One to three innovative and outstanding fellows focused on basic discovery will be selected as Scholars in Molecular Medicine each year, with an anticipated term of up to two to three years for each Scholar.
Eligibility
The primary group of applicants will be outstanding residents or fellows who have completed <36 months of postdoctoral-laboratory research at the beginning of their term as Scholars. Currently, these applicants must be primarily affiliated with either the Department of Medicine or the Department of Pathology. Most competitive applicants for this track will be approximately 1-3 years away from launching their independent program. They will have shown a prior track record of innovative work and evidence of significant momentum in their current work.
Applicants must be practicing clinicians and commit 80% effort total to research efforts.
Applicants who have received a career development award (e.g., K08, Doris Duke CDA) are eligible. Applicants with a commitment for institutional startup funds, K99/R00, R01 (or equivalent) are not eligible.
Proposals must be in an area of basic biomedical research. This includes traditional fields such as biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology, immunology, genetics, neuroscience, and physiology, as well as biophysics, biomedical engineering, chemical biology, computational biology, and evolutionary biology.
Applicant mentors should have a successful track record of training and supporting prior trainees with transitions to independence. A dual mentorship plan involving senior faculty co-mentor can be proposed for less experienced mentors.
In select cases, the program will consider funding applicants applying for residency (or clinical fellowship) that demonstrate exceptional promise, prior to committing to a specific laboratory. These applicants will be MD/PhDs who have shown extraordinary creativity and independence during their graduate work. Those considering applying before the start of fellowship are encouraged to speak to the program leaders about their fit and eligibility.
Application Materials and Submission
Applicants should email a single PDF (<10 MB) with following documents in the order listed below, with each section on its own page, to Molmedscholars@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. Please use the email subject heading, “LastNameFirstName_PMSMM_Application_2024” and use this same nomenclature for your PDF file name. The PDF cover page can be downloaded below.
Statement of past research (1 page)
Statement of current research including Aims (3 pages)
Vision for the future independent program (1 page) - What big problem in medicine do you want to solve and how do you start? How does it relate to what you’re doing now?
Personal statement (<1 page) – Use this to describe your training to date/career path. Applicants can use this space to convey a sense of their individuality.
Lay person abstract (½ page) - Explain the impact of the proposed research to people who do not have prior knowledge about the subject.
Letter from department chair or division chief with a commitment to 80% protected time for research and that any funds will not replace salary support from the department/division.
NIH-style Biosketch (5 pages)
CV of mentor including past trainees.
Up to three of the applicant’s most impactful manuscripts (submitted or published)
Please use standard 11 point font, single-spaced pages with 1/2 ‘’ margins. Figures are included in the page limits, but references are not.
Applications should include two confidential letters that should be sent directly to Molmedscholars@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. Mentors should reference your application in the body of the email.
1. Confidential letter from current mentor with particular focus on how the launch of an independent program for the Scholar will be facilitated, resources available to support the Scholar, and commitment to provide space for at least two people.
2. Confidential letter of support from previous thesis/research mentor (as appropriate).
Interviews
Applicants selected as finalists will be interviewed by the Selection Committee. Interviews will involve a 5-minute in person talk by the applicant – followed by a 15-minute question-answer session. No slides are allowed during the interview. A white board and marker will be provided to the applicant for their interview. All finalists must be available on the interview date, and unfortunately no exceptions can be made. The interview date will be announced in early January.
APPLICATION TIMELINE