biosketch, budget and justification and Chair’s (or center/institute Director’s) letter of support (Packet 1):

Packet 1 will be reviewed through peer-review process. Committee membership will consist of a number of senior faculty with multi-dimensional areas of expertise in research and mentoring. Committee members will have intersecting demographics that overlap with the focus of this program, including women, faculty of color and current or past family caregivers.

Review of Caregiver responsibilities and needs (Packet 2).  Review of this section will not be performed by or shared with the Review Committee. This arrangement is intended to provide a boundary between review of personal circumstances and review of aspects of research and career.

Packet 2, which discusses the statement of need based on personal caregiving burdens, will include review by a group of senior administrators not directly involved in research. This section will be reviewed and scored on the basis of caregiving need.  Scores – but not personal information - will be generated separately from the research review. Only the scores of need will be shared the Review Committee. Information included in this section will be considered as private to protect applicant personal or sensitive personal information.

Applicants will be selected based on a clearly stated set of goals using an objective scoring system that prioritizes:

• Quality of the research;
• Promise of the clinical-scientist applicant to develop and excel in their research field;
• Need for extra support to overcome barriers associated with family caregiving during the pandemic as well as their ongoing experience; and
• Likelihood that support of this type will have significant impact in their research progress career.
• Diversity of the awardee pool will also be considered.