INFORMATION SESSION: ADVANCE YOUR ACADEMIC CAREER THROUGH MOBILITY Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) April 3, 2014 MDC International Office
Fellowships versus Grants (typical, but beware of special schemes) Who can apply? Schemes exist for any career stage Established researcher What can be applied for? Own salary, + research expenses, + training Support staff, + research expenses, + equipment What is evaluated? Applicant s career development, research proposal, suitability of the host; also often: references & interview Mobility aspect: Usually to go to a new lab/ COUNTRY Research proposal To fund you where you are 2 Alumni Prestige
SOME CONSIDERATIONS To stay or to move to a different lab? A postdoc or a career development/ own group fellowship? In Germany or abroad? In academia or in industry? When should I start writing? - Yesterday. Better still, last year. - From The NIH R01 Tool Kit 3
Proposas Merry-go-round 4 From the talk at the MDC of Dr T. Grimm, DFG (2008)
A funding proposal is an argument Never forget that your proposal is not a collection of disparate facts. you are making an argument that it needs to be done and that you are the right person to do it. From The NIH R01 Tool Kit, http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org 5
FELLOWSHIPS EXTRAS Statement of the timeliness for the applicant Why this fellowship is important at this time? (timeliness) How it will aid your career development? Why the chosen host lab/ institution? Reviewers questions: Independent? Appropriately trained? Has research vision? Able to deliver? What is impact on the applicant s future career? New investigators have to sell themselves as well as the science. Established researchers can sit on their laurels, but most new investigators don't have enough laurels yet to sit on. Besides, laurels are pointy. Is the institutional environment supportive? Evidence? From The NIH R01 Tool Kit 6
Fellowship Schemes for Early-Career Researchers Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) April 3, 2014 MDC International Office
Support for translational research at the BIH Private Excellence Initiative Johanna Quandt The Berlin Institute of Health is supported with EUR 40 million (till 2022) Focus is on the best possible work conditions for scientists at the BIH and attraction of the top scientists and early-career researchers to Berlin Administration is carried out through the Stiftung Charité Funded schemes, e.g. (no deadlines) http://www.stiftung-charite.de BIH Delbrück Fellows: up to 5 years for postdocs at either the MDC or Charité BIH Short-term Fellows: 1-year stipends for postdocs from abroad Humboldt Research Fellowships at the BIH: for 2 years, for postdocs from abroad BIH Career Center: support during the recruitment of international scientists Contact: Dr. Berit Ullrich (ullrich@stiftung-charite.de; 030 450 570 586) 8
German Funders DAAD (for PhD students and early post-docs): short-term and 1-year stipends, deadlines: 2-4 times pa depending on destination https://www.daad.de/ausland/studieren/stipendium/de/70-stipendien-finden-und-bewerben/? detailid=3459&fachrichtung=2&land=44&status=2&seite=1 Alexander von Humboldt Foundation DFG research fellowships to go abroad: 2 years, no deadlines http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/individual/research_fellowships/index.html 9
Short-Term Research Visits EMBO Short-Term Fellowships <3 months; no deadline; must change country FEBS Short-Term Fellowships for 2-3 months; no deadline; need to be a member of a FEBS Constituent Society The Journal of Experimental Biology Travel Fellowships Deadlines: 30 April; 31 August; 31 December Up to 2,500 Fritz Thyssen Stiftung Travel Subsidies 10
EMBO Long-Term Fellowships Up to 2 years < 2 years after a PhD At least 1 first-author paper accepted or published Need to move a country 11
Fellowships for the UK MRC Career Development Awards MRC Methodology Fellowships MRC Special Training Fellowships in Bioinformatics/ Biostatistics MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowships BBSRC David Phillips Fellowships Cancer Research UK Career Development Fellowships 12
Fellowships for the UK The Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships before PhD viva or < 1 year of post-doc experience Wellcome Trust MIT Postdoctoral Fellowships before PhD viva or < 3 year of post-doc experience The Newton International Fellowship PhD students in the last year or max 1-2 post-doc positions; 2 years; deadline: March The Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships PhD students in the last year or < 6 years after a PhD; for up to 5 years, can be on a part-time basis; deadline: January; success rate: 8% 13
Fellowships for the USA The Fulbright Commission (Nationality-based) for post-docs min 3-month; apply > 6 months ahead travel + health insurance, but not the cost of staying www.fulbright.de/tousa/stipendien/profs.html The Hope Funds for Cancer Research Postdoctoral Fellowship (2-3 years) www.hope-funds.org/grants/eligibility-and-application/ DFG Max Kade-Stipendium (1 year; < 45 years old) www.dfg.de/foerderung/programme/internationales/max_kade_stipendium/kompakt/index.html 14
Fellowships/ Grants for Israel GIF Young Scientists Program 1-year research grant; up to EUR 40T < 7 years post-doc Deadline: end of October http://www.gif.org.il/pages/gif-programs/ysp.aspx Minerva Fellowship 6-36 months (graduates); 6-24 months (postdocs) < 7 years post-doc Deadlines: 15 January and 15 June /www.minerva.mpg.de/fellowships/fellowships.html 15 Minerva Short-Term Research Grants 1-8 weeks research visits, also for meetings & conferences; < 38 years old Deadline: 2 May www.minerva.mpg.de/fellowships/research_application.html
Other International Schemes Australia: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Austria: Lise Meitner Program for Scientists from Abroad (Austrian Science Fund FWF) Canada: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Ireland: Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellowships Japan: JSPS & The Matsumae International Foundation Research Fellowships Switzerland: Ambizione (Swiss National Science Foundation) Taiwan: via the AvH Foundation 16
Some Fellowship Schemes in Industry DAAD-Roche Diagnostics Postdoctoral Program https://www.daad.org/roche Roche Postdoc Fellowship (RPF) Program http://careers.roche.com/belgium/entry_level/your-development-at-roche/postdoc-fellowship-- rpf--program.html Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) Postdoctoral Research Fellow Program AstraZeneca Postdoctoral Program https://www.merck.com/research/fellow/home.html http://www.astrazenecacareers.com/students/programmes/postdoc/ 17
FUNDING DATABASES DAAD for foreigners: https://www.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-finding-scholarships/ DAAD for Germans: https://www.daad.de/ausland/studieren/stipendium/de/70-stipendien-finden-und-bewerben/ BMBF: www.stipendienlotse.de/ E-fellows.net: www.e-fellows.net/forms/stipdb KissWin.de/ELFI (Servicestelle für ELektronische ForschungsförderInformationen): www.kisswin.de/foerdermittel/stipendien-und-preise.html?no_cache=1 Central EU portal: www.scholarshipportal.eu EURAXESS: http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/index.cfm/jobs/index Scholarship-Positions: http://scholarship-positions.com/ GrantsNet: http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/funding 18