Program Description

The Sarnoff Scholar Award provides substantial financial support to former Sarnoff Fellows who are committed to pursuing a career in cardiovascular research. 

The objective of the Sarnoff Scholar Award is to support the transition of outstanding former Sarnoff Fellows to junior faculty. The award supports the successful applicant for two continuous years at the junior faculty level (Instructor or Assistant Professor).

Appointment at the Instructor (or equivalent) or Assistant Professor level at the time of the receipt of the award. Senior fellows are eligible to apply if they will be appointed to a faculty position prior to award receipt. Applicants within the first 3-years of initial faculty appointment are eligible to apply. Applicants who are currently holding a career development award (CDA) such as a KO8, VA CDA or private foundation award of equivalent value to these federal awards are not eligible to apply. Receipt of institutional startup funding is not an exclusion criterion.

Funding and Terms

The Sarnoff Scholar Award is designed to provide salary support for up to two consecutive years of protected research.  Successful candidates will be expected to have at least 75% of their effort protected to develop their research program.  The Award is designed specifically to continue the longitudinal commitment of the Foundation to support the training and career development of new physician-scientists.

The stipend is $90,000 per year, which covers salary support.  A maximum of 10% indirect costs will be paid to the institution for handling the Award.  The Scholar's institution may supplement the stipend in accordance with its usual policy for comparable faculty positions.

In addition to the annual stipend, Sarnoff Scholars receive the following benefits:

• An annual budget of up to $12,000 for laboratory supplies and professional journal subscriptions
• Support to cover travel and housing to attend the Annual Scientific Meeting
• Up to $1,500 annually to defray the cost of health insurance if it is not provided by the Scholar's host institution
• Travel funds of up to $1,500 to enable the Scholar to present a paper at a national conference, based on the Scholar's research, within two years of completing the Scholar Award Program

Selection Criteria

The Scientific Committee will award an applicant who demonstrates a high standard of intellectual and academic achievement and promise. In particular, the Scientific Committee considers:

• The applicant's potential for both a successful career as an independent researcher and a successful training experience
• The scientific merit of the applicant's research proposal, including significance and originality of proposed research goals, soundness of methodology, and clarity of presentation
• The qualifications of the applicant, including suitable career stage, relevant research experience, prior scientific publications and other related accomplishments
• The training environment of the host institution, including the extent of opportunity presented by the project for the candidate to acquire new approaches, techniques, and methods
• The Preceptor's relevant research expertise, previous experience in training, specific plan for training the applicant, and resources and environment
• The commitment of the institution to the development of the careers of physician-scientists, as reflected in a commitment to provide sufficient space, resources and protected time to promote the development of young physician-scientists.

For More Information

For more information on the Scholar Award, please contact Dana Boyd at dboyd@SarnoffFoundation.org.

Current Awardees