Please note: The 2013 awards are closed and applications are no longer being accepted.  The tentative deadline for Letters of Intent for the 2014 awards is October 17, 2013; please check back in fall 2013 for updated application materials.

 

The Ellison Medical Foundation, in partnership with the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), created the Ellison/AFAR Postdoctoral Fellows in Aging Research Program to encourage and further the careers of postdoctoral fellows with outstanding promise in the basic biological and biomedical sciences relevant to understanding aging processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. The award is intended to provide significant support to permit these postdoctoral fellows to become established in the field of aging. 

The program was developed to address the current concerns about an adequate funding base for postdoctoral fellows (both MDs and PhDs) who conduct research in the fundamental mechanisms of aging. Postdoctoral fellows at all levels of training are eligible. Up to fifteen one-year fellowships ranging from $47,114 to $55,670 will be awarded.
 

Background

There is a great social, medical and economic challenge of historic proportions due to the dramatic increase in life expectancy. This welcome increase in survivorship brings with it a higher probability of multiple and interactive health problems, both chronic and acute. Significant breakthroughs in understanding the basic biological processes that underlie aging-related diseases and disorders are the most promising approaches to achieving genuine prevention or improvement of age-related debilitation and disease. It is now believed that such breakthroughs in understanding these processes are not only possible, but in fact are the likely consequences of the application of modern biological research techniques.

To pursue this new knowledge, talented investigators must be attracted to aging research. However, given the current funding climate, concerns about an adequate funding base for post-doctoral fellows exist and can be potentially detrimental to both the quantity and quality of research in the area. We need to continue to nurture the research base that will be necessary to enhance the healthspan of millions of older people. Serious gaps in biomedical and clinical research are placing the healthy aging and independence of older people at risk.

The Program

The Ellison Medical Foundation, in partnership with the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), created the Ellison/AFAR Postdoctoral Fellows in Aging Research Program to encourage and further the careers of postdoctoral fellows with outstanding promise in the basic biological and biomedical sciences relevant to understanding aging processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. The award is intended to provide significant support to permit these postdoctoral fellows to become established in the field of aging.

Projects concerned with understanding the basic mechanisms of aging will be given highest priority. Projects investigating age-related diseases may be considered if approached from the point of view of how basic aging processes may lead to these outcomes.  For example, mechanisms of cancer will not be considered unless from the point of view of how mechanisms of the basic biology of aging may contribute to cancer. Projects concerning mechanisms underlying common geriatric functional disorders are also considered. Projects that deal strictly with clinical problems such as the diagnosis and treatment of disease, health outcomes, or the social context of aging are NOT eligible.  A list of recently funded projects can be found here.

It is anticipated that up to 15 one-year grants will be awarded in 2013, ranging from $47,114 for a first-year fellow to up to $55,670 for a fellow with 5 years of training. Of the award, up to $7,850 may be requested for expenses such as research supplies, equipment, health insurance and travel to scientific meetings.

Recipients of this award are expected to attend the AFAR Grantee Conference; funds will be withheld from the grant for this purpose. The goal of the meeting is to promote scientific and personal exchanges among recent AFAR grantees and experts in aging research.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must be a postdoctoral fellow (MD and/or PhD degree) at the start date of the award (July 1, 2013).
• The proposed research must be conducted at any type of not-for-profit setting in the United States.
• Individuals who are employees in the NIH Intramural program are not eligible.
• Applicants who have received postdoctoral training beyond 5 years must provide a justification for the additional training period.
• Fellows may not hold any concurrent foundation, not-for-profit or government funding.

Former Ellison/AFAR postdoctoral fellowship awardees may apply if the criteria above are met.

Application Guidelines

The following criteria are used to determine the merit of an application:

• Qualifications of the applicant 
• Quality of the proposed research and relevance to the mechanisms of aging
• Proposed career development plan and training opportunities for the applicant
• Excellence of the research environment
• Likelihood that the project will advance the applicant's career in aging research
• Mentor's strength and qualifications to guide the applicant's research and career planning

If you are using animals in your research, please review Principles of Animal Use for Gerontological Research.

Application Procedures

The process to apply for a grant has four stages:

1) a letter of intent (LOI),

2) an invited application,

3) an initial review by an international team of reviewers, and

4) a final review and recommendation by the AFAR Postdoctoral Selection Committee. 

The deadline for the LOI is October 17, 2012. All applicants will be notified of the outcome by November 1, 2012, and a subset of applicants will be invited to submit a full application. The deadline for the full application is December 27, 2012.

By mid-April, proposals that are successful in the initial screening will then be reviewed by members of the AFAR Postdoctoral Selection Committee and final awards are announced by early June. The award start date is July 1, 2013. AFAR can only provide critiques for those applications that went through to the final level of review.

For Letter of Intent Form, click here.

Click here for our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Reporting Requirements

Investigators will be required to submit a brief narrative report on the progress of their research. Final narrative and financial reports are required within three months following the end date of the award.

The Ellison Medical Foundation, established and supported by Lawrence J. Ellison, fosters creativity in biomedical research by supporting basic biomedical research on aging relevant to understanding aging processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. The Foundation particularly wishes to stimulate new, creative, research that might not be funded by traditional sources or that is often under-funded in the U.S. The Ellison Medical Foundation fosters research by means of grants-in-aid to investigators at universities and laboratories within the United States using a variety of award mechanisms.