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NIEHS Announces First Transition to Independent Positions (TIP) Awards
TIP Awardees (FY 1999)
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Michele Bennett
NIEHS
Sandra Dunn
NIEHS
Beth Harvat
NIEHS
Dwayne Hill
University of Michigan
Jane Ishmael
Oregon State University
Aimee Jackson
University of Washington
Lori White
University of Wisconsin
Michael Wyatt
Harvard School of Public Health
One of the principal missions for the NIEHS is to develop new generations of exceptionally talented young scientists who are committed to understanding the effect of environmental exposures on human health. However, following a review of the available assortment of postdoctoral programs, the NIEHS determined there was a critical need to develop a competitive grant program that would foster the transition of postdoctoral trainees into academic research careers focused on environmental health problems.
Over the years, many groups have described the difficult challenge faced by young investigators who want to enter the academic research arena. A common recommendation in these reports was the need for a program to assist the transition of talented postdoctoral trainees into independent research positions. In 1996, the NIEHS made a commitment to address this important problem. As a first step, the NIEHS worked with the extramural community to define the fundamental issues that needed to be addressed by a new award. Based on the information provided by postdoctoral and junior faculty, academic leaders who were involved in the hiring of new faculty, and senior NIH staff, the NIEHS developed an innovative and unique new award, the Transition to Independent Positions (TIP) program, to support the movement of young investigators into career track positions.
The TIP program is a competitive peer-reviewed grants program that is open to all Individual National Research Service Award recipients or Intramural Research Fellows who have less than five years of postdoctoral experience at the time of application. This program provides a unique mechanism for attracting and supporting talented new investigators who can further our understanding of the problems and mechanisms associated with exposure to environmental agents in order to better protect the public health. Additional information on this year's competition is available at http://www.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-99-006.html.
In FY 1999, eight TIP grants in the amount of $100,000 per year for three years were made to postdoctoral trainees. These very talented individuals are now interviewing for academic positions, and all are expected to obtain such positions in the near future.
For more information on the TIP program, contact: Michael E. McClure e-mail: mcclure@niehs.nih.gov