Eligibility and Evaluation Criteria
Applicants are eligible to apply for a PBF Fellowship if at the time of application they are:
1. Scientists holding a relevant doctoral degree (e.g., M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D., D.V.M., Dr. P.H.) who are embarking on a career in clinical, laboratory or translational science related to Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at a U.S. or Canadian university or research institution.
2. A citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. or Canada or holder of a Visa that spans the entire project period of the grant.
3. A Ph.D. or other non-M.D. scientist no more than seven years beyond completion of their doctoral degree or an M.D. scientist no more than seven years beyond clinical training (i.e., residency, internship, clinical fellowship) at the time of application. Candidates with greater than seven years since the doctoral degree require approval for continued training from the Scientific Director of the PBF Fellowship Program.
4. Applicants must be approved by their department to apply for the PBF Fellowship. Institutions may have no more than three Parker B. Francis Fellows in a single department at a given time, a department may submit no more than two applications annually, and a mentor may sponsor only one application annually.
5. Individuals are not eligible for a PBF Fellowship if, at the time of application, they are or have been principal investigator on an NIH K or R series research award or other nationally competitive research award at the comparable level.
6. If a PBF Fellow receives an NIH K or Research Award or any nationally competitive grant at a similar level, at any point on or after the start date of the PBF award, the amount of the award will be changed per the Allowable Costs Policy. Please contact PBF@francisfoundation.org for more information.
7. PBF Fellows are required to have at least 75 percent of their time available for research. Most successful candidates have two-to-five years of research experience and a minimum of two or three research publications at the time of fellowship application. Candidates from under-represented groups are particularly encouraged to apply.
Applications for Fellowships will not be considered for funding if either the mentor or the Fellow has a relationship with the tobacco industry as described in the American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines. If a current PBF Fellow or Mentor enters into a relationship with the tobacco industry, the PBF Fellowship support will be immediately terminated.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The goal of the PBF Fellowship is to support individuals embarking on a career in Pulmonary, Critical or Sleep research. Therefore, the evaluation criteria are focused on three equally important areas:
1. Qualifications and career trajectory of the candidate
2. An environment supportive of the candidate’s research and career development. This includes an assessment of the Mentor’s credentials (and co-Mentors, collaborators, as appropriate); the resources and support of the institution; and of great importance, the plan for the career development of the applicant
3. Scientific merits of the research proposal