Up to ten scholarships will be awarded in 2013.  They will enable PhD, MD, and DO candidates at any level to undertake a three-to-six-month research project on a subject related to the basic sciences and aging.  Students are encouraged to make their proposals as focused as possible – the strongest projects are those that focus on a particular subject area.  Clinical, epidemiology, health services, and outcome projects will not be considered.  Examples of promising areas of research include, but are not limited to:

• Aging and immune function
• Stem Cell Aging
• Inflammation
• Genetic Control of longevity
• Neurobiology and neuropathology of aging
• Invertebrate or vertebrate animal models
• Cardiovascular aging
• Aging and cellular stress response
• Metabolic and endocrine changes
• Age-related changes in cell proliferation
• Caloric restriction and aging
• DNA repair and control of gene expression
• Biology of the menopause
• Aging and apoptosis
• Biodemographic analysis of aging
• Comparative gerontology
• Evolutionary biological aspects of the biology of aging
• Macular degeneration*
• Regenerative biology
• RNA control of gene expression in relation to age-related diseases
*For the 2013 program, special consideration will be given to projects focusing on age-related macular degeneration, and a portion of the available funds will be set aside for this purpose.
The research project must be carried out under the supervision of a faculty mentor.  It may be carried out in any not-for-profit setting, such as universities, medical schools, hospitals, or non-government agencies.  Applicants who also receive NIH, NSF or DOD stipend support are eligible to receive the Glenn/AFAR Scholarship. However, recipients cannot hold any other awards or scholarships concurrently with the Glenn/AFAR Scholarship.  Each scholarship carries an award of $5,000.  No indirect costs or overhead are allowed.  Award recipients will be invited to attend the 2014 AFAR Grantee Conference. 

Direct Link to RFA:  http://www.afar.org/research/funding/glenn-afar-scholarships/?utm_source=Funding+Supplement&utm_campaign=d19c851df7-FS_11_06_201211_6_2012&utm_medium=email

We are pleased to announce the fifth year of the Weatherstone Fellowships. Autism Speaks invites applications from predoctoral students interested in pursuing careers in autism research. The Dennis Weatherstone Fellows will work directly with mentors who are leading scientists in autism research. This program supports the growth of a promising cadre of young scientists who will make autism research their chosen field. In order to cross-fertilize ideas and facilitate a network of collaboration, the Weatherstone program will include group interaction among the class of fellows and an annual meeting with the Weatherstone family and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Application deadlines are listed in the table below and in the RFA. More information about the recently awarded Weatherstone fellowships can be found here. Access RFA here.

Letter of Intent:  December 12, 2012
We are pleased to announce the third year of the Autism Speaks Postdoctoral Fellowship in Translational Research, designed to support promising, well-qualified postdoctoral scientists pursuing training in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) translational research. The program is open to applicants from public or private institutions working in preclinical or clinical research arenas. Successful applicants will detail a project that bridges basic laboratory research and behavioral or biomedical clinical research, and a training plan that includes mentoring in both basic and clinical research environments. Projects must have the fundamental translational research aim of accelerating the conversion of basic scientific discoveries into novel and more effective methods or products used to diagnose, prevent, or treat ASD. “Bench-to-bedside” approaches that delineate a path from preclinical models of ASD to well-defined patient populations, and “back-translational” projects that enrich the skill sets of behaviorists and clinicians through basic research on ASD biology and mechanisms of therapeutic intervention are encouraged. The results should have the potential to lead to or facilitate preclinical or clinical trials to improve outcomes for people with ASD.

A critical objective of the Translational Research Fellowship is to foster frequent and impactful communication and collaboration among basic scientists, applied researchers and clinicians across a diversity of research environments from academia to industry. To this end, applicants must describe regularly-occurring local opportunities for two-way communication between basic and clinical researchers (e.g., monthly department meetings, Grand Rounds, multidisciplinary lab meetings). In addition, trainees are required to have a primary mentor (i.e., the principal investigator with whom they directly carry out their research), and one or two secondary mentors that enable training experiences in different disciplines. Clear integration of these elements in the training plan and local environment will be weighted heavily in the evaluation on of applications. More details and instructions for applying can be found in the RFA here.

Applications due January 15, 2013

One-year grants are offered to humanities and social science scholars to support research that brings fresh perspectives from the humanities into contemplative neuroscience and contemplative clinical science.

The Mind & Life Institute, with funding from the John Templeton Foundation, invites Contemplative Studies Fellowship grant applications that emphasize the role of the humanities or social sciences in deepening our understanding of contemplative practices in all their aspects. The term “contemplative practice” is meant in a broad sense, including a wide range of diverse phenomena such as prayer, meditation, fasting, prostration, yoga, and tai chi. All successful proposals will engage contemplative neuroscience and contemplative clinical science in some meaningful way. Such engagement can be through direct collaboration with scientists, but need not be. In projects where scientists are not on the research team, the proposal should identify how the project is relevant to the scientific study of contemplative practices. The strongest proposals will focus on approaches that emerge from the humanities or social sciences and will be led by (or include) scholars trained in those areas. Applications that propose purely scientific studies will not be considered.
 
The MLCSF grant program has two complementary strands. Strand One is for projects that involve new kinds of scholarly reviews and critical analyses of scientific research on contemplative practices. The many possible projects under this rubric would include, for example, an in-depth study of the methodological and cultural assumptions that underlie clinical research on mindfulness. Strand Two projects foster partnerships between scientists and scholars in the humanities or social sciences with the goal of developing new interdisciplinary methods and richer approaches. A project in this strand might combine, for example, an anthropological study of a particular contemplative practice with scientific research on that practice’s effects.
 
The funding structure for the MLCSF follows the guidelines of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), where awards are based on rank so as to facilitate sabbatical leave for humanities-based scholars. Sabbatical leave, however, is only one way for funds to be used, and the selection committee also welcomes proposals that seek to use the funds in other ways to support the proposed research.

Applications due January 15, 2013.
 
For further information go to www.mindandlife.org/grants .
 
Any questions about the MLCSF (application process, eligibility, etc.) should be directed to mlcsf@mindandlife.org.
 
The Mind & Life Institute is a non-profit organization that seeks to understand the human mind and the benefits of contemplative practices through an integrated mode of knowing that combines first person knowledge from the world’s contemplative traditions with methods and findings from contemporary scientific inquiry. Ultimately, our goal is to relieve human suffering and advance well-being.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago invite outstanding doctoral students to apply for the Doris Duke Fellowships for the Promotion of Child Well-Being (formerly called the Doris Duke Fellowships for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect).

The fellowships are designed to identify and develop a new generation of leaders interested in and capable of creating practice and policy initiatives that will enhance child development and improve the nation’s ability to prevent all forms of child maltreatment.

Fellows can be based at any academic institution in the United States. Fellows are selected from a range of academic disciplines, including but not limited to social work, public health, medicine, public policy, education, economics, psychology, and epidemiology.

Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

Fellows receive an annual stipend of $25,000 for up to two years to support the completion of their dissertation and related research at their academic institution. Up to fifteen fellowships are awarded annually.

Visit the Chapin Hall Web site for complete program guidelines and application procedures.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP