Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be working in areas directly related to immunology or cancer immunology. An eligible project must fall into the broad field of immunology with relevance to solving the cancer problem.
• Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation and must conduct their proposed research under a sponsor who holds a formal appointment as an assistant professor or higher rank at the host institution.
• Applicants with 5 or more years of relevant postdoctoral experience at the time of award activation are not eligible, with the exception of M.D. applicants, who should not include years of residency in this calculation.
• Only in exceptional circumstances will applicants who have already spent 3 or more years in a sponsor’s laboratory by the start date of fellowship be considered for a fellowship award.
• The fellowship can be performed in the United States or abroad, but must take place at a non-profit institution. There are no citizenship restrictions.
• Only one fellow per sponsor may apply per application round, and faculty sponsors may not have more than three CRI-supported fellows at any time.

Offered Benefits

• Newly awarded fellowships provide a stipend of $55,000 for the first year, $57,000 for the second year, and $59,000 for the third year.
• Beginning January 2022, an allowance of $5,000 per year is allotted to the host institution for use at the sponsor’s discretion to help pay for the fellow’s research supplies, travel to scientific meetings, health insurance, and/or childcare.

Application Process

Go to  Cancer Research Institute (CRI) on www.grantrequest.com to apply

Before you submit the online application form, you must first complete the  PDF application form. Fill out the form and obtain signatures for the Institutional Certifications section. Signatures will be required from the following individuals:

• An Internal Review Board (IRB) or certifying officer, who can attest that the proposal is in compliance with government and institutional regulations
• The institution’s administrative officer
• The institution’s financial officer

When your form is complete, upload it with your other supporting materials when completing the online application form.

Required Documents:

• The entire PDF application form, please make sure all signatures have been obtained.
• Brief description of the applicant's background and research accomplishments. Not to exceed one half to a full page.
• List of other funding sources to which applications have been or will be submitted, with due dates.
• Applicant’s curriculum vitae and bibliography (NIH biosketch preferred).
• Brief summary of your project, including a description of how the proposed research is relevant to understanding the role of the immune system in cancer and/or the treatment of cancer through immunological means. Not to exceed one page.
• Abstract of research in non-technical English explaining the importance of the proposed research and its potential clinical relevance. The abstract will be used for fundraising purposes and submitted to CRI’s lay Board of Trustees. Abstract limited to 250 words.
• Specific aims of the project. Not to exceed 1 page.
• Concise research proposal (background, significance, materials and methods) not to exceed 4 pages inclusive of tables and figures, exclusive of references.
• Letter from the sponsor introducing the applicant and describing the sponsor’s qualifications to direct the proposed research. The letter must contain assurance that the applicant’s project will be conducted under the direct supervision of the sponsor. Finally, sponsors are asked to indicate whether the application was written by the applicant and also whether any preliminary data included in the proposal was generated by the applicant or by the lab prior to the applicant’s arrival.
• Sponsor’s curriculum vitae/biosketch and a list of sponsor’s current research support. NIH biosketch is preferred. If including a formal C.V. then limit bibliography to past 5 years.
• Two letters of recommendation are required. One letter must be from the applicant’s thesis advisor. Applicants who received an M.D. or otherwise who do not have a thesis advisor should have some other qualified individual submit this letter. The second letter should be from an individual well acquainted with the applicant’s work. The sponsor may not submit one of these letters. If the sponsor was also the applicant's thesis advisor, you must contact CRI for further instruction.