The award is intended to provide salary for the recipient and/or direct research support (equipment, supplies, technical assistance) for women who wish to further their investigational skills. The award includes fringe benefits and indirect costs not to exceed $10,000. A specific research program is required as the major component. In selecting successful applicants, emphasis will be placed on prior accomplishments, the potential of the applicant, the quality of the research and the research education that the applicant would receive as a result of the award. Particular emphasis will be placed on evidence of supervisory interaction with established senior investigators and on the quality of the research environment. An important additional criterion will be an assessment of the importance of the proposed research toward the advancement of cardiac surgery. Priority will be given to applicants who have not yet demonstrated investigative independence (such as receipt as PI of an NIH RO1 award), and to established investigators who plan to use the award to develop a new line of inquiry.

Narrative

1. Personal Goals (250 words or less, in cover letter or narrative form)
2. Mini CV in NIH Biosketch format (3-4 pages)
3. Description of the proposed research relationship between the applicant and her mentor, including facilities and environment available to support the applicant during the Award.
4. Background, including work to-date by others (250 words or less).
5. Hypothesis and objectives (250 words or less)
6. Work to date by the applicant and experimental design (750 words or less) Figures and illustrations may be included, and succinct figure legends are not counted against the word limit.
7. Summary of the anticipated findings, and likely importance to the field and for the applicant’s career advancement (250 words or less)
8. Financial information, including: a. Existing and pending support (for each project, give name of principal investigator, project title, period of support, and amount of awards); b. Proposed Budget for this Award; c. Letter of support from the chairperson to whom the candidate is responsible, including a specific plan to support the applicant’s career development.
9. An appendix containing up to three manuscripts by the applicant, including work submitted but not yet published, may be included.

Deadline
Applications are available online only and must be submitted to TSFRE on or before October 15: No exceptions will be granted without prior approval from the Research Committee.