NEW & EARLY LIFE STAGE INVESTIGATORS
- NIH and other funding agencies offer numerous special funding opportunities for new and early stage investigators. You may wish to read more information on these programs at the NIH website.
- Visit the website of the OUHSC Vice President for Research to see a list of funding opportunities for junior faculty.
- Other Early Career Funding Opportunities Download the most recent file here: Early Career Funding Opportunities. (xlsx file; updated April 3, 2024) In addition to the full list above, which contains all postdoctoral funding opportunities, below are files containing only specific areas of research. Please note that these do not include funding opportunities that are open to any field of research.Early Career Funding Opportunities (Cancer/Oncology)Early Career Funding Opportunities (Neuroscience/Neurology)This is a continuously updated repository of federal and private funding opportunities that are intended for late postdoctoral investigators and early-career faculty, usually those at or below the rank of assistant professor. Some opportunities may also be open to mid-career faculty; this has been designated in the eligibility requirements. The opportunities are pre-sorted chronologically and alphabetically, and can be searched by funding amount and subject matter. Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, please refer to the sponsor’s funding announcement for complete details on each opportunity.
Student Funding Opportunities
Below you can find a partial listing of potential, non-NIH sources of funding to support doctoral research. Agencies will give awards that cover research expenses as well as stipends. Discuss these possibilities with your mentor and keep these in mind when you are getting to the research proposal phase in your program. You can likely utilize portions of your proposal and preliminary data in numerous application. Keep tabs on the timeframes and submission deadlines for the grants/scholarships you are interested in, some are variable some remain the same every year.
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Ford Foundation These awards will be made to individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, who show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and who are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.
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Predoctoral Fellowships The program has previously awarded approximately 60 predoctoral fellowships each year. The predoctoral fellowships provide three years of support for individuals engaged in graduate study leading to a doctor of philosophy (PhD) or doctor of science (ScD) degree. Predoctoral fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council (NRC) on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The annual stipend of $20,000 and $2,000 institution award can be renewed annually for up to three years.
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Dissertation Fellowships The program has previously awarded approximately 35 dissertation fellowships a year. The dissertation fellowships provide one year of support for individuals working to complete a dissertation leading to a doctor of philosophy (PhD) or doctor of science (ScD) degree. Dissertation fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council (NRC) on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The one-year stipend of $21,000 is offered in addition to conference expenses.
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowships in Biological Sciences The Howard Hughes Medical Institute will award at least 80 five-year fellowships for full-time study toward a PhD or ScD degree in the biological sciences. The fellowships are intended for students who have completed less than one year of graduate study toward an MS, PhD or ScD degree in the biological sciences. Students who hold or are pursuing medical or dental degrees (MD, DO, DVM, DS) may also be eligible to apply for fellowship support for study toward a PhD or ScD.
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ORISE STEM Workforce Development Followships The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) administers a wide range of fellowships and internships that are STEM based. ORISE manages fellowships for the US Department of Energy and over a dozen other Federal agencies. If you are interested in STEM based research at the graduate level then ORISE has many options with you in mind. The full spectrum of opportunities spans undergraduate through postdocs and even university faculty members.
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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.
- DeLill Nasser Award Genetics Society of America established The DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics, an award for graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, to support travel costs for young geneticists to attend national and international meetings and enroll in laboratory courses.