Grants for Women and Underrepresented Communities

The Annie Jump Cannon Award is for outstanding research and promise for future research by a postdoctoral woman researcher. It is given to a North American female astronomer within five years of receiving her PhD in the year designated for the award. Self nominations are allowed, and all award requirements must be met at the time of nomination.

The Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity (AARF-D) is up to three years (minimum two years) and is intended to support exceptional scientist from underrepresented groups working in Alzheimer’s and all other dementia research, and who are engaged in their post-graduate work (i.e. postdoctoral fellows) and before they have their first independent faculty positions (i.e. Assistant Professor) and working in diverse areas of research including basic, translational, clinical, functional and social-behavioral research. Investigators doing clinically-focused research without clinical practice are encouraged to apply to the AARF-D program. The objective of this award is to increase the number of highly trained investigators from diverse backgrounds whose basic, clinical and social/behavioral research interests are grounded in the advanced methods and experimental approaches needed to solve problems related to Alzheimer’s and all dementias in general and in health disparities populations.

The Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant to Promote Diversity (AARG-D) award is up to three years (minimum 2 years) to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented groups at academic institutions in Alzheimer’s and other dementias research. The AARG-D aims to fund investigators who are less than 15 years past their doctoral or post residency (M.D. or D.O.). The objective of this award is to increase the number of highly trained investigators from diverse backgrounds whose basic, clinical and social/behavioral research interests are grounded in the advanced methods and experimental approaches needed to solve problems related to Alzheimer’s and other dementias in general and in health disparities populations. The program purpose is to provide new scientists from underrepresented groups with funding that will allow them to develop preliminary or pilot data, to test procedures and to develop hypotheses. The intent is to support early-career development that will lay the groundwork for future research grant applications to the NIH, NSF and other funding agencies and groups, including future proposals to the Alzheimer's Association.

These fellowships are available to minority postdoctoral researchers (MD, MD/PhD, PhD, DVM, or equivalent) who are underrepresented in biomedical research. Fellowships provide support for high quality training in disciplines and topics relevant to diabetes, in an environment conducive to beginning a career in diabetes research.

These awards support early investigators as they establish independence as diabetes researchers. Any level minority faculty up to & including Assistant Professor or equivalent (note: of 2018 a tenure-track faculty position is no longer required). Eligible applicants must be full-time independent faculty from racial/ethnic groups that are underrepresented in biomedical research, with less than 10 years of research experience since their terminal degree who do not have previous or current NIH support (R00, R01, U01 or equivalent).

AFAAR offers a $40,000, one-year postdoctoral fellowship grant (with possible renewal) to a woman interested in developing, validating, or using alternatives to animal methods in the investigation of human health or sex differences. The award is available to postdoctoral female scientists researching human health or sex differences whose research involves development, validation, or use of non-animal alternatives. Applicants must hold an interest in using or promoting non-animal alternatives in research.

The Edward A. Bouchet Award promotes the participation of underrepresented minorities in physics by identifying and recognizing a distinguished minority physicist who has made significant contributions to physics research and the advancement of underrepresented minority scientists. The program will help publicize the lecturer's work and career development to the physics community, especially among minority physics students. This award is not limited to physicists currently active in research.

The Maria Goeppert Mayer Award recognizes and enhances outstanding achievement by a woman physicist in the early years of her career, and to provide opportunities for her to present these achievements to others through public lectures in the spirit of Maria Goeppert Mayer. This award is to be given to a woman during the early years of her career, not later than seven years after the granting of the Ph.D. degree (excluding career interruptions), for scientific achievements that demonstrate her potential as an outstanding physicist.

he Association for Women in Mathematics has administered the NSF-AWM Travel Grant Program for Women since 1988, supporting both travel to domestic or foreign research conferences and, more recently, longer-term visits with a mentor.

Postdoctoral Enrichment Program (PDEP) provides a total of $60,000 over three years to support the career development activities for underrepresented minority postdoctoral fellows in a degree-granting institution in the United States or Canada whose training and professional development are guided by mentors committed to helping them advance to stellar careers in biomedical or medical research. Generally, up to 12 awards will be granted for enrichment activities annually. This grant is meant to supplement the training of postdocs whose research activities are already supported. It is not a research grant.

The Schwartz Research Fund is awarded to Ithaca and Geneva-based, as well as Cornell Tech, female faculty and faculty underrepresented in the life sciences at Cornell who display outstanding promise for conducting creative research. The primary goal is to provide seed money for investment in pilot experiments that generate novel preliminary data or open a significant new line of inquiry. Assistant and Associate Professors are eligible to apply.

