Postdoctoral Fellowship

FUNDING MEMO

Title: Postdoctoral Fellowship

Funding Agency: Life Sciences Research Foundation

External Deadline(s):

10/01/2023 05:00 PM PDT (Full Proposal)
11/01/2023 05:00 PM PDT (Proposed supervisor and reference letters deadline)

Cognizant Office: Office of Sponsored Research/Office of Foundation Relations

Description:

Through the Postdoctoral Fellowship program, the Life Sciences Research Foundation partners the best young scientists with diverse sponsors who share common interests in order to fund these exceptional young scientists in all areas of basic life sciences at a critical juncture of their training.

Frequency: Typically annual

Total Award: $231,000

The total award amount (effective as of August 2023 - may change for 2024) is $231,000 ($77,000/year).
- The awardee’s salary/stipend total is $198,000 ($66,000/year) and a research allowance of $33,000 ($11,000/year) is provided.
- If necessary, the salary may be supplemented by the University or mentor to meet the University’s stipend levels but LSRF must be an awardee’s main source of support.
It is expected that the host institution will cover the institution’s cost of the awardee’s health and/or fringe benefits.
- It will be the responsibility of the faculty sponsor or division to commit funds to cover awardee’s health benefit costs.

Indirect Costs: Not Allowed

This award is considered a “true fellowship” and will not be subject to Caltech’s minimum overhead requirement. However, completed DAF and MORA forms are still required.

Duration: 3 years

Award activates on August 1, 2024. This is not flexible.

Discipline(s): Biology and Biological Engineering; Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Engineering and Applied Science; Geological and Planetary Sciences

Eligibility: Postdoc

The award is open to U.S. and non-U.S. citizens.
- U.S. citizens are eligible to work in any geographic location. Non-U.S. citizens must work in a U.S. laboratory to be eligible for an award.
Applicants must apply within 5 years of receiving their PhD (or MD/DVM whichever was awarded later) as of October 1, 2023.
- If you received your PhD (or MD/DVM) before October 1, 2018, you are not eligible to apply. You may apply before defending your thesis, but must have your PhD (or MD/DVM) degree by the time the award is activated on August 1st.
Applicants must have begun (or will begin) working in their proposed postdoc lab between August 1, 2022 and July 31, 2024.
Applicants must complete their postdoctoral training in a lab different from that of their graduate (thesis) lab. Applicants planning to remain in their thesis labs for the duration of their postdoctoral training period are NOT eligible.
- Remaining in their thesis lab for a few weeks or months after receiving their degree, before moving to your postdoc lab, is acceptable.
Those pursuing a second postdoc in another new lab with another new project may apply if they meet the above criteria.
An awardee may apply for supplemental funding, such as a meeting travel award, without jeopardizing their LSRF award status.
LSRF expects awardees to spend 95-100% effort on their supported project.
- This includes all activities that are part of a mentored postdoctoral experience including, but not limited to: participation in journal club, lab meeting, general lab chores, mentoring undergrad, graduate or summer students, organizing and participating in department conferences, reviewing manuscripts, lecturing or teaching. An awardee may receive additional compensation for lecturing, teaching or manuscript review without jeopardizing their LSRF award status.

Research Areas of Interest:

The LSRF accepts proposals from those conducting basic biological research in all areas of life science. The broad categories covering life sciences include: Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Computational Biology, Developmental Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Neurobiology, Organismal Population & Evolutionary Biology, Physiology, Plant Biology, Structural Biology, and Virology.

Post-Award Obligations:

LSRF requires annual research reports from the awardee and annual financial reports from the sponsored programs or grants office.
All awardees are expected to attend the LSRF 2.5-day annual meeting in the spring each year and will be asked to present their research by way of a poster in years one and two and a short talk in year three.

Recent Caltech Recipients:

Nivin Nasri Nyström (Shapiro Lab, 2021)
Jaimie Stewart (Rothemund Lab, 2020)
Adrian Brückner (Parker Lab, 2018)
Brandon Weissbourd (Andersen Lab, 2017)
Kurt Dahlstrom (Newman Lab, 2017)
Alon Grinbaum (Gradinaru Lab, 2016)
Jennifer Mamrosh (Deshaies Lab, 2016)
Brian Duistermars (Anderson Lab, 2013)

Guidelines & Other Information:

Overview: https://lsrf.org/apply/

Eligibility Flowchart: https://lsrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023EligibilityFlowChart.pdf

Application Instructions: https://lsrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023Instructions.pdf

Award Details: https://lsrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-AwardDetails-2.pdf

FAQ: https://lsrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023FAQs.pdf

Past Recipients: https://lsrf.org/current-awardees/

Peer Review Committee: https://lsrf.org/about/peer-review-committee/

Please notify the Foundation Relations team if you anticipate making a submission or if you have any questions regarding this opportunity. We are here to help ensure that Caltech’s proposals are competitive. We can assist with proposal development and advise you on the routing of your paperwork. Interested researchers should work with their division grant manager to prepare the budget, the MORA form, and the Division Approval Form (DAF). Submissions and awards for this grant program will be processed through the Office of Sponsored Research.

Opportunity ID: 1669