Program Summary and Highlights

Established to honor the memory of Dr. Nancy Nossal who best exemplified an enduring commitment to excellence in mentoring, the Intramural Research Program at NIDDK is offering a Fellowship Award to all of its Postdoctoral and Clinical Fellows. Between 8 and 12 Awards will be made each year. Fellows are eligible to apply during the first two years after joining NIDDK. This highly competitive Award is aimed at the top 10% of Fellows. Fellows who compete successfully for this award will receive additional compensation as described below. The Application Process utilizes the NRSA format (PHS Form 416-1) while the Review Panel/Selection Committee will be composed exclusively of principal investigators/scientists from the intramural research program. Thus, this initiative represents a practical, real-world grant writing experience for all candidates.

Eligibility Criteria

NIDDK Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Fellows, Visiting Fellows, and Clinical Fellows are all eligible to apply for this award. Unfortunately, we can NOT accept applications from Special Volunteers and Contractors.

An advanced graduate degree such as MD, PhD, or their equivalents is necessary. US citizenship is not required --- the program is open to Foreign Scientists and International Fellows from all countries.

Candidates may apply before coming to NIDDK or within the first two years of starting their work at NIDDK. The application deadline must come before the second anniversary of the Fellow's entry on duty (EOD) date to be considered eligible.

For Clinical Fellows, the first year which is devoted almost exclusively to patient care and service responsibilities is not counted against the two-year eligibility rule --- only years spent conducting research are used to determine eligibility.

Priority will be granted to (a) Graduate Students planning their first Postdoctoral Training experience at NIDDK and to (b) Postdoctoral Fellows currently doing their first Postdoc at NIDDK.

Nature of Award

Fellows who compete successfully will receive monetary awards as follows.

• Research Fellows and Clinical Fellows will receive a one time cash award of $5,000.
• Visiting Fellows and IRTA Postdoctoral Fellows will receive a stipend increase of $2,500 per year.

Application Procedures - How to Apply

1. NIDDK Nancy Nossal Fellowship Award Application using the PHS 416-1 format.
   
   
2. Read, understand, and use the accompanying Instructions for general guidance. All applicants are highly encouraged to include information outlining in detail the background and significance of their research proposal. Please keep in mind that the Review Panel in charge of selecting the awardees may not necessarily be familiar with the field of interest of each research proposal.



3. Section 1 - Applicant
   
   

   Fill out all sections highlighted in yellow (shaded)

4. Section 2 - Sponsor (Mentor)
   
   

   Fill out all sections highlighted in yellow (shaded)

5. Section 3 - References
   
   Print and use References Pages

   Note: The Mentor writes the Sponsor's Section and cannot serve as one of the three required References. Everything that the Mentor would like to say in a Letter of Recommendation can be said in the Sponsor's Statement.

   Three (3) Letters of Reference should be sent directly to the NIDDK Fellowship Office by one of the following methods:
   
   Fax: On letterhead from the Institution that the recommending person represents to 301 402-7461
   
   
   Or
   
   
   E-mail: From the Institution's e-mail account that the recommending person represents to Fellowships@intra.niddk.nih.gov or LorraineM@intra.niddk.nih.gov
   
   
   Or
   
   

   Mail: NIDDK Fellowship Office at the address provided below

6. Section 4 - Appendix
   
   

   Reprints or photocopies of not more than three (3) publications are required and should be sent directly to the NIDDK Fellowship Office at the address provided below.

   Deliver To: The NIDDK Fellowship Office at the address provided below

7. Submit the completed grant application electronically in PDF format electronically to :
   Fellowships@intra.niddk.nih.gov or LorraineM@intra.niddk.nih.gov
   
   

   Note: It is strongly recommended that Fellows proofread the PDF to ensure that the final submission document has retained the proper formatting and that the figures and diagrams are correct

   Deliver a signed original face page of the application to the NIDDK Fellowship Office

   Deliver the five (5) collated sets of no more than three (3) publications to the NIDDK Fellowship Office at the address provided below.:

   Ms. Lorraine Moore
   NIDDK Fellowship Office
   Division of Intramural Research
   Building 12A, Room 3011
   12 South Drive (MSC 5632)
   Bethesda, Maryland 20892-5632
   
   301- 496-6685 (voice)
   301- 402-7461 (fax)

Resubmissions

A full and complete application package, including all of the above items, should be submitted. In addition, a Cover Letter must be included outlining how the reviewers' comments and suggestions were addressed in the revised application. Letters of Recommendation do not need to be resubmitted unless the applicant prefers to obtain new references.

Application Deadlines

There are two dates each year for the award application: March 1 and September 1. The time lag from the application submission until receipt of funding will be approximately 2-3 months.

Review Panel/Selection Committee

A Review Panel consisting of Principal Investigators/Scientists from NIDDK´s Intramural Research Program will be convened. The group will evaluate the candidate's credentials, the proposed basic or clinical research plan, and the training/career development plan. The Panel/Committee will forward recommendations to the Scientific Director of NIDDK for approval and final authority over funding decisions.

Following the evaluation by the Review Panel, Summary Statements and Priority Scores (on a scale of 1.0 - 5.0) along with written comments will be provided as feedback to applicants.

If unsuccessful on the first attempt, Fellows may resubmit their application after suitable revision ONCE. The resubmission must be done during the Fellow's first two years of fellowship.

Number of Awards

The Program is geared toward the top 10% of all Postdoctoral and Clinical Fellows within the intramural research program at NIDDK. The number of awardees for any given review cycle will depend upon the number of applicants and the Priority Scores for each group of applicants. Click on this link to see a list of Previous Award Recipients.