December

Schwartz Research Fund for Women and Other Underrepresented Faculty in the Life Sciences 

$25,000

The President’s Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) awards Affinito-Stewart Grants of up to $25,000 to advance the careers of non-tenured Cornell women and non-binary faculty as well as other junior faculty (of any gender identity, typically at the assistant level) engaged in research and scholarship relating to women’s issues and the advancement of women and non-binary persons. Recipients receive seed funding for research and other academic projects critical to the tenure process.

The postdoctoral fellowships provide one year of support for individuals engaged in postdoctoral study after the attainment of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree. Postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The awards will be made to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level in the U.S., show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. Awards will be made for study in research-based programs.

The Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program supports early career life scientists in academic labs across the U.S., and seeks to increase diversity in the biomedical research community by recruitment and retention of individuals from groups underrepresented in the life sciences. Through their successful careers as academic scientists, Hanna H. Gray Fellows will move science forward and inspire the next generation of scientists from America’s diverse talent pool. The competition is open to those dedicated to basic research from both doctoral and/or medical training paths in the biomedical and life science disciplines, including plant biology, evolutionary biology, biophysics, chemical biology, biomedical engineering, and computational biology. Fellows will receive funding through their academic institution for postdoctoral training and may continue to receive funding during their early career years as independent faculty.

The L’Oréal USA Fellowships for Women in Science program is a national awards program that annually recognizes and rewards five U.S.-based women researchers at the beginning of their scientific careers. Recipients each receive up to $60,000 that must be put towards their postdoctoral research.

The overall goal of these administrative supplements is to increase diversity in the research workforce by providing training, mentorship and career development opportunities to individuals who are underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, social and basic sciences research.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) enhances the diversity of the pool of the NCI-funded cancer research workforce by supporting eligible individuals from groups that have been shown to be nationally underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral, social and clinical sciences. This FOA provides salary and research support for a sustained period of "protected time" for intensive research career development under the guidance of an experienced mentor.

The  NCI Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Award (K08) prepares individuals for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the nation. The NCI-sponsored K08 award is specifically designed to promote career development of clinical scientists from backgrounds that have been shown to be nationally underrepresented in health-related science and for those who are committed to a career in basic biomedical, behavioral or translational cancer research, including research on cancer health disparities. The expectation is that through this sustained period of research career development and training, awardees will develop enhanced research capabilities for cancer research careers and be better prepared to compete for research project grants (e.g. R03, R21, or R01) funding.

The NCI Transition Career Development Award to Promote Diversity assists postdoctoral fellows or individuals in equivalent positions to transition to positions of assistant professor or equivalent and initiate a successful biomedical career as an independent research scientist. To this end, the Diversity Training Branch (DTB), within the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) invites applications from research scientists in postdoctoral positions or equivalent who are from backgrounds nationally underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and/or social sciences. This award will provide "protected time" through salary and research support for 3 years beginning at the time when the candidate starts a tenure-track faculty position.

The  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01) enhances the pool of highly trained investigators from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in research areas of interest to NHLBI. The career development will take place under the guidance of an experienced mentor in the biomedical, behavioral or clinical sciences leading to research independence. It is targeted toward individuals whose basic, clinical, and translational research interests are grounded in the advanced methods and experimental approaches needed to solve problems related to cardiovascular, pulmonary, and hematologic diseases and sleep disorders in the general and health disparities populations.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Faculty Development Award to Promote Diversity in Neuroscience Research (K01) diversifies the pool of independent neuroscience research investigators by providing junior faculty with research cost support, protected research time and career stage appropriate professional development mentorship in neuroscience research. Individuals from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research are eligible for support under this award if they have doctoral research degrees (Ph.D. or equivalent) and are in the first 3 years of a faculty tenure track or equivalent position at the time of application.

The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology to recent recipients of the doctoral degree for research and training in selected areas supported by BIO and with special goals for human resource development in biology. The fellowships encourage independence at an early stage of the research career to permit Fellows to pursue their research and training goals in the most appropriate research locations regardless of the availability of funding for the Fellows at that site.

The Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) offers Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in two tracks: (i) Broadening Participation (SPRF-BP), and (ii) Interdisciplinary Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences (SPRF-IBSS). See the full text of the solicitation for a detailed description of these tracks.

The purpose of the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity (CFFD) is to develop scholars from underrepresented groups for possible tenure track appointments at the University of North Carolina and other research universities. Postdoctoral scholars will be engaged full-time in research and may teach only one course per fiscal year. The CPPFD is a nationally recognized and extremely competitive program. Applicants must have completed their doctoral degree or terminal degree in their field within the past five years and no later than July 1st of the award year. The primary criterion for selection is evidence of scholarship potentially competitive for tenure track appointments at the University of North Carolina and other research universities.