Funding and Career Opportunities

Funding Opportunities

  • A list of Vanderbilt University upcoming limited submission opportunities can be found at https://www.vanderbilt.edu/rds/limitedsubmission/.
  • A list of Vanderbilt University Medical Center upcoming limited submission opportunities can be found at https://www.vumc.org/oor/limited-and-external-funding-opportunities.
  • Visit the Edge Bulletin Board to check their current list of national research funding opportunities with upcoming deadlines, updated often. To submit national opportunities, email Edge for Scholars. Additionally, the Edge for Scholars Funded Grants Library has over 200 grants in the library including more than two dozen examples of NRSA fellowship applications (F30, F31, F32) written by Vanderbilt trainees that include original submissions, resubmissions, and summary statements. There are also a few AHA fellowship applications in the library. If a trainee is in the process of writing an application, they may review these shared grants by requesting access to the EFS Funded Grants Library. To gain access to the Funded Grants Library email Adrienne Babcock. Postdocs should copy their primary mentor on the request so the mentor can confirm the need for access.
  • Visit the SPIN Database of Sponsored Funding Opportunities and search their database of over 40,000 funding opportunities from more than 10,000 global sponsors.
  • Visit Grant Forward and search their database of over 9,000 sponsors and funding opportunities. 

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

  • Summer 2025 NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) | Internal Application due March 25, 2025

    Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC): VU-employed Postdocs should apply through this InfoReady portal. VUMC employed postdocs should follow the application instructions as described on the OOR funding opportunity website.

    Overview

    VU and VUMC may each submit one application per scientific focus area to the NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) programs. The scientific focus areas are Cancer Data Science, Cancer Control Science, Molecular/Precision Cancer Prevention and Other Cancer Research. There are three separate RFAs, which allow different types of proposed research (e.g. basic, clinical): PAR-23-286, PAR-23-287, and PAR-23-288. Each of VU and VUMC’s four selected applicants (1/focus area) may apply to whichever RFAs best suit their research proposals.

    The objective of the NCI Pathway to Independence Award is to help postdoctoral researchers complete needed, mentored training and transition in a timely manner to independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty positions. The program will provide independent NCI research support during this transition to help awardees to launch competitive, independent research careers. The K99/R00 award is intended to foster the development of a creative, independent research program that will be competitive for subsequent independent funding and that will help advance the mission of the NCI.

    This program is designed for postdoctoral fellows with research and/or clinical doctoral degrees who do not require extended periods of mentored research training beyond their original doctoral degrees before transitioning to research independence. Researchers in the scientific areas of cancer control, cancer prevention and cancer data sciences are especially encouraged to apply.

    Individuals must be in mentored, postdoctoral training positions to be eligible to apply to the K99/R00 program. The K99/R00 award will provide up to 5 years of support in two phases. The initial (K99) phase will provide support for up to 2 years of mentored postdoctoral research training and career development. The second (R00) phase will provide up to 3 years of independent research support, which is contingent on satisfactory progress during the K99 phase and obtaining an approved, independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty position.

    The award covers up to $100,000 per year toward the salary of the career award recipient, and up to $30,000 per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient.

    See solicitations for full program and eligibility details:

    PAR-23-286 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed

    PAR-23-287 - Independent Clinical Trial Required

    PAR-23-288 - Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required

     

     

  • Huo Early-Career Fellowships | Applications due May 23

    Effects of the Usage of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Young People

    The Huo Family Foundation invites applications for early-career fellowships to support talented and promising postdoctoral researchers on the path to independence. These fellowships are to allow early-career researchers to design, plan and deliver their own innovative research project, and to make the transition to independent researcher.

    Proposals should be tackling key questions within the broad topic of the effects of usage of and exposure to digital technologies on brain development and function (including physiological responses), social behaviour and interactions, and mental health of children and young people.

    • Fellowships are for up to a three-year term.
    • The fellowship amount is up to £130,000 / US$169,000 per year.
    • The fellowship should begin between January and March 2026.

    More on eligibility:

    Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant field, which may include but is not limited to neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, computer science, social science, economics.

    Applicants must have completed their PhD in January 2022 or later i.e. at the time of award be within four years of completing PhD.

