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

  • VUMC Program for Population Health and Engagement Research - Pilot Grant Program | Applications due May 19

    VUMC Program for Population Health and Engagement Research PILOT GRANT PROGRAM | Call for Applications

    INTRODUCTION

    The Program for Population Health and Engagement Research (PHER) generates and advances research to inform and guide innovative solutions that advance our understanding of what works for whom, how, and under what conditions to promote health and health outcomes to “achieve optimal health across populations.”

    We are pleased to announce the 2025 cycle of the PHER Pilot Grant Program. The goal of this intramural initiative is to support innovative research projects that seek to advance research to achieve optimal health across populations.

    Optimal health for all means giving everyone a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Every person deserves access to quality health care. To achieve health for all, health care systems, policies, and practices must address all the obstacles that create and perpetuate disparate health outcomes across populations. Supporting research that informs and guide ways to achieve optimal health for all is the mission of PHER.

    DESCRIPTION

    PHER Pilot Grants are intended to support discrete research projects that can be completed in a 12-month timeframe of June 15, 2025, to June 15, 2026. PHER will support up to 2 research projects with up to $10,000 per award. These grants are not intended to supplement already funded research projects, unless it is to add a new element related to research promoting optimal health for all.

    Funding up to $10,000 may be used for research staff, participant compensation, production of materials, related research expenses, services from a VUMC/VU/Meharry core, or publication costs. Travel to conduct research or present findings at a relevant conference is allowed, with a limit of $1,200 and within the award year. Faculty effort is not an allowable expense. All funded projects must be completed within 12 months of the award, by June 15, 2026.

    All faculty, trainees, and students at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University, and Meharry Medical College are eligible to apply. Trainees/students may apply to serve as the principal investigator but must have a faculty mentor who is actively involved with the project.

    The submission deadline is May 19, 2025 - 11:59 pm CDT.

    Review criteria will include significance of the research topic, scientific rigor of the approach, innovation, and potential impact of the project. Projects with a focus on local patient populations or community partnerships will receive priority for funding. Applications that seek to develop preliminary data for an extramural grant submission are encouraged. Award decisions will be made by a review committee, and announcements will be sent to the awardees in June 2025.

    HOW TO APPLY

    There are 3 parts to the submission process:

    • Complete a short REDCap form at this link: https://redcap.link/PHERPilotGrant
    • Prepare a brief budget (template is provided at the link above) and attach it to the REDCap
    • Prepare a research proposal and attach it to the REDCap

    REDCap form: Asks for the name of the PI, mentor (if applicable), co-investigators, project title, and brief project description, as well as a brief narrative bio of the PI (and mentor if applicable).

    Budget: Itemize using the form provided, providing a very brief description or justification for each item.

    Proposal: Include the sections detailed below. The proposal should NOT EXCEED 4 PAGES in 11-point type, single spaced. The reference list is not included in the 4-page limit. The proposal should be submitted as a Word or PDF document as an attachment in the REDCap form.

    Proposal format:

    1. Title of Project

    Brief overview and objectives: Why are you undertaking this project? What research question do you hope to address using this grant funding? How will this research project advance health related research, including the potential impact of outcomes for addressing social determinants of health for all populations.

    2. Project Plan

     a. Background
    b. Research question(s) and hypotheses
    c. Methods – Include study design, setting, description of study participants, intervention (if applicable), outcome measures, and analysis/evaluation plan
    d. Innovation
    e. Anticipated outcomes – What will the project accomplish if successful? Will it lead to future research, programs, or patient benefit?
    f. Timeline – Grant activities must be completed within 12 months of of award

    Other responsibilities of the PI:

    A PI may submit only one proposal. The reviewers may request clarifying information or revisions before making final award decisions.

    An interim progress report is due approximately 6 months from the start date. A final report is due at the end of the funding period and should include a description of future plans relevant to the proposal. The PI will be invited to present the project findings at a Center for Health Service Research Seminar. The PI should also submit a research abstract to a relevant national conference or manuscript to a suitable peer-reviewed journal upon completion of the project.

    CONTACT INFORMATION

    For any questions, please email Mariela Rodriguez at mariela.rodriguez@vumc.org.

  • 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!