Rita Allen Foundation
2018 Scholars Program
On This Page
**$550,000 limited submission funding opportunity-only one application is permitted so a university-wide internal selection process is required. Stanford assistant professors with UTL, MCL, NTLR faculty appointments from any school who are within the first three years of their appointment (as of Jan. 19, 2018) are who are involved in basic biomedical research in fields of cancer, immunology and neuroscience are eligible. Candidates must provide persuasive evidence of distinguished achievement or extraordinary promise in research in one of the relevant fields. See eligibility and guidelines below**
The internal deadline has passed for 2017. This webpage is for your reference only.
# of applicants: 1
Stanford has been invited to submit one application.
Timeline:
Internal deadline: Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, 5 p.m. (see the internal submission guidelines below)
Institutional Nomination deadline via "Letter of intent": Dec. 8, 2017, via Fluxx
For the applicant selected to represent Stanford:
Institutional representative (RPM/RMG or CGO/OSR) deadline: Jan. 12, 2018
Full Application deadline: Jan. 19, 2018
Guidelines:
Download the program guidelines >> 
Download the sponsor's FAQs >>
2017 Recipients:
http://ritaallen.org/stories/announcing-the-2017-rita-allen-foundation-scholars/
Amount of funding:
$110,000 direct costs/yr for up to 5 years. The grant is to be used entirely for direct project expenses, including up to 50% of the grant may be used for the Scholar's compensation. They do not support institutional overhead.
Eligibility:
Each year the foundation provides us with the following expanded eligibility criteria provided by their Board of Directors:
- The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars program supports basic biomedical research in the fields of cancer, neuroscience and immunology. Candidates must provide persuasive evidence of distinguished achievement or extraordinary promise in research in one of the relevant fields.
- The caliber of early-stage investigators suggests nominees would be appointed to tenure track positions at their respective institutions.
- It is preferable that candidates be in the first three years of their tenure track [assistant professor appointment]*. (This is taken into consideration in the rating of applications by the Scientific Advisory Committee.) Note: an institution is required to provide a paragraph explaining "tenure track or equivalent" when it submits the online letter of inquiry (nomination) for the applicant.
- *Stanford clarification: assistant professors with both MCL, NTLR, UTL faculty appointments from any school who are within the first three years of their first faculty appointments [as of the Jan. 19, 2018 application deadline]. Use the date your appointment was formally approved by the Provost. Do not count time spent as an acting assistant professor, as acting appointments are not faculty appointments. If you were an assistant professor at another institution prior to coming to Stanford you would need to include time spent in that appointment within the three year time frame.
- Not eligible: Associate professors, CE assistant professors, Instructors and Academic staff-research (research associates) are not eligible.
- United States citizenship is not a requirement; however, awardees must be legally employed at a U.S. degree granting or research institution that is an invited participant in the program (Stanford is one of the invited institutions)
- Candidates must have received committed start-up funds from their respective institutions.
- Candidates must have lab space from their institutions.
- Candidates nominated in previous years should not be re-nominated.
- Other funding restrictions: Other sources of funding may influence selection. Rita Allen Foundation Scholars may not accept a faculty development award of more than $200,000 from another private funding organization (i.e. Beckman, Pew, Searle) for the first year of the RAF award. Rita Allen Scholars may apply for awards from these organizations that would take effect beginning in year two of the RAF award.
Purpose:
The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award will fund candidates who show promise of becoming leaders in research in the cure and treatment of diseases in the fields of cancer, immunology, and neuroscience.
By investing in early-career biomedical scholars and their research, we aim to advance transformative ideas and leverage them to promote breakthrough solutions. We seek research projects with above-average risk that challenge the status quo. While other organizations may avoid such exposure, we view pioneering efforts as opportunities for the greatest success.
INTERNAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
By Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, 5 p.m., please send one PDF file containing the following in the order listed below via email attachment to:
Jeanne Heschele
Research Management Group
650-245-2351
jheschele@stanford.edu
File name: Last name_Rita_Allen.pdf
Institutional representative: not applicable. You do not have to send your proposal to your RPM/RMG or your CGO/OSR for his/her approval. You can it directly to Jeanne.
1) Title page
Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program
Title of your proposal:
Disease focus (choose one): cancer, immunology or neuroscience
PI name, title, department,
address
phone number,
email address
(Note: this title page provides an overview of information for the review committee members. Please do not include an introductory letter or memo on this page-thank you.)
2) Nomination letter printed on your department letterhead and addressed to Dr. Peter Sarnow and the School of Medicine Awards Committee and signed by your division chief or your department chair. This letter must:
- confirm that the candidate shows promise of becoming leaders in the research in the cure and treatment of diseases in the fields of cancer, immunology and neuroscience and "persuasive evidence of distinguished achievement or extraordinary promise in research in one of the relevant fields".
- include a section in the letter entitled, "Assessment of the candidate" so that it can be include in the nomination submisson to the sponsor, if your nominee is selected.
3) Research proposal- 4 pages including references and illustrations (this is the sponsor's requirement as well)
Single-spaced, Aria or Helvetica Font size at least size 11, half-inch margins.
4) Nominee's NIH Biosketch
5) Other Support- include pending and current funding [list sponsor, term and amount of funding for the year and for the entire term]
Selection process:
Your proposals will be reviewed by the School of Medicine Awards Committee members. The committee will select the applicant to represent the university. The institution will submit your nomination via a "Letter of intent" by Dec. 8, 2017. The sponsor's full application deadline is Jan. 19, 2018.