    For more information or to apply visit: https://huofamilyfoundation.org/our-grants/early-career-fellowships/. 

  • Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (AGS – PRF) - Proposals Accepted Anytime

    Supports postdoctoral researchers in performing work that will broaden their perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions, and help establish them in leadership positions within the atmospheric and geospace sciences communities.

    Synopsis

    The Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS), awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (PRF) to highly qualified early career investigators to carry out an independent research program. The research plan of each Fellowship must address scientific questions within the scope of AGS disciplines. These disciplines include Atmospheric Chemistry (ATC), Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics (CLD), Paleoclimate (PC), and Physical and Dynamic Meteorology (PDM) in the Atmospheric Sciences, and Aeronomy (AER), Magnetospheric Physics (MAG), Solar Terrestrial (ST), and Space Weather Research (SWR) in the Geospace Sciences.

    The AGS-PRF program supports researchers (also known as Fellows) for a period of up to 24 months with Fellowships that can be taken to the institution of their choice. The program is intended to recognize beginning investigators of significant potential and provide them with experiences in research that will broaden perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions, and help establish them in leadership positions within the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences community. Fellowships are awarded to individual Fellows, not institutions, and are administered by the Fellows.

    AGS has made it a priority to address challenges in creating an inclusive geoscience discipline through activities that increase belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (BAJEDI). Proposers are encouraged to explicitly address this priority in their proposed activities. Proposers who are women, veterans, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), or who have attended two-year colleges and minority-serving institutions for undergraduate or graduate school, or plan to conduct their Fellowship activities at one of these institutions (e.g. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Alaska Native Serving Institutions, and Hawaiian Native and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions) are especially encouraged to apply.

    Program Notice: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/atmospheric-geospace-sciences-postdoctoral

Grant Submission Resources & Guidelines

All proposals submitted for external funding require the review and approval of the Sponsored Program Administration (SPA) for Vanderbilt University (VU) and the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). SPA and OSP are responsible for providing the official signature, electronic or physical, for all proposals submitted on behalf of VU and VUMC respectively. With very few exceptions faculty members/principal investigators, or their designee, are not authorized to sign or submit any form of a request for external funding that does not also include SPA or OSP’s official approval since awards are made to the institution and not the individual.

Direct-to-individual funding mechanisms (such as NSF postdoctoral fellowships), while not submitted through SPA or OSP, require VU or VUMC to be notified of the submission. The link to submit such a notification is provided below.

Before beginning the grant writing process, postdocs should consult with the relevant departmental/program administrator to determine if their current funding source enables effort to be expended on writing and preparing grant applications. Postdocs funded 100% on a federal research grant cannot devote effort to grant writing and should work with their faculty mentor to determine if alternative funds are available during the proposal preparation period to support a percentage of their effort.

Please submit the Fellowship/Grant Submission Form before the application is submitted to the funding agency.

In preparing your grant application please note:

  • A postdoc may serve as the principal investigator (PI) of a grant, upon written approval of the faculty mentor and the department chair (VUMC) or the relevant dean (VU). There should be clear evidence that the postdoc has the experience and expertise to function as PI and manage the responsibilities to direct the proposed research program, direct the budgeted personnel, manage the budget, and ensure that the research is carried in compliance with all applicable University rules and regulations as well as those of the sponsoring agency.
  • A postdoc may serve as a co-PI without prior approval, as long as another Vanderbilt faculty member (typically their mentor) is the PI.  Should a postdoc leave the University, any awarded grant funds would remain at Vanderbilt unless otherwise negotiated between the PI, co-PI and funding agency.
  • If an externally funded program requires that a postdoc be listed as a principal investigator (PI) or co-PI, no specific approval is required. SPA or OSP notification of the submission is required.

For NRSA Individual Fellowships, childcare supplements may be requested. Visit NIH Notice NOT-OD-21-074 for more information. 

Job Opportunities

A full listing of Vanderbilt career resources can be found on the OPA Resources website.

Visit the National Postdoc Association (NPA) Career Center for up-to-date listings of job opportunities and the career portal, a one-stop career resource center to prepare you for your next opportunity. 

Additionally, please check out the Postdoc Portal for information on open positions, connecting with faculty, and more.

 

Check back soon for open job opportunities!