Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research: Internal Pre-Proposal Deadline

Date: 

Monday, July 1, 2019, 5:00pm

Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research
FAS Pre-Proposal Deadline: July 1, 2019 by 5:00 PM
FAS/OSP Deadline (if nominated): July 26, 2019
Sponsor Deadline (if nominated): August 2, 2019 by 12:00 PM
Award Amount: $300,000 over 3 years, inclusive of 5% institutional overhead
Target Faculty: Full-time faculty appointed to first independent faculty position on or between July 1, 2017 and December 1, 2019. If an applicant has been on medical or family leave, or if research was interrupted for other reasons, this period of absence does not count towards eligibility.

The Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research supports promising junior faculty who are beginning to establish their own independent laboratories and research programs. The mission of the program is to launch the careers of newly independent biomedical researchers with the ultimate goal of achieving medical breakthroughs. The three-year award supports newly independent faculty engaged in basic biomedical research. Investigators in the physical sciences (physics, chemistry and engineering) whose projects focus on biomedical science are also encouraged to apply. Clinical research is beyond the scope of this Program.

Applicants are not eligible if they have combined federal and non-federal funding totaling $500,000 or more in direct costs at any time during either of the first two years of Smith Family Award funding (12/1/2019 through 11/30/2021). This figure refers to external funding only and not an applicant’s start-up package, other intramural support or the Smith Award. Applicants are also ineligible if they were previously or are currently a Principal Investigator or Co-PI on an R01, P01, Pioneer Award, New Innovator Award or similar large awards from other federal agencies or national foundations. Applicants who have pending R01s or other large applications to the NIH and other agencies are encouraged to submit proposals to the Smith Family Foundation.

Please Note: This is a limited submission opportunity and only two nominations may be put forward from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Potential applicants must first submit an internal pre-proposal via email to Jennifer Corby (jcorby@fas.harvard.edu) and Susan Gomes (sgomes@fas.harvard.edu) by 5:00 PM on July 1, 2019. Pre-proposals must include the following materials in a single PDF:

  • Description of proposed research (Limit two pages. A third page may be used for references and graphics.)
  • Nomination letter from department chair. The letter should:
  • Confirm the applicant’s faculty appointment, date training was completed, any leaves of absence, and research independence
  • Discuss the applicant’s qualifications to conduct the proposed research and potential to carry out independent research
  • Provide any comments regarding strength of Applicant’s research project and/or academic accomplishments
  • Biosketch (current NIH format)