Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Clinical Scientist Development Award

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.

CSDA competitions are typically held every year. Since 1998, 125 awards totaling more than $54 million have been granted to junior physician-scientists.

NEW: Bridge Grants for CSDA Recipients

Beginning in 2008 as an augmentation to the CSDA program, DDCF will offer bridge grants for current or former CSDA recipients whose new submission for a National Institutes of Health R01 grant received excellent scores but was not funded. Bridge grants provide $135,000 for direct costs over 12 to 18 months.

Visit the CSDA Bridge Grant page for eligibility details and application instructions.

2008 CSDA Competition Details

This year's Clinical Scientist Development Awards will be announced by September 2008. It is likely that the foundation will award at least 15 three-year grants of $125,000 per year in direct costs and $10,000 per year in indirect costs to physician-scientists at the junior faculty level conducting clinical research in any disease area.

Eligibility

This program is specifically intended to help physician-scientists make the critical transition from training to independence as clinical investigators.

Nominees must be physician-scientists conducting clinical research in a U.S. degree-granting institution and have a full-time faculty position not higher than the Assistant Professor level.

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 an advisory panel of distinguished scientific leaders in major disease areas reviews nominee proposals and recommends the strongest proposals to DDCF for funding.