Purpose
The Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award provides grants to junior physician-scientists to facilitate their transition to independent clinical research careers.
Rationale & Program History
The transition to an independent research career is often more difficult for physician-scientists conducting clinical research than it is for other researchers, as these individuals must balance both the demands of seeing patients with those of conducting research. The Medical Research Program created the Clinical Scientist Development Award to provide support to physician-scientists during this critical stage of career development.
In 2010 the Medical Research Program awarded 12 grants to researchers working in diverse areas including malaria, tuberculosis and the clinical and economic benefits of the Medicaid Part D prescription drug program.
Since the beginning of the program in 1998, the foundation has awarded 170 Clinical Scientist Development Awards totaling approximately $72 million.
Award Details
CSDA competitions are typically held every year. Three-year grants of $150,000 per year in direct costs and $12,000 per year in indirect costs are awarded to outstanding junior physician-scientists working in any disease area.
New grants are not being offered at this time.
To be notified of future CSDA competitions, sign up for the Medical Research Program's mailing list.
Eligibility
This program is specifically intended to help physician-scientists make the critical transition from training to independence as clinical investigators.
It is the responsibility of each institution to ensure that its nominees meet all of the eligibility requirements. The replacement of nominees will not be permitted.
Applicants must:
- Be a physician-scientist conducting clinical research in any disease area;
- Have received an M.D. or a foreign equivalent from an accredited institution;
- Be working in a U.S. degree-granting institution, but do not have to be a U.S. citizen;
- Have a full-time faculty level position not higher than the Assistant Professor level; and
- Have been appointed to their first full-time faculty level position between January 1, 2005 and January 1, 2010. (All full-time post-fellowship Instructor level positions will be considered full-time faculty level appointments.)
There are no fellowship level or research associate level awards as part of this competition.
In addition, an award will not be made if, prior to the commencement of this award, the applicant has been or becomes the principal investigator on a National Institutes of Health, peer-reviewed, R01 research grant and/or the principal investigator on a research project that is part of a P01 program project or a P50 center grant.
Applicants are allowed to hold a National Institutes of Health K series award or other career development award at the same time as the CSDA grant. However, applicants must propose distinct and different research aims in their CSDA application and there should be no scientific or budgetary overlap.
Experiments that utilize animals or primary tissues derived from animals will not be supported by this program.
Selection Process
The Medical Research Program issues a Request for Nominations for this award competition and employs a one-stage review process to select grantees. An advisory panel of distinguished scientific leaders in major disease areas reviews nominee proposals and recommends the strongest proposals to DDCF for funding